Water Resources of Washington State

USGS Fact Sheet FS-102-97
by Martha L. Erwin and Mark D. Munn
August 1997

To find out, scientists from the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) tested walleye and other sport fish
from the upper Columbia River and Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake (Lake Roosevelt), the largest reservoir
in Washington and a popular fishing spot.

Findings

• Walleye had higher concentrations of mercury than other sport fish.

• Larger walleye had higher mercury concentrations than smaller walleye.

• Mercury concentrations in walleye fillets ranged from 0.11 to 0.44 parts per million (ppm).
  These concentrations do not exceed the current Federal standard (1.0 ppm of mercury)
  designed to protect the health of people who eat small amounts of fish.
  

After reviewing these findings, the Washington State Department of Health concluded that people who regularly consume large amounts of Lake Roosevelt walleye may be at risk of adverse health effects from mercury and should limit their consumption of these fish (see Recommended Maximum Consumption of Walleye from Lake Roosevelt).

A Spokane Walleye Club member shows
off a walleye from Lake Roosevelt.
Local people caught most of the fish
for this study. (Photo by Dick Lee.)

Why worry about mercury?

The greatest source of mercury for most people is the fish they eat. Most mercury in fish is methylmercury, a highly toxic substance that can build up in predatory fish such as walleye, swordfish, and tuna, and in animals that eat these fish.

Methylmercury can damage the brain, nervous system, and kidneys. The risk is probably very low for adults who eat fish only occasionally. The risk is greatest for developing fetuses, children, and people who depend on sport fish for food.

Mercury also threatens the health of fish-eating wildlife such as loons, eagles, otters, and raccoons. Some evidence suggests that at very high concentrations it harms the fish themselves. And, mercury-contaminated sport fish may adversely affect a local economy that depends on recreational fishing.

It's the amount that counts

Your health risk depends on your age, weight, and health, in combination with
• how much fish you eat,
  
• how often you eat fish, and
  
• how much mercury is in the fish.

You can reduce your health risk from mercury-contaminated fish
by following recommendations for eating local sport fish.

Why were fish from Lake Roosevelt tested for mercury?

• a smelter in British Columbia discharged waste and slag into the Columbia River for many years, and the Spokane and Pend Oreille Rivers bring in waste from wastewater treatment plants and mining activities (mostly historical);
  
• earlier studies found that sediment and some fish in Lake Roosevelt were contaminated with toxic metals, including mercury.
  

Mercury in the aquatic food chain (GIF, 36457 bytes)

Why focus on walleye?

• They're one of the most popular catches at Lake Roosevelt.
  
• Adult walleye are top-level predators, feeding on other fish, and thus are likely to be more contaminated than their prey because methylmercury bioaccumulates (is accumulated within organisms faster than it's eliminated) and biomagnifies (increases in concentration as it travels up the food chain).
  
• An earlier study found that walleye had more mercury than other sport fish in Lake Roosevelt.
  

How the study was done

Collecting a lot of fish was necessary because testing fish (not the water) is the only way to determine if they're contaminated. Mercury goes through a complex cycle in the environment, and mercury levels in water vary. Because methylmercury bioaccumulates and biomagnifies in tissue, highly contaminated fish may be found in water that is very low in mercury.

In the summer of 1994, USGS scientists and Spokane Walleye Club members collected fish from three areas where fishing is popular and where mature walleye spawn. Most of the walleye caught were about 3 years old and 15 inches long; they also caught smaller numbers of smallmouth bass and rainbow trout, two other popular sport fishes in Lake Roosevelt, so they could be compared to walleye. (See "Composite samples" for more information.)

Map of fish collection areas (GIF, 17673 bytes)

How do Lake Roosevelt walleye compare . . .

Average mercury concentrations in walleye (GIF, 16666 bytes)

. . . to standards designed to protect human health? Mercury levels in Lake Roosevelt fish did not exceed the limit of 1.0 ppm set by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This limit is intended to protect people who occasionally eat commercially caught fish that come from a variety of fishing areas and contain varying levels of mercury. According to the FDA, the most popular commercial fish (including canned tuna, salmon, and shrimp) usually have less than 0.2 ppm of mercury.

Each state is responsible for advising people about the safety of eating local sport fish. In Washington State, consumption recommendations are established on a case-by-case basis. See below for recommendations about eating walleye from Lake Roosevelt.

