Fish Consumption Advisory

A small boy sitting on a wooden dock with his back to us, fishing. A tin bucket sits beside him. Fish consumption advisories help Virginia anglers make educated choices about eating the fish they catch. While most Virginia waters do not have dangerous levels of contaminants, some fish in certain waters are found to contain contaminants at levels of concern.

A fish consumption advisory is not a prohibition of eating fish, but a warning about the contaminants present in a fish species. Each advisory specifies the waterbody or segment of a waterbody affected,  the contaminants present, and meal recommendations for eating specific fish species caught there. The meal recommendations presented in the fish advisory tables were developed to protect the general public* from adverse health effects from exposure to fish contaminants. It is recommended to follow the guidance presented on advisories to reduce your total exposure to fish contaminants.

*Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, nursing mothers, and young children are advised not to eat any fish contaminated either with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or mercury from the respective advisory areas.

Contaminants in Fish Current Fish Consumption Advisories PDFs Health Benefits of Eating Fish Recommendations for Cooking & Preparing Fish More Information About Virginia's Fish Consumption Advisories Fish Consumption Advisories in Multiple Languages

 

Search the table below to view the current fish consumption advisories:

Hint: type in which species, locality, waterbody, or contaminant you are interested in to filter results.

Specific information about Virginia's advisories can be found in the interactive map below, or by clicking here.   Use the search bar to find a particular body of water, or the "my location" button   to zoom to your current location.  Information about individual river basins can be found below under Current Fish Consumption Advisories.  If the map has trouble loading, use the "home" button  to load the map to the correct view.

Last Updated: February 5, 2025