Congratulations, you went out fishing and you caught something. It is a wonderful feeling, right? What are you going to do? Are you going to eat your fish or are you going to throw it back? Is it actually safe to eat it? 

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According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, there are two factors that go into whether or not you can actually eat that fish you caught. Between you and me, you might want to know this before you go fishing. That way, if you catch something you can't eat, you can take the photo and then toss it back in the water to swim another day.

What do you need to consider? It pretty much comes down to where you fish and what you catch.

Where did you catch It?

The where you fish comes down to what the water is like in that particular spot. Is there a chemical advisory? Has something recently been spilled into that body of water?

What did you catch?

Then as far as the what you catch, the DEC mentions that smaller fish are less likely to be contaminated than larger ones. It all comes down to limiting how much of the fish you are going to eat and being aware of the advisory areas.

If you are not thinking about eating the fish, then you don't have to stress about it. You can just catch the fish and safely return them to the water.

There is a cool advisory chart that is put out by the NYS DEC and for the Hudson River Region, it does list certain advisories about which fish you can eat and which ones you will want to avoid. The reason? PCB's. Check out that list here. Remember to check the list before you head out and to bring your camera because we would love to see what you caught!

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