Can you eat hudson river fish

Q: Can you eat the fish from the Hudson River? Eels, walleye, white catfish, channel catfish, and gizzard shad caught in the tidal Hudson or Rondout Creek should not be eaten by anyone. Preparing Hudson River Fish You can reduce the amount of PCBs consumed if you remove the skin, belly fat, back fat, and dark areas on the sides before cooking.

For more information and advice on eating Hudson River fish, refer to the Health Advice brochure specific to your area or visit: www. Go to Top. In , General Electric Co. PCBs are compounds used in electrical equipment, flame retardant and other industrial uses. PCBs are known carcinogens, and cause low birth weight, birth defects, cancer and genetic mutations even in small amounts.

By the time GE ceased dumping in , over 1. PCBs are insoluble in water, meaning they can embed in the soil of waterways. Also, PCBs do not easily evaporate, and are highly un reactive, meaning that they can stay in environments for many years.

However, PCBs are highly soluble in fats, meaning that they are especially dangerous to fish eaters. When one fish eats another fish with PCBs in them, the PCBs can easily spread up the food chain in fish flesh and fat; and can spread easily to humans. In , after intense legal wrangling with the EPA, GE finally accepted responsibility for the pollution, and began to remove the chemicals through dredging.

McCabe noted that it will be up to the state Department of Health — not the federal government — to determine when advisories against eating fish caught in the river will be lifted. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N. That testing is ongoing and could result in a new EPA cleanup order. Reach Gazette reporter Stephen Williams at , [email protected] or gazettesteve on Twitter. Categories: News , Schenectady County.

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