Every summer, Anacostia Riverkeeper hosts Friday Night Fishing in Southeast East D.C.
Riverkeeper Trey Sherard uses family fun as bait to introduce Washingtonians to the river while educating them on the its resources.
"We get to do this public health education piece, which is that it's not really safe to eat the fish yet," Sherard said.
D.C. residents will have to wait a while before using the river's fish in their ceviche dishes or swimming in its waters.
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In order to make the river swimmable, "We have to just stop putting poop in the water," Sherard said. "That simple."
A lawsuit filed against the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission and DC Water pushed the institutions to develop engineering projects that have improved the river's condition, according to Sherard.
"So, it is already swimmable here some days, although it's not legal yet," Sherard said.
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In relation to the fishing aspect, the toxic chemicals "get in the ground, then they get in the worms, and they get in the small fish and then the medium fish, the big fish. And every time they go up the food chain, the problem gets a little bit more magnified and a little bit worse," Sherard said.
Washingtonians under 16 and over 65 don't need a fishing license. Otherwise, the license costs $10 and $13 for non-District residents. To learn more on how to get a fishing license, you can access the Department of Energy and Environment's website
Friday Night Fishing runs each Friday through the end of August. Click here to sign up.
