Releases & Statements

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

July 9, 2009
Contact: Matt Mittenthal

212-669-4691; 917-597-4485

PA Gotbaum: City Must Post Signs to Warn New Yorkers About Eating Fish From Polluted Waters

MANHATTAN – Prompted by reports that the economic crisis has forced low-income New Yorkers to catch and eat fish from local waters, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum called on state and city agencies to implement measures that would raise public awareness of the health risks of locally caught fish.

On Monday, the New York Daily News reported that, at piers where fishermen catch and consume fish from polluted waters, there are no visible warning signs or sources of accurate information. It was also reported that the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) hadn’t tested fish, other than striped bass, in a decade because of the agency’s workload.

Today, Gotbaum announced plans to introduce a bill that would require the city to post signage warning of the various health dangers related to fish from local water, and may require the city to test fish for health-related risks if the state fails to do so.

Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum said, “We can’t blame struggling New Yorkers who choose inexpensive sources of food to feed their families. But it is the city’s responsibility to make sure that fishermen know the fish they catch may not be safe, especially for young children and women of childbearing age.

“Mayor Bloomberg says that ‘common sense’ should discourage people from eating local fish. As usual, the mayor is completely out of touch with the one-in-six New Yorkers who worry every day about putting food on the table. A ‘common sense’ response would be to put signs where people catch fish to eat. We may not be able to discourage some New Yorkers from fishing for food in local waters, but we can help them to make an informed decision about whether it’s worth the health risk to their families.”

Gotbaum expects the bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) or other appropriate agency to:

1. Test fish commonly caught in local waters for PCBs, mercury and other health-related risks, with the exception of those fish tested annually by the state Department of Environmental Conservation or other governmental agency;
2. Post and maintain signage – translated into foreign languages spoken by the particular community – at any city-owned or operated property (such as waterfront parks and piers) that is a known fishing area (a) warning potential fisher (wo)men of the various health dangers related to consuming fish from local waters; and (b) detailing where, if any, safer fishing areas might be located; and
3. Conduct a public education campaign detailing the health-related risks and other possible hazards associated with consuming fish found in local waters.

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