A new color-coded card provides important information about safe consumption of fish caught in Bay area coastal waters, as well as rivers and lakes in Hillsborough County.

The “Florida Fish Consumption Guide for Mercury” lists fish species for which limited consumption is recommended for children and women of child-bearing age because of the potential for mercury contamination. Mercury is a heavy metal that may cause developmental impairment in developing fetuses and young children.

Certain fish, especially those that prey upon other fish, may concentrate mercury in their tissues and transfer the toxic metal to humans who eat the fish..

The card was produced by the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County with funding from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.

One side of the card lists species located in coastal waters for which mercury warnings have been issued by state health officials. Species listed in red, such as king mackerel, shark, cobia and blackfin tuna, should not be eaten at all by children or women of child-bearing age. Species listed in orange, such as sheepshead, redfish, and spotted seatrout, should be eaten only once per month. And species listed in yellow, such as black drum, croaker,and pompano, should be eaten no more than once per week.

The reverse side of the card provides a similar color-coded listing of freshwater species such as largemouth bass found in lakes and rivers in Hillsborough County.

Most Florida seafood contains low to medium levels of mercury. For most people, the risk of eating fish exposed to mercury is not a health concern. However, fetuses and young children are especially vulnerable to adverse impacts from mercury, so understanding what fish are safe to eat – and how often – is critically important.

To download your copy of the Florida Fish Consumption Guide for Mercury, please click here.

For multiple copies of the consumption guide, contact Barbara Motte at motteb@epchc.org or Nanette Holland at nanette@tbep.org.