Session A8 - The Hudson River American Eel Project: low-cost fish passage through citizen science

UMass Amherst

The Hudson River Eel Project involves over 200 diverse community members in shared goals and methodologies to study juvenile eels during their migrations from sea to stream. March through May, fyke nets staked in ten tidal tributaries to the Hudson are checked daily by teams of trained citizen-scientists. Since 2008, over twenty thousand eels have been counted, weighed, and released above barriers. Volunteers are trained by state scientists, and very simple data collection and ID sheets have been developed to follow Atlantic States Marine Fisheries protocols and maximize accuracy. Volunteers include a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds and ages, from high school students to watershed groups, which cascades into considerable outreach value and public awareness. At most sites, eels are placed above the nearest barrier, dam, or rapids. Last year, we implemented an additional low cost trap-and-pass eel ladder that caught over 1400 eels of various sizes in its first six months of use. Participants answer questions about recruitment along the tidal estuary from urban streams to quiet creeks. Data yield information about the timing and strength of eel migrations, suggest favorable conditions, and help managers prioritize restoration efforts in barrier passage, all in an economic framework that takes advantage of the public's fascination of migratory fish in their own neighborhood.

https://scholarworks.umass.edu/fishpassage_conference/2012/June7/19