Junior eel monitoring has started along the Hudson River

NEW BALTIMORE―All along the Hudson River estuary, teachers, students, and volunteers are donning waders and venturing into tributary streams to participate in ongoing research on migrating juvenile American eels.

Now in its 19th year, the project was initiated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Hudson River Estuary Program and the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve to gather data for multi-state management plans for eel conservation.

Among the sites is the Hannacroix Creek in New Baltimore.

“The Hudson River Eel Project offers students the opportunity to conduct valuable scientific research that directly contributes to the conservation of American eels,” said DEC Regional Director Kelly Turturro.

“This community science project successfully engages Hudson Valley students with their local ecosystems while helping DEC protect eel habitat,” she added.

The Hudson River Eel Project engages roughly 1,000 volunteers each year in eel research. Over its lifetime, the Eel Project has caught, counted, and released more than two million glass eels, helping these animals access better habitat. 

American eels have one of the most unusual life cycles of any fish. The eels hatch in the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, and every spring arrive in estuaries like the Hudson River as translucent, two-inch long "glass eels."

DEC and volunteers check 10-foot, cone-shaped nets specifically designed to catch these small eels during this life stage. Volunteer and student researchers then count and release the glass eels back into the water and record environmental data on temperature and tides.

DEC releases most of the eels above dams, waterfalls, and other barriers so the eels have better access to habitat. Eels will live in freshwater rivers and streams for up to 30 years before returning to the sea to spawn.

Eel collection takes place at most sites daily from mid-March through May. This spring, students, local volunteers, DEC staff, and partner organizations will monitor glass eels at 12 streams from the New York Harbor to the Capital Region.

Hudson River Eel Project participants are trained in these field collection protocols to ensure useful data is collected.

To volunteer, visit https://hrnerr.org/eel-monitoring.

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