Can you eat fish from the Hudson?
Short answer: it depends how old you are, what kind of fish it is and where you caught the fish.
There’s a chemical of concern in fish from the Hudson River called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that could cause health issues and birth effects especially in women of childbearing age, according to the New York State Department of Health. “Women under 50 and children under 15 should not eat fish or crabs from the Corinth Dam to the New York City Battery” – which is essentially the entire stretch of the Hudson River.
PCBs have been used as a fire preventive and insulator in electrical devices, and were discharged from two General Electric capacitor manufacturing plants in the upper Hudson River watershed north of Catskill before the chemical was banned in the late 1970s. Because of the pollution, that area is designated as catch and release only by the DEC, and “in general, fish from the lower Hudson are less contaminated.”
In 2024, New York State updated its fish eating guidance from eating up to four meals a month of any fish to different advice for each fish species. New advice is based on an extensive review of available statewide fish contaminant data and considers input from more than 7,800 anglers.
“This change is based on new data analysis, the most recent information on mercury toxicity, and guidance from the EPA and neighboring states,” according to New York State Health officials. “It is not because mercury levels in fish have increased. Mercury has been in the New York State environment and in fish for many years.”
“No one should eat striped bass” between the Federal Dam in Troy to the Rip Van Winkle Bridge in Catskill. The general population can eat several species, but should follow tips to reduce exposure to PCBs.
According to the state: Popular fish such as trout, yellow perch, sunfish, crappie, and smaller walleye are still great choices for eating. However, people should eat less freshwater drum, white perch, and larger walleye, and smallmouth bass.
See the state’s full recommendations, here: https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/outdoors/fish/health_advisories/regional/statewide.htm
...but can you swim in the Hudson River?
Today, swimming in parts of the Hudson River is “generally safe,” according to the advocacy group Riverkeeper, but it depends where. Click here for more info
