Consuming Freshwater Fish

Freshwater Fish Consumption Guidelines

Fish can be an important part of a healthy diet, but some fish contain varying levels of pollutants including mercury. Because of this, the NH Department of Environmental Services recommends the following guidelines for eating freshwater fish that you catch in New Hampshire:

• Pregnant and nursing women, and women who may become pregnant, can safely eat ONE 8-ounce meal of freshwater fish per month.
• Children under age 7 can safely eat ONE 4-ounce meal of freshwater fish per month.
• All other adults and children age 7 and older can safely eat FOUR 8-ounce meals of freshwater fish per month.
• When eating bass, pickerel, white perch, or yellow perch, limit consumption to fish 12 inches or less in length while following the above guidelines.

Stocked trout contains relatively low levels of mercury. For rainbow and brown trout, women of childbearing age and children under age 7 can safely eat ONE 4-ounce meal per week; others can eat SIX 8-ounce meals per week. Brook trout could be either stocked or from a wild population, and therefore should be consumed at the rate of the general freshwater advisory above.

Additional consumption guidelines have been issued because of the concern for PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) contamination in several locations including:

• Country Pond in Kingston.
• Squam Lake in Holderness, Center Harbor, Sandwich & Moultonboro.
• For the Souhegan River from the Goldman Dam to one mile upriver near Riverway East located off of Elm Street in Milford it is recommended that anglers not eat, but catch and release unharmed, any fish caught in that section of river.
• In addition, NO fish should be consumed from the Androscoggin River from Berlin south to the Maine border due to potential dioxin and mercury contaminations.