Are there fish in the East River NYC?

Almost anywhere along this 1.5-mile shorefront park, you can fish for striped bass, flounder, black sea bass, oyster toadfish, and even eels.



Yes, despite its industrial reputation, the East River in New York City is home to a surprisingly diverse array of fish species. Because the "river" is actually a saltwater tidal strait connecting the Upper New York Bay to the Long Island Sound, it hosts both resident and migratory species. Common fish found in these waters include Striped Bass, Bluefish, Summer Flounder (Fluke), and Winter Flounder. You may also encounter Atlantic Menhaden, American Eels, and even the occasional Seahorse or small shark. In recent years, water quality has improved significantly due to stricter environmental regulations, leading to a resurgence in the local ecosystem. However, health officials still issue warnings regarding the consumption of fish caught in the East River due to lingering toxins like PCBs and mercury found in the sediment. While catch-and-release fishing is a popular hobby along the piers of Long Island City and Brooklyn, the river's inhabitants are a testament to the resilience of urban nature, thriving in one of the busiest maritime corridors in the world.

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Technically it's legal to swim in the East River, although it's also strictly forbidden to actually enter the river. Legalities aside, Mike Dulong, senior attorney for the New York water quality advocacy group Riverkeeper, claims that the East River isn't as unsanitary as the average New Yorker might assume.

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The upper Hudson River is freshwater through-and-through, with sparkling mountain streams and tributaries that are perfect to lazily drift down. It's also the place to cast a line for some prized fish, including Bass and Trout. The lower river around New York City, however, is a tidal estuary.

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Experts say it's safe to swim in most of the Hudson most of the time — though things get dicey after it rains.

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Women under 50 and children under 15 should not eat any fish from the Hudson River, including striped bass. Women who eat highly contaminated fish and become pregnant may have an increased risk of having children who are slower to develop and learn. Some contaminants may be passed on to infants in mother's milk.

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NEW YORK -- The body of 13-year-old Kavion Brown Godfrey was pulled from the East River on Friday, the family's attorney tells CBS New York. Divers pulled his body from the water at Pier 16.

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While there are orange individuals in the Hudson, these tend to be easy pickings for predators; one study of the diet of ospreys along the Hudson found that goldfish were a common prey of this fish-eating hawk. Thus the goldfish we catch are more likely to be olive green or brown than orange or gold.

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For Your Health- In 1976, the Upper Hudson River was closed to fishing due to extremely high amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish. These levels posed a high risk of possible harmful health effects in humans. Since 1976, the manufacture of PCBs has been banned and their use phased out.

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The Atlantic sturgeon is the largest fish in the Hudson River. Adults are often five to eight feet long.

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Predators like blue crabs and sturgeons do eat zebra mussels, but have never been shown to control natural populations. Research on new control measures, including biological controls, is ongoing, but the changes we've seen to the Hudson's ecosystem probably are irreversible or at least long-lasting.

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For about half its length, the Hudson is actually a tidal estuary, where salt water from the ocean combines with fresh water from northern tributaries. The Hudson is tidal from the mouth of the Hudson in New York Harbor to the Federal Dam in Troy, a distance of about 153 miles.

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Yes, Bull Sharks, Dogfish, Great White?, Whale. 25 different species live in the area, and while most won't spend much time in the river all are capable, though for short times as they are salt water specific.

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