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The North Carolina State Health Director has issued a fish consumption advisory for walleye and largemouth bass in Lake Gaston, which is located between north-central North Carolina and south-central Virginia.

Elevated levels of mercury have recently been found in walleye in the lake, according to a news release. Previous studies have found elevated levels of mercury in largemouth bass in all waters of North Carolina, including Lake Gaston.

The advisory recommends that pregnant women, nursing women, women who may become pregnant and children under age 15 should not eat any walleye or largemouth bass from Lake Gaston. Other people should not eat more than two meals a month of walleye or largemouth bass from Lake Gaston.

The advisory was issued because there is an increased risk of adverse effects to the developing brain of the unborn babies of pregnant women who eat fish contaminated with mercury. Young children may also be at risk of adverse neurological effects from eating fish contaminated with mercury.

The North Carolina counties of Warren, Halifax and Northampton border Lake Gaston.

The mercury contamination in the fish does not present a known health risk for people who engage in other recreational activities such as touching the water, wading, swimming, boating, fishing or handling the fish.

Mercury is a metal that occurs naturally in the environment and is also released into the environment during some manufacturing processes and when fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) are burned.

The North Carolina Division of Public Health analyzed the environmental data and fish sampling data from Lake Gaston and has recommended additional fish sampling in the lake as soon as possible for other fish species. Fish sampling is also recommended in Kerr Lake, Roanoke Rapids Lake and the Roanoke River below Lake Gaston. Once the data is analyzed, the state will decide whether additional fish consumption advisories are necessary.

Fish consumption advisories are posted on the N.C. Public Health Web site at www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/fish.