Hawaii health officials have issued an advisory telling people not to eat fish or shellfish caught in the Kaneohe Marine Corps Base Hawaii fuel pier and marina area due to unsafe levels of contaminants.

Tests from two species of whole goatfish caught in the area indicate unsafe levels of man-made organic chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (bi-phe-nyls). A sampling of soil in the area also found levels of the contaminant above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state guidelines. The state issued the advisory today.

Hawaii toxicologist Barbara Brooks says a single large meal or occasional meals of fish caught in the area is not expected to cause illness, but frequent eating of the contaminated fish could put a person at a higher risk for cancer or other diseases.