Louisiana Has Over 50 Waterways Under Active Fish Consumption Advisories

(KMDL-FM) This is the time of year when the slow-moving swamps and bayous that are home to so many Louisiana game fish also become home to an unseen health hazard composed of man-made chemicals and naturally occurring microorganisms.

This combination of potential health hazards is why the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality issues advisories on whether it's safe to consume seafood caught in these waters or even to get into the water at all.

Which Louisiana Beaches Currently Have Advisories Posted for Swimmers?

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Actually, when it comes to getting into the water and the beach advisories, the responsibility for those falls under the heading of the Louisiana Department of Health. If you'd like to see which beaches currently have advisories, you may check out the details that LDH offers online. 

A quick scan of posted beach advisories suggests that only 3 beaches, Fontainebleau State Park Beach and Grand Isle State Park sites #1 and #2 are the only beaches that currently have advisories for swimmers and bathers.

Which Bodies of Water in Louisiana Have Fish Consumption Advisories?

a person in white gloves cutting up a fish

The Fish Consumption Advisories are the domain of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. Their mission is to assure consumers that the fish and shellfish caught and consumed in Louisiana do not pose any additional health risk from environmental conditions and chemicals.

To accomplish the sharing of information in an efficient manner, Louisiana DEQ has developed a couple of strategies. One, there is a Smartphone APP. It is available in iOS and Android Operating systems. You can download that to your phone and always have the latest information at your fingertips.

READ MORE: Fungal 'Super Bug' Confirmed in Louisiana

The second way you can check out any fish consumption concerns is to use this link to open this interactive map.  The map from Louisiana DEQ allows you to zoom in on a particular part of the state. Once zoomed in, you can click on individual advisories that could affect the bodies of water you plan to fish.

If you click on an advisory, you will be given specific details about the advisory for that location. The advisory will identify the body of water and what portion of that body of water is included. The type of advisory/contaminant details will be listed.

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There will also be recommendations on who should and shouldn't consume fish caught from the body of water. There is also information on how much fish per month caught from that body of water should be consumed. There are also restrictions on what species of fish should and should not be consumed.

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As of early this morning, Louisiana had over 50 waterways that were under fish consumption advisories. That sounds like a lot, but when you consider just how many waterways make up our state, it's really a small portion of the state's fishable waters.

READ MORE: Gulf Coast Fisherman Hospitalized with Flesh-Eating Bacteria

Still, you need to be safe when it comes to the food you put in your mouth, even if you harvested that fish yourself.