ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Department of Health has issued more protective fish consumption guidelines for northeast Minnesota because of a higher concentration of mercury.
The new recommendations released in are based on a comprehensive review of decades of mercury data using new analysis methods.
In addition to the new guidelines specific to St. Louis, Lake and Cook county lakes, the analysis also led scientists to develop length-based walleye and pike consumption guidelines for sensitive populations, including kids under 15, people who are or may become pregnant, and people who are or plan to breastfeed.
Regularly eating fish with elevated mercury levels can damage your kidneys, liver and nervous system. It can also affect understanding and learning in young children.
It takes months or years of regularly eating fish to accumulate concerning levels of mercury and other contaminants, MDH says. The guidelines are meant to keep contaminants below levels that may cause health effects.
Mercury is emitted into the air during certain industrial processes, like burning coal and processing taconite. It then settles in water and is converted to methylmercury by bacteria. Fish absorb methylmercury from their food. Larger, older fish and fish that eat other fish accumulate more contaminants than smaller, younger fish that eat less contaminated prey.
“Generally speaking, fish are a good part of a healthy diet,” said Angela Preimesberger, MDH’s fish consumption guidance program lead, in a news release. “Fish can be a source of important omega-3 fatty acids, which help with heart health and brain function. However, based on our analyses, we advise limiting how many servings of certain fish you eat from certain locations.”
What are the new fish consumption guidelines?
MDH has separate guidelines for general populations (males 15 and older and people not planning to become pregnant) and sensitive populations (children under 15, people who are or may become pregnant, and people who are or plan to breastfeed).
The full fish consumption guidelines, including those that have not changed, can be found here.
Statewide, the agency now recommends sensitive populations have only one serving per month of northern pike shorter than 28 inches or walleye shorter than 20 inches. MDH recommends sensitive populations not eat pike or walleye that exceed those lengths.
The length recommendations are two inches shorter (26 inches for pike and 18 inches for walleye) for fish caught in St. Louis, Lake or Cook county lakes. Yellow perch was also added to the one serving per month category for sensitive populations eating fish from those counties.
The statewide general population consumption guidelines did not change. But for fish caught in northeast Minnesota, MDH now recommends limiting crappie or sunfish to two servings per week and yellow perch to one serving per week.
Before eating fish you catch, MDH also recommends checking the waterbody-specific guidelines for lakes, rivers and Lake Superior.
