Delaware Fish Consumption Advisories
Delaware Fish Consumption Advisories
Waterbody |
Species |
Contaminant of concern |
Geographical Extent |
Meals/yr |
All Waters not listed below |
All Species not |
All |
All Areas not listed |
52 |
Delaware River |
All Finfish |
A, B, D |
Delaware State Line to the C&D Canal |
1* |
Lower Delaware River and Delaware Bay |
Weakfish-all sizes; |
A |
Chesapeake & Delaware Canal to the Mouth of the Delaware Bay |
12 |
Bluefish-14 inches or less |
A |
12 |
||
A |
Chesapeake & Delaware Canal to the Mouth of the Delaware Bay |
2* |
||
White Perch, American Eel, White Catfish, Channel Catfish, Bluefish-greater than 14 inches |
A |
1* |
||
Delaware Atlantic Coastal Waters including Delaware Inland Bays |
Bluefish-14 inches or less |
A |
Coastal Delaware from Mouth of |
12 |
Bluefish-greater than 14 inches |
A, C |
Coastal Delaware from Mouth of |
1* |
|
Tidal Shellpot Creek |
All Finfish |
A |
Governor Printz Blvd. to the |
0 |
Non-tidal Shellpot Creek |
All Finfish |
E |
Upstream of Governor Printz Blvd. |
1 |
Army Creek and Pond |
All Finfish |
A, B, G |
Entire Creek and Pond |
2 |
Red Lion Creek |
All Finfish |
A, B |
Route 13 to the Delaware River |
1 |
Chesapeake & |
All Finfish |
A, E, F, H |
Entire Canal in Delaware |
0 |
Appoquinimink River |
All Finfish |
A, B |
Tidal Portions |
1 |
Drawyers Creek |
All Finfish |
A, F |
Tidal Portions |
1 |
Silver Lake Middletown |
All Finfish |
A, E, F, B |
Entire Lake |
1 |
Waples Pond |
All Finfish |
C |
Entire Pond |
12 |
Prime Hook Creek |
All Finfish |
C |
Entire Creek |
12 |
Slaughter Creek |
All Finfish |
A,G |
Entire Creek |
6 |
Saint Jones River |
All Finfish |
A, B, C |
River Mouth to Silver Lake Dam |
2 |
Moores Lake |
All Finfish |
A, F |
Entire Pond |
2 |
Silver Lake Dover |
All Finfish |
A, B, C |
Entire Pond |
2 |
Wyoming Mill Pond |
All Finfish |
A, B, F |
Entire Pond |
2 |
Tidal Brandywine River |
All Finfish |
A |
River Mouth to Baynard Blvd |
0 |
Non-tidal Brandywine River |
All Finfish |
A, B |
Baynard Blvd. to Pennsylvania Line |
6 |
Tidal Christina River |
All Finfish |
A, E |
River Mouth to Smalley’s Dam |
0 |
Non-tidal Christina River |
All Finfish |
A, E, H |
Smalley’s Dam to DE/MD Line |
6 |
Tidal White Clay Creek |
All Finfish |
A |
River Mouth to Route 4 |
0 |
Non-tidal White Clay Creek |
All Finfish |
A |
Route 4 to DE/PA Line |
12 |
Red Clay Creek |
All Finfish |
A, B, D |
State Line to Stanton |
6 |
Little Mill Creek |
All Finfish |
A |
Creek Mouth to Kirkwood Highway |
0 |
Christina Creek |
A, E |
Rittenhouse Park to DE/MD Line |
6 |
|
Designated Trout Streams |
A |
Designated Trout Streams are |
12 |
|
* Women of childbearing age and children should not consume any amount of these fish. For more information on the specific contaminant(s) of concern for each waterbody listed, consult the Division’s website () or contact DNREC at (302) 739-9902, or the Division of Public Health at (302) 744-4546.
PCBs, Dioxin, Mercury, Chlorinated pesticides, Dieldrin, DDT, Furan, and Chlordane. |
Despite the general benefits of fishing and fish consumption, there are also health risks associated with consuming some locally caught fish. Certain toxic chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and mercury persist in the environment and accumulate in fish. When you eat the fish, you also ingest these chemicals. In cases where the health risk is elevated to recreational anglers and their families, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), in cooperation with the Department of Health and Social Services’ Division of Public Health (DPH), issue fish consumption advisories to inform the public of the situation. The most recent fish consumption advisories for Delaware waters are shown on the accompanying table. These advisories are intended to protect public health and hence are conservative.
Although the list of waters and fish species under advisory is extensive, monitoring shows that contaminant concentrations in the fish are slowly improving over time in many cases. This is the result of steady progress in cleaning up the sources of the contamination along with natural processes. DNREC and DPH will continue to monitor contaminant levels in fish over time and issue new or revised fish consumption advisories as appropriate.
For more information concerning health advisories for Delaware waters, go on-line or contact the Division of Public Health at (302) 744-4546. For more information on balancing health risks and health benefits of consuming seafood, visit http://seafoodhealthfacts.org.