2021 Spring Seining Results
Staff and volunteers from CURB recently kicked-off the 2021 Hudson River seining season. Seining is a method of collecting and counting fish using a 30-foot seine net. On average we seine over 80 times per season, but unfortunately were not able to make it out to the river last year due to the pandemic. Our data goes back to 2005, and this is our 16th season of seining.
The purpose of seining is to track the populations of various fish and crustaceans found here in the Hudson River in Yonkers. Our results, when combined with the data from other locations, can provide a snapshot of the biodiversity of the river. In addition, seining programs are a big part of our educational outreach with dozens of school groups participating each season.
Our first day of seining was March 11th, and we have seined for a total of 13 days through June 9th. The frequency of our seines will increase as we move into the summer. Our total catch so far is 553, along with 13 different species caught. The highest catch total is 394 shrimp (393 grass, 1 sand). Our top 3 also includes 59 blue crabs and 56 bay anchovies. Crustaceans (crabs and shrimp) make up 81.9% of the catch so far this season. Fish counts should start to come up as the water temperature continues to increase over the next few weeks. We are currently sitting in the low 70’s.
The heart of the seining season, in terms of catches, is typically from July – October. This is when the water is the warmest, and also when we'll usually see the greatest variety of fish. It’s too early to predict how this season will turn out, but we’re definitely off to a good start! Follow the data with us at:
https://www.centerfortheurbanriver.org/research/seining.html