Mercury in Fish

Eat Fish, Choose Wisely

Fish provide key nutrients like omega fats, iron, iodine and choline. These nutrients are important for heart health and support health during pregnancy, nursing, and early childhood. Everyone should try to eat 2-3 servings of fish per week.

cooked fish with rice and vegetables on a plate

baked fish with fruit and vegetables in a pan

cooked fish in a bowl with vegetables and broth

People who are nursing, pregnant or planning to be, and young children should eat fish with low levels of mercury. Mercury is a toxic metal that is harmful to a developing nervous system. Too much mercury can affect your child’s brain and how your child learns, moves and behaves.

Some large fish have high levels of mercury. It’s important to avoid eating fish with high levels of mercury if you are pregnant or planning to be, nursing or have children under the age of 6.

Fish You Catch and Fish You Buy

The Fish You Catch and Fish You Buy safe eating guidelines can help you decide what types of fish to eat, how much to eat and how often. Be sure to follow the waterbody-specific advisories if you eat fish caught from Lake Champlain, the Hoosic River, or the Deerfield and Connecticut Rivers.

Fish You Catch in Vermont	Fish You Buy
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For fish you catch in Vermont waters, the meal size is an 8-ounce skinless fillet. The safe eating guidelines show how many fish meals you can eat per month.

If you reach the meals per month limit, eat no other fish that month. If you do not reach the limit, then you can eat additional servings of fish you buy.

For fish you buy, the serving size is based on the size of the palm of your hand. That means children are eating smaller serving sizes than adults. The safe eating guidelines show how many servings you can eat per week.

You don’t have to be exact when figuring out how much fish to eat. These guidelines are averages, so it’s okay if you eat a little bit over the limit for one week. You can eat lower-mercury fish the following week.

If you need help figuring out how to combine meals of fish you catch and fish you buy, check out the fish meal mercury calculator. The calculator has average mercury levels for most common fish species.

Fish Meal Mercury Calculator

How to Prepare Fish

The safe eating guidelines are for fish fillets. Dried fish, whole fish or other parts of the fish like the fat, head, skin, bones, eggs or organs have not been tested for mercury. These are the parts of the fish where harmful pollutants can build up. They may have higher levels of mercury or other contaminants.

When you are preparing fish, throw away the head, skin, fat and organs (guts) of the fish. Try not to use these parts for stocks, sauces, soups, stews, etc. Eat fish eggs or roe occasionally. The image below shows you which parts to throw away, which parts to eat, and which parts to avoid eating.

Check out some how-to videos and tips on cleaning, prepping, and filleting fish you catch

which parts of fish to eat and which parts to throw away

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Other Fish Contaminants

Fish may contain other contaminants besides mercury. Be sure to check the waterbody-specific advisory section if you eat fish caught in Vermont.

PCBs

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of human-made chemicals that can cause serious health problems and harm the environment. PCBs break down very slowly and can remain in the environment for a long time. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned manufacturing and certain uses of PCBs in 1979. Even though PCBs are banned, they can still be found in fish. Check the waterbody-specific advisory section for PCB advisories. Learn more about the health effects of PCBs.

PFAS

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) monitors Vermont waters and fish tissue for perfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS. To date, PFAS levels in surface water and fish tissue are low compared to national levels. They are also similar to concentrations from non-impacted waterbodies in Maine and New Hampshire. At this time, there are no fish advisories for PFAS in Vermont.

Waterbody-specific Advisories

Here are the Vermont waterbodies that have specific guidelines for eating fish.

Lake Champlain

Lake Trout in Lake Champlain may contain PCBs. People who are pregnant, planning to be, or are nursing, and children under age 15 should not eat any lake trout from Lake Champlain.

Everyone else should limit lake trout (over 25 inches) caught in Lake Champlain to one meal (8-ounce fillet) per month.

Hoosic River

Because of PCB contamination, there is a “Do Not Eat” advisory for all fish species from the Hoosic River. No one should eat any fish caught from the Hoosic River.

Deerfield and Connecticut Rivers

This advisory is for fish caught in Deerfield River’s chain of reservoirs (Grout Pond and the Somerset, Harriman, Sherman and Searsburg Reservoirs) and the Connecticut River’s Comerford and Moore Reservoirs. The hydroelectric dams on some of these reservoirs create environmental conditions that may cause higher levels of mercury in fish.

People who are pregnant, planning to be, or are nursing, and children under age 6 should not eat any fish from these waterbodies.

Everyone else should limit fish caught in these reservoirs to two fish meals (8-ounce filet) per month.

Fish Contaminant Monitoring Committee (FCMC)

The Fish Contaminant Monitoring Committee (FCMC) guides Vermont’s work to sample fish for mercury and other harmful contaminants. The FCMC is made up of the departments of Health, Environmental Conservation and Fish & Wildlife. The FCMC helps decide if fish in Vermont are safe to eat.

Find out when the Fish Contaminant Monitoring Committee meets

FCMC meeting agendas and minutes