Eat Safe Fish Detroit Area

Eat Safe

Fish

in the

Detroit

Area

A Guide to

Buying and Catching Fish

that are Healthy for

You and Your Family

Request a free copy.

To nd out more information or

request a copy of the Michigan

Family Fish Consumption

Guide, call 1-800-648-6942

or visit www.michigan.gov/

eatsafesh.

The Guide will help you nd out

which sh are safe for you and

your family to eat from lakes

and rivers in the Detroit area and

throughout Michigan.

Some lakes in the Detroit area

have been stocked with catsh.

Fish from these

lakes have

fewer chemicals

than the sh

from the Detroit River and are safer to eat.

Call the Michigan DNR at 1-248-359-9040

for more information about these shing

spots.

Going shing?

If you sh from rivers in the Detroit area or

Lake Erie, use the picture below to decide

which sh are safer for your family to eat.

Carp and catsh feed off the bottom of

the river where a lot of the chemicals are

found. These sh have more chemicals

stored up in their body than other sh.

No one should eat carp or

catsh from the Detroit River.

*If you eat sh and are a boy or girl under the age of

15, or a woman who is pregnant or could get pregnant,

please use the advisory for “Women & Children”.

Most sh are a healthy

food choice, but some have

harmful chemicals in them.

This brochure will help you

make good choices when

eating sh.

The oils found in sh are healthy for ;

babies and children

Fish are low in saturated fat ;

Eating sh may help prevent heart ;

disease in adults

Are sh good for my family

and me to eat?

YES!

Fish have a lot of

healthy protein,

vitamins and

minerals.

Why are some sh unsafe to eat?

Some of our lakes, rivers and oceans are

polluted with harmful chemicals like PCBs,

dioxins or mercury. Many of these chemicals

do not go away. In fact, they build up in the

parts of sh that you eat. Some sh have

high amounts of chemicals that may cause

health problems if you eat them often.

What are some of the health

problems that may occur from

eating these chemicals?

Harm to a child’s brain development, ;

which can cause learning disorders and

behavioral

problems

Decrease in the ;

body’s ability to

ght off illness

Cancer ;

Liver damage ;

Who is at greatest risk from

harmful chemicals in sh?

Breast-fed babies ;

Unborn babies ;

Children under 15 years old ;

People with ongoing health ;

problems such as heart

conditions, thyroid disorders

and immune system disorders

Do not eat these sh:

Shark, Swordsh, Tilesh, King

Mackerel

Mercury in Fish from the

Grocery Store or Restaurant*

Mercury cannot be removed from sh by

trimming and cooking. Use the following

information to choose safer sh and seafood

from the grocery store or restaurant.

Trim and cook your sh the right

way to remove up to half of the

chemicals!

First, trim away the fat (see the picture ;

below). Most of the chemicals are stored

in the fat, except for mercury. Mercury

cannot be removed from sh.

Take off the dark fatty tissue along the ;

backbone, sides

and belly. Take

out all organs,

such as the liver

and stomach. Do

not eat any of

these sh parts.

Either remove ;

the skin or poke

holes in it before cooking. This allows fat

to drain off.

Bake, broil or grill the sh so that the fat ;

can drip away.

If you deep fry sh, throw the oil away ;

when you’re done. Do not re-use the oil.

How much sh is in a “meal”?

For adults: A meal is 8 ounces of ;

uncooked sh, or 6 ounces of cooked sh

(about the size of a man’s

hand).

For children: A meal is 4 ;

ounces of uncooked sh,

or 3 ounces of cooked sh

(about the size of the palm

of a man’s hand).

You can eat these sh 2 meals a week:

Anchovies Catsh (farm-raised)

Crab Crawsh

Flatsh (ounder, sole) Herring

Mullet Oysters

Perch (ocean or freshwater)** Pollock

Salmon (canned, frozen, fresh) Sardines

Scallops Shrimp

Squid Tilapia

Trout (freshwater) Whitesh**

-OR-

You can eat these sh 1 meal a week:

Cod Jack smelt

Mahi mahi Sheepshead

Snapper Tuna (canned light)

-OR-

You can eat these sh 2 meals a month:

Bass (sea, striped, rocksh) Bluesh

Halibut Lobster

Sablesh Scorpion sh

Tuna (Albacore, canned white) Tuna (fresh, frozen)

Weaksh (sea trout)

-OR-

You can eat these sh 1 meal a month:

Grouper Mackerel

Marlin Orange Roughy

* Based on FDA data.

** If you catch these sh in Michigan, please see the

Michigan Family Fish Consumption Guide for more

information.