Assessment of Mercury Concentrations in Fish Consumed by Eagle Lake First Nation

Eagle Lake First Nation (ELFN) is an Anishinaabe community located in northwestern Ontario that relies on Eagle Lake as a food source. The ELFN had observed the impacts of industrial operations, mining, land development, forestry, and climate change (e.g., forest fires and flooding) on their territory for decades. These observations, coupled with fish advisories and elevated mercury levels in larger walleye, caused great concern in the community. The main objectives of this study included: updating the fish consumption survey;  quantifying mercury concentrations in water, sediment, and fish in Eagle Lake; building capacity within the community for environmental sampling and analysis; and developing a database of previous sampling programs.

The project team trained community members on the collection of samples. They collected water, sediment, and fish samples at ten locations around Eagle Lake. The team developed and implemented a communications plan to inform community members of the project and encourage participation. A total of 37 community members completed a fish consumption survey.

The team found mercury levels in water and sediment samples were below applicable guidelines. While these results suggested no impacts to human health or aquatic life, the team concluded the dataset was not robust enough to apply the findings broadly to Eagle Lake. Based on the results of fish sampling and the consumption survey, the team concluded there were no health risks to community members at current rates of consumption and at current levels of mercury. The project team determined the Fish Consumption Guidelines of the Ministry of Environment and Parks (MECP) were protective of both general and sensitive members of the ELFN community. The project team advised higher consumers of walleye (i.e., 110-124 meals per year) to eat walleye less than 40 cm in length. They encouraged ELFN members to follow advice from MECP to avoid contaminants (e.g., eating smaller fish, avoiding fish organs and eggs, and removing skin, fatty areas, and flesh around the belly). The ELFN plans to collect data every five years to evaluate the consumption guidelines and help protect the health of community members.