Waterkeepers Alabama Advisory Hotline Now Providing Spanish Option

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Waterkeepers Alabama this week announced that its statewide toll-free fish consumption advisory hotline is now available in Spanish and English.

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Black Warrior Riverkeeper pointed out that the entity tasked with releasing the advisories — The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) — does so annually and only in English.

However, after four years of only being available in English, Black Warrior Riverkeeper says Spanish-speaking communities can now call (844) 219-7475 and hear the state-issued consumption recommendations for every waterway in Alabama in Spanish at the end of each extension.

“This Waterkeepers Alabama collaboration is pivotal for bringing fish consumption information to more Alabamians,” Executive Director of Black Warrior Riverkeeper Charles Scribner said in a press release. “We are grateful to UAB, CatchaFire, and Cristina Almanza, a member of Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s Advisory Council, for helping us translate the advisories, create new graphics, and update our resources in Spanish.”

Black Warrior Riverkeeper also pointed out that ADPH released its annual fish consumption advisories earlier this summer, which reported 227 advisories issued across 158 waterbodies in Alabama. These warnings included 19 advisories in the Black Warrior River basin.

The state issues consumption advisories to caution anglers against consuming fish that are contaminated with dangerous pollutants like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and methylmercury.

Scribner explained that many of the advisories warn the public not to eat any fish from the specific waterbody, while others recommend limiting exposure to one or two meals per month.

Along with its work on the hotline, Waterkeepers Alabama’s partners have been working to translate frequently asked questions (FAQs), forms to report pollution, safe swimming tips, and more to ensure the Hispanic and Latino populations in Alabama can be as informed as possible.

“No matter who you are or what you look like, you deserve to know this critical public health information,” Coosa Riverkeeper’s Outreach Manager and Waterkeepers Alabama’s Social Media Chair Abby Brown said. “These advisories are for known harmful contaminants and the public should be able to find this information quickly and easily to prevent unknowingly consuming harmful contaminants while eating fish."

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