Hudson River Fisheries Unit
Migratory fishes including American shad, river herring, striped bass, American eel, and Atlantic sturgeon have historically supported important fisheries on the Hudson River. Effective management of these species must take into account their movements throughout the estuary and the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Hudson River Fisheries Unit of the Bureau of Marine Resources takes a river-wide approach to its work which covers the Hudson Valley portions of Regions 2, 3, and 4 of the NYSDEC. Research focuses on migratory fish in the 152 miles of the Hudson River Estuary from the George Washington Bridge in New York City to the Federal Dam located in Troy. The Unit also gathers data on resident species such as the shortnose sturgeon, black bass largemouth and smallmouth bass), and many other fishes among the almost 200 other species that occur in the Hudson.
Managing Anadromous Fish
Anadromous comes from a Greek word meaning "running upward". These essentially marine fish spend many years in ocean waters until they mature and run up to the freshwater Hudson to spawn. After spawning, the adults return to the Atlantic and rejoin the larger, migratory coastal populations. Each new year's spawn of shad, herring, and bass spend only their first summer in the river before they join in the ocean migration. Because these fish range widely in the near shore ocean, they are managed on a coast wide basis. Each of the fifteen coastal states from Florida to Maine participates in cooperative interstate management of these species through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Long Term Monitoring Programs
Research conducted by the Unit provides information about the spawning adult populations and the juvenile fish born each year. The data are used in managing the fish resources to benefit all users. We have several programs to monitor the status of the stocks.
In the spring, a centuries old tradition takes place in the Hudson: commercial fishermen set out nets in the river to harvest the returning American shad. The Commercial Fisheries Monitoring Program, started in 1980, obtains data on their catches. Technicians go aboard the fishermen's boats to collect information on numbers, sizes and ages of the returning adults. Catch rates (number of fish caught per amount of net used) are used as a relative abundance index to indicate general trends in the population.
Graph displaying the catch per unit effort of American shad for the gill net fishery
"Relative" refers to comparing each year's data with the next. This comparison, year after year becomes an excellent tracking indicator on what direction a fish population may be headed in. Relative numbers are used as they are fairly easy to collect for the amount of information they provide. Trying to determine the exact (or "absolute") numbers of fish in a population is very costly and not as "exact" as everyone may wish.
The trend in abundance of shad over the last few years is one of a declining stock. Changing this trend is a high priority for the Unit, to be solved in working with the other states along the shad's coastal migratory route.
The shad fishery targets larger female shad. Their eggs, shad roe, are a springtime delicacy in the Hudson Valley. Most fishers use gill nets which catch only a narrow size range of fish. Thus, the Unit carries on an additional program to look at all sizes of fish in the spawning population.
Graph depicting the American shad spawning stock biomass index
The Spawning Stock Survey, begun in 1985, collects American shad and striped bass on their spawning grounds from Newburgh to Catskill. The surveys uses a large 500 foot long small mesh seine to catch the wide size (and age) range of fish that make up the spawning populations. Length, weight, and scale samples are taken before the fish are tagged and released. Data on age structure (the number of fish of each age) allows the Unit's biologists to assess the health of each year's spawning population. The increase in fish older than age eight (when most female bass reach maturity) in recent year's indicates a healthy striped bass population in the river. this graph shows the percent of age 8 and older female striped bass.
Graph showing the percent of age 8 and older female striped bass in the Hudson River spawning stock
Another gear commonly used early in the season is an electro-fishing boat. Fish are temporarily stunned, scooped up to be measured and tagged before they wake up and are released back to the river. The large numbers of tagged striped bass provide information on fish survival, movement and catch rates both in the river and on the Atlantic coast.
After adult fish have left the estuary, the Unit efforts turn to studying results of the spring spawning runs. From late June through early November, young-of-the-year (YOY) American shad, striped bass, and river herring are collected with beach seines from Tappan Zee Bay to Albany. This project targets the primary nursery areas for these important species.
Graph depicting the abundance of young of the year American shad.
Graph displaying the abundance of young of the year striped bass.
Atlantic Sturgeon
In the spring of 2004 we implanted 34 sonic tags in juvenile Atlantic sturgeon to monitor their movement in the Hudson River Estuary on a weekly basis.
During the spring/summer of 2006 and 2007, we sampled adult Atlantic sturgeon and equipping them with tags to learn more about their seasonal in-river movement and their movement on the Atlantic coast. The fish were tagged with two kinds of tags. The sonic tags were used to track their in-river seasonal movement and the satellite tags were attached to track their coastal movement.
Fishing Information
For more information on striped bass and American shad recreational fishing, Striped Bass and American shad Fishing Guide for the Hudson River (183 Kb pdf file). The information brochure is located on the menu to the right.
A summary of the laws and rules that apply to commercial fishing in the Hudson River with a marine permit is available on the menu to the right.
A marine permit application for gill netting and scap netting in the Hudson is located on the menu bar to the right. A passport size photo and a copy of your driver's license must accompany the application.
Special Projects
The Unit also works with the Hudson River Estuary Program, supervising several large projects on Hudson River fishes. These current projects are listed in the Estuary Action Agenda. A link to the projects is located on the menu to the right.
More about Hudson River Fisheries Unit:
- CPUE American Shad - Catch per unit effort of the gill net fishery in the Hudson
- American shad Spawning Stock Biomass - Graph showing the American shad spawning stock
- Striped Bass Age 8+ Female Spawning Stock Index - Graph depicting age 8+ female striped bass in the Hudson.
- Young Of Year American Shad Abundance - Graph depicting yoy American shad abundance
- Young of Year Striped Bass Abundance - Graph depicting yoy striped bass abundance
