In a project funded by the Chesapeake Bay Program, we conducted 8 weeks of angler interviews in three Regions of Concern around the Chesapeake Bay in order to identify populations at-risk for consuming contaminated recreationally caught fish. The regions of concern were the Baltimore area (Baltimore Harbor, Patapsco River, and Back River), the Washington, DC area (Anacostia and Potomac Rivers), and the Tidewater, VA area (Elizabeth and Lower James Rivers). The Baltimore and Washington, DC areas have had fish consumption advisories in place for a number of years, while the Tidewater, VA area did not have advisories in place at the time the interviews were conducted (though health officials were in the process of developing them, and released them in October, 2004).

Our goals in this study were to determine who was catching and consuming potentially contaminated fish in these waters and identify factors that contribute to angler risk perception and knowledge of and attitudes towards fish consumption advisories. We examined the various advisory designs and dissemination methods used in each region and offer recommendations for improving advisory compliance. You can view either the full project report or the individual region results and data below.

View Full Project Report in .pdf format (includes Appendices, 1.8 MB).

View individual results chapters (.pdf) and download survey data (.xls) below:
( note, these chapters do not include a discussion of the methods)

• Washington, DC: Results Chapter / Data file
• Baltimore, Maryland: Results Chapter / Data file
• Tidewater, VA: Results Chapter / Data file

Contacts

Julie McClafferty, Conservation Management Institute
Greg Allen, EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office