Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1696-I, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 280, §1, is amended to read:

§1696-I. Noncommercial fishing and public health

The Director of the Bureau of Health shall assess regularly whether any health threats exist for persons consuming freshwater and anadromous fish caught in state waters by noncommercial anglers. The assessment must be based on appropriate technical and scientific data and public health analyses and must include, but is not limited to, the risk of carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic and reproductive effects and infectious disease. In preparing the assessment, the director shall consult with the Commissioner of Marine Resources, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

If, in the professional judgment of the Director of the Bureau of Health, conditions exist in which consumption of fish caught in state waters poses a threat to public health, the director shall prepare an advisory of the public health threat. The advisory must be in a form suitable for posting in places frequented by noncommercial anglers, included in the abstract of fish and wildlife laws prepared under Title 12, section 7034, subsection 5 and distributed to all holders of sport fishing licenses. The director has final authority regarding the content of the advisory, including the exact language used in the advisory. If the public health threat is caused by the presence of mercury in fish, the advisory must contain information on the technical and scientific data that support the advisory. The Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is responsible for printing and posting verbatim copies of the advisory and for incorporating the verbatim health advisory in the abstract of fish and wildlife laws.

SUMMARY

This bill requires that a fish consumption advisory based on a threat to public health from the presence of mercury in fish contain information on the data that support the advisory.