In July, the Alliance and NYC Parks & Recreation Natural Resources Group completed an eel pass at River Park, which joins the recently-completed fish passage at the lowermost dam on the river.
These two facilities enable migratory fish–including Alewife herring and American eel–to access habitat that is essential for their life cycles. These types of passes are critical for species like alewife and eels which have both experienced drastic declines in populations over recent years. Alewife are listed as a “species of concern” by NOAA, and the American eel is currently being considered for listing as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Many thanks to the NOAA-WCS Lower Bronx River Partnership and Congressman José E. Serrano for funding these important projects!
 After final completion of the eel pass – with a view of the fish passage as well! |
 2010 photograph of Alewife herring captured (and released) in monitoring undertaken by the Bronx River Conservation Crew. |
 Young eels, or “glass eels” found in the Bronx River in 2014. Glass eels migrate from the Sargasso Sea where they are born to rivers like the Bronx River, where they live out their adult lives … if they can access upstream freshwater reaches that are often blocked by dams. |
