Scientists out of Duke University have learned that fish in the Lower Cape Fear River are more contaminated than previously thought, and fish consumption advisories have been dangerously outdated. They've also learned that the people who fish from the river are not necessarily doing it for sport. Duke researchers found that people who catch fish from the Cape Fear River often consume the fish and share it with others.
A recent study that showed fish favored by subsistence fishers along the Brunswick and Cape Fear rivers were found to have elevated levels of arsenic, hexavalent chromium and mercury has prompted a state health advisory.