More than 500 fish and shellfish samples collected from native Alaskan fishing grounds were analyzed for aromatic contaminants (ACs) from petroleum (alkylated and unsubstituted aromatic hydrocarbons with 2-7 benzenoid rings and dibenzothiophenes). Intertidal molluscs (mussels, clams, chitons, and snails) from Windy Bay, Kodiak (City), Chenega Bay, and Old Harbor consistently had more than 100 parts-per-billion (ppb) ACs, with levels in mussels from Windy Bay and Kodiak as high as 12,000 to 18,000 ppb. Levels of ACs in molluscs, crabs, and sea urchins from other villages were less than 10 ppb, a level comparable to that measured in shellfish from the designated reference area in Southeast Alaska near Angoon. Nonparametric statistics on 147 samples of molluscs showed that levels of ACs in molluscs from Windy Bay, Kodiak, and Chenega Bay were significantly higher (p = or < 0.05) than those in the Angoon molluscs sampled. In an unofficial advisory opinion, the Food and Drug Administration has indicated that little risk is involved in the consumption of the nonsmoked subsistence foods studied.