Human health protection through fish consumption and swimming advisories in Louisiana.

Protocol for Issuing Health Advisories Related to Fish and Shellfish Contamination

A complete listing of Louisiana fishing and swimming advisories are provided below. Parishes are identified in parentheses.

• Fish Consumption and/or Swimming Advisories Due to Mercury or Organic Chemical Contamination 
• Swimming Advisories Due to Fecal Coliforms 

Note: One meal is considered to be one half pound of fish.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH), in conjunction with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), issues fish consumption and swimming advisories to help ensure the safe enjoyment of Louisiana 's water resources. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) are also consulted during the course of advisory development and dissemination.

Louisiana 's fish consumption advisories are developed using a risk based public health assessment method which establishes consumption levels designed to prevent adverse effects. This approach is used to determine safe consumption levels for different segments of the population. For example, children and pregnant or breast-feeding women are often considered separately in developing consumption advisories because these populations are generally considered to be at greater risk from consumption of contaminated seafood. Therefore, consumption advisories will often be stricter for these populations.

In most cases, fish are sampled by the LDEQ in areas of suspected chemical contamination such as near facilities that have experienced spills or had poor wastewater management practices in the past. Where such problems are found LDEQ is active in remediating contaminated areas where this is appropriate and in correcting the actions that caused the contamination to occur. Due to the widespread occurrence of mercury in Louisiana and the nation, popular fishing areas and many other water bodies statewide have been and continue to be sampled to determine the extent of risks due to mercury. If levels of concern are detected during analysis, resampling is called for to confirm the extent of contamination. Procedures developed by the LDHH, LDEQ, LDWF and LDAF are then implemented to determine if a risk to human health exists. If it is determined there is a need for a health advisory, press releases are prepared for public dissemination of the information. Advisories are also published in LDWF's annual fishing regulations. However, because this is produced once a year it is likely that new advisories have been established following release of the regulations.

Swimming advisories are generally established due to fecal coliform contamination of a water body. However, a limited number of swimming advisories have been based on chemical contamination of water or sediments. Fecal coliform contamination of a water body can be caused by a number of possible sources including absent or inadequate sewage systems, poorly maintained septic tanks, direct sewage discharges from camps, and pasture and animal holding area runoff. Efforts are being made to correct these problems statewide, particularly in the Tangipahoa River basin, where LDEQ's Nonpoint Source Program has assisted local citizens in their efforts to restore the river for canoeing and tubing.

For more information regarding mercury and other fish consumption advisories contact the LDHH hotline at 1-888-293-7020, or call the DEQ at (225) 219-3590.