Fish Advisory for Lake Morena Offers Safe-Eating Advice for Three Species

Feb 27, 2024

For Immediate Release

Contact: Amy Gilson
(916) 764-0955
Amy.Gilson@oehha.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO – Today, the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued a fish consumption advisory for Lake Morena, located approximately 36 miles east of the city of San Diego in San Diego County. The advisory provides safe-eating advice for black bass species, Common Carp and crappie species.

OEHHA’s Good Catch California program routinely develops fish advisories so Californians can make healthy choices about the fish they catch in waterbodies across the state.

“Many fish have nutrients that may reduce the risk of heart disease, and fish are excellent sources of protein,” said OEHHA Director Dr. Lauren Zeise. “OEHHA’s guidelines help people eating fish caught in Lake Morena make healthy, informed decisions.”

OEHHA developed these recommendations based on the levels of mercury found in fish caught from the lake. Because mercury affects brain development, OEHHA provides advice tailored to two groups based on sex and age.

For Lake Morena, OEHHA provides the following safe-eating advice:

Women (18 – 49 years) and children (1 – 17 years)

Should not eat black bass species.
May eat one total serving a week of Common Carp or crappie species.

Women (50 years and older) and men (18 years and older)

May eat the following on a weekly basis:
- Two total servings of Common Carp or crappie species, or
- One total serving of black bass species.

One serving for adults is an eight-ounce fish fillet, measured prior to cooking, which is roughly the size and thickness of your hand. For small fish species, several individual fish may make up a single eight-ounce serving. Children should eat servings less than eight ounces.

A poster with safe-eating advice for Lake Morena is available on OEHHA’s website in both English and Spanish. For fish species found in Lake Morena that are not included in this advisory, OEHHA recommends following its statewide advisory for eating fish from California lakes and reservoirs without site-specific advice.

Mercury is released into the environment from mining and burning coal. It accumulates in fish in the form of methylmercury, which when eaten, can damage the human 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).

OEHHA’s fish advisory recommendations are based on the levels of contaminants, such as mercury, that persist in the environment and accumulate in fish. They are independent of any shorter-term advisories to limit fish intake due to freshwater or estuarine harmful algal blooms (HABs), which can produce toxins that are harmful to humans. Before fishing, check the California HABs Portal to see if there are HAB advisories and always practice healthy water habits.

Eating fish in amounts slightly greater than the advisory’s recommendations is not likely to cause health problems if it is done only occasionally, such as eating fish caught during an annual vacation.

The Lake Morena advisory joins more than 140 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 the environment through scientific evaluations that inform, support, and guide regulatory and other actions in the state.

###