STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — With the season opening for fisher folk in New York City, readers have asked, “Is it safe to eat fish caught off of Staten Island?”
Nicky Reggiano of Nicky’s Bait and Tackle in Midland Beach assured, “Absolutely! I’ve been eating it for 30 years and I’m still here.”
While local fisher people savor time on the shoreline and casting lines from party boats, the New York State Department of Health warns against eating some catches. As a general rule, larger fish — those measuring 20 inches or greater — have older bodies and could have higher numbers of PCBs, Dioxin and Cadmium.
Bunker is used for bait for striped bass. Here it is on the Ocean Breeze Fishing Pier. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)
For women under 50 and children under 15, there are firm government recommendations on consumption based on where the fish are caught and what chemicals to which the creatures might have been exposed.
As the New York State Health Department notes, “Women who eat highly contaminated fish and become pregnant may have an increased risk of having children who are slower to develop and learn. Chemicals may have a greater effect on the development of young children or unborn babies. Also, some chemicals may be passed on in mother’s milk.”
For women of non-childbearing age and for men, in general, the health risks are not as great, says the DOH of New York State. Therefore their diets can include a wider range of sport fish.
For those in that group, it is safe to cast a line for a meal, according to the State Health Department, in the Upper New York Bay, north of the Verrazzano, the Arthur Kill, Kill van Kull, Richmond and Raritan Bay, west of Wolfe’s Pond Park. Up to one meal a month can be consumed of Atlantic needlefish, bluefish, carp, goldfish, rainbow smelt, striped bass and white perch. However, up to four meals per month of all other fish and blue crab can be consumed from the Richmond County areas, notes the state.
No-no’s for everyone fishing around the borough specifically include bottom-feeders like American eel, Channel and white catfish as well as Gizzard shad. Crab and lobster tomalley — that’s the green stuff that includes a critter’s liver and hepatopancreas — and any resulting cooking liquid are considered toxic to all with PCB’s, Dioxin and/or Cadmium, generally in high concentrations.
The state of New Jersey also posts stern warnings on catches from the Newark Bay, Arthur Kill, Kill Van Kull and tidal tributaries. The website NJ.gov additionally points to summer flounder (fluke) and says no more than one per month should be eaten by someone in the general population.
CAN YOU GET A CHEF TO COOK A CATCH?
If the Great Kills marina inspires a local catch for dinner, it’s not going to happen by the hands of chefs in the vicinity.
Ian Cole from Cole’s Dockside details, “So, it’s against the law for me to cook their catch and charge them because they are not purchased from a licensed distributor. The stipulation is that they don’t have any health department qualifications or credentials so I do not know that they held the fish properly to HACCP [food safety] standards. And obviously the fish has to be purchased so New York City can collect their tax dollars.”
Marina Cafe executive chef Joe Labriola explains further, “You need a tag from the fish company to serve fish or even get filleted fish. If you get caught it’s a big fine.”
Striped bass can be simmered in plum sauce with sweet vermouth and served with sauteed grapes. This creation is from chef Mike Cappucci of The Local, a dish made in his own Great Kills home in a prior bass season. (Staten Island Advance File Photo)
Chef Mike Cappucci is the executive chef at The Local in Castleton Corners, a life-long Great Kills resident and an avid fisherman. His favorite spots include a pier wreck off Arbutus Avenue where blackfish are so big they can be speared easily.
Around Staten Island, he says, “Right now there’s a lot of striped bass. They came in early, lots of schoolies — you know, small bass — more out by Mount Loretto because there’s a lot of bunker and bait around there. The bass are right behind it.”
Striped bass season begins on Thursday, April 15.
Cappucci eats all of his catches — except bluefish, which can be made into crab cake-type creations with mayonnaise and seasoning. However, the species has a distinct, oily flavor, an acquired taste for some. The chef recommends removing dark flesh on a striped bass, which tends to have a rather bold fish flavor.
“But everything that comes out of the water is good, especially now with the colder waters before the summer. I think now the fish are even nicer,” said Cappucci. He can’t wait to get his jet ski in the water to go “fluke-ing.”
“I go everywhere to fish — right out of the harbor, under the Verrazzano, near the Statue of Liberty. Our waters are cleaner than ever,” he enthuses.
Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. Send photos and stories of your fresh catches with weights, location caught and, ideally, any recipes that result from the fishing expeditions to silvestri@siadvance.com.
The Link LonkApril 14, 2021 at 05:03PM
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Is it safe to eat fish caught off of Staten Island? - SILive.com
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