Minecraft wiki entry for Beginner%27s_guide, associated text: You may also see fish in nearby rivers, and you can go into the water to kill them with your sword. Cod and salmon are edible, but you should cook them like other meat. Be careful about playing in the water. Aside from the risk of drowning in deep water, there may be monsters in there likedrowned, and pufferfish can hurt you badly if you approach them. Then too, moving in water is slow, and you don't want to spend too much time there.