Pennsylvania issues a do-not-eat advisory for the entire Wissahickon Creek basin

Pennsylvania has told anglers not to eat any fish from the Wissahickon Creek basin. A Fish and Boat Commission release dated Oct. 7, 2026, says the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Health, and the commission issued the advisory for every species in the basin, in Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Sampled tissue carried Perfluorooctane sulfonate, a PFAS compound, above the 0.04 parts per million do-not-eat level.

The commission canceled a trout stocking set for Oct. 15, 2026, on Wissahickon Creek, Section 04, in Philadelphia. To talk through the lost opportunity and options for stocked trout on the creek, PFBC will hold a public meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, 8480 Hagy’s Mill Road, Philadelphia, PA 19128.

The release says the state’s consumption program has long tested sport fish for PCBs, pesticides, and heavy metals, and that Pennsylvania has been adding PFOS tissue tests to those recommendations. The Wissahickon results cleared the 0.04 ppm line, which the commission also states as 40.0 nanograms per gram. Communications contact is Mike Parker, michparker@pa.gov, (717) 585-3076.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission — Do Not Eat advisory for the Wissahickon Creek basin (Oct. 7, 2026).