What is being done about mercury in fish?

According to the results of this study, fishing at a point far away from a known source of mercury doesn't mean the fish are less contaminated than at sites closer to a contamination source (fish from Kettle Falls Reach, closest to the smelter in Canada, had less mercury than fish farther downstream). Anglers and people who eat sport fish should be kept informed.

Although mercury can't be eliminated from lakes or rivers, human activities that add mercury to the environment can be controlled. For example, the Canadian smelter has stopped discharging slag to the Columbia River and has improved its waste treatment methods, thereby reducing its input of mercury and other metals to the river.

What's important is how much walleye and other mercury-contaminated fish you eat, not whether you eat walleye from Lake Roosevelt. Because developing fetuses are especially sensitive to the toxic effects of methylmercury, pregnant women and women of childbearing years should watch their diet carefully.

According to the results of the U.S. Geological Survey study, the average amount of mercury in Lake Roosevelt walleye (approximately 0.3 parts per million) does not exceed federally allowed levels. However, these levels were set assuming people eat only a small amount of contaminated fish. If you eat large amounts of walleye frequently, you may be at risk of adverse health effects because the hazard of methylmercury depends on the amount you eat, how often you eat it, and your health. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) advises you to follow the guidelines below, which are based on an evaluation of methylmercury toxicity by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. If you are exposed to mercury from other food sources, such as consumption of other predatory fish like swordfish and tuna, you should eat less walleye than recommended below:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Maximum Consumption of 
Walleye from Lake Roosevelt
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adults                               Pregnant women and         Children
                                     women in childbearing      under 6
                                     years                      years of age

4 pounds per month                   1 pound per month          1/3 pound
(about 8 meals per                   (about 2 meals per month)  per month
month)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

How can I reduce my risk?

For more information, contact the Washington DOH at (888) 586-9427. Visit the DOH home page at http://www.doh.wa.gov/

This fact sheet is based on

Munn, M.D., Cox, S.E., and Dean, C.J., 1995, Concentrations of mercury and other trace elements in walleye, smallmouth bass, and rainbow trout in Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake and the upper Columbia River, Washington, 1994: U. S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 95-195, 35 p. (For copies, write or call: Earth Science Information Center, Box 25286, MS517, Denver Federal Center, Denver CO 80225; (303) 202-4210.)

Munn, M.D. and Short, T.M., 1997, Spatial heterogeneity of mercury bioaccumulation by walleye in Lake Roosevelt and the upper Columbia River, Washington: Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, v. 126, no. 3, p. 477-487.

Other print sources

Studies of mercury and other contaminants:

Krabbenhoft, D.P. and Rickert, D.A., 1995, Mercury contamination of aquatic ecosystems: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 216-95, 4 p.

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992, National study of chemical residues in fish: Washington, D.C., Office of Science and Technology, EPA 823-R-92-008b. (For copies, write or call: USEPA, National Center for Environmental Publications & Information, P.O. Box 42419, Cincinnati OH 42419; 1-800-490-9198.)

World Wide Web sources

Effects of mercury on human health:

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1995, ToxFAQs---Mercury: Atlanta, Ga., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, from URL http://atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov:8080/tfacts46.html, accessed May 21, 1997, HTML format.

Foulke, J.E., 1994, Mercury in fish---Cause for concern?: Washington, D.C., U.S. Food and Drug Administration, from URL http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/mercury.html, accessed May 21, 1997, HTML format.

Contaminants in the Columbia River Basin:

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1996, Columbia River Basin contaminant
aquatic biota and sediment data: Seattle, Wash., U.S. EPA, Region 10, from URL http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/data/crbdata.html, accessed May 21, 1997, HTML format.

Suggested citation

Erwin, M.L., and Munn, M.D., Are walleye from Lake Roosevelt contaminated with mercury?: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet FS-102-97, on line at URL http://wa.water.usgs.gov/reports/fs.102-97/, accessed October 16, 1997.

Acknowledgments

For more information, contact Dr. Munn:
U.S. Geological Survey
Water Resources Division
1201 Pacific Avenue, Suite 600
Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 593-6510
email: pubinfo@maildwatcm.wr.usgs.gov

For more information on the water quality of lakes in Washington State, see Washington State Department of Ecology web pages at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/fw_lakes/lk_main.html.

USGS Fact Sheet FS-102-97
by Martha L. Erwin and Mark D. Munn
August 1997