Many fishermen keep, cook, and eat the fish they catch.
While the vast majority of Virginia rivers do not have dangerous levels of contaminants, sometimes the fish in certain waters are found to contain potentially harmful levels of chemicals. When this happens, the Department of Health issues fish-eating advisories for the affected bodies of water. If fishing is restricted for a body of water, anglers may still fish these waters for sport, but are prohibited from taking fish for human consumption. A health advisory is issued when fish taken from a particular body of water are found to contain potentially harmful levels of contaminants. Some of these contaminants are not excreted from the human body after being consumed, but are stored in body tissue over long periods of time.