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. A health advisory is not a prohibition, but a warning about the contaminants present and the possible health effects on those who consume these fish. Each advisory specifies the location of contamination, the chemicals present, the types of fish most affected, and the population potentially affected.
Younger fish are less likely to contain harmful levels of contaminants than older, larger fish.
Remove the skin, the fat from the belly and top, and the internal organs before cooking the fish. Bake, broil, or grill on an open rack to allow fats to drain away from the meat. Discard the fats that cook out of the fish and avoid or reduce the amount of fish drippings or broth that are used to flavor the meal. Eat less deep fried fish since frying seals contaminants into the fatty tissue. Health advisories and fishing restrictions for the Commonwealth of Virginia are listed below and are routinely published in the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries annual fishing regulations and publications.