Migratory Fishes of the Hudson River Gregg Kenney Amanda Higgs December 4, 2017

Who we are Rich Pendleton Wes Eakin Amanda Higgs Jess Best Bobby Adams Photos by NYSDEC Amanda Higgs Jess Best Bobby Adams

What we do Marine Resources Mission: Action Agenda Target: Manage and maintain the state's living marine, estuarine and anadromous resources, and to protect and enhance the habitat upon which these resources depend, in order to assure that diverse and self-sustaining populations of these resources are available for future generations. Action Agenda Target: Populations of Striped Bass, American Shad, River Herring, Atlantic Sturgeon, Blue crab, American Eel … are robust and sustained at levels that support both a resilient ecosystem and a sustainable commercial and/or recreational harvest.

How we “manage fisheries” Field Sampling Science Collaboration Regulations Fishery Mgmt Plans Impact Assessment

State-Federal partnership For species with significant fisheries in state + federal waters Science based decisions Technical committees Policy committees One state, one vote

Life History of Diadromous Fishes Anadromous and Catadromous Anadromous = Greek “running upward”. Spend much of their life in ocean and spawn in freshwater. Juveniles in Hudson at least the first summer Photo by HR Fisheries Unit

Atlantic sturgeon Life History Maximum age observed: 60 years Maturity males age 12-15, females age 15-20 Spawning frequency: 3-5 years? Juveniles: First 3-5 years in the river Food: Fish, insects, worms, mollusks Listed as Federally Endangered in 2012 – NYB DPS Photo by Margie Turrin

Atlantic sturgeon Collected under NMFS ESA permit 16436-01 Photo by Chris Bowser Collected under NMFS ESA permit 16436-01 Photo by Rebecca Houser

Photo by NYSDEC Photo by NYSDEC Photo by Dan Erickson

Coastal Congregation Areas Map created by Dan Erickson

14 of 17 remained within the Mid- Atlantic Bight 3 moved far 12/15 fish with PATs remained bet/ Cape Hatteras and Long Island (in the Mid-Atlantic Bight; Pink Area). Although the others spent considerable time in the MAB, evidence suggests that they eventually travelled to the NC/SC coast (1 fish; light data), the GA/Fl coast (1 fish; light data), and into the Bay of Fundy (1 fish; transmitted locations).

American Shad Life History Maximum age observed :13 Maturity males age 3-5, females age 5-7 Iteroparous spawners, can spawn up to 8 times Spawning: Hyde Park – Troy Migration: Maine (summer) – NC (winter) Photo by NYSDEC

Understanding In River Migrations Photo by NYSDEC Photo by NYSDEC https://vemco.com/products/vr2w-69khz/

Findings Tagged fish moved a lot and often, historic commercial fishing, management implications Hot spot near Troy-Menands Bridge Fish tagged in the Hudson are recaptured in DE Bay, mixed stock harvest

Striped Bass Life History Maximum age observed: 21 Maturity males age 3-6, females age 6-8 Spawning: Highlands – Newburgh, Kingston – Catskill Migration: Maine (summer) – NC (winter) Photo by NYSDEC

Photos by NYSDEC

Hope to learn….. New spawning areas Migration rates Coastal movement

Findings Very sensitive to mobile tracking, receivers ok 5 year tags, will continue to collect data by sex Fish are detected on receivers along the coast, up to 30 miles from shore Management implications 0-3 miles vs. 3-30 miles

Blue Crabs Use the entire Estuary Females need saltier water, lay eggs Bury in the mud in the winter, vulnerable Catches fluctuate, Cold winters/ice? Salt water? May be moving north as the water warms Photo by NYSDEC

Catch with baited pots and tag Fishers call in tags with recapture info Photos by NYSDEC

What we are finding Movement within river and LI Winter hot spot – Raritan Bay, NJ fishers One crab, fish market outside Philly, PA Crabs move more than we thought……

Thank You Amanda Higgs Fisheries Biologist – HREP/Cornell amanda.higgs@dec.ny.gov 845-256-3073 Gregg Kenney gregg.kenney@dec.ny.gov Connect with us: Facebook: www.facebook.com/NYSDEC Twitter: twitter.com/NYSDEC Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/nysdec