Chemical compounds associated with oil sands extraction and upgrading operations have been implicated in the tainting of the Athabasca River fishery, a commercial and subsistence fishery for local natives. Selected contaminants found in oil sands wastewaters, and judged to be candidate tainting compounds, were spiked in walleye flesh and subjected to screening odour and taste detection by a trained sensory panel. Twelve compounds were screened and 8 were pursued for determination of detection thresholds based upon 3 separate sessions with a minimum of 9 panelists. Taint detection threshold values ranging from 0.09 mg/kg for benzothiophene to 12.2 mg/kg for 2,6-dimethylnaphthalene were established. These values will assist in determining the significance of analytically determined concentrations of these compounds in fish flesh.