CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y., Aug. 14 — On a recent cloudless afternoon, Croton Point Park seemed to be a fishing paradise. The
tide was low; the breeze was soft. Families picnicked and people stood along the shore with
fishing rods, casting out into the Hudson in hopes of catching and carrying away one of the river’s coveted bluefish or striped bass.
The only problem — though it was invisible — was in the fish themselves.
“We’ve been coming here to get our fish for many years, and it’s been great,” said Miguel Tejada, holding a sleek fishing rod in his hands as his wife and two small
children looked on. “I have heard people say that you should not eat the fish here too much, that the fish are not safe. But I’m not really worried.”
For years, state health officials have warned that because of mercury and PCB contamination, women of childbearing age and children under 15 should not eat any fish from the Hudson River, and other people should do so only sparingly. Studies and surveys have nonetheless found that many people are either unaware of those warnings or, like Mr. Tejada, simply ignore them.