Fish Advisories in Colorado

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has issued fish advisories (links to WQCD Environmental Data Unit, Colorado Fish Tissue Study) that place limits on safe quantities for consumption of fish from McPhee and Narraguinnep reservoirs as well as other lakes in the state. Pregnant women, women planning to become pregnant, nursing mothers and children less than 9 years old must be especially careful. The recommended safe consumption level is four meals of fish per month for non-pregnant adults and one meal per month for women who are pregnant, nursing or planning to become pregnant and children 9 years of age or younger. This level is consistent with fish advisories issued by other states in the 1990s. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers one meal for an adult to be 6 ounces of cooked fish (8 ounces of uncooked fish) and for a child to be 2 ounces of cooked fish (3 ounces of uncooked fish).