Hudson River Fishes and their Environment

2006 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Blue Crab ◽  
Striped Bass ◽  
White Perch ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
Fishing Pressure ◽  
Survey Period ◽  
River Herring ◽  
Unit Effort ◽  
Catch Rates

<em>Abstract.</em>—Recreational fishing throughout the Hudson River estuary from the federal dam at Troy (river kilometer [rkm] 243) to the George Washington Bridge (rkm 19) was investigated during March 2001 through March 2002. Aerial counting surveys and angler interviews at nearly 200 access points were used to estimate fishing pressure, catch and harvest, catch rates, and various angler attributes. Fishing pressure for the mid-March through November period was estimated at 446,621 angler-hours. Most effort occurred in the late spring by anglers north of the Bear Mountain Bridge (rkm 74). Angling from boats comprised 72.6% of total effort. The total number of fish caught and harvested was estimated at 212,426 and 44,479 individuals, respectively, representing 31 species plus blue crab <em>Callinectes sapidus</em>. Most of the total catch was by boat anglers, although over the entire survey period shore anglers harvested the most fish. In sequence, striped bass <em>Morone saxatilis</em>, river herring <em>Alosa </em>spp., and white perch <em>M. americana </em>were the three most abundant species caught, whereas river herring, white perch, blue crab, and striped bass formed most of the harvest. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) and harvest per unit effort (HPUE) of shore anglers (0.69 fish/h and 0.22 fish/h) were higher than that of boat anglers (0.44 fish/h and 0.02 fish/h). Most anglers throughout spring sought striped bass, whereas during summer and fall boat anglers sought primarily black bass <em>Micropterus </em>spp., with much effort occurring during tournaments. Shore anglers were less focused and sought a broader variety of species. As a group, anglers fishing south of the Bear Mountain Bridge were less aware of fish consumption advisories due to contaminants than anglers fishing elsewhere in the estuary.

Hudson River Fishes and their Environment

2006 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Striped Bass ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
Hudson River Estuary ◽  
Freshwater Flow ◽  
East River ◽  
Particle Tracking Model ◽  
Tracking Model ◽  
Neutrally Buoyant

<em>Abstract.</em>—Our objectives were to determine if striped bass <em>Morone saxatilis </em>larvae were present in the East River and if so, could they have come from the Hudson River. To meet the first objective, we examined entrainment data collected at the Charles Poletti Power Plant (Poletti) during the years 1999 through 2002. To meet the second objective, we examined the simulated release of 168,000 neutrally buoyant, passive particles in the lower Hudson River Estuary, using a particle-tracking model that was linked to an estuarine circulation model. We also compared the abundance of striped bass post-yolk-sac larvae (PYSL) collected in the East River at Poletti with the abundance of striped bass PYSL collected in the Battery region of the lower Hudson River Estuary and the abundance of striped bass PYSL in the Battery region with freshwater flow in the estuary. Striped bass PYSL were collected by entrainment sampling in the East River at Poletti every year from 1999 through 2002. The striped bass PYSL in the East River probably came from the Hudson River Estuary because the median probability that neutrally buoyant, passive particles would be transported from the lower Hudson River Estuary to the upper East River and western Long Island Sound was 0.12, with a median transport time of 2 d, and because the mean density of striped bass PYSL was highest at Poletti and in the Battery region during the same year. The abundance of striped bass PYSL in the Battery region was higher when freshwater flow during May and early June was higher.

Impact of age-0 bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) predation on age-0 fishes in the Hudson River estuary: evidence for density-dependent loss of juvenile striped bass (Morone saxatilis)

1999 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A Buckel ◽  
David O Conover ◽  
Nancy D Steinberg ◽  
Kim A McKown
Keyword(s):  
Striped Bass ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Morone Saxatilis ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Hudson River Estuary ◽  
Estuarine Fish ◽  
Pomatomus Saltatrix ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Density Dependent

