New 2006 State Fish Warnings Add Mercury Hotspots

This week the Illinois Department of Public Health issued its annual fish consumption advisory.



IDPH is again warning women of child-bearing age about the risks of eating large predator fish from any river or lake in Illinois. Fish from these waters are listed as especially high in mercury contamination:

Arrowhead Lake, Campus Lake at Southern Illinois University, Cedar Lake, Devil's Kitchen Lake, Kinkaid Lake, Lake Bracken, Lake in the Hills, Little Grassy Lake, Little Wabash River and Tributaries, Marquette Park Lagoon, Midlothian Reservoir, Monee Reservoir, Ohio River, Rock River (from Rockford to Milan Steel Dam), and the Wabash River

This list of "hotspots" has grown from last year - the Little Wabash and Wabash Rivers have been added. If you fish in Illinois, learn the facts and be careful about bringing your catch home to any women or children.