Minnesota state health officials are evaluating how best to inform people about the dangers of mercury found in fish caught from contaminated lakes in Minnesota. Many Minnesota lakes are contaminated as a result of airborne pollution, and the state publishes advisories indicating how much fish people should eat from various lakes.
Mercury can cause developmental and neurological problems, especially in fetuses and young children.
Minnesota's advisories are lake-specific, suggesting limits depending on fish size and the age of the consumer. For instance, it tells children, and women who might have children, they should not eat 20-inch or larger walleye from the St. Louis River near Duluth. And they should limit their meals of smaller walleye to one each month. The Health Department won't publish its fish consumption advisory booklet this coming Spring due to budget constraints, said Patt McCann, a department research scientist. The advisory will remain posted on the Department of Natural Resources' website.