Fish Warnings for women and children
One in twelve women of childbearing age in the U.S. have more mercury in their bodies than the Environmental Protection Agency considers safe for a fetus's development, according to the latest data from the Center for Disease Control.
You can better protect yourself and your family from mercury exposure by carefully choosing your fish and eating only those that are low in contaminants like mercury.
Who does this apply to?
These guidelines are designed for
These people need to be the most concerned about what fish they eat because young children and the developing fetus are most at risk for severe health problems due to mercury contamination.
- Children under 12
- Pregnant women
- Nursing mothers
- Women of childbearing age
Do Not Eat these fish (highest in mercury):
The Departments of Public Health in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island have warned women of childbearing age and young children not to eat ANY freshwater fish caught in their states, this is probably good advice in Vermont and Connecticut too!
- "White" Canned Tuna
- Shark
- Swordfish
- Tuna steak
- King mackerel
- Tilefish
- Large freshwater fish caught in New England, especially:
- Pike
- Walleye
- Bass
- Perch
- Lake or Brown Trout
- Pickerel
Limit how much you eat:
Women of childbearing age should not eat more than 6 ounces (about 1 meal) of fish per week, and young children should not eat more than 2 ounces per week. This includes canned tuna. Canned tuna is made from smaller fish than tuna steak so it tends to be lower in mercury, but still should not be eaten in large amounts.These 4 fish are lowest in mercury and other toxins and are safer to eat:
- Flounder
- Cod
- Pollock
- Haddock
Government agency warnings:
While no single government agency has combined all of this information into one comprehensive warning – all of the advice on this page can be found in one or more government warnings including the following: