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

Fish Advisories and Consumption Guidelines

				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
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
SOUTHWEST	Applegate Lake		Large and smallmouth bass and yellow perch	2	5
			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
			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 Technical Report City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Website: Factsheet Translations Social Media Cards General Columbia Slough		All resident fish including crayfish	Fillet only - 1 Whole body - 0
			Largescale sucker	Fillet only - 2 Whole body - 1
	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
	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
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

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.

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.