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Sewage, Heat, And Climate Change Causing "Extreme" Hudson River Fish Die-Offs
By
David Cruz
Published Jul 10, 2020
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Riverkeeper
By
David Cruz
Published Jul 10, 2020
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Hundreds of dead fish continue to go belly up along the Hudson River, catching many New Yorkers off guard. While it's a common (if disturbing) occurrence in the summertime, Dr. George Jackman, an ecologist for the environmental group Riverkeeper, tells Gothamist that this year's spate of fish death is particularly notable.
"I've seen it from Newburg, down to the Battery [Tunnel], we're seeing these die offs," Jackson said. "This is one of the most extreme conditions we've seen in many years."
The phenomenon primarily affects schools of Atlantic menhaden fish, also known as "bunkers." Put simply, Jackson says it's "the sun, the heat, the sewage, and the lack of rain or synergistically working together."
That daily dump of 1.3 billion gallons of sewage wastewater into the river fertilizers phytoplankton, a type of algae. That causes a large growth of algae which eventually dies. Microorganisms decomposing the algeae remove oxygen from the water. When the fish arrive, there's simply not enough oxygen to go around.
"Their presence sucks up the remaining oxygen so they're moving into hypoxic waters. They essentially suffocate themselves," said Jackman.
The marine life that consumes the nutrients in large quantities has died off, including 344 miles of filter-feeding oyster beds and reefs that have been destroyed over the decades.
A hotter summer is also reducing the amount of oxygen fish depend on. The average high temperature in New York City last month was 82 degrees in June compared to an average high of 78 degrees last June.
"We got a climate change issue, we have a sewage problem. And those together are bad. And we've had days of intense heat with little or no rain flowing into the river from all the tributaries," said Jackman, who adds that resolving climate change will be tougher than "rerouting the subway."
The state Department of Environmental Conservation told the Journal News that it's investigating the die-offs.
Tagged
environment
hudson river
David Cruz
David is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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