We measured bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) weights, densities, and prey sizes during the summers of 1992 and 1993 and diets over a 4-year period (1990-1993) in the Hudson River estuary. This information was used to estimate the loss of young-of-the-year (YOY) striped bass (Morone saxatilis) resulting from YOY bluefish predation. We then compared this predation mortality with the total loss of striped bass in the system. Data from sampling surveys conducted since the mid-1970's were used to examine relationships between bluefish abundance and striped bass recruitment levels. YOY striped bass, bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli), Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia), and Alosa spp. dominated YOY bluefish diets. There were ontogenetic and interannual differences in YOY bluefish diets. Bluefish avoided striped bass at low densities but selected for them at high densities, suggesting a density-dependent feeding response. In the early summer of 1993, bluefish predation accounted for 50-100% of the total estimated loss of YOY striped bass. A significant negative correlation exists between the relative magnitude of striped bass recruitment and bluefish abundance. We conclude that YOY bluefish are important predators of estuarine fish and can have a substantial impact on their recruitment.

scholarly journals Multiple spawning run contingents and population consequences in migratory striped bass Morone saxatilis

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0242797
Author(s):  
David H. Secor ◽  
Michael H. P. O’Brien ◽  
Benjamin I. Gahagan ◽  
Dewayne A. Fox ◽  
Amanda L. Higgs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Striped Bass ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Lower Reach ◽  
Multiple Spawning ◽  
Southern Us ◽  
Coastal Species ◽  
Spawning Run

Multiple spawning run contingents within the same population can experience varying demographic fates that stabilize populations through the portfolio effect. Multiple spawning run contingents (aka run timing groups) are reported here for the first time for striped bass, an economically important coastal species, which is well known for plastic estuarine and shelf migration behaviors. Adult Hudson River Estuary striped bass (n = 66) were tagged and tracked with acoustic transmitters from two known spawning reaches separated by 90 km. Biotelemetry recaptures for two years demonstrated that each river reach was associated with separate contingents. Time series of individual spawning phenologies were examined via nonparametric dynamic time warping and revealed two dominant time series centroids, each associated with a separate spawning reach. The lower spawning reach contingent occurred earlier than the higher reach contingent in 2017 but not in 2018. The majority (89%) of returning adults in 2018 showed the same contingent behaviors exhibited in 2017. Spawning contingents may have been cued differently by temperatures, where warming lagged 1-week at the higher reach in comparison to the lower reach. The two contingents exhibited similar Atlantic shelf migration patterns with strong summer fidelity to Massachusetts Bay and winter migrations to the southern US Mid-Atlantic Bight. Still, in 2017, differing times of departure into nearby shelf waters likely caused the early lower reach contingent to experience substantially higher mortality than the later upper reach contingent. Anecdotal evidence suggests that higher fishing effort is exerted on the early-departing individuals as they first enter shelf fisheries. Thus, as in salmon, multiple spawning units can lead to differential demographic outcomes, potentially stabilizing overall population dynamics.

scholarly journals Intensified environmental and density-dependent regulation of white perch recruitment after an ecosystem shift in the Hudson River Estuary

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian K. Gallagher ◽  
David H. Secor
Keyword(s):  
Density Dependence ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
White Perch ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
Yolk Sac ◽  
Partial Migration ◽  
Hudson River Estuary ◽  
Density Dependent

Long-term monitoring data were used to test whether the invasion of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in the Hudson River Estuary in 1991 altered the influence of density dependence and environmental conditions on life-stage transitions, growth, and partial migration in white perch (Morone americana). During the post-invasion period (1992–2013), we estimated standing stocks of white perch eggs, yolk-sac larvae (YSL), post-yolk-sac larvae (PYSL), young-of-the-year (YOY), and adults as well as indices of YOY growth and spatial distribution. A series of linear and nonlinear functions were employed to model life-stage transitions, while the effects of six environmental and density-dependent variables on YOY growth and partial migration were quantified. Comparisons to pre-invasion observations (1974–1991) indicated that egg–YSL, PYSL–YOY, and YOY–yearling transitions changed significantly after the invasion, while PYSL abundance developed a stronger negative effect on YOY growth. The PYSL–YOY transition became more sensitive to density dependence and freshwater flow from 1992 to 2013, which is consistent with diminished abundance and increased environmental sensitivity of the forage base in the Hudson River Estuary reported after the zebra mussel invasion.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document