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Fish found in Lake Superior could be contain harmful chemicals

"Great Lakes, No Clouds" by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Health department officials suggest limiting the amount of Rainbow Smelt you eat from Lake Superior to one serving a month.

These little fish are popular with anglers once the ice melts and smelt migrate up small streams to spawn.

"People will go out with dip nets and collect them in rather large quantity."

Marcus Wasilevich is the PFAS response coordinator at the Department of Health and Human Services.

He says scientists in Wisconsin found elevated levels of PFAS chemicals in smelt near the Apostle [uh-paa-suhl] Islands.

They’re linked to reduced fertility, thyroid disease and liver damage.

Michigan researchers will do their own testing to look for contaminants in smelt and lake herring this year.