Over the course of the spring semester, cadets and faculty from the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering participated in the annual survey of glass eels arriving in the Hudson River. Glass eels are young-of-the-year American Eels (Anguilla rostrata), that were born in the Sargasso Sea and carried by currents to coastal waters of the eastern United States. In March, April, and May the tiny, translucent glass eels are caught and counted by volunteers in a citizen science program coordinated by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. Eels grow and mature in freshwater lakes and streams for 20 to 40 years before making the return trip to the Sargasso Sea to spawn. Data from this program are used to track the recovery of eel populations in the Hudson and its tributaries.
Photo: CDTs Michael Bruce, Nick Lake, and Arran Rounds remove glass eels from a fyke net in Quassaick Creek, Newburgh, NY