Fish Consumption Bans and Advisories
Recent Changes
- Updated advisories for Galveston Bay area
- Expanded advisory for the Gulf of Mexico
Fish and shellfish can accumulate contaminants from the waters in which they live. The Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) monitors fish for the presence of environmental contaminants and alerts the public through bans (closures) and advisories when a threat to human health may occur from the consumption of contaminated fish. In waters with consumption bans, possession and consumption of fish and/or shellfish is prohibited. A consumption advisory is a recommendation to limit consumption to specified quantities, species, and sizes of fish. For more information, visit the TDSHS website or call the TDSHS at (800) 685-0361 (shellfish) or (512) 834-6757 (fish).
Fish Consumption Bans
The possession of all species of fish and crabs is prohibited from the following areas. Catch and release of fish and crabs from these areas is lawful. For maps and details on these bans, see the TDSHS Listing of Waterbodies with Possession Bans.
- Portions of upper Lavaca Bay in Calhoun County
- The Donna Irrigation System in Hidalgo County
- Echo Lake in Tarrant County
Fish Consumption Advisories
TDSHS recommends limiting consumption of certain fish in these areas as indicated below. For area maps and details on these advisories, see the TDSHS Listing of Waterbodies with Advisories.
Saltwater
Louisiana Border
Sabine Lake and contiguous Texas waters in Jefferson and Orange counties
Chemical of Concern: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- For gafftopsail catfish, adults should limit consumption to no more than three 8-ounce meals per month.
- Children under 12 and women who are pregnant, nursing, or may become pregnant should limit consumption to no more than one 4-ounce meal per month
Houston/Galveston Area
Clear Creek in Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston and Harris counties
Chemical of Concern: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- Persons should not consume any species of fish from these waters.
Houston Ship Channel and all contiguous waters north of the Fred Hartman Bridge, State Highway 146 including the San Jacinto River below the Lake Houston dam
Chemicals of Concern: Dioxins, Organochlorine pesticides, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- For all species of fish and blue crabs, adults should limit consumption to no more than one, 8-ounce meal per month.
- Women of childbearing age and children under 12 should not consume any fish or blue crabs from this area.
Upper Galveston Bay and all contiguous waters north of a line
drawn from Red Bluff Point to Five-Mile Cut Marker to Houston Point
Chemicals of Concern: Dioxins and Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- For all species of catfish, spotted seatrout and blue crab, adults should limit consumption to no more than one, 8-ounce meal per month.
- Children under 12 and women of childbearing age should not consume spotted seatrout, blue crabs, or any catfish species from this area.
Galveston Bay and all contiguous waters including Chocolate Bay, East Bay, Trinity Bay and West Bay
Chemicals of Concern: Dioxins and Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- For all species of catfish, adults should limit consumption to no more than one, 8-ounce meal per month.
- Children, and women who are nursing, pregnant, or who may become pregnant should not consume catfish from these waters.
Gulf of Mexico
REVISED: All Texas Coastal Waters
Chemical of Concern: Mercury
- Blue marlin of any length should not be consumed.
- For blackfin tuna, little tunny, crevalle jack, swordfish, wahoo, and all species of sharks:
- Adult men and women who are past childbearing age should limit consumption to two, 8-ounce meals per month.
- Children under 12 and women of childbearing age should not consume these species.
- For king mackerel:
- For specimens less than 35 inches in total length, adult men and women who are past childbearing age should limit consumption to one 8-ounce meal per week.
- For fish more than 35 inches, adult men and women past childbearing age should limit consumption to two, 8-ounce meals per month.
- Children under 12 and women of childbearing age should not consume any king mackerel from Texas coastal waters.
- Based on a recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory, the TDSHS advises recreational anglers to avoid consumption of certain fish species captured in the vicinity of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. More information can be found in the Harmful Algal Blooms section of this website.
Freshwater
South Texas
Lower
Leon Creek in San Antonio,
Bexar County
Chemicals of Concern: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- Persons should not consume any species of fish from Leon Creek starting at the Old US 90 bridge downstream to the Loop 410 bridge.
Valley (Harlingen/McAllen Area)
Arroyo
Colorado, Llano Grande Lake, and the Main Floodway upstream of the Port
of Harlingen in Cameron and
Hidalgo counties
Chemicals of Concern: Mercury, DDE and PCBs
- Persons should not consume longnose gar and smallmouth buffalo from these waters
Central Texas
Canyon
Lake in Comal County
Chemical of Concern: Mercury
- For striped bass and longnose gar, adults and children 12 and older are advised to eat no more than two 8-ounce servings per month. Children under 12 should eat no more than two 4-ounce servings per month.
- Pregnant women, women who could become pregnant and mothers who are breastfeeding are advised not to eat any striped bass or longnose gar from the lake.
Northeast/Southeast Texas
Neches River and all contiguous waters in Angelina, Hardin, Houston, Jasper, Polk, Trinity and Tyler counties
Chemical of Concern: Mercury
- For flathead catfish, freshwater drum, gar, largemouth bass, spotted bass and white bass, adults should limit consumption to no more than two 8-ounce servings per month. Children under 12 years old should limit their consumption of these same fish to no more than two 4-ounce servings per month.
- Women who are nursing, pregnant or who may become pregnant should not consume the indicated species from this stretch of the Neches River.
