Fishing and Poverty in Newburgh

On our field trip to Newburgh, Caterskill Falls, and Hudson we saw many of the destinations that we had talked about during class, like the falls, Storm King Mountain, West Point, Bannerman's Island, the City of Hudson and all of its antique stores, and of course the river itself. What I did not expect to see was the gigantic carp that was pulled from its waters as we were leaving the tour at Newburgh.

As we got off the tourboat, there were about 8 or 9 people hanging out and fishing near the dock. The signs near the water remind people that it isn't safe to eat fish out of the Hudson because of the PCBs; becase of these signs a lot of people catch and release, never consuming the fish they eat. We watched as one man got a bite and reeled in a carp that I would estimate to be at least 15 pounds (though you'd have to ask Mr. Shen for a more accurate estimate). Amidst the excitement of pulling this fish out of the water, I heard the catcher claim that he was going to be having fish for dinner that night, a statement that concerned me.

I have no way to know whether this man was actually planning to eat the fish, but the fact remains that despite warnings, some people still eat fish out of the Hudson. According to another post in this blog, it is only safe to eat about 1 meal of carp per month; I don't think I would even eat one meal of fish out of the Hudson. It is the poorest members of society who need to jeopardize their health in order to put dinner on the table. This is one more reason GE should be held responsible for the PCBs they dumped into the water over a span of decades.

I only watched the activity at the peer for about 10 minutes but in that short time the issue of poverty in the Hudson River Valley became more real to me. It is one thing to read about thousands of of people that eat fish out of the river each year, but seeing it happen in person just once made me care a lot more. I am glad went on the field trip for this reason, and would suggest that more classes at Hamilton take field trips so the students and professors may have an experience that stays with them after the final exam (or presentation).