Glass eels on the Saw Kill
The glass eel survey is a citizen science project and relies on the generous help of volunteers, including both local college and high schools students as well as community members and their families. Thank you to all those who have come out to count the eels over the years!
Interested in volunteering but don’t live near the Saw Kill? Visit the DEC’s Eel Monitoring Information page or email eelproject@dec.ny.gov and include where you live so they can find a site closer to you.
2024 Season
The 2024 season is now over!
THANK YOU to the over 100 volunteers who came out to help us count glass eels this season!
The next season will start up again in March 2025
Sign up with your email at the button above to receive news about volunteering
Reach out to us at sawkilleels [at] gmail.com if you are a Bard student interested in being one of our official Eel Interns!
Interested in volunteering? Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates on this project!
Email SawKillEels [at] gmail.com or click the button below to join our glass eel emailing list
The Saw Kill site is one of the Hudson River’s longest running glass eel monitoring sites.
Originally established by Robert Schmidt, the eel net at the mouth of the Saw Kill has been set-up and monitored every year since 2003. This net checks for the glass eels that make the great migration from the Sargasso Sea and up the Hudson River and into its tributaries each spring. In 2008, it became part of a larger NYSDEC citizen science project, and the Saw Kill is one of approximately 14 sites that are monitored.
Each site is checked daily from mid-March to mid-May by groups of volunteers that include students and community members.
Hudsonia collaborates with the NYSDEC, the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve (HRNERR), Bard College and the EUS Community Science Lab, and the Saw Kill Watershed Community to oversee the Saw Kill site.
Visit the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve’s “Eel Monitoring” page, or the NYSDEC’s YouTube or Eel Monitoring page for more information on this project and the other sites involved. Visit the Saw Kill Watershed Community or the Bard College Community Science Lab to learn more about the Saw Kill and ways to get involved.
What is eeling?
- Wading into the water (with provided water protective gear)
- Counting and weighing glass eels
- Tying knots (to secure eel nets)
The eel net is usually installed in mid-March of each year and checked daily at low tide for approximately 8 weeks. Volunteers are sent a sign-up calendar where they can choose as many or as few days to sign-up to help as they’d like.
All training and gear is provided throughout entire the season, no prior experience necessary!
The site is located at the mouth of the Saw Kill, next to the field station, on Bard College campus
Questions, comments, concerns? Email us at sawkilleels [at] gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bardeels
Additional Reading:
NYSDEC’s 2008 - 2020 Hudson River Eel Project Report (pdf download)
The American eel and the Hudson River, News from Hudsonia article by Bob Schmidt 200
Sigmund and His Eels, Biodiversity Blog, The University of Texas at Austin
Netting Glass Eels on the Saw Kill, Turtle Tracks Blog
Giving endangered American eels a hand, Article published in The Washington Post May 2022
