Can You Eat That Striped Bass From the Hudson?

banner image of three anglers holding striped bass

Striped bass are one of the most well-known fish in the entire Hudson River, prized by generations of fishermen. Many anglers believe striped bass are not contaminated with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls).

The truth is that testing over many decades have shown that some Hudson River striped bass have PCB levels often three to four times higher than other striped bass found south of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge in Catskill. How do you know if the striped bass you catch has high PCB levels? The answer is - you don’t!

What are the chances of catching a striped bass with more than 0.5 part per million (ppm) of PCBs?

Troy

Fall Season

Troy

Spring Season

Catskill to the
George Washington Bridge

Spring Season
image showing nine red fish and one blue fish representing roughly 80 to 95% chance of striped bass caught in Troy (during fall season) being over 0.5 ppm PCBs image showing six and a half red fish and three and a half blue fish representing roughly 65% chance of striped bass caught in Troy (during spring season) being over 0.5 ppm PCBs image showing three red fish and seven blue fish representing only roughly 30% chance of striped bass caught between Catskill and New York City (during spring season) being over 0.5 ppm PCBs
85-90% chance 10-65% chance 12-30% chance
Key
image of a small blue fish image of a small red fish
below 0.5 ppm above or equal
to 0.5 ppm

This graphic represents the percentage of striped bass that exceed 0.5 ppm (part per million) of PCBs sampled in the Hudson River at Troy and Catskill in any given year between 2018 and 2023. 0.5 ppm is a health protective guideline used by the NYS Department of Health (NYS DOH) for setting PCB based fish advisories. For this reason, NYS DOH has a “do not eat” advisory on recreationally caught striped bass between Troy and Catskill and other restrictions south of Catskill (see below or the Hudson River regional advice page). New striped bass advice was issued in the spring of 2026.

So can you eat that striped bass? It depends.

Who you are matters

The Sensitive Population (anyone who can become pregnant (under age 50) and children under 15) should not eat any fish from the Hudson River between South Glens Falls and the Rip Van Winkle Bridge in Catskill. Downstream of Catskill, PCB levels in some species are lower and the Sensitive Population can eat certain species up to one meal per month, including striped bass. Chemicals in fish can have a greater effect on childhood development and babies. Many of these chemicals can stay in the body for decades. People who eat highly contaminated fish and become pregnant may be at a higher risk of having children who are slower to develop and learn. Some chemicals can also be passed on to a child in breast milk. Exposure to contaminants may also have a greater effect on young children than adults.

The General Population (everyone else) may face fewer health risks from the chemicals found in fish. For that reason, the advice for the General Population allows them to eat more kinds of sportfish and more often.

Where you fish matters

Even though striped bass are a migratory fish, enough data exists that shows striped bass caught between Troy and Catskill can have PCBs well above the recommended NYS DOH guidelines.

Advice if you are fishing between Troy and Catskill:

No one should eat striped bass from this section of the Hudson River. Have fun reeling them in - but consider practicing catch and release fishing.

Advice if you are fishing between Catskill and the Battery in NYC:

The Sensitive Population can eat up to one, half-pound meal per month of striped bass.

The General Population can eat up to four, half-pound meals per month of striped bass.

See our trimming and skinning tips below for more information on how to reduce PCBs in a fish meal.

Want to see the data?

picture of a striped bass

Click to see the updated 2026 striped bass packet (pdf, 2.5 MB) for more details and a “deeper dive” into the data.

To view the older, 2019 version of the striped bass packet to compare data, click here (pdf, 5 MB).

Skinning and Trimming to Reduce PCBs

By removing the skin and fat, and cooking so fat drips off, you can remove about 50% of PCBs from a fish meal

diagram illustrating trimming skin and dark fatty meat away from a fish fillet

You can reduce the amount of PCBs in a fish meal by properly trimming, skinning and cooking your catch.

  • Remove the skin and trim all the fat from the belly flap, the dark line along the sides, and the fat along the back and under the skin (see diagram).
  • Cooking or soaking fish cannot eliminate the contaminants, but heat from cooking melts some of the fat in fish and allows some of the contaminated fat to drip away.
  • Broil, grill or bake the trimmed, skinned fish on a rack so that the fat drips away. Do not use drippings to prepare sauces or gravies.

Interested in providing feedback about the striped bass packet? We want to hear from you!

Take this short survey (takes you to surveymonkey.com) after reading though the packet and receive a free gift for your time.

Your feedback will help improve future versions.  

NYS DEC striped bass resources:

Check the most up-to-date NYS DEC regulations before you go out.

Tips for using circle hooks.