So, you know how, like, you see these dudes fishing from the banks of the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers? Well, some of them actually eat what they catch! There are catfish, perch and lots of other edibles swimming in the city’s murky waters, but there’s also mercury, cancer-causing PCBs and all kinds of other nasty remnants of the industrial age lurking in there too. Still, according to the Inky, the state’s Fish and Boat Commission, Department of Health, and Department of Environmental Protection all say that it’s perfectly safe for fishermen and women to consume what they reel in. Sort of.
There are dangers. Fish swimming in polluted waters take on the toxins and contaminants that surround them, and when people eat the infected fish, they too ingest the pollutants. Though anglers scoff at warnings, and freely eat their catches without reservations, experts caution that folks should limits their intake of fish from local waters to just two meals per month. Catfish and other bottom feeders should only be consumed once a month. And stuff like eels and carp shouldn’t be consumed at all, because they are way too toxic.
Safe to eat fish caught in Philly? Depends whom you ask [Inquirer]
Related: First Fukushima Fish Sold Since Japanese Nuclear Meltdown
