Weekend: Fish Count on the Hudson River

The fourth annual Great Hudson River Estuary Fish Count will take place at sites along the Hudson on August 15.

The public is invited to join naturalists from the Capital Region to New York City as they explore the amazing variety of slippery, wriggly and fascinating creatures usually hidden below the river’s surface.

The Hudson and its watershed are home to more than 200 species of fish. During the Fish Count, participating organizations encourage visitors to help collect fish using seine nets, minnow traps, rods and reels. Seining involves pulling a 30-foot net through the water and checking out the fish, crabs and other river-life caught in its mesh. Participants may watch from shore or jump into available waterproof waders and help pull in the net. The fish are released.

Throughout the day’s event, participating groups share their catch results with one another. Comparing notes promotes understanding of the diversity of fishes and habitats in the Hudson, the vitality of the estuarine ecosystem in urban and rural settings, and the influence of salinity and tides.

Local Great Hudson Fish Count Sites include:

• Yonkers – Habirshaw Park: Sarah Lawrence College Center for the Urban River at Beczak. Seining. Free. For information and pre-registration: CURB’s River Explorers webpage 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
• Piermont – Piermont Pier at blockhouse: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. Seining. Free. For information: email Margie Turrin. 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
• Sleepy Hollow – Kingsland Point Park/Kathryn W. Davis RiverWalk Center: Teatown Lake Reservation. Seining. Program free. Parking: $5 with county park pass or Sleepy Hollow residents; $10 without pass. For information and pre-registration: http://www.teatown.org/ 2:00 p.m.
• Croton on Hudson – Croton Point Park: Westchester County Dept. of Parks and Recreation. Seining. Program free. Parking: $5 with county park pass; $10 without pass. For information: call Croton Point Nature Center (914) 862-5297 8:00 a.m.
• Cold Spring – Little Stony Point, Hudson Highlands State Park: Hudson River Almanac/Hudson River Estuary Program. Seining. Free. For information: email Tom Lake. 6:30 p.m.
• Beacon – Long Dock Park: Scenic Hudson. Seining. Free. For information and pre-registration: Scenic Hudson’s Fish Count webpage. 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon

For more information, please visit the Great Hudson River Estuary Fish Count page on DEC’s website: www.dec.ny.gov/lands/97891.html.

PHOTO: NYDEC