PA issues ‘do not eat’ fishing order in 3 counties due to contaminants

Trout stocking changes are being made in three Pennsylvania counties because of water pollution.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Department of Health and Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) issued on Feb. 27 a “Do Not Eat” advisory for all species of fish in Briar Creek in Columbia County and Middle Spring Creek in Cumberland and Franklin counties.

The advisory is attributed to the high levels of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS). This substance is a “forever chemical” that has been found in sampled fish tissue.

As a result of the advisories, the PFBC will discontinue trout stocking in the impacted waters until further notice.

The PFBC said efforts will be made to identify nearby waters to reallocate trout previously stocked in these streams to provide continued recreational angling opportunities. Fishing is still permitted in the impacted streams, but anglers are asked to follow the “Do Not Eat” advisory.

“Whenever a stream, or lake, is removed from our trout stocking list, we make every effort to keep the fish local and stock them in nearby waters for anglers to enjoy,” Tim Schaeffer, PFBC executive director, said in a news release. “We intend to do the same in this case.”

The advisory extends to all species of fish for Briar Creek, West Branch Briar Creek, and portions of East Branch Briar Creek downstream of Briar Creek Reservoir due to high PFOS levels. The Briar Creek advisory does not include Briar Creek Reservoir and those portions of East Branch Briar Creek upstream of the reservoir. The Middle Spring Creek advisory extends to the entire Middle Spring Creek watershed.

As part of the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act response 30 filtration systems have been installed at properties in the Briar Creek watershed and another 24 are to be installed in the Middle Spring watershed in order to provide safe drinking water for residents.

“Protecting public health is a top priority for us. Advisories like these are not something that we recommend lightly and DEP will continue to sample fish species and revisit this recommendation in the future,” DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley said in the public statement.

All other stocked trout across Pennsylvania have a consumption advisory of no more than one meal per week.

The DEP has been investigating water samples for the contaminants in the two waterways since 2024.

Trout season opens statewide on April 4.