Don’t eat carp caught in Lake Erie or muskellunge (aka muskie) caught in Lake St. Clair, state health experts are advising Michigan residents.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has released its 2026 Eat Safe Fish Guides, cautioning Michiganians who eat fish about chemicals likely to be found in different species found in waterways around the state.
The guidelines are based on the levels of contaminants found in fish filets tested by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Bureau of Laboratories.
“There are many health benefits to eating fish and the Eat Safe Fish Guides provide consumption recommendations based on the levels of certain chemicals found in fish in waterbodies across the state,” Natasha Bagdasarian, the state’s chief medical executive, said in a press release. “Michigan families can use these guidelines to help make healthy choices about the fish they eat.”
The list is extensive, featuring guidelines for 696 bodies of water found throughout Michigan. However, it is not comprehensive and doesn’t include every species found in every waterway.
The guidelines are not laws or regulations, MDHHS said, but can help people choose fish that are safe to eat and unlikely to negatively affect their health.
Contaminants present in some wild-caught fish include dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) (otherwise known as “forever chemicals,”) which are all linked to cancer and other illnesses. Fish can also contain mercury, which can damage the brain and nerves.
The Eat Safe Fish Guides include some species listed as “Do Not Eat,” indicating that even one meal could lead to future health problems. Others are listed as “limited” and should only be eaten once or twice per year for healthy people and avoided entirely by people under age 15, people with health problems like cancer or diabetes, or people who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
The guide also explains how many servings per month of a given species are generally safe for most consumers.
Here’s a look at some fish that Metro Detroiters should consider avoiding.
Lake Erie
Do not eat carp due to PCBs. Limit consumption of chinook salmon, coho salmon, freshwater drum, lake whitefish over 16 inches, largemouth bass, rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, steelhead, white (silver) bass, white perch and yellow perch due to PCBs. Limit consumption of catfish due to dioxins and PCBs. Limit consumption of walleye due to dioxins, PCBs and PFOs.
North Maumeee Bay
Do not eat carp due to PCBs. Limit consumption of largemouth bass and smallmouth bass due to PCBs.
Wayne County
Belleville Lake: Do not eat carp, catfish, gizzard shad, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass or suckers due to PFOs.
Detroit River: Limit consumption of carp, catfish and white (silver) bass due to dioxins and PCBs; Limit consumption of freshwater drum, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and suckers over 18 inches due to PCBs.
Ecorse River: Limit consumption of carp due to PCBs.
Frank and Poet Drain: Do not eat bluegill or sunfish due to PFOs.
Huron River (downstream of Ford Lake Dam to the river crossing on I-275): Do not eat carp, catfish, gizzard shad, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass or suckers due to PFOs.
Huron River (from I-275 to Lake Erie): Do not eat carp over 28 inches due to dioxins and PCBs, or rock bass due to PFOs. Limit consumption of carp under 28 inches due to dioxins and PCBs.
Lake St. Clair: Do not eat muskellunge due to mercury. Limit consumption of sturgeon and white (silver) bass due to PCBs.
Rouge River (main, upper and lower branches): Do not eat bluegill, carp, rock bass or sunfish due to PFOs.
Rouge River (middle branch, from Nankin Dam to Newburgh Dam): Limit consumption of northern pike due to PCBs.
Rouge River (middle branch, from Newburgh Dam to Wilcox Dam): Do not eat largemouth bass or smallmouth bass due to PFOs. Limit consumption of carp and catfish due to PCBs.
Rouge River (middle branch, upstream of Phoenix Dam to Waterford Pond Dam): Limit consumption of carp due to PCBs.
Washago Pond: Do not eat bluegill or sunfish due to PFOs.
Macomb County
Clinton River (including the North Branch and Middle Branch of the Clinton River and the Red Run): Do not eat rock bass due to PFOs. Limit consumption of carp due to PCBs.
Lake St. Clair: Do not eat muskellunge due to mercury. Limit consumption of carp, sturgeon and white (silver) bass due to PCBs. Limit consumption of catfish due to dioxins.
Lange-Revere Canals: Do not eats any species of fish caught in these waterways, just south of 10 Mile Road in St. Clair Shores, due to PCBs.
Oakland County
Cass Lake: Do not eat largemouth bass or smallmouth bass due to PFOs.
Clinton River (downstream of Yates Dam, including the North Branch and Middle Branch of the Clinton River and the Red Run): Do not eat rock bass due to PFOs. Limit consumption of carp due to PCBs.
Clinton River (upstream of Yates Dam to Crystal Lake Dam, including Stony Creek up to the Winkler Pond Dam: Do not eat rock bass due to PFOs.
Clinton River (downstream of Dawson Mill Pond Dam to Crystal Lake Dam, including Crystal Lake): Do not eat largemouth bass or smallmouth bass due to PFOs.
Clinton River (from Dawson Mill Pond Dam to Cass Lake Dam, including Dawson Mill Pond and Otter and Sylvan lakes): Limit consumption of carp over 20 inches in length due to PCBs.
Galloway Lake: Do not eat yellow perch due to PFOs.
Orchard Lake: Do not eat northern pike due to mercury.
Proud Lake: Do not eat largemouth bass or smallmouth bass due to PFOs.
Osmun Lake: Limit consumption of carp over 22 inches due to PCBs.
Rouge River: Do not eat bluegill, carp, rock bass or sunfish due to PFOs.
Terry Lake: Limit consumption of carp over 18 inches due to PCBs.
White Horse Lake: Do not eat bluegill or sunfish due to PFOs.
The state recommends that no one eats any species of fish caught in Loon Lake north of Wixom, or caught in the Huron River, downstream of North Wixom Road to the river crossing on U.S.-23, including Norton Creek, Hubbell Pond and Kent Lake, due to PFOs.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Don’t eat these fish: Michigan releases updated guidelines
Reporting by Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Max Reinhart, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
