Eels, eels everywhere
-
- March
- 27
OK, well maybe not everywhere. But those researching American eels in the Hudson River and its tributaries are happy with what they found this week.
Chris Bowser, a science educator with the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River 
National Estuarine Research Reserve, sent the following eel e-mail along this week. He’s working with some high school students on Furnace Brook in Cortlandt
On Tuesday, March 24, we put in the fyke net at Furnace Brook with several students from Ossining High School. Our goal: to monitor the migration of tiny juvenile eels—“glass eels”—as they entered the tidal
mouth of Furnace Brook.I cautioned the students that we were starting several weeks earlier than last year, and that the water was still very cold (9 degrees C). Undaunted, we pounded rebar and slogged through mud so that we could capture data
around this week’s new moon.The next day, Wednesday March 25, there were 75 glass eels in the net. Today, Thursday March 26, I just got a text message: “134!!”
Glass eels refer to the tiny, transparent young eels born more than 1,000 miles away in the Atlantic Ocean. They’re now migrating into coastal rivers, where they will spend most of their lives. The photo above by TJN photographer Stuart Bayer shows a glass eel captured and counted during last year’s undertaking.
Here’s an earlier eel post with links to more information and last year’s story. Here’s a DEC paper about the students’ work.
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on Friday, March 27th, 2009 at 2:12 pm by Mike Risinit.
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Journal News staff writer Greg Clary writes Earth Watch, reporting on environmental issues in the lower Hudson region. Clary has been a reporter, editor and columnist at the Journal News since 1988 and has covered police and courts, transportation, municipal government, development and the environment in the Lower Hudson Valley, among other topics. 
Laura Incalcaterra covers the environment, open space and zoning and planning issues for The Journal News. A Boston College graduate, Laura grew up in Rockland, attended East Ramapo schools and has worked for The Journal News since 1993. Laura has written features and covered North Rockland, crime, government and a host of other issues.
Mike Risinit covers Patterson and Kent in Putnam County, as well as environmental topics touching on the Hudson River and the Great Swamp. Risinit has been a reporter at The Journal News since 1998.