Lake Madisonville in Madison County
Chemical of Concern: Mercury
- For largemouth bass, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce servings per month, and children under 12 years old should limit consumption to no more than two, 4-ounce servings per month.
- Women who are nursing, pregnant or who may become pregnant should not consume largemouth bass from this lake.
Clear Lake in Panola County
Chemical of Concern: Mercury
- For largemouth bass, freshwater drum and bowfin, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce meals per month, and children under 12 years of age should limit consumption to no more than two, 4-ounce meals per month.
- Women of childbearing age who are or might become pregnant, or who are nursing should not consume largemouth bass, freshwater drum or bowfin from this lake.
Hills Lake in Panola County
Chemical of Concern: Mercury
- For largemouth bass and freshwater drum, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce meals per month, and children under 12 years of age should limit consumption to no more than two, 4-ounce meals per month.
- Women of childbearing age who are or might become pregnant, or who are nursing should not consume largemouth bass or freshwater drum from this lake.
B.A. Steinhagen Lake in Jasper and Tyler counties; Big Cypress Creek in Marion County; Caddo Lake in Harrison and Marion counties; Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Angelina, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Sabine, and San Augustine counties; and Toledo Bend Reservoir in Newton, Panola, Sabine, and Shelby counties
Chemical of Concern: Mercury
- All Locations: For largemouth bass and freshwater drum, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce meals per month, and children should limit consumption to no more than two, 4-ounce meals per month.
- For B.A. Steinhagen Reservoir: For white bass or hybrid striped bass, adults should limit consumption to no more than one, 8-ounce meal per month, and children should limit consumption to no more than one, 4-ounce meal per month.
Village Creek in Hardin County
Chemical of Concern: Mercury
- For crappie, gar, and largemouth bass, adults should limit consumption to no more than two eight ounce meals per month.
- Children under twelve years old should limit consumption of crappie, gar, and largemouth bass to no more than two four ounce meals per month.
- Women who are nursing, pregnant, or who may become pregnant should not consume crappie, gar, and largemouth bass from Village Creek.
Lake Kimball in Hardin and Tyler counties and Lake Pruitt (Black
Cypress Creek) in Cass County
Chemical of Concern: Mercury
- For all species of fish, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce meals per month, and children under 12 years of age should limit consumption to no more than two, 4-ounce meals per month.
Lone Star Lake (aka Ellison Creek Reservoir) in Morris County
Chemicals of Concern: PCBs
- Persons should not consume any species of fish from this reservoir.
Lake Daingerfield in Morris County and Lake Ratcliff in
Houston County
Chemical of Concern: Mercury
- For largemouth bass, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce meals per month, and children should limit consumption to no more than two, 4-ounce meals per month.
Panhandle
Lake Alan Henry in Garza and Kent counties
Chemical of Concern: Mercury
- For blue catfish, flathead catfish, crappie, largemouth bass and spotted bass, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce meals per month.
- Children under 12 and women who are pregnant or nursing should not consume any fish of those species.
Lake
Meredith in Hutchinson, Moore,
and Potter counties
Chemical of Concern: Mercury
- For walleye, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce meals per month, and children should limit consumption to no more than two, 4-ounce meals per month.
Dallas/Fort Worth Area
Mountain Creek Lake in Dallas County
Chemicals of Concern: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins
- Persons should not consume any species of fish from these waters.
Lake
Worth in Tarrant County
Chemicals of Concern: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), aldrin, dieldrin
- Persons should not consume blue catfish, channel catfish or smallmouth buffalo from these waters.
- This replaces a previous advisory issued in 2000. See details.
Fosdic Lake in Tarrant County
Chemicals of Concern: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- For common carp, adults and children 12 and older should eat no more than two 8-ounce servings per month.
- Children under 12 should eat no more than two 4-ounce servings per month.
- Women who are or might become pregnant and women who are nursing should not eat any common carp from the lake.
Clear Fork of Trinity River from Benbrook Reservoir dam and West Fork from Lake Worth dam, including main stem of the Trinity downstream to US 287 bridge. Portions of Anderson, Dallas, Ellis, Freestone, Henderson, Kaufman, Navarro and Tarrant counties.
Chemicals of
Concern: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins
- Persons should not consume any species of fish from these waters.
Houston/Galveston Area
Lake Isabell in Harris County
Chemical of Concern: Mercury
- Adults should limit consumption of largemouth bass to no more than two 8-ounce servings per month.
- Children under 12 years old should limit consumption to no more than two 4-ounce servings per month.
- Women who are nursing, pregnant or who may become pregnant should not consume largemouth bass from Lake Isabell.
Clear Creek in Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston and Harris counties
Chemical of Concern: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- Persons should not consume any species of fish from these waters.
Fish and shellfish can be a source of high quality protein in your diet. Typically, fish and shellfish do not contain levels of contaminants high enough to cause an imminent threat to health even after a few meals. Health risks may increase for people who regularly consume larger fish and predatory fish from one area of contaminated water over a long period of time.
To reduce health risks in areas of contamination, people should consume fish from a variety of waterbodies and should generally eat smaller fish. Following TDSHS guidelines and recommendations will significantly decrease health risks and allow a maximum level of protection for persons consuming fish from areas of known contamination.