IL Department of Public Health revises state fish advisories

Sharon Wren
·2 min read

Anglers are heading to open bodies of water across Illinois and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has updated its consumption advisories for sport fish.

These advisories are based on routine testing by the Illinois Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program. They were updated last fall to include testing for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.”

The expanded testing has resulted in advisories for nine bodies of water this year. They have issued a Do Not Eat advisory for all fish in Franklin Creek in Lee County and associated ponds in the Franklin Creek State Natural Area due to elevated levels of PFAS.

The updated advisories include limiting consumption of certain fish from several Illinois waterways because of PFAS levels. Certain fish taken from Lake Zurich, Crab Orchard Lake, and Wolf Lake should only be eaten once per month. One meal per week advisories were issued for certain species in Lake Michigan, Waukegan North Harbor, Sycamore Lake, Midlothian Reservoir and Chicago River. Click here for more information about PFAS.

“Fishing in Illinois waters is a great recreational activity that often leads to delicious meals,” said Dr. Sameer Vohra, IDPH Director. “To make sure each of those catches is safe and healthy, please visit our Fish Advisory Map to get the most up-to-date information on Illinois’s consumption advisories.”

Fish consumption advisories also cover the presence of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and methylmercury. There’s good news on that front; PCB advisories were relaxed for certain species in Lake Michigan and Midlothian Reservoir and removed for certain species in Lake Michigan, Crab Orchard Lake, Midlothian Reservoir, Sangamon River and Illinois River.

IDPH released more restrictive methylmercury advisories for certain species in the Ohio River and the Little Wabash River watershed. Site-specific advisories were removed from Midlothian Reservoir and Lake Zurich.

A statewide methylmercury advisory remains in place for all Illinois waters. The advisory cautions those who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant and children under 15 years of age should eat no more than one meal per week of predatory fish, such as bass, walleye and salmon.

There is no known immediate health hazard from eating contaminated fish from any body of water in Illinois, but there are concerns about the effects of long-term exposure to PCBs, PFAS, and methylmercury in fish.

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