In celebration of World Fish Migration Day, a global initiative to create awareness about the importance of open rivers and migratory fish, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Hudson River Estuary Program and Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve are offering a public eel counting event at the Fall Kill Creek in Poughkeepsie on April 21 at noon. More than 300 events are scheduled world-wide.

 “New York is home to significant habitat that is critical to the life-cycle of many migratory fish species, and we are pleased to participate in the celebration of World Fish Migration Day,” said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos. “Our citizen-based research and community involvement are essential to learn about these unique animals and help guide our conservation and stewardship.”

In conjunction with the eel count, the Environmental Cooperative at Vassar Barns is co-sponsoring a creek clean-up at three locations along the Fall Kill in Poughkeepsie. Please register for this event by emailing volunteer@hudsonriverhousing.org or by calling 845-454-5176 x303.

The Hudson River estuary is home to more than 220 species of fish, including several species such as herring, shad, sturgeon, and eels that migrate from the Atlantic Ocean up the river and its tributaries to spawn each spring. Migratory fish are important ecologically, economically, and culturally, but global populations of migratory fish are in decline. To learn more about this worldwide celebration of fish conservation here, visit the World Fish Migration Day website at http://www.worldfishmigrationday.com/about.

Eel Count: Saturday, April 21, Noon, Fall Kill Creek, Poughkeepsie

DEC educators will help volunteers, count, weigh, and then release tiny glass eels upstream. The eel count will take place on the Fall Kill between the Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum and Upper Landing Park, which can be accessed by taking the elevator from the Walkway over the Hudson. This eel count is part of an international count at locations in Europe and the U.S. This event highlights DEC’s annual citizen scientists Hudson River juvenile American eel tracking program, now in its 11^th year.  From early March until May, approximately 700 students, teachers, college interns, and community volunteers check nets and mops at 10 different sites from Staten Island to New Baltimore. In addition, DEC educators’ classroom visits bring the project alive to hundreds of students. Eel collection takes place at most sites daily through mid-May.

Photos, sampling schedules, and a list of partners for all sites are available. The project website is http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/49580.html.