LivewellFish consumption advisories
Massachusetts
Massachusetts publishes advisories for 276 waters, covering 737 species-and-size recommendations.
Contaminants of concern: Chlordane, DDT, Dioxins, Lead, Mercury, PAHs, PCBs, Pesticides, PFAS
Statewide advisory
These apply across Massachusetts, including waters with no specific advisory of their own.
- All Other Species Women who may become pregnant & children under 15 For women who may become pregnant, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and children under 15: do not eat due to elevated Mercury. Statewide (unevaluated waters)
Waters with advisories in Massachusetts
276 waters on file. A water not listed here has no advisory in the state's data — which usually means it has never been sampled, not that it's been cleared.
Lakes 215
- Ames Pond Tewksbury
- Ashfield Lake Ashfield
- Ashley Lake Washington
- Ashmere Lake Hinsdale
- Ashumet Pond Mashpee
- Asnacomet Pond Hubbardston
- Badluck Lake Douglas
- Baker Pond Brewster
- Baldpate Pond Boxford
- Bare Hill Pond Harvard
- Bearse Pond Barnstable
- Beaver Pond Bellingham
- Beck Pond Hamilton
- Big Pond Otis
- Box Pond Bellingham
- Browning Pond Oakham
- Buck Pond Westfield
- Buckley Dunton Lake Becket
- Buffomville Lake Charlton
- Burr�s Pond Seekonk
- Cabot Pond Foxborough
- Cedar Swamp Pond Milford
- Center Pond Becket
- Chadwicks Pond Boxford
- Chebacco Lake Essex
- Clay Pit Pond Belmont
- Cleveland Pond Abington
- Cochato River, Ice Pond and Sylvan Lake Randolph
- Cochituate, Lake (including Middle, North, South, and Carling Basins) Framingham
- Congomond Lake Southwick
- Coonamessett Pond Falmouth
- Cornell Pond Dartmouth
- Crocker Pond Westminster
- Crystal Lake Haverhill
- Damon Pond Chesterfield
- Dodgeville Pond Attleboro
- Drinkwater River/ Indian Head River/North River (Between the Forge Pond Dam in Hanover and Route 3 in Norwell/Pembroke) and Factory Pond Hanson
- Duck Pond Wellfleet
- Dunn Pond Gardner
- Dyer Pond Wellfleet
- East Monponsett Pond Halifax
- Echo Lake Hopkinton
- Ezekiel Pond Plymouth
- Factory Pond Hanson
- Falls Pond (All Basins) North Attleboro
- Farrar Pond Lincoln
- Fearing Pond Plymouth
- Flax Pond Lynn
- Flax Pond (Picture Lake) Bourne
- Flint Pond Tyngsborough
- Forest Lake Methuen
- Forge Pond Littleton
- Foster Pond Swampscott
- Fosters Pond Andover
- Freeman Lake Chelmsford
- French River (Between the Hodges Village Dam in Oxford and the North Webster Village Pond Dam in Webster) Oxford
- Fresh Pond Plymouth
- Fulton Pond Foxborough
- Gales Pond Warwick
- Gibbs Pond Nantucket
- Goodrich Pond Pittsfield
- Great Herring Pond Bourne
- Great Pond Truro
- Great South Pond Plymouth
- Grews Pond Falmouth
- Grove Pond Ft. Devens
- Haggetts Pond Andover
- Halfway Pond Plymouth
- Hamblin Pond Barnstable
- Hardwick Pond Hardwick
- Heard Pond Wayland
- Heart Pond Chelmsford
- Hickory Hills Lake Lunenburg
- Hocomonco Pond Westborough
- Holland Pond Brimfield
- Hood (or Hoods) Pond Topsfield
- Hopedale Pond Hopedale
- Horn Pond Woburn
- Horseleech Pond Truro
- Houghton�s Pond Milton
- Hovey�s Pond Boxford
- Ice Pond Randolph
- Island Pond Plymouth
- Jamaica Pond Brookline
- Jenkins Pond Falmouth
- Johns Pond Mashpee
- Johnsons Pond Groveland
- Kendall Pond Gardner
- Kenoza Lake Haverhill
- Kingman Pond Foxborough
- Knops Pond Groton
- Lake Attitash Amesbury
- Lake Boon Hudson
- Lake Cochichewick North Andover
- Lake Dennison Winchendon
- Lake Garfield Monterey
- Lake Lashaway North Brookfield
- Lake Lorraine Springfield
- Lake Mirimichi Plainville
- Lake Nippenicket Bridgewater
