Contaminated fish alert: High mercury, PCBs in certain Columbia River species
Eating locally caught fish from the Columbia River might sound like a delicious idea, but if those fish aren't traveling through they could be contaminated.

Oregon and Washington state health authorities warned the public on Monday that so-called resident fish were tainted with high levels of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.

The advisory does not apply to migratory fish, such as salmon, steelhead, American shad and lamprey, which swim along the river. But fish that spend their whole lives in one area are at risk of building up contaminants that can cause health problem for people. Those species include bass, bluegill, yellow perch, crappie, walleye, carp, catfish, suckers and sturgeon.

Oregon and Washington state authorities urged people to avoid eating any of these species that are caught between Bonneville Dam to Ruckel Creek, which is located one .... http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2013/09/contaminated_fish_alert_high_m.html

...except for the sturgeon, lamprey, and maybe some of the sucker species...the rest are exotics/non-natives

Fun to catch, but that's why I never have and never will eat sturgeon out of that river.

The fish consumption advisory for resident fish from the 150 mile stretch is the same as the consumption advisory for Puget Sound chinook. The consumption advisory for blackmouth is 1/2 that of the resident fish in the Columbia. There is no escaping the pollution, pregnant women, children, and people worrying about cancer, eat pinks and chum.