FISH RESEARCH: The Great Hudson River Estuary Fish Count (August 15, 2015)

Synopsis: "The Great Hudson River Estuary Fish Count is a one-day event each summer during which naturalists at multiple sites along the Hudson catch fish to show visitors the variety of slippery, wriggly, and fascinating creatures usually hidden below the river's surface. Fresh upriver and salty at New York City, the Hudson estuary and its watershed are home to more than 200 fish species, including several that migrate into the river from the Atlantic Ocean each spring to spawn. The count is organized by DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program" (Source: http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/97891.html)

Manhattan Bridge - view from Brooklyn side (Photo Credit: www.airbnb.com)

Stephen Stanne of NY DEC discussing goal of the fish count (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Project: The Great Hudson River Estuary Fish Count

Host:  NY DEC (http://www.dec.ny.gov/)

Organizers: NY DEC and environmental education programs at specific sites

Website: http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/97891.html

Date: Saturday, August 15, 2015
Location: Various sites along the Hudson River. This report only covers the Brooklyn Bridge Park site. See yellow text below.

Town/County	Site	Time	Partner Organization
Waterford/Saratoga	Peebles Island State Park	2 pm	NYS Office of Parks/Hudson River Estuary Program
Castleton/Rensselaer	Schodack Island State Park	11 am	NYS Office of Parks/Rensselaer Land Trust
Athens/Greene	Cohotate Preserve	1:30 pm	Cornell Cooperative Extension of Greene County
Kingston/Ulster	Kingston Pt Beach	12 noon	Kingston Parks & Recreation/Forsyth Nature Center
Staatsburg/Dutchess	Norrie Pt Environmental Center	10 am	Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve
Beacon/Dutchess	Long Dock Park	10 am	Scenic Hudson
New Windsor/Orange	Kowawese Unique Area	8 am	Hudson River Almanac/Hudson River Estuary Program
Cold Spring/Putnam	Little Stony Pt, Hudson Highlands State Park	6:30 pm	Hudson River Almanac/Hudson River Estuary Program
Croton/Westchester	Croton Pt Park	8 am	Westchester Co. Dept of Parks & Recreation
Sleepy Hollow/Westchester	Kathryn Davis Riverwalk Center, Kingsland Pt Park	2 pm	Teatown Lake Reservation
Piermont/Rockland	Piermont Pier	2 pm	Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Yonkers/Westchester	Beczak Center at Habirshaw Park	2 pm	Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River
Manhattan/New York	Ft Washington Park	3:30 pm	Hudson River Estuary Program/NYC Parks
Manhattan/New York	Hudson River Park, Pier 84, W44th St. & 12th Ave.	1 pm	Hudson River Park Trust
Manhattan/New York	Hudson River Park, Pier 25 at the Lilac	1 pm	The River Project
Manhattan/New York	Pier 42, East River Park	12 noon	Lower East Side Ecology Center
Brooklyn/Kings	Brooklyn Bridge Park, Main St. section	3 pm	Brooklyn Bridge Park/Hudson River Estuary Program
Manhattan/New York	Randall's Island, restored salt marsh, Harlem River	9:30 am	Randall's Island Park Alliance

 (Source: http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/97891.html)

Participants: Biologists, naturalists, and educators
Methods: Seining

Seining under the Manhattan Bridge (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Atlantic Silverside in Seine Net (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Species Caught (and Released) at Brooklyn Bridge Park Site:

Lined Seahorse (Hippocampus erectus)
Atlantic Silverside (Menidia menidia)

Scup/Porgy (Stenotomus chrysops)

Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis)

Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix)

Lined Seahorse (Photo Credit: Stephen Stanne)

Scup, also called Porgy (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Striped Bass (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Bluefish (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Atlantic Silverside (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Other Species Caught (and Released)::

Blue Claw Crab (Callinectes sapidus)
Calico Crab (Hepatus epheliticus)
Shrimp (Crangon spp.)

Comb Jelly

Comments: Please note that this blog post is an unofficial report. Please see the NY DEC website for official results and data from the survey.

Additional Info: This event was organized by the NY DEC. 
  
Follow-Up: As of August 17, 2015, this year's Great Hudson River Estuary Fish Count recorded 33 species. The fish species total over the past four years, including this year's efforts, is 43 (Stanne, pers. comm.). For reference, historically, there are over 200 species listed in the official Hudson River fish checklist.
 

Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Stephen Stanne (NY DEC) for inviting us to this event!