By Jake Fogal and WMBD-TV
MCLEAN COUNTY – The Illinois Department of Public Health updated its advisory on what fish caught in Illinois rivers should not be eaten on Tuesday.
The advisories are based on routine testing by the Illinois Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program, which started testing for polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as forever chemicals, last fall.
Nine additional bodies of water in Illinois were added to advisories, which recommend limiting the number of fish consumed or not eating any fish at all from them due to elevated levels of forever chemicals.
According to the advisories, there are 113 bodies of water you should not eat out of or eat out of sparingly.
One of those was Evergreen Lake in McLean County. The two fish species the IDPH is warning of are black and white crappie and largemouth bass.
Both are contaminated with mercury, and it is advised to not consume the fish more than once a month.
“Fishing in Illinois waters is a great recreational activity that often leads to delicious meals,” said IDPH Director Sameer Vohra. “To make sure each of those catches are safe and healthy, please visit our Fish Advisory Map to get the most up to date information on Illinois’s consumption advisories.”
In the Illinois River, most of the warnings are for PCBs with one advisory for Methylmercury in Black Crappies.
All advisories can be found on IDPH’s Fish Advisory map.
Jake Fogal can be reached at [email protected].
WMBD-TV can be reached at [email protected].
