Health officials share 2026 guidelines to help anglers avoid toxic chemicals in fish

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on Monday released its annual Eat Safe Fish Guides offering information to residents across the state on what to look out for when eating locally caught fish. 

The guides aren’t legal rules or requirements, but they do provide consumption guidelines for fish caught in 696 water bodies, using lab results to determine which fish are safe to consume, and which could have harmful health effects. 

According to the DHHS, the guidelines are written to protect the health of all residents, keeping in mind children, those who are pregnant or breastfeeding and people with health issues including cancer and diabetes.

“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, Michigan’s chief medical executive said in a statement. “Michigan families can use these guidelines to help make healthy choices about the fish they eat.”

The guides break the state down into five regions – the northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest  and the Upper Peninsula – with a guide for each. The state also produces a Buy Safe Fish Guide to help residents choose seafood with lower levels of mercury when selecting fish at stores, fish markets or restaurants. 

Residents can visit Michigan.gov/EatSafeFish, or call the DHHS’s Environmental Health Bureau at 800-648-6942, for more information on how to buy, eat and prepare safe fish.