The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday added six entries to a growing list of Maine water bodies where fishing is not recommended because of high levels of toxic “forever chemicals.”
The updated advisories, which recommend limiting consumption of all fish, or certain fish, from six water bodies, come after tests of fish in the locations found levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, that were above the Maine CDC’s recommended levels for regular consumption.
The updated list includes four new entries and an expansion of two water bodies that previously appeared on the list.
Elevated levels of the PFAS chemical perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) were detected in fish tissue samples from Lovejoy Pond in Albion; Sebasticook River in Burnham and Benton; Collyer Brook in Gray; Androscoggin Lake in Leeds and Wayne; and Annabessacook Lake in Monmouth and Winthrop, according to the Maine CDC.
Elevated levels of PFOS in the surface water of Messalonskee Stream in Waterville prompted the CDC to extend an advisory issued in 2022.
A detailed list of specific fish to avoid can be found here.
PFAS are a group of manmade chemicals found in a variety of consumer products including nonstick pans, stain and water-resistant fabric, firefighting foam and grease-resistant food packaging. In Maine, PFAS has largely entered the environment through the practice of spreading sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plants on agricultural fields as fertilizer.
Exposure to the chemicals is associated with changes in liver and kidney function, changes in cholesterol levels, decreased immune response to vaccines in children, complications during pregnancy, increased risk of kidney cancer and possibly testicular cancer, according to a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
More information is available at the Maine CDC PFAS Fish Consumption Advisory FAQ, and Maine CDC Scientific Brief: 2025 PFAS Fish Consumption Advisories.
