Fish Consumption Bans and Advisories

Portions of upper Lavaca Bay in Calhoun County

The possession of all species of fish and crabs is prohibited from the following areas. Catch and release from these areas is lawful.

Donna Irrigation System in Hidalgo County

The possession of all species of fish and crabs is prohibited from the following areas. Catch and release from these areas is lawful.

Revised: All Texas Coastal Waters

• Blue marlin of any length should not be consumed
• For blackfin tuna, little tunny, crevalle jack, swordfish, wahoo and all species of sharks:
  • Adult men and women who are past childbearing age should limit consumption to two, 8-ounce meals per month
  • Children under 12 and women of childbearing age should not consume these species
• For king mackerel:
  • For specimens less than 35 inches in total length, adult men and women who are past childbearing age should limit consumption to one 8-ounce meal per week
  • For fish more than 35 inches, adult men and women past childbearing age should limit consumption to two, 8-ounce meals per month
  • Children under 12 and women of childbearing age should not consume any king mackerel from Texas coastal waters

Flower Garden Banks

Based on a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory, the TDSHS advises recreational anglers to avoid consumption of certain fish species captured in the vicinity of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. More information can be found in the Harmful Algal Blooms section of this website

Clear Creek upstream and west of Clear Lake in Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston and Harris counties

• dioxins
• polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

Persons should not consume any species of fish from these waters

Revised: Houston Ship Channel and all contiguous waters north of the Fred Hartman Bridge, State Highway 146 including the San Jacinto River below the Lake Houston dam

• dioxins
• polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

Persons should not consume blue crabs or any species of fish from these waters

Upper Galveston Bay and all contiguous waters north of a line drawn from Red Bluff Point to Five-Mile Cut Marker to Houston Point

• dioxins
• polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

• For all species of catfish, spotted seatrout and blue crab, adults should limit consumption to no more than one, 8-ounce meal per month
• Children under 12 and women of childbearing age should not consume spotted seatrout, blue crabs or any catfish species from this area

Galveston Bay and all contiguous waters including Chocolate Bay, East Bay, Trinity Bay and West Bay

• dioxins
• polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

• For all species of catfish, adults should limit consumption to no more than one, 8-ounce meal per month
• Children, and women who are nursing, pregnant or who may become pregnant should not consume catfish from these waters

Sabine Lake and contiguous Texas waters in Jefferson and Orange counties

• For gafftopsail catfish, adults should limit consumption to no more than three 8-ounce meals per month.
• Children under 12 and women who are pregnant, nursing or may become pregnant should limit consumption to no more than one 4-ounce meal per month.

Canyon Lake in Comal County

• For striped bass and longnose gar, adults and children 12 and older are advised to eat no more than two 8-ounce servings per month. Children under 12 should eat no more than two 4-ounce servings per month.
• Pregnant women, women who could become pregnant and mothers who are breastfeeding are advised not to eat any striped bass or longnose gar from the lake.

New: Lake Como in Tarrant County

• dieldrin
• dioxins
• polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

Persons should not consume common carp from these waters.

Revised: Echo Lake in Tarrant County

• polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
• dioxins
• dieldrin

• Persons should not consume common carp from these waters.
• For largemouth bass, adults are advised to limit consumption to no more than one, 8-ounce meal per month. Women of childbearing age and children under 12 should not consume largemouth bass from Echo Lake.
• This advisory replaces a consumption ban issued in 1995.

Revised: Mountain Creek Lake in Dallas County

• polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
• dioxins

• Persons should not consume common carp, freshwater drum, or smallmouth buffalo from this lake.
• For channel catfish and white bass, adults are advised to limit consumption to one 8-ounce meal per month. Women of childbearing age and children under 12 should not consume channel catfish or white bass.
• Adults should limit consumption of flathead catfish to two 8-ounce meals per month; and largemouth bass to three meals per month. Women of childbearing age and children under 12 should limit consumption of flathead catfish and largemouth bass to one 4-ounce meal per month.
• This replaces a previous advisory issued in 2010. See details.

Revised: Lake Worth and Trinity River upstream to Eagle Mountain Lake in Tarrant County

• polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
• dioxins

• Persons should not consume smallmouth buffalo from these waters.
• For flathead catfish, adults are advised to limit consumption to one 8-ounce meal per month. Women of childbearing age and children under 12 should not consume flathead catfish.
• For blue catfish, striped bass, white bass, and common carp, adults should limit consumption to two 8-ounce meals per month. Women of childbearing age and children under 12 should limit consumption to one 4-ounce meal per month.
• For freshwater drum, adults are advised to limit consumption to three 8-ounce meals per month. Children and women of childbearing age should not eat more than one 4-ounce meal per month.
• This replaces a previous advisory issued in 2010. Get details

Fosdic Lake in Tarrant County

• For common carp, adults and children 12 and older should eat no more than two 8-ounce servings per month.
• Children under 12 should eat no more than two 4-ounce servings per month.
• Women who are or might become pregnant and women who are nursing should not eat any common carp from the lake.

Clear Fork of Trinity River from Benbrook Reservoir dam and West Fork from Lake Worth dam, including main stem of the Trinity downstream to US 287 bridge. Portions of Anderson, Dallas, Ellis, Freestone, Henderson, Kaufman, Navarro and Tarrant counties

• polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
• dioxins

Persons should not consume any species of fish from these waters.

