March 25, 2026
Over the past five years, the staff in Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program (FCMP) has collected over twice as many fish samples from over twice as many locations to monitor the edible portion of fish, compared to the previous five-year period. This includes collecting fish during the winter months. In 2025, the FCMP submitted 2,143 fish samples from 134 locations to the laboratory for contaminant testing, in comparison to the 1,170 samples from 73 locations that were submitted in 2020.
The expansion is the result of an increase in the demand for PFAS testing.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – also known as “forever chemicals” – continue to present some of the biggest challenges in chemical contamination across the world. States throughout the nation, including the Great Lakes region, are finding PFAS contamination in a growing number of locations where these persistent chemicals pose a threat to human health and the environment.
“The Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program staff collects fish from between 10 and 15 locations each winter by taking advantage of safe ice conditions to get out on lakes where sampling with summer gear is not as efficient,” said Brandon Armstrong, EGLE’s FCMP coordinator.
“Traditional methods for collecting fish – electrofishing and gillnetting -- are not always the best collection method to meet the needs of the program,” Armstrong added. “Around 2010, the program started to incorporate hook-and-line methods routinely into assessments. This was in response to the need to collect fish from Clark’s Marsh near Oscoda, close to the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base, which is inaccessible by boat.”
Winter collections via ice fishing started in 2020, resulting in year-round sampling to keep up with demand over PFAS concerns.
The FCMP typically collects fish from around a dozen locations each year through the ice. Locations for winter collections include water bodies that do not have a readily accessible boat launch, and/or if a species of fish needs to be tested and it is not easy to collect with traditional methods (for example, black crappie and yellow perch).
Pictured: EGLE staff traversing a wetland complex to reach Clarks Marsh near Oscoda in February 2025 to collect fish for mercury and PFAS analysis. There is a MDHHS Do Not Eat fish advisory for Clarks Marsh due to PFAS contamination.
Surface water PFAS samples are also sometimes collected at the time of fish sampling. The paired surface water and fish data are used by EGLE to develop water quality standards.
EGLE’s Water Resources Division drafted a health and safety plan to collect samples during the winter months by the FCMP. EGLE staff also attended a U.S. Coast Guard Ice Safety Training to ensure that staff are properly trained to venture out onto the ice for these collections.
Pictured: EGLE staff collecting fish from Reeds Lake in East Grand Rapids in February 2026. The fish were brought back to the EGLE Filley St. Field station in Lansing to be processed as edible portion (fillet) samples and run for mercury and PFAS. The data will be used by MDHHS to update the Eat Safe Fish guidance for this water body.
The Michigan Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program (FCMP) has been in existence since 1980. The program’s objectives are to:
