Officials say not to eat fish from these Maine bodies of water

BRUNSWICK, Maine (WMTW) – The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is advising people not to eat freshwater fish caught near the former naval air base in Brunswick because of elevated PFAS levels.

The U.S. Navy has been monitoring environmental contamination from the historic use of a fire-fighting foam there. They collected data in 2023 and shared the findings with the Maine CDC this spring, where officials later determined that the PFAS levels were too high for recommended consumption.

The announcement comes shortly after the accidental release of PFAS-containing fire-fighting foam on Aug. 19, but this recommendation is based on prior findings. Officials don’t expect the recent spill to impact the advisory.

The Maine CDC says to avoid eating any fish from Picnic Pond, Site 8 Stream, or Merriconeag Stream. They say not to eat any fish from the section of Mere Brook on the Eastern side of the runway and to limit fish from the Western side of Mere Brook to no more than six meals per year.

Since there is still foam floating in some areas, they say to avoid swimming or boating until they finish assessing the contamination.

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