The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that 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 (Anguilla rostrata). Now in its 19th year, the project was initiated by DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program and the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve to gather data for multi-state management plans for eel conservation.
“The Hudson River Eel Project offers students the opportunity to conduct valuable scientific research that directly contributes to the conservation of American eels,” Regional Director Kelly Turturro said. “Now in its 19th year, this community science project successfully engages Hudson Valley students with their local ecosystems while helping DEC protect eel habitat.”
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 (fyke 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.
Coastal states from Florida to Maine monitor the young-of-the-year migrations of American eels, using the protocols of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Hudson River Eel Project participants are trained in these field collection protocols to ensure useful data is collected. In 2023, the Hudson River Eel Project’s volunteer-collected data was included in the ASMFC’s American eel benchmark stock assessment, demonstrating that community scientists contribute valuable data to scientific research and management. Stock assessments are important as they inform fishery management plans. This effort is detailed in a recent publication by the American Fisheries Society.
The Hudson River Eel Project is supported by many partner organizations including NEIWPCC and the NYS Water Resource Institute at Cornell. The project’s dual goals of conservation science and community education have inspired similar work in other states. The Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve in southern New Jersey has started their own eel project, as has the Nantucket Research Foundation in Massachusetts, led by a former eel project volunteer.
Those interested in volunteering for the Hudson River eel project can email [email protected] and include preferred location for a nearby site. For more information on the project, visit the eel project website, or check out this current article in the DEC Conservationist Magazine.
