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Not only is the East River contaminated with mercury, so is the Potomac and the Hudson…Unfortunately this problem is very very real. Most rivers and waterways in the U.S. are quickly reaching a level of mercury toxicity that dictates fish and other edible aquatic life pulled out of the respective waterway SHOULD NOT be eaten. If I remember correctly, a whopping 48 out of 50 states have now adopted fish consumption warnings. New York and many states along the east coast are among those that have adopted such warnings. The Potomac is another large, well-known waterway that is unequivocally polluted, and fish caught there should NOT be eaten. Check out a recent FRONTLINE documentary on PBS entitled “Poisoned Waters” that details the level of pollution in the Potomac and Puget Sound in Washington (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/poisonedwaters/ ). It is absolutely DISGUSTING what has been done to our domestic waterways. Across the United States, mercury pollution is known to have contaminated 12 million acres of lakes, estuaries, and wetlands (30 percent of the total!), and 473,000 miles of streams, rivers, and coasts. Check the source here: (http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/sources.asp)

Again, I can’t stress enough the need for additional testing in the U.S. The FDA is obviously not adequately testing seafood as can be seen from this newsletter from the seafood testing company Safe Harbor group that states a WHOPPING 80% of swordfish tested from grocery stores had mercury levels OVER the 1.0 ppm FDA limit. Read for yourself: http://www.safeharborfoods.com/pdfs/SafeHarborNews-0108.pdf

I really hope Safe Harbor seafood is more widely available soon. If the FDA is testing seafood for toxic mercury levels, how is this company finding such high mercury levels in fish sold in stores? Something just doesn’t add up.

Direct quote from greenpoint resident circa 2008:

Q: Can you eat any of the fish you catch in the (east) river

A: eh... You catch it today, mangia, mangia, You catch it tomorra' ya sell it!

1) I was recently searching on-line for sources of Omega's 3 & 6 and was horrified to learn that basically fish in general are dangerous to eat--even farm raised. Daniel Boone would turn in his grave.

2) This is true: NYC fishermen sell their catches to local restauraunts.

Most people fishing in East River fish for meat. There are some "sport fishermen" but truly most guys treat the fish they catch as a real score.

I fish the east river. I keep fish for friends, blue fish mostly ranging from 16-30 inches. The fish I would keep are "keeper" stripers caught during the migration in spring and fall. Are those safe? My understanding is they are the same fish you catch in NC in February and Maine in August.

The very grossest keeper fish I have seen in NYC is guys crabbing the Newtown creek west of the sewage plant. They had a 5 gallon bucket half full of crabs.

Thanks

AHHG!

What's with the beeping on your guests phone line? I've been hearing this beeping on your show's phone guests lately. please fix! it is like the Tell Tale Heart

What about Striped Bass caught in the East River?

Is acid rain still a factor?
And what areas does it effect?

clams & muscles are bottom feeders. many of the pollutants i.e. mercury settle there & shell fish filter that gunk out

What about clams and muscles?