Urban anglers' adherence to fish consumption advisories in the Great Lakes region

Urban anglers are considered a group at high risk of being exposed to contaminants from fish consumption. Past studies of urban anglers' fish consumption, however, have had significant limitations making it difficult to generalize their findings broadly and to assess the degree to which urban anglers are complying with advisory recommendations. We used a diary method to collect detailed information on fish consumption in three cities in the Great Lakes region for a 4-month period during the summer of 2014. We assessed how much fish anglers were consuming, whether they were complying with fish consumption advisories, and how fish consumption and advisory compliance varied for different demographic groups and in different locations. We estimated a mean of 1.12 meals/week of fish and 25.1-26.8 g/day of fish, and the amount of fish consumed varied by no > 25% from one site to another. Advisory exceedance was more variable, however, ranging from 7-10% to 27-40% in our three study sites. Fish consumption increased with age, education, and income, and was higher for non-whites than for whites. Advisory exceedance was higher for women, non-whites, and older anglers. At each site, the types of fish that contributed the most to advisory exceedance varied, which points to the benefits of community-specific (and resource-intensive) fish consumption advisories. Our findings could help fish consumption advisory programs tailor their advice to vulnerable populations and particular locations.