What fish are bad for your health in Kansas?

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Kansas health and wildlife officials have released a health alert for fish which may be contaminated with pesticides, arsenic and lead.

Jill Bronaugh with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and Laura Rose Clawson with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) issued a joint statement from their respective agencies on Friday, Jan. 10 regarding the fish consumption advisory for 2025. This advisory helps guide the state's anglers on which fish are safe to bring to their dinner tables.

The KDHE and KDWP's joint warning focuses on the dangers that can come with eating too many fish. All fish contain at least some mercury, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which can harm developing fetuses, nursing babies, pregnant and nursing women, children and teens. The agencies have the following recommendations for these groups of people when eating fish caught in Kansas:

• Eat smaller portions - a fillet around the size of your palm.
• Eat fish that contain less mercury.
• If you don't know what type of fish you've eaten, wait at least seven days before eating fish again.
• Catch fish for consumption that are shorter than your forearm or less than 20 inches as the state's fishing regulations allow.

The KDWP and KDHE organize fish by labeling them as 'preferred choice' or 'second choice' in Kansas. Preferred choice fish you can have one or two servings for each week while second-choice fish you should only have one or two servings per month. People are recommended to keep fish larger than 20 inches down to one serving per week for preferred fish and only one serving per month for second-choice fish.

• Preferred choice.
  • Blue and channel catfish.
  • Common carp.
  • Crappies.
  • White bass, white perch, wiper and striped bass.
  • Walleye, sauger and saugeye.
  • Bullhead catfish.
  • Drum.
  • Sunfish. - bluegill, green and redear.
• Second choice.
  • Buffalo.
  • Flathead catfish.
  • Bass - largemouth, smallmouth and spotted.

People are also asked to take note of specific advisories for different bodies of water across the state. Eating fish from these places could lead to negative health impacts.

• Little Arkansas River.
  • From the Main Street Bridge west of Valley Center to the confluence with the Arkansas River in Wichita.
  • Eat only two servings of bottom-feeding fish from here due to the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
• Cow Creek.
  • Hutchinson and downstream to the confluence with the Arkansas River in Reno County.
  • Eat one serving of bottom-feeding fish only once a month due to the presence of PCBs.
• K-96 Lake.
  • In Wichita.
  • Eat one serving of bottom-feeding fish only once a month due to the presence of PCBs.
• Mill Creek.
  • Madison Road east of Morrowville to the confluence with Little Blue River in Washington County.
  • Eat one serving of bottom-feeding fish only once a month due to the presence of arsenic.
• Antioch Park Lake South.
  • Antioch Park, Overland Park.
  • Do not eat any fish due to pesticides such as dieldrin, heptachlor epoxide, chlordane and dichlorophenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs).
• Arkalon Park Lakes.
  • Liberal, Seward County.
  • Do not eat any aquatic wildlife due to the lakes being sustained solely by treated municipal wastewater.
• Arkansas River.
  • From the Lincoln Street dam in Wichita downstream to the confluence with Cowskin Creek near Belle Plaine in Sedgwick and Sumner Counties.
  • Do not eat any bottom-feeding fish due to the presence of PCBs.
• Kansas River.
  • Lawrence, below Bowersock Dam, downstream to Eudora at the confluence of the Wakarusa River in Douglas and Leavenworth Counties.
  • Do not eat any bottom-feeding fish due to the presence of PCBs.
• Mill Creek.
  • From Washington, below 18th Road, downstream to the confluence of Little Blue River in Washington County.
  • Do not eat any shellfish due to the presence of arsenic.
• Shoal Creek.
  • From the Missouri-Kansas border to Empire Lake in Cherokee County.
  • Do not eat any shellfish due to the presence of lead and cadmium.
• Spring River.
  • From the confluence of Center Creek to the Kansas-Oklahoma border in Cherokee County.
  • Do not eat any shellfish due to the presence of lead and cadmium.

The KDWP and KDHE also have the following general recommendations to reduce a person's exposure to chemicals in the state's fish. These include the following:

• Keep smaller fish to eat, regulations permitting, while letting larger ones go.
• Avoid eating parts of the fish that are not fillets.
• Trim fat off fillets and/or use cooking methods that let fat drip away.
• Avoid relying on eating wild-caught fish for daily nutrition in rivers within or immediately downstream of large urban or industrial areas.
• Do not eat fish or other aquatic wildlife from wastewater outfalls, waste treatment lagoons or stormwater retention ponds.

You can learn more about how the KDHE monitors which fish are safe to eat by heading to the agency's website. To learn more about fishing in Kansas and the latest forecasts, head to the KDWP's website.

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