Fish Contamination Project

Fish are part of a healthy diet, and some communities depend heavily upon fish because of cultural and economic reasons. However, contaminants like mercury are increasing in fish, posing serious risks to both the health and the economies of these communities.

Through a planning grant from the State Water Resources Control Board, Health Research for Action led an effort to develop a statewide action plan on water and fish contamination.

Changing Policy

To meet the project's goals—to prevent and abate contamination and educate the public about the benefits and risks from eating fish—we:

• Summarized the regulatory background related to fish contamination.
• Surveyed organizations that deal with contamination in key California waterways.
• Identified criteria for evaluating regional and statewide approaches to contamination abatement.
• Recommended ways to pilot and evaluate the plan.

Partners included the Department of Public Health (Environmental Health Investigations Branch), Cal/EPA, the state Resources Agency, and local stakeholders.