‼️2022 New Catch‼️This is a Spot!
Also called a Spot Croaker or Norfolk Spot, these fish live in shallow estuary and coastal waters from Maine to Mexico. Spots are named for the black spot on their sides just behind the gills.
1 Spot was caught at CURB on June 11 during the World Fish Migration Great Fish Count (which you can learn more about from the link on our story/highlight), and another was caught during a staff seine on June 14.
Check out our other new catches for 2022 on our New Catches ‘22 highlight!
The Center and Sarah Lawrence College
Launched June 2013, the Center for the Urban River at Beczak (CURB) is an alliance of Sarah Lawrence College and the Beczak Environmental Education Center. The mission of CURB is to advance environmental knowledge and stewardship by providing high quality K-12 environmental education for the local community, establishing a regional hub for research and monitoring focused on Hudson River estuary and urban watershed issues, and serving as a welcoming open community space for a variety of civic and cultural activities.
CURB carries on the mission of the Beczak Environmental Education Center, a well-loved river exploration and interpretative center that has been offering programs for adults and children for over twenty years. Its name honors Joe Beczak, one of the Hudson River enthusiasts who taught children about the Hudson in the 1970s.Instagram slccurb
‼️2022 New Catch‼️ This is an Emerald Shiner! (Photo from NYS DEC)
Emerald Shiners live in large lowland lakes and streams. They are found in 16 watersheds in NY; they’re only not present in Newark Bay and Long Island.
Summer staff at CURB caught 5 Emerald Shiners during a seine on July 20 this year! We also caught 1 Spottail Shiner, another first-time catch!
Check out our other new catches for 2022 on our New Catches ‘22 highlight!
‼️2022 New Catch‼️This is a Tautog!
CURB caught a Tautog for the first time on August 20th, during a Saturday public seining event.
Tautogs are also known as blackfish. They can grow up to 3ft long! They are a bottom-dwelling species that prefers to live in areas with good shelter, like rock outcroppings and kelp.
Tautogs are found in the mid-Atlantic, ranging from Nova Scotia to South Carolina. In New York, Tautogs are found in Hudson River Estuaries, the NY Harbor, and the Long Island Sound.
Check out our other new catches for 2022 on our New Catches ‘22 highlight!
‼️2022 New Catch‼️ This is a Spottail Shiner! (Photo from the NYS DEC)
Spottail Shiners are generally found in larger streams and lakes at lower elevations. Like Emerald Shiners, they are found in most NYS watersheds—Spottail Shiners are only absent from the Long Island watershed! They are named for the black spot at the base of their tail fin.
CURB Summer Staff caught 1 Spottail Shiner during a seine on July 20, the same day we caught 5 Emerald Shiners! (Also new catches!)
Check out our other new catches for 2022 on our New Catches ‘22 highlight!
‼️2022 New Catch‼️ This is a Smallmouth Flounder!
These fish can grow up to 5 inches long. Smallmouth Flounder are found in the Hudson, but none had ever been caught by CURB until this month!
CURB staff and interns caught 2 Smallmouth Flounder during a seine on November 3rd, and another one on November 4th.
Check out our other new catches for 2022 on our New Catches ‘22 highlight!
Today we are highlighting two of our snapping turtles here at CURB, Bruce and Eugene.Their scientific name is Chelydra Serpentina but, they are more commonly referred to as the common snapping turtle. Common snapping turtles have very strong jaws, which they use frequently as active hunters. A specific way that the common snapping turtle catches their prey is by burying themselves in mud with only their nostrils and eyes exposed. These turtles are omnivores, and they will consume anything they can swallow such as fish, frogs, invertebrates, and birds. In the wild, common snapping turtles can live up to 30 years!
Eugene has been at the center for 5 years while Bruce has been here for 7!
This year, CURB had 6 new catches, meaning we caught 6 species here for the first time!
This is a Blackcheek Tonguefish caught during a seine on September 23. Tonguefish are a rare catch in the Hudson River, and Blackcheek Tonguefish had never been caught in the Hudson before this year.
4 Blackcheek Tonguefish were caught in the Hudson this year, 2 near the Tappan Zee Bridge and 2 at CURB!!
For more info on the Blackcheek Tonguefish caught at CURB, check out the link on our story (or story highlights)!
‼️Stay tuned to see what other new catches we had at CURB this year‼️
Another year of sampling for fecal indicator bacteria on the Saw Mill River came to a close on October 27th. The sampler appreciation event brought together samplers from the Bronx, Pocantico, Hudson and Saw Mill Rivers in an evening of socializing and exploration of the @bronx_river new building space. For more information on how to become involved in this ongoing study and to sign up for our bi-weekly stakeholder report, check out this link: https://www.centerfortheurbanriver.org/research/water-quality.html.
We thank @conedison for supporting this research
Photo attached: Credit – Sharon AvRutick, Duck Pond Spillway
Irvington High School student, Riley, has begun a 2 year study of the local population of Atlantic oysters present along the shores of our Hudson River beach. Utilizing the lowest tide of the upcoming full moon, Riley searched the area for loose and detached live oysters and documented their size before adding them to the research cage. We look forward to sharing updates as we continue the study of these amazing bivalves! Thank you @billionoyster for supporting this educational research!
Last week, Dr. Michelle Hersh’s First-Year Studies Urban Ecology Course from SLC came to visit CURB. The students had a tour of the facilities and participated in our daily seine. During the seine, the Urban Ecology students caught 8 different types of species, some of which included 33 blue crabs, 33 sand shrimp, 15 grass shrimp, and 2 striped bass.
Thank you to Dr. Hersh and all the Urban Ecology students for visiting!