Great Hudson River Estuary Fish Count 2016 is Aug. 13: VIDEO

The fifth annual Great Hudson River Estuary Fish Count will take place at multiple sites along the banks and piers of the Hudson on Aug. 13. The public is invited to join naturalists from the Capital Region to New York City to explore the amazing 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, state environmental officials said.

During the Fish Count, participating organizations encourage visitors to help collect fish using seine nets, minnow traps, or rods and reels. The fish are released after everyone has a chance to see them up close. 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.

As the day goes on, participating groups share their catch results with each other via cell phones and by posting to DEC Twitter using the hashtag #hudsonriverfishcount. Comparing notes will build understanding of the diversity of fish and habitats in the Hudson, the vitality of the estuarine ecosystem in urban as well as rural settings, and the influence of salinity and tides, officials said.

See list of participating sites below.

For more information, visit the Great Hudson River Estuary Fish Count page on DEC’s website. While the Fish Count programs are free of charge, some parks may charge entrance or parking fees.

Sites & Participating Organizations – 2016

Yonkers
- Habirshaw Park: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.; seining at 35 Alexander St, 1 block from Yonkers Metro North Station (Hudson Line); Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River at Beczak
Piermont
- Piermont Pier: 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.; seining at blockhouse at pier’s end; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
Sleepy Hollow
- Kingsland Pt. Park: 11:00 a.m.; seining at Kathryn W. Davis RiverWalk Center; Teatown Lake Reservation
Croton-on-Hudson
- Croton Point Park: 1:00 p.m.; seining at Mother’s Lap waterfront just west of swimming beach; Westchester County Parks Department
Cold Spring
- Little Stony Point: 12:30 p.m.; seining at north end of Sandy Beach; Hudson River Estuary Program
New Windsor
- Kowawese Unique Area/Plum Point: 2:30 p.m.; seining on county park beach; Hudson River Estuary Program
Beacon
- Long Dock Park: 10:00 a.m. - Noon; seining; Scenic Hudson
Poughkeepsie
- Quiet Cove Park: 3:00 p.m.; seining; Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve
Athens
- Cohotate Preserve: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.; seining; Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia and Greene Counties

Stuyvesant
- Nutten Hook: 3:00 p.m.; seining at Ice House Road entrance; River Haggie Outdoors/Rensselaer Land Trust
Castleton-on-Hudson
- Schodack Island State Park: 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.; seining at boat launch; River Haggie Outdoors/Rensselaer Land Trust
Waterford
- Peebles Island State Park: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.; seining near picnic pavilion; Hudson River Estuary Program

and in NYC:

Brooklyn
- Valentino Pier: 10:00 a.m. - Noon; seining at end of Coffey St, Red Hook; Hudson River Estuary Program
- Brooklyn Bridge Park: 10:30 a.m. - Noon; seining at beach under Manhattan Bridge; Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy
Manhattan
- Hudson River Park Pier 25: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.; minnow pots & crab traps at Steamship Lilac, at West St & North Moore St; The River Project
- Hudson River Park Pier 84: Noon - 4:00 p.m.; angling on Pier 84 at 12th Ave & 44th St; Hudson River Park Trust
- Ft. Washington Park: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.; seining at beach near comfort station just south of Little Red Lighthouse; Hudson River Estuary Program
- Inwood Hill Park: 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.; seining in Washington Heights at West 218 St & Indian Rd; Hudson River Estuary Program
- Randall’s Island Park: 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.; seining at Little Hell Gate salt marsh on Harlem River just south of Icahn Stadium; Randall’s Island Parks Alliance

PHOTO, VIDEO/ DEC