As harbor cleanup winds down, education around toxic seafood continues

May 22, 2026 - 03:55

As the massive cleanup of New Bedford Harbor enters its final phase, a troubling new survey reveals that most local residents continue to eat seafood caught from the polluted waters. Researchers found that over three-quarters of surveyed New Bedford residents reported eating contaminated seafood from the harbor last year, despite decades of warnings about toxic levels of PCBs and heavy metals in the fish and shellfish.

The harbor has been a federal Superfund site since the 1980s, with the Environmental Protection Agency overseeing a dredging operation that has removed tons of contaminated sediment. Yet the survey results suggest that public health messages are not reaching everyone. Many residents, particularly those who fish for subsistence or cultural reasons, say they cannot afford store-bought alternatives or distrust official warnings.

Local health officials are now shifting their focus from cleanup to education. They are working with community groups to distribute fact sheets in multiple languages and to train fishermen to recognize warning signs. But changing habits is slow. One fisherman told researchers that he has eaten harbor fish his whole life and feels fine, so he sees no reason to stop. The EPA expects the dredging to be complete within two years, but the legacy of contamination in the food chain will persist for decades.