Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
People from immigrant and refugee communities in King County, particularly those who are low-income and have limited English proficiency, can be disproportionately impacted by contaminants when they fish from polluted locations. Though they may have some knowledge about toxics in fish, fishers often want more guidance on safer choices. In 2021, King County’s Toxicology and Contaminant Assessment (TCA) unit partnered with the Refugee Federation Service Center (RFSC) to explore contaminants in fish targeted by south King County immigrant and refugee communities. Our unit manages a long-term monitoring program that measures toxics in fish in marine and freshwaters of King County. We were interested in exploring equity by testing the typical assumptions made about the locations and species fished, and parts eaten, by local fishers. This project began with a survey to explore the fishing habits of southeast Asian and LatinX communities in King County. Among other new information, it revealed important fishing areas and species not currently tracked by our monitoring program. We used this information to design a fish sampling pilot project to 1) inform safer choices by the immigrant and refugee fishers and 2) help fill some data gaps in our monitoring program. Community fishers from the RFSC collected the fish in 2023 and samples were analyzed for a range of organic contaminants (e.g., PCBs, PBDEs, and PFAS) and mercury.
Results of the project were presented back to the RFSC communities in late 2024. We worked with the Washington Department of Health, Public Health-Seattle King County and the RFSC to develop fish consumption recommendations based on the data collected. The resulting flyer, titled Healthy Fish-Eating Recommendations from King County educates fishers about contaminants in fish and guides them towards fishing choices that will reduce their overall exposure to contaminants.
This project was TCA’s first effort to directly engage the communities of fishers we want to serve with our monitoring program. Completing this project provided us new information about how different ethnic groups in the County utilize our aquatic resources. Based on the information gained, we plan to revise the locations and fish represented in our monitoring program to make it more equitable and to provide contaminant information useful to more fishing communities in King County.
More information about the speaker series is available, as are all past Toxicology and Societies recordings.
People from immigrant and refugee communities in King County, particularly those who are low-income and have limited English proficiency, can be disproportionately impacted by contaminants when they fish from polluted locations. Though they may have some knowledge about toxics in fish, fishers often want more guidance on safer choices. In 2021, King County’s Toxicology and Contaminant Assessment (TCA) unit partnered with the Refugee Federation Service Center (RFSC) to explore contaminants in fish targeted by south King County immigrant and refugee communities. Our unit manages a long-term monitoring program that measures toxics in fish in marine and freshwaters of King County. We were interested in exploring equity by testing the typical assumptions made about the locations and species fished, and parts eaten, by local fishers. This project began with a survey to explore the fishing habits of southeast Asian and LatinX communities in King County. Among other new information, it revealed important fishing areas and species not currently tracked by our monitoring program. We used this information to design a fish sampling pilot project to 1) inform safer choices by the immigrant and refugee fishers and 2) help fill some data gaps in our monitoring program. Community fishers from the RFSC collected the fish in 2023 and samples were analyzed for a range of organic contaminants (e.g., PCBs, PBDEs, and PFAS) and mercury.
Results of the project were presented back to the RFSC communities in late 2024. We worked with the Washington Department of Health, Public Health-Seattle King County and the RFSC to develop fish consumption recommendations based on the data collected. The resulting flyer, titled Healthy Fish-Eating Recommendations from King County educates fishers about contaminants in fish and guides them towards fishing choices that will reduce their overall exposure to contaminants.
This project was TCA’s first effort to directly engage the communities of fishers we want to serve with our monitoring program. Completing this project provided us new information about how different ethnic groups in the County utilize our aquatic resources. Based on the information gained, we plan to revise the locations and fish represented in our monitoring program to make it more equitable and to provide contaminant information useful to more fishing communities in King County.
More information about the speaker series is available, as are all past Toxicology and Societies recordings.