- Lake Pentucket Haverhill
- Lake Quannapowitt Wakefield
- Lake Quinsigamond Worcester
- Lake Ripple Grafton
- Lake Sabbatia Taunton
- Lake Saltonstall Haverhill
- Lake Wampanoag Ashburnham
- Lake Wickaboag West Brookfield
- Lake Winthrop Holliston
- Laurel Lake Erving
- Lawrence Pond Sandwich
- Leverett Pond Boston
- Lewin Brook Pond Swansea
- Little Chauncy Pond Northborough
- Locust Pond Tyngsborough
- Long Pond Brimfield
- Long Sought-For Pond Westford
- Lost Lake Groton
- Lowe Pond Boxford
- Lower Mystic Lake Arlington
- Manchaug Pond Douglas
- Martins Pond North Reading
- Marys Pond Rochester
- Mascuppic Lake Dracut
- Mashpee Pond (Mashpee-Wakeby Pond) Mashpee
- Massapoag Lake Sharon
- Massapoag Pond Dunstable
- Mechanics Pond, Dodgeville Pond, and the section of the Ten Mile River that connects them Attleboro
- Miacomet Pond Nantucket
- Mill Pond Burlington
- Mirror Lake Ft. Devens
- Monomonac, Lake and the North branch of Millers River (Between the outlet of Lake Monomonac and the inlet of Whitney Pond) Winchendon
- Moores Pond Warwick
- Morewood Lake Pittsfield
- Morses Pond Wellesley
- Mystic River (between outlet of Lower Mystic Lake and Amelia Earhart Dam) Arlington
- Nabnasset Pond Westford
- Newfield Pond ( = Freeman Lake) Chelmsford
- Noquochoke Lake Dartmouth
- Nutting Lake Billerica
- Oxbow Pond Easthampton
- Pearce Lake (Lower Pond) Saugus
- Pelham Lake Rowe
- Pentucket Pond Georgetown
- Pepperell Pond Pepperell
- Pequot Pond (Hampton Ponds) Westfield
- Peters Pond Sandwich
- Pettee Pond Walpole
- Plainfield Pond Plainfield
- Pleasant Pond Hamilton
- Plowshop Pond Ft. Devens
- Pomps Pond Andover
- Ponkapoag Pond Canton
- Pontoosuc Lake Pittsfield
- Populatic Pond Franklin
- Powder Mill Pond Barre
- Puffer Pond Ft. Devens Sudbury Training Annex
- Quaboag Pond E. Brookfield
- Quacumquasit Pond Sturbridge
- Red Bridge Pond Wilbraham
- Rice City Pond Northbridge
- Riverdale Pond Northbridge
- Robbins Pond East Bridgewater
- Rock Pond Georgetown
- Rohunta, Lake (Middle, North, and South Basins) Orange
- Round Pond Hamilton
- Round Pond East Truro
- Round Pond West Truro
- Ryder Pond Truro
- Sampsons Pond Carver
- Sandy Pond Ayer
- Sargent Pond Leicester
- Sawdy Pond Fall River
- Sheep Pond Brewster
- Shirley Lake Lunenburg
- Shubael Pond Barnstable
- Silver Lake Pittsfield
- Slough Pond Truro
- Snake Pond Sandwich
- Snipituit Pond and Long Pond Rochester
- Snow Pond Truro
- South Pond ( = Quacumquasit Pond) Sturbridge
- South Watuppa Pond Fall River
- Spectacle Pond Sandwich
- Spy Pond Arlington
- Stevens Pond North Andover
- Stevens Pond & Spicket River (from Stevens Pond to Music Hall Dam in Methuen) Lawrence
- Stiles Pond Boxford
- Stockbridge Bowl Stockbridge
- Studley Pond Rockland
- Sylvan Lake Randolph
- Texas Pond ( = Thayer Pond) Oxford
- Thayer Pond ( = Texas Pond) Oxford
- Tom Nevers Pond Nantucket
- Turner Pond Dartmouth
- Upper Naukeag Lake Ashburnham
- Upper Spectacle Pond Otis
- Wachusett Lake Princeton
- Waite Pond Leicester
- Wakeby Pond (Mashpee-Wakeby Pond) Mashpee
- Walden Pond Concord
- Wallum Lake Douglas
- Warner�s Pond Concord
- Watson Pond Taunton
- Webster Lake (Chaubunagungamaug) Webster
- Wenham Lake Beverly
- Wequaquet Lake Barnstable
- West Lake Sandisfield
- West Monponsett Pond Halifax
- White Pond Dennis
- Whitings Pond North Attleborough
- Whitmans Pond Weymouth
- Whitney Pond Winchendon
- Willet Pond Walpole
- Windsor Lake Windsor
Reservoirs 30
- Aaron River Reservoir Cohasset
- Ashland Reservoir Ashland
- Atkins Reservoir Amherst
