The Bronx River fish passage is now open for business! Located along the western side of the 182nd Street dam in River Park, the fish passage connects the two sides of the dam by allowing water to flow gently down a concrete chute. This is a critical feature on the Bronx River, as it allows alewife herring to pass over the dam and reach their breeding sites in the Bronx Zoo, just upstream of the dam. Alewife herring spend most of their time out in the open ocean but return to the coastal streams and rivers where they were born to spawn.
For centuries, migratory fish species such as the herring were unable to access their important habitats in the Bronx River because of obstruction by dams. In 2015, NYC Parks, the Bronx River Alliance, and many other project partners designed and built the 182nd Street fish passage. Since then, about 1200 herring have been released into the Bronx River with many returning each year to spawn. The goal is to increase the herring population to restore an important part of the ecosystem that has been missing for hundreds of years.
