California’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office Of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) released a new fish-eating advisory Friday, updating safe fish-eating standards for lakes near Santa Clarita.

The OEHHA released safe-eating advice for six species in Pyramid Lake, about a 30-minute drive north of Santa Clarita.

“Many fish have nutrients that may reduce the risk of heart disease and are excellent sources of protein,” said OEHHA Director Dr. Lauren Zeise. “By following our guidelines for fish caught in Pyramid Lake, people can safely eat fish low in chemical contaminants and enjoy the well-known health benefits of fish consumption.”

The recently updated fish advisory, issued for Pyramid Lake, provides safe-eating advice for black bass species, bullhead species, catfish species, Rainbow Trout, Striped Bass and sunfish species.

When consuming fish from Pyramid Lake, the following advice was issued:

•  Women ages 18 to 49 and children ages 1 to 17 should not eat black bass species, bullhead species, or Striped Bass. They may safely eat a maximum of five total servings per week of Rainbow Trout, or one total serving per week of catfish species or sunfish species.
•  Women ages 50 and older and men ages 18 and older should not eat bullhead species. They may safely eat a maximum of seven total servings per week of Rainbow Trout; or three total servings per week of sunfish species; or two total servings per week of catfish species; or one total serving per week of black bass species or Striped Bass.

One serving is an eight-ounce fish filet, measured prior to cooking, which is roughly the size and thickness of a hand. Children should eat smaller servings. For small fish species, several individual fish may make up a single serving, according to the OEHHA.

The California OEHHA developed the recommendations based on the levels of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in fish caught from the lake.

A diagram with the consumption advice can be found here.

Coal combustion and mining release mercury into the environment, which can accumulate in fish in the form of methylmercury. Methylmercury can be damaging to the human brain and nervous system, especially in children and fetuses.

Because of this, different consumption recommendations are specific for children under 17 years of age and for women who are at the age of childbearing (18 – 49 years), according to OEHHA.

PCBs are another group of industrial chemicals. With high levels of exposure, they can cause health problems, including cancer. PCBS were banned from the US in the late 1970s, but persist in the environment because of spills, leaks, or improper disposal.

PCBs can accumulate in the skin, fat, and some internal organs of fish, so the OEHHA recommends eating the fish’s skinless filet (meat).

OEHHA’s fish advisory recommendations are based on the levels of contaminants, such as mercury and PCBs, that persist in the environment and accumulate in fish. They are independent of any advisories to limit fish intake due to freshwater or estuarine harmful algal blooms (HABs). Before fishing, check the California HABs Portal to see if there are recommended HAB advisories and always practice healthy water habits.

The Pyramid Lake advisory is one of over 130 other OEHHA advisories providing site-specific, health-based fish consumption advice. Other advisories are available on OEHHA’s Fish Advisories webpage.

The OEHHA also reminds people that eating fish in amounts slightly greater than the advisory’s recommendations is not likely to cause health problems if it is done occasionally, such as eating fish caught during an annual vacation.

For fish species found in Pyramid Lake that are not included in this advisory, OEHHA recommends following the statewide advisory for eating fish from California lakes and reservoirs without site-specific advice.

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