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2015 Michigan Eat Safe Fish Guides help residents plan meals, learn more about local fish
April 08, 2015
LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) is pleased to announce the release of the 2015 regional Eat Safe Fish Guides. The Eat Safe Fish Guides help residents plan their fish meals to be sure that they’re getting all of the great health benefits eating fish can provide, while avoiding the chemicals from our environment that build up in fish.
“The Eat Safe Fish Guides are an excellent means to prepare Michigan residents for eating the fish they catch within our state,” said Nick Lyon, director of the MDCH. “By providing an accurate, easy-to-use resource, we can help people make informed decisions about safe fish consumption.”
The MDCH Eat Safe Fish Guides are essentially nutrition labels for locally-caught fish. The Toxicology and Response Section at MDCH tests only the portions of fish that people eat – typically the fillets – and uses results from the laboratory to determine what is safe for people to consume over the long-term. Michigan residents are encouraged to choose the fish that are best for them and their families using the guidelines in the Eat Safe Fish Guides.
Whereas the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Michigan Fishing Guide regulates fishing in Michigan, the MDCH Eat Safe Fish Guides are not regulations and no one is required to use them. Instead, the Eat Safe Fish Guides are a free resource for Michigan residents who would like information regarding what fish and how much is healthy to consume from various bodies of water across the state.
While chemicals in fish are a worldwide problem not limited just to Michigan and other states in the Great Lakes region, it is important to note that fish from some areas in Michigan are more contaminated than others. By using the Eat Safe Fish Guides, Michigan fish consumers can be confident that they are making informed choices about eating the fish they catch from their local lake or river.
For more information or to view the 2015 Eat Safe Fish Guide for your region, visit www.michigan.gov/eatsafefish or call 1-800-648-6942.
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