World Fish Migration Lower Hudson & Harbor Fish Count
Fish Migration!
Each spring the Hudson River is alive with migratory fish species that are drawn into the protective waters of the estuary as part of their spawning cycle. Estuaries provide smaller, shallower waterways with protection from the much larger fish that circulate in the ocean, along with a wonderful buffet of foods. Most of our migratory species are anadromous, meaning they live in the ocean and move into the Hudson just to reproduce. After spawning, most of the young fish spend only months in the Hudson, yet some can spend a year or several years here before moving back out to the ocean waters. We also see the migration of one catadromous species, the American eel. Catadromous fish spend most of their lives in the estuary and use the ocean as their spawning grounds. We see the young glass eels also moving into the Hudson during the late spring.
Updates for 2024! We have scheduled the 2024 regional event for Saturday June 1st! We will provide full updates and details on the event soon!
World Fish Migration Day (WFMD) is a global celebration to create awareness about the importance of migratory fish and free-flowing rivers. On World Fish Migration Day, organizations from around the world coordinate their own event around the common theme of: CONNECTING FISH, RIVERS AND PEOPLE.
Environmental organizations of the Lower Hudson and Harbor have come together to put on our own family-friendly, free fishing events for the public to engage in the wonders of the Hudson River! Event times vary by site so please check the details below.
2024 Fishing Sites!
🐟 Event Host Sites, please submit your 2024 data via this Google form.
JOIN US!
Saturday June 1st, 2024 each site is hosting a free public fishing event to help improve our understanding of both migratory and resident fish that are part of our estuary. At each site visitors are invited to join in the fun and see what can be puilled in when sampling the Hudson with our nets.
Some of our sites have special details!
- Pier 4 Beach in Brooklyn Bridge Park 10am-12pm. Please note, only our trained staff and seining volunteers are allowed in the water.
- To join the team at Shirley Chisholm Park here is the Evenbrite Link and please follow the map directions below to 1750 Pennsylvania Avenue (also known as 1750 Granville Payne Avenue) Brooklyn, NY 11239.
Each site will collect data during the fish count to support better understanding of the migratory use of the estuary, along with the biodiversity of the lower Hudson. The full set of data allows to compare species richness and abundance to prior year spring fish counts and those that occur during other times of the year. This World Fish Migration Day event builds on spring public fish count events that were organized from 2015 through 2019 as part of the World Science Festival, and we are thankful that there are so many wonderful partners that connect annually to make this annual event a success! The full set of data are shared here as part of our long term data history with this year’s data to be added after the event!