Eighth-graders on Staten Island spent their free time this past spring counting \u2014 thousands of eels!<\/p>\n
Dozens of nature-minded middle-schoolers waded into Richmond Creek with nets in hand to scoop out and count hordes of teeny, nearly invisible \u201cglass eels\u201d making their yearly pilgrimage from the ocean into estuaries along the Hudson River<\/a>.<\/p>\n The kids registered roughly 11,000 of the American eels \u2014 most still in their juvenile stage and referred to as \u201cglass eels\u201d at this point because they are almost see-through \u2014 as part of the state\u2019s annual eel count.<\/p>\n Some of the budding naturalists named their slippery catches after their idols such as LeBron James and Michael Jordan before releasing them back into the water.<\/p>\n About 11,000 nearly invisible \u201cglass eels\u201d were counted in Richmond Creek this past spring. Department of Environmental Conservation<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a lot of fun to be able to do it,\u201d said one of the young counters, Mark Geissler, 13.<\/p>\n \u201cI was pretty excited to be able to learn more about the eels and to be able to count them and be able to make sure our environment was healthy and the eels were healthy while they were traveling here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The teen estimated that he and his friends tallied and released as many as 400 eels in three trips to the creek in April \u2014 some of which they named after James and Jordan and other heroes.<\/p>\n The young environmentalists used special nets that helped them see the tiny and otherwise nearly invisible fish as they traveled through the Staten Island waterway \u2014 which is one of the dozen Hudson River estuaries the state Department of Environmental Conservation monitors as part of its eel count.<\/p>\n The juvenile eels make a voyage each spring from the ocean to the Hudson River. Courtesy Mary Lee<\/p>\n The count\u2019s \u201crobust\u201d eel number is a good sign that the population is holding steady, according to scientists and preliminary data shared with The Post.<\/p>\n The effort, now in its 18th year, registered a total of roughly 140,000 glass eels, which is on par with the average number collected since the program\u2019s inception.<\/p>\n Dozens of students from the St. Clare School volunteer for the count each year. Courtesy Mary Lee<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get a census of baby American eels as they travel from the ocean to the estuary to the watershed,\u201d said project leader Chris Bowser. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get a rough idea on the timing of eel migration and the strength of the migration.<\/a> How many eels are there year after year?\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cEels have had a rough century,\u201d Bowser said \u2014 with their populations having suffered from overfishing and the introduction of dams, which have blocked their migration.<\/p>\n