State agency says avoid eating fish from these Livingston County lakes

Sophia Lada, Livingston Daily
·4 min read

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services this week issued a notice to avoid eating carp from Thompson Lake in Howell.

According to a press release issued Thursday, people should avoid carp from the lake because of raised levels of polychlorinated biphenyls. PCBs, the release said, take a long time to break down in the environment and can build up in fish — and people who eat the fish. According to the MI Safe Fish guide, no fish species found in Thompson Lake are safe to consume.

MDHHS also recommended only consuming limited amounts of carp from Earl Lake in Oceola Township. People 15 or younger, those with health problems such as cancer or diabetes, those who might have children in the next several years, are pregnant or breastfeeding should avoid carp from Earl Lake.

People who aren't within those categories should limit their consumption of carp from Earl Lake to once or twice per year.

In addition to the lakes noted in this week's advisory, MDHHS said many other lakes in Livingston County carry fish consumption warnings, including:

A single ice shanty stands near the Appleton Lake boat launch at Brighton Lake Recreation Area in Hamburg Township Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022.
A single ice shanty stands near the Appleton Lake boat launch at Brighton Lake Recreation Area in Hamburg Township Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022.

  • No fish should be consumed from Base Line Lake, Gallagher Lake, the Huron River, Loon Lake, Ore Lake, Portage Lake, Zukey, Whitewood Lakes and Strawberry Lake because of potential PFOS contamination.

  • No fish from Thompson Lake or the Shiawassee River should be consumed because of potential PCBs.

  • Bluegill and sunfish should only be consumed four times per month from Bass Lake because of potential mercury contamination.

  • Largemouth bass, northern pike and smallmouth bass should only be consumed six times per year from Bishop Lake because of potential mercury contamination. Largemouth and smallmouth bass that are less than 18 inches can be consumed once per month.

  • Largemouth and smallmouth bass that are less than 18 inches from Chenango Lake can be consumed once per month, those that are more than 18 inches can be consumed six times a year because of potential mercury contamination. Bullhead fish can be consumed four times per month.

  • Bluegill and sunfish can be consumed four times a month from Earl Lake because of potential mercury contamination.

  • Carp should only be consumed eight times per month from Hoisington Lake because of potential PFOS and mercury contamination. Largemouth and smallmouth bass that are less than 18 inches can be consumed once per month, those that are more than 18 inches can be consumed six times a year because of potential mercury contamination.

  • Largemouth and smallmouth bass that are less than 18 inches can be consumed once per month from Island Lake, those that are more than 18 inches can be consumed six times a year because of potential mercury contamination.

  • Largemouth and smallmouth bass that are less than 18 inches can be consumed twice per month from Moraine Lake, those that are more than 18 inches can be consumed once per month because of potential mercury contamination. Black crappie and white crappie less than 8 inches can be consumed 16 times per month because of potential PFOS and mercury contamination, black and white crappie more than 8 inches can be consumed eight times per month. Bluegill and sunfish can be consumed 16 times per month because of potential PFOS and mercury contamination.

  • Carp should only be consumed four times per month from Patterson Lake because of potential mercury contamination. Largemouth and smallmouth bass that are less than 18 inches can be consumed once per month, those that are more than 18 inches can be consumed six times a year because of potential mercury contamination.

  • Bluegill and sunfish from Sandy Bottom Lake should only be consumed four times a month because of potential mercury contamination.

  • Bluegill and sunfish from Sloan Lake should only be consumed 16 times a month because of potential mercury contamination. Northern pike more than 32 inches should only be consumed twice per month, Northern pike less than 32 inches should only be consumed once per month.

  • Bluegill and sunfish should only be consumed 16 times per month from Whitmore Lake because of potential PFOS and mercury contamination. Carp should only be consumed no more than twice per month. Northern pike less than 30 inches should only be consumed once per month, northern pike more than 30 inches should only be consumed six times per year

  • Bluegill and sunfish from Woodland Lake should only be consumed 12 times per year because of potential mercury contamination. Carp should only be consumed four times per year because of potential PCBs. Largemouth and smallmouth bass that are more than 18 inches should only be consumed one per month, ones that are less than 18 inches can be consumed twice per month.

To keep up with safe fish consumption and to reduce exposure to chemicals visit Michigan.gov/EatSafeFish.

Sophia Lada is a reporter for the Livingston Daily. Contact her at slada@gannett.com or 517-377-1065. Follow her on Twitter @sophia_lada.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Here's where you can't consume fish in Livingston County