NY women and children can eat more fish from Lake Ontario, other waterways | Politics

The recommendations for fish caught in Lake Ontario cover women under age 50 and children under 15. They may eat up to four meals a month of brown bullhead, rainbow smelt, rock bass, white sucker and yellow perch. They can also eat up to one meal a month of lake trout, channel catfish, brown trout and all other fish. The health department recommends not eating carp caught in the lake. 

In the Finger Lakes region, the department also updated its guidance for eating fish caught in Skaneateles Creek, which extends from Skaneateles Lake to the Seneca River. Women under 50 and children under 15 can eat up to one meal a month of brown and rainbow trout, and four meals a month of all other fish. 

According to the health department, the recommendations are issued because some fish can contain chemicals, such as mercury and PCBs. For women who become pregnant and eat fish that contain contaminants, there is an increased risk that the chemicals can affect the development of children. The chemicals can be passed from the mother to the child through breast milk. 

The basis of the recommendations is the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s statewide fish monitoring program, which collects fish contaminant data. New data allowed the state Department of Health to change its guidance for 17 waterways across the state.