Study surveying fish consumption at urban lakes in L.A. region completed

SCCWRP has completed a year-long study intended to help managers decide if one or more urban lakes in the Los Angeles region should receive a regulatory designation known as a Subsistence Fishing beneficial use based on the consumption habits of people who eat fish from the lakes.

The fish consumption study, completed in March and submitted as a report to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, found that average consumption rates for most anglers and their households were below consumption thresholds of concern as defined by California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA).

Researchers interviewed about 500 anglers at four urban lakes – Alondra Park Lake, Magic Johnson Lake, Legg Lake, and Peck Road Park Lake – about their fishing and consumption habits. Just 8% of anglers reported consuming their catches, and only four surveyed anglers reported eating more than 100 grams of caught fish every day.

The study builds on a SCCWRP study about two decades ago that found that most fishing and consumption in the L.A. region takes place at urban lakes and mountain reservoirs.