Hooking a Maine fish is one thing, but is it safe to eat? [Video]

Maine anglers can’t be sure the fish they hope to hook are safe to eat because the overwhelming majority of the state’s 6,000 lakes and ponds and 32,000 miles of rivers haven’t been tested for potentially harmful “forever chemicals.”

The state has tested 1,800 fish culled from 112 locations since it first began testing for perfluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances. Even trace amounts of these manmade compounds have been linked to compromised immune systems, low birth weights and several types of cancer.

The results have prompted the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to issue consumption limits for 10 ponds, lakes, streams and rivers from Sanford to Limestone, and two locations in Fairfield where PFAS levels are so high that no fish from there should be consumed at all.

Some advisories target specific species. Sanford anglers shouldn’t eat more than one largemouth bass a month from Number One Pond, a popular fishing …