Fish Consumption advisories are the result of a legacy of pollution that has led to the widespread presence of long-lived chemicals in Michigan’s environment. Some of these chemicals make their way into fish and can harm people when they eat contaminated fish. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has developed fish consumption guidelines to limit people’s exposure to these hazardous chemicals. This indicator assesses how prevalent fish consumption advisories are in southeast Michigan.
How is it scored?
Fish species were scored based on the recommended number servings (Table 1). The average score for all species and sampling areas within a watershed were averaged to calculate watershed scores. Watershed scores were population-weighted to calculate an overall score for the region.
Table 1. Scoring based on the number of servings as recommended in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Service’s Eat Safe Fish Guide for 2022.
Servings Per Month Thresholds | Report Card Score |
Do Not Eat | 0 |
Limited | 10 |
6 per year | 20 |
1 per month | 30 |
2 per month | 40 |
4 per month | 50 |
8 per month | 70 |
12 per month | 85 |
16 per month | 100 |
Data source: Eat Safe Fish Guide 2022 for Southwest and Southeast Michigan from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services