Advisories and Guidelines

Fish in many of Oregon’s waters have not been sampled for contaminants that can be found in their tissue, therefore a water body that has no advisory in place does not mean the fish are free of contaminants. When data is available, OHA calculates meal recommendations and when necessary will issue a fish advisory. For more information about current advisories, or about contaminants and their health effects, call the Oregon Health Authority at 1-877-290-6767.

Fish advisories and guidelines Recreational shellfish advisories and guidelines

Advisories are designed to help you gain the health benefits of eating fish and shellfish while protecting you and your family from contaminants sometimes found in seafood.

Consumption guidelines provide recommendations for when you should limit or avoid eating certain fish or shellfish to reduce your exposure to chemicals like mercury, PCBs and other contaminants. The key is to make smart choices and choose fish and shellfish that are low in contaminants. In general, younger, smaller fish have fewer contaminants.

OHA uses the SOG to calculate meal recommendations for fish and shellfish based on fish tissue data made available to the agency.

See also:

Fish Advisories and Consumption Guidelines

Select a region on the map or check the table below for Oregon fish advisories and consumption guidelines.

NOTE: There is a statewide advisory for bass.

				MEALS PER MONTH
Zone	Waterbody	Contaminant	Affected fish species	Vulnerable population	Everyone else
STATEWIDE	All state water bodies Technical report: Information OHA used to warrant a statewide advisory Frequently asked questions		Bass	2	6
MULTIPLE	Columbia River and its Oregon tributaries (for example, Willamette, Hood, John Day) Press release Factsheet Technical report		Lamprey	2	4
COLUMBIA	Bonneville Dam at Bradford Island, extending one mile upstream to Ruckel Creek		All resident fish (Including Sturgeon)	0	0
	Mid-Columbia River, from Ruckel Creek to McNary Dam		All resident fish (Including Sturgeon)	4	4
	Lower Columbia River Press Release Technical Report		Sturgeon	4	6
SOUTHWEST	Applegate Lake		Large and smallmouth bass and yellow perch	2	5
	Applegate Lake		Panfish (bluegill and crappie)	4	13
	Cooper Creek Reservoir		All resident fish	1	4
	Emigrant Reservoir		All resident fish except rainbow trout	1	3
	Galesville Reservoir		All resident fish	1	4
	Plat I Reservoir		All resident fish	2	6
CENTRAL	East Lake		All resident fish	1	3
CENTRAL	East Lake		Brown trout (16 inches or longer)	0	1
SOUTHEAST	Antelope Reservoir		All resident fish	0	1
	Jordan Creek, from Antelope Reservoir to the creek's confluence with the Owyhee River		All resident fish	0	1
	Owyhee Reservoir		All resident fish	1	3
	Owyhee River upstream to Three Forks		All resident fish	2	6
	Phillips Reservoir		Yellow perch	2	5
WILLAMETTE	Columbia Slough Press Release 2022 PFOS Appendix to Technical Report Technical Report City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Website: Factsheet Translations Story Map of progress on Columbia Slough sediment clean up project Social Media Cards General Columbia Slough		All resident fish including crayfish	Fillet only - 1 Whole body - 0
			Largescale sucker	Fillet only - 2 Whole body - 0
	Cottage Grove Reservoirs		All resident fish except stocked, fin-clipped rainbow trout (12 inches or less)	0	1
	Dorena Reservoirs			1	4
	Lower Willamette River, from the Sellwood Bridge to its confluence with the Columbia, to include Multnomah Channel from its confluence with the Willamette to the Sauvie Island Bridge.		All resident fish	Meal recommendations and information
	Lower Willamette River Technical Report		Sturgeon	1	1
	Willamette River, from its mouth on the Columbia River southward to Eugene Includes: Coast Fork to Cottage Grove Reservoir Does not apply to: Middle Fork, North Fork of the Middle Fork, or to any other tributary emptying into the Willamette		All resident fish	1	4
	Multnomah Channel and Scappoose Bay Press Release Technical Report		All resident fish	Meal recommendations and information
SNAKE RIVER	Snake River, from just south of Adrien, OR north to the WA border Includes: Brownlee Reservoir and the Powder River arm		All resident fish	3	8

Vulnerable population includes children under age 6, people who are or may become pregnant and people who are nursing.

mercury = Mercury pcb = PCBs, dioxins and/or certain pesticides

“Resident” fish spend their entire lives within a certain territory, and do not migrate.

“Migratory” fish such as salmon, steelhead, shad and lamprey, spend most of their lives at sea, and contain less localized contaminants. In general, smaller, younger fish have fewer contaminants.

Fish cleaning and cooking guidelines

Follow this guidelines to reduce your exposure to PCBs and other fat-soluble contaminants.

Fish Cleaning and Cooking Guidelines

What is a meal?

A meal is about the size and thickness of your hand, or 1 ounce of uncooked fish for every 20 pounds of body weight.

160 pound adult = 8 oz.
80 pound child = 4 oz.

EPA flyer: Helpful advice about eating fish for those who might become or are pregnant or breastfeeding and children ages 1 – 11 years.

Contaminants and their health effects

Mercury and PCBs accumulate in our bodies over time and are passed on to developing fetuses through the placenta. Children’s brains go through extraordinary development in the womb and during the first six years of life. Mercury and PCBs can interfere with normal brain development and cause lifelong learning disabilities. PCBs can also cause cancer in children and adults.

Recreational Shellfish Advisories and Consumption Guidelines

Shellfish Safety Closures (ODA)

Advisory: Softshell and Gaper Clams on Oregon Coast
OHA has issued an advisory for recreationally harvested softshell and gaper clams along the Oregon coast due to arsenic contamination. See the table below for details and resources.

				MEALS PER MONTH
Zone	Affected species	Contaminant	Location	Consumption guidelines *Meal sizes by age	Resources
OREGON COAST	Softshell clams (Mya arenaria) Gaper clams (Tresus capax)	Inorganic Arsenic	North Coast (Mouth of Columbia to Neskowin)	Siphon skin intact - 1 Siphon skin removed - 11	Questions and Answers (pdf) Video: How to remove siphon skin from softshell clams Oregon clam identification chart
			Central Coast (Cascade Head to mouth of Umpqua River)	Siphon skin intact - 2 Siphon skin removed - 26
			South Coast (Mouth of Umpqua River to California Border)	Siphon skin intact - 4 Siphon skin removed - 33

Softshell and Gaper clams: Meal sizes for different age groups
Age group	Meal size by clam weight (excluding shells)	Meal size by clam volume (excluding shells)
Adult (17 years and older)	8 ounces	1 cup
12-16 years old	6 ounces	3/4 cup
7-11 years old	4 ounces	1/2 cup
4-6 years old	3 ounces	1/3 cup
2-3 years old	2 ounces	1/4 cup

Advisories and Guidelines

Fish Advisories and Consumption Guidelines

Fish cleaning and cooking guidelines

Contaminants and their health effects

Recreational Shellfish Advisories and Consumption Guidelines

Softshell and Gaper clams: Meal sizes for different age groups