It may take months or years of regularly eating contaminated fish or game to build up amounts which are a health concern. Health problems that may result from the contaminants found in fish or game range from small changes in health that are hard to detect to birth defectsand cancer. Mothers who eat highly contaminated fish and game before becoming pregnant may have children who are slower to develop and learn. The meal advice in this advisory is intended to protect children from these potential developmental problems. Adults are less likely to have health problems at the low levels that affect children.
Some contaminants cause cancer in animals.
We cannot predict with certainty your risks of cancer from eating contaminated fish or game. Cancer currently affects about one in every three people, primarily due to smoking, diet and hereditary risk factors. Exposure to contaminants in the fish and game you eat may not increase your cancer risk at all. If you follow this advisory over your lifetime, you will minimize your exposure and reduce whatever cancer risk is associated with these contaminants. When the federal government sets standards for fish, it generally assumes that people eat about a half-pound of fish each month.