Good News From the Alabama Department of Public Health

The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) annually updates fish consumption advisories based on data collected the preceding fall by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM).

ADEM, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) collected samples of specific fish species for analysis from various water bodies throughout the state during the fall of 2025 (386 samples: 34 collection stations). ADPH assessed the analytical results to determine whether any of the tested contaminants in the fish may give rise to potential human health effects.

Fish consumption advisories are issued for specific water bodies and specific species taken from those areas. In reservoirs, advisories apply to waters as far as a boat can be taken upstream in a tributary, that is, to full pool elevations.

Newly issued advisories will be represented as the safe number of meals of that species of fish that can be eaten in a given period of time, such as meals per week, meals per month or do not eat any. A meal portion consists of 6 ounces of cooked fish or 8 ounces of raw fish.

For those who take fish from the Coosa River on Weiss Lake and Neely Henry Lake, there are no fish consumption advisories in effect.