Recreational fishing is enjoyed by approximately 50 million Americans annually — a pursuit that for many involves consuming the catch. When the waters being fished are contaminated with PFAS, the fish accumulated through the food web may contain elevated PFAS concentrations that pose health risks to frequent consumers. Understanding PFAS bioaccumulation in freshwater fish helps anglers make informed decisions about consumption of their catch.
How PFAS Accumulate in Fish
Fish accumulate PFAS through multiple exposure routes:
Gill uptake from water: Fish continuously pass water over their gills for oxygen extraction. Dissolved PFAS in the water column are directly absorbed through gill tissue — the most significant uptake pathway for many fish species in contaminated waters.
Dietary accumulation: Fish accumulate PFAS from their food — invertebrates, smaller fish, and aquatic insects that have themselves accumulated PFAS from sediment and water. Predatory fish at the top of the food web accumulate the PFAS burden of everything they’ve eaten — a process called trophic magnification.
Sediment contact: Bottom-feeding fish species that root in sediment face additional PFAS exposure from sediment-bound PFAS that can be several times higher than water concentrations.
Which Fish Accumulate the Most PFAS
PFAS accumulation varies significantly among fish species and individual fish size:
High accumulation species: Predatory fish — largemouth bass, walleye, striped bass, northern pike, muskellunge — accumulate the highest PFAS concentrations through trophic magnification. Older, larger individuals of these species carry higher PFAS burdens than smaller, younger fish.
Bottom feeders: Catfish, carp, and suckers that feed in sediment-contact zones often show elevated PFAS, particularly for longer-chain compounds that sorb strongly to sediment organic matter.
Lower accumulation species: Panfish (bluegill, sunfish) and younger fish of any species generally show lower PFAS accumulation due to shorter lifespan and lower trophic position.
Tissue Distribution in Fish
Unlike fat-soluble contaminants (PCBs, dioxins) that concentrate in fatty tissue, PFAS bind to proteins and accumulate differently:
- Liver tissue carries the highest PFAS concentration in most fish species — often 10–50× higher than muscle
- Blood serum is highly concentrated relative to muscle
- Muscle tissue (the edible portion) contains lower PFAS than organ tissue — though still elevated in contaminated fish compared to clean-water fish
- Skin-on fillets may carry somewhat higher PFAS than skinless fillets due to PFAS in surface mucus and skin
State Fish Consumption Advisories for PFAS
Many states have issued or are developing PFAS-specific fish consumption advisories for specific water bodies. Examples include:
- New Hampshire: advisories for multiple lakes and rivers with PFAS contamination from landfills and manufacturing
- Michigan: extensive advisory network covering water bodies near PFAS manufacturing and contamination sites
- Alabama: Weiss Lake advisory following discovery of PFAS contamination from industrial sources
- Maine: advisories for water bodies affected by agricultural PFAS contamination from biosolids application
Checking your state environmental agency’s website for current fish consumption advisories for your fishing locations is the most reliable way to get location-specific guidance.
Practical Guidance for Anglers
- Check state advisories before consuming fish from any water body near industrial or military PFAS sources
- Remove skin and trim visible fat to reduce PFAS in prepared fish (unlike for fat-soluble contaminants, this provides more modest reduction for PFAS)
- Avoid consuming fish organs (liver, kidney) from potentially contaminated waters
- Limit consumption frequency of large, predatory fish from PFAS-affected waters
- Children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers should follow the most conservative advisory recommendations
Filtering drinking water addresses the most consistently significant PFAS exposure route, while these fish consumption practices address the dietary exposure component for active anglers.