The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) would like your opinion about the design of the 2010 Michigan Family Fish Consumption Guide. We invite everyone who lives or fishes in Michigan to complete the survey at www.surveymonkey.com/MDCHfishadvisory.

For nearly 40 years, MDCH has provided advice about which fish from the Great Lakes and inland Michigan waters are safe to eat and in what amounts. The information is updated and published each year in the Michigan Family Fish Consumption Guide, which is available at http://www.michigan.gov/eatsafefish.

The Michigan Family Fish Consumption Guide helps Michigan anglers identify fish that are less contaminated than others, and therefore safer to eat. The most common chemicals that build up in Michigan fish are mercury, dioxin, and PCBs. These chemicals have been connected to liver damage, cancer, birth defects and could harm brain development if eaten in large quantities or over a long period of time.

Young children and unborn babies are at greatest risk from these chemicals. Therefore, the Guide is an important reference for Michigan families with young children and women aged 15-45 who are pregnant or may someday become pregnant. It is also important for men and women over 45 who eat fish on a regular basis.

As work begins on the 2010 Michigan Family Fish Consumption Guide, MDCH would like your input about the design of the Guide. If you live or fish in Michigan, please visit www.surveymonkey.com/MDCHfishadvisory and give us your opinion today.

MDCH wants to provide you with the tools to make smart choices when it comes to eating healthy in Michigan, and we need your help.