Fish Advisory for Pinto Lake Offers Safe Eating Advice for Five Fish Species
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
SAM DELSON
(916) 764-0955 (C)
Sam.Delson@oehha.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO – A state fish advisory issued today for Pinto Lake in Santa Cruz County provides safe eating advice for black bass species, Brown Bullhead, Common Carp, Goldfish, and sunfish species.
Pinto Lake is located in the city of Watsonville, approximately 14 miles southeast of Santa Cruz, in Santa Cruz County. The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) developed the recommendations based on the levels of mercury found in fish caught from the lake.
“Many fish have nutrients that may reduce the risk of heart disease and are excellent sources of protein,” said Dr. Lauren Zeise, director of OEHHA. “By following our guidelines for fish caught in Pinto Lake, people can safely eat fish low in chemical contaminants and enjoy the well-known health benefits of fish consumption.”
When consuming fish from Pinto Lake, women ages 18-49 and children ages 1-17 may safely eat a maximum of seven total servings per week of Brown Bullhead, or two total servings per week of sunfish species, or one total serving per week of black bass species, Common Carp, or Goldfish.
Women ages 50 and older and men ages 18 and older may safely eat a maximum of seven total servings per week of Brown Bullhead, or six total servings per week of sunfish species, or three total servings per week of Goldfish, or two total servings per week of black bass species or Common Carp.
In addition to mercury, DDTs have been detected in fish from Pinto Lake, but the levels of DDTs pose less of a health concern than the mercury levels. Following OEHHA’s advice will protect consumers of Pinto Lake fish from the harmful effects of DDTs as well as mercury.
The advice is also independent of any advisories to limit fish intake due to levels of toxic blue-green algae bloom (cyanobacteria) detected in water samples. While algal blooms are episodic and cyanobacteria levels are temporary, mercury levels in fish are persistent and generally remain consistent for many years. Before fishing, check the California Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) Portal incident map and the city of Watsonville website to see if there are fish advisories related to algal blooms.
Mercury is a naturally occurring metal that is released into the environment from mining and burning coal. It accumulates in fish in the form of methylmercury, which can damage the brain and nervous system, especially in developing children and fetuses. Because of this, OEHHA provides a separate set of recommendations specifically for children up to age 17, and women of childbearing age (18-49 years).
One serving is an eight-ounce fish fillet, measured prior to cooking, which is roughly the size and thickness of your hand. Children should be given smaller servings. For small fish species, several individual fish may make up a single serving.
A poster with the safe-eating advice for Pinto Lake is available on OEHHA’s website in both English and Spanish. For fish species found in Pinto Lake that are not included in this advisory, OEHHA recommends following the statewide advisory for eating fish from California lakes and reservoirs without site-specific advice.
Eating fish in amounts slightly greater than the advisory’s recommendations based on mercury is not likely to cause health problems if it is done occasionally, such as eating fish caught during an annual vacation.
The Pinto Lake advisory joins more than 100 other OEHHA advisories that provide site-specific, health-based fish consumption advice for many of the places where people catch and eat fish in California, including lakes, rivers, bays, reservoirs, and the California coast. Advisories are available on OEHHA’s Fish Advisories webpage.
OEHHA’s mission is to protect and enhance the health of Californians and our state’s environment through scientific evaluations that inform, support, and guide regulatory and other actions.
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- Jul 1, 2020
