NFA P-TECH Works with DEC for Hands-On Study of Eels
Science teacher Joyce D’Imperio’s students from Newburgh Free Academy P-TECH have been actively engaged in vital community service over the past two weeks, volunteering their time to count migrating eels in Quassaick Creek. This hands-on initiative is a collaboration between the school's P-TECH program and the DEC).
The primary goal of this project is to monitor the population of young American Eels, also known as "glass eels" due to their small size and translucent appearance at this stage of their life cycle. American Eels have a fascinating journey: they are born in the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean and then migrate thousands of miles across the ocean to freshwater streams and rivers along the East Coast, including the Hudson River and its tributaries like Quassaick Creek. P-TECH student, Mekhi Hines, said of the experience, “Putting on waders and hopping into the river was a cool experience. Interacting with different forms of life was so fun, that this is my fourth year doing it.”
The eel counting process involves a specific and careful method to ensure accuracy and the well-being of the eels. The process involves deploying cone-shaped nets to capture migrating glass eels. They regularly monitor these nets, carefully collecting and counting the eels, recording additional data like tide and water conditions. This monitoring acts as an early warning system for the health of the American Eel population and provides essential data for making informed conservation and management decisions. After counting, the eels are released upstream to continue their journey, with the number of eels varying significantly each day due to natural factors. Throughout their days of volunteering, students counted anywhere between 76 eels and over 2,000 eels on a given day.
Story and photos provided by Ms. Christine Baumann.
