The Hudson River Eel Project

I didn't think we need another eel thread.

The Hudson River Eel Project
The eel project is continuing on a scaled-back basis, without volunteers or students. DEC staff are following strict safety and distancing protocols.

3/29 – Ulster County: Despite a steady drizzle and a brisk running current in this Hudson River tributary, checking our glass eel research fyke net was wonderful. The overnight set had a nice haul of juvenile glass eels, little ribbons of life that connected me instantly to the Sargasso Sea, a thousand miles away in the mid-Atlantic.

Four larger elvers, called yearlings, were also in the net. They had survived the gauntlet of their first year in the estuary. Among the eels were several caddisflies, architectural insects with homes of leaves or sticks or tiny stones. On the bright yellow tennis balls that lined the net stakes, new hatches of stone flies gathered. The entire scene was a tableau of survival and beauty and life, even in tough times. The water temperature was 46 degrees; the air temperature was 50 degrees.
- Chris Bowser