RICHMOND TOWN, N.Y. — April 29, 2014 — Each year, thousands of baby eels leave their birthplace in the waters off Bermuda to swim north to the waters of New York.
For the third year in a row, Staten Island students were there to greet them.
Every spring, the city and state count how many of the baby fish — called glass eels — make their way to the Hudson River in 10 different spots in New York, including Staten Island's Richmond Creek.
Students from two schools and a Boy Scouts troop do a daily count of how many eels are caught in nets put out by the Hudson River Eel Project. On Tuesday a class from the St. Clare School in Great Kills joined workers from the city’s Department of Environmental Protection and the state Department of Environmental Conservation to carry out the project.
"The big thing about eels being in the Richmond Creek Bluebelt is it kind of shows the water quality has improved by the number of eels that come down," said Jim Garin, director of engineering for the DEP. "They wouldn't be here if the water quality wasn't improving and it shows New York harbor and the Richmond Creek Bluebelt water is really working out well."
Read the full story at DNA Info New York