- Ballardvale Impoundment of Shawsheen River Andover
- Bracket Reservoir (Framingham Reservoir #2) Framingham
- Chicopee Reservoir Chicopee
- Copicut Reservoir Dartmouth
- East Brimfield Reservoir Brimfield
- Fall Brook Reservoir Leominster
- Fort Meadow Reservoir Hudson
- Mill Pond (SuAsCo Reservoir) above GH Nichols Dam Westborough
- Millvale Reservoir Haverhill
- New Bedford Reservoir Acushnet
- Norton Reservoir Foxborough
- Otis Reservoir Otis
- Plunkett Reservoir Hinsdale
- Quabbin & Wachusett Reservoirs New Salem
- Quinebaug River (from dam at Hamilton Reservoir through East Brimfield Reservoir/Long Pond, including Holland Pond) Brimfield
- Reservoir #6 Sutton
- Reservoir Pond Canton
- Rolling Dam Impoundment Blackstone
- Rumford River (from Glue Factory Pond Dam; Fulton, Kingman, & Cabot ponds; Norton reservoir) Foxborough
- Sherman Reservoir Rowe
- Stern Reservoir (Framingham Reservoir #1) Framingham
- Sudbury Reservoir Marlborough
- Sudbury River (from Ashland to its confluence with the Assabet and Concord Rivers), Stern Reservoir, and Bracket Reservoir Ashland
- Upper Reservoir Westminster
- Wachusett Reservoir New Salem
- Whitehall Reservoir Hopkinton
- Wrights Reservoir Gardner
Rivers 31
- Alewife Brook and Little River Arlington
- Blackstone River Blackstone
- Canton River (between the Neponset River and Neponset Street dam) Canton
- Charles River (between the Medway Dam in Franklin and Medway and the South Natick Dam in Natick) Dover
- Charles River (between the South Natick Dam in Natick and the Museum of Science Dam in Boston/Cambridge) Boston
- Chicopee River Palmer
- Concord River Bedford
- Connecticut River Northfield
- Copicut River Dartmouth
- Hoosic River (from the channelized section in North Adams to the MA/VT state line) N. Adams
- Housatonic River Dalton
- Indian Head River Hanson
- Ipswich River (between the Bostik Findley Dam in Middleton and the Sylvania Dam in Ipswich) Boxford
- Konkapot River (From the Mill River Dam in New Marlborough to its confluence with the Housatonic River) Sheffield
- Little River Arlington
- Lowell Canals Lowell
- Malden River Everett
- Merrimack River (from the MA/NH state line to Broadway Dam in Lawrence) Tyngsborough
- Mill River Hopedale
- Millers River and its tributaries (between the confluence with the Otter River in Winchendon and the Connecticut River in Erving/Montague) Athol
- Mother Brook (between Charles River and Knight Street Dam) Dedham
- Mother Brook (between the Knight Street Dam and the Neponset River) Boston
- Muddy River Boston
- Nashua River Clinton
- Neponset River (between the Hollingsworth & Vose Dam in Walpole and the Walter Baker Dam in Boston) Boston
- North River Hanson
- Otter River (between the Seaman Paper Dam in Templeton and the confluence with the Millers River in Winchendon) Templeton
- Shawsheen River Andover
- Spicket River Lawrence
- Ten Mile River Attleboro
- Ware River Barre
Massachusetts statewide fishing limits
Statewide defaults — specific waters and zones may differ. Verify the current rules before keeping a fish.
| Species | Size | Daily limit | Open season | Keep season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth Bass | 12" min | 5 | Year-round | Same as open |
| Smallmouth Bass | 12" min | 5 | Year-round | Same as open |
| Northern Pike | 28" min | 2 | Year-round | Same as open |
| Chain Pickerel | 15" min | 5 | Year-round | Same as open |
| Walleye | 14" min | 5 | Year-round | Same as open |
| Inland Trout | — | 3 | Year-round | Same as open |
Official rules: Massachusetts — Massachusetts DFW