Lake Isabell in Harris County

• Adults should limit consumption of largemouth bass to no more than two 8-ounce servings per month.
• Children under 12 years old should limit consumption to no more than two 4-ounce servings per month.
• Women who are nursing, pregnant or who may become pregnant should not consume largemouth bass from Lake Isabell.

Clear Creek upstream and west of Clear Lake in Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston and Harris counties

Persons should not consume any species of fish from these waters.

New: Lake Livingston and Trinity River from US Highway 287 to US 90. Affected waters are in Anderson, Freestone, Houston, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity and Walker counties

• dioxins
• polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

• Persons should not consume any species of gar from these waters.
• Adults should limit consumption of certain fish species as indicated below. Women of childbearing age and children under 12 should not consume the indicated fishes from these waters.
  • Blue and flathead catfish: no more than one 8-ounce serving per month.
  • Smallmouth buffalo: no more than one 8-ounce serving per month.
  • Freshwater drum: no more than two 8-ounce servings per month.
• For white bass and striped bass, adults are advised to limit consumption to three 8-ounce servings per month. Women of childbearing age and children under 12 should consume no more than one 8-ounce serving per month.

Revised: Neches River and all contiguous waters from State Highway 7 bridge west of Lufkin downstream to the US 96 bridge near Evadale, including B.A. Steinhagen and Sam Rayburn reservoirs. Affected waters are in Angelina, Hardin, Houston, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, Trinity and Tyler counties

• dioxins
• mercury

Adults should limit consumption of certain fish species as indicated below. Women of childbearing age and children under 12 should not consume the indicated fishes from these waters.

• Smallmouth buffalo: Do not eat.
• Flathead catfish and gar: no more than one 8-ounce serving per month.
• Blue catfish over 30 inches long, largemouth bass over 16 inches and spotted bass over 16 inches: no more than two 8-ounce servings per month.

Lake Madisonville in Madison County

• For largemouth bass, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce servings per month, and children under 12 years old should limit consumption to no more than two, 4-ounce servings per month.
• Women who are nursing, pregnant or who may become pregnant should not consume largemouth bass from this lake.

Clear Lake in Panola County

• For largemouth bass, freshwater drum and bowfin, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce meals per month, and children under 12 years of age should limit consumption to no more than two, 4-ounce meals per month.
• Women of childbearing age who are or might become pregnant, or who are nursing should not consume largemouth bass, freshwater drum or bowfin from this lake.

Hills Lake in Panola County

• For largemouth bass and freshwater drum, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce meals per month, and children under 12 years of age should limit consumption to no more than two, 4-ounce meals per month.
• Women of childbearing age who are or might become pregnant, or who are nursing should not consume largemouth bass or freshwater drum from this lake.

Big Cypress Creek in Marion County; Caddo Lake in Harrison and Marion counties; and Toledo Bend Reservoir in Newton, Panola, Sabine and Shelby counties

All Locations: For largemouth bass and freshwater drum, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce meals per month, and children should limit consumption to no more than two, 4-ounce meals per month.

Village Creek upstream of Neches River in Hardin County

• For crappie, gar and largemouth bass, adults should limit consumption to no more than two eight ounce meals per month.
• Children under twelve years old should limit consumption of crappie, gar and largemouth bass to no more than two four ounce meals per month.
• Women who are nursing, pregnant or who may become pregnant should not consume crappie, gar and largemouth bass from Village Creek.

Lake Kimball in Hardin and Tyler counties and Lake Pruitt (Black Cypress Creek) in Cass County

For all species of fish, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce meals per month, and children under 12 years of age should limit consumption to no more than two, 4-ounce meals per month.

Revised: Lone Star Lake (aka Ellison Creek Reservoir) in Morris County

• dioxins
• polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

• Persons should not consume common carp or hybrid striped bass from this reservoir.
• For channel catfish, flathead catfish, spotted gar and sunfishes, adults should limit consumption to one 8-ounce meal per month. For largemouth and white bass, adults should consume no more than two 8-ounce meals per month.
• Children under 12 and women of childbearing age should not consume channel catfish, flathead catfish, white bass, hybrid striped bass, sunfishes, common carp or spotted gar from this reservoir; and should limit consumption of largemouth bass to no more than one 4-ounce meal per month.

Lake Daingerfield in Morris County and Lake Ratcliff in Houston County

For largemouth bass, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce meals per month, and children should limit consumption to no more than two, 4-ounce meals per month.

Lake Alan Henry in Garza and Kent counties

• For blue catfish, flathead catfish, crappie, largemouth bass and spotted bass, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce meals per month./li>
• Children under 12 and women who are pregnant or nursing should not consume any fish of those species.

Lake Meredith in Hutchinson, Moore and Potter counties

For walleye, adults should limit consumption to no more than two, 8-ounce meals per month, and children should limit consumption to no more than two, 4-ounce meals per month.

Lower Leon Creek in San Antonio, Bexar County

Persons should not consume any species of fish from Leon Creek starting at the Old US 90 bridge downstream to the Loop 410 bridge

Revised: Arroyo Colorado, Llano Grande Lake and the Main Floodway upstream of the Port of Harlingen in Cameron and Hidalgo counties

• mercury
• polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

• Persons should not consume longnose gar from these waters.
• For smallmouth buffalo, adults are advised to eat no more than two 8-ounce servings per month. Women of childbearing age and children under 12 should not consume smallmouth buffalo from these waters.