Eel Monitoring Inspires Communities to Engage with the Estuary
“Creating the mops and searching for the tiny glass eels in our highly urbanized location on the Hudson River was even more compelling, for all ages, than we anticipated.” – Resilience Adventures
“We can’t convey how exciting it is to have the American glass eel confirmed as present in the Lower Raritan Watershed. Their arrival truly signals a thriving stream, and we’re so grateful that the health of the Green Brook is being reflected in the biodiversity.” – Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership
Grantees
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The American eel (Anguilla rostrata) spawns in the Atlantic Ocean and travels to estuaries, like the New York- New Jersey Harbor Estuary, spending most of its life in freshwater. Eel population declines in the region due to habitat loss and damming have made American eel monitoring a priority. Since 2022, the New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program (NY-NJ HEP) has funded American eel monitoring programs in New Jersey through small grants. Community participation in eel monitoring is an opportunity for students and volunteers to learn about this charismatic species, its protection, and the Estuary in which it lives. Grantees of this program partner with their local communities to count eels, host workshops, and perform educational outreach.
Program Highlights
- Since 2022, NY-NJ HEP has awarded 20 grants to 8 organizations.
- More grants awarded each year allowed for more monitoring coverage; sites with eel mops increased from 3 in 2022 to 15 in 2025.
- From 2022 to 2024, grantees and volunteers counted 186 glass eels or elvers using eel mops or other methods.
- Through partnerships with 20 different organizations, from 2022 to 2024, grantees engaged over 1000 students, educators, and volunteers with eel mop creation, eel sampling, and other workshops or outreach.
Grantees often use Eel mops to monitor the presence of American eels as they migrate to freshwater in the spring. The mops are deployed in the water and hauled up periodically to count young eels (called glass eels). Students and volunteers can participate in monitoring in various ways: mop building, deployment, eel counting, and outreach events.