Learn about what our team has been working on this summer; find out what fish are unsafe to eat; read Cahaba River Society’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion statement; help get lead out of drinking water; join us for the Cahaba River Fry-Down 2021, & more!
Fishing is a popular activity along the Cahaba and its tributaries, and many anglers rely on this food source to supplement their family’s diet. These people deserve to be able to rely on the fact that the fish they are eating are safe. Right now, it is unlikely that consuming fish from the Cahaba River more than one time per month is safe. In some places on the Cahaba, the Alabama Department of Public Health recommend not eating any fish.
Do you fish in the Cahaba? Here’s what you need to know about where fish is unsafe to eat in 2020.
Three of these advisories occurred in the Cahaba River, and all of these advisories were due to mercury, an airborne pollutant caused by the burning of fossil fuels, as is done by coal-fired power plants, and the burning of waste.
Fish consumption advisories for the Cahaba River have increased in recent years. In 2016, none of the Cahaba sampling locations detected mercury problems. In the 2018 and 2019 Fish Consumption Advisories, THREE of FOUR sampling locations detected enough mercury to warrant limitations on consumption.