State health and wildlife officials found sucker fish in areas of the Yellowstone River to contain elevated levels of petroleum hydrocarbons.
The Fish Consumption Advisory board discourages children under the age of 6 and women who may come pregnant from eating any sucker fish caught in the Yellowstone River between the Highway 212 bridge in Laurel and the confluence with the Bighorn River. Petroleum hydrocarbons contain a complex mixture of chemicals that can have varying effects on health, including but not limited to kidney or liver problems.
