River Herring & Eel Survey
About the Long Island Volunteer
River Herring & Eel Survey
The annual Long Island Volunteer River Herring & Eel Survey is one of Long Island’s longest running community science projects. Started in 2006, the survey engages community volunteer scientists to monitor runs of migratory river herring and American eels in rivers and streams across Long Island. The survey, organized by Seatuck and our partners at the Long Island Sound Study, Peconic Estuary Program and South Shore Estuary Reserve – aims to find the waterways where “remnant” runs of river herring still exist and then to monitor the size and timing of those runs. This information is vital to improve access and restore local populations of these ecologically important fish. Learn more about Diadromous Fish across Long Island here.
Participants in the survey are asked to commit to surveying a local waterway from mid-March through mid-May. The survey protocol involves visiting a neighborhood river or stream and spending 15 minutes looking for river herring or signs of their presence. The visits can occur daily, weekly or as often as possible. All data is good data – the more trained eyes we have on the water, the better! Observations and information from the survey visit are then submitted through an easy-to-use on-line application on your computer or mobile device and automatically becomes part of our study. The online app helps you to geo-locate your survey location and even submit photos.
River Herring & Eel Survey Resources
- River Herring & Eel Survey Protocol
- East End Survey Sites
- South Shore Survey Sites
- North Shore/Long Island Sound Survey Sites
- Westchester Survey Sites
- River Herring & Eel Survey Link (All of Long Island)
- River Herring & Eel Survey Link (Westchester)
- River Revival Map
- 2024 Webinar East End Breakout Room
- 2024 North Shore/Westchester Webinar Breakout Room
LI River Herring & Eel Survey Trainings
Riverhead
Seatuck is hosting a training workshop with Peconic Estuary Partnership and Byron Young in Riverhead! The workshop will take place on Saturday, March 22nd, 2025 from 10am-12pm. It will begin with a presentation at the Riverhead Free Library and conclude at the Woodhull Dam/ Byron Young Fish Passage for some hands-on learning experience. We will offer a hybrid option for the presentation. Please click the button below to register for this event!
Virtual
Seatuck is partnering with Long Island Sound Study for a virtual training! It will take place on Tuesday, March 25th, 2025 from 6:00pm-7:15pm. Please register by clicking the button below!
Accessing the Survey 1-2-3 Mobile Field App
- First, you must download the free Survey 123 mobile app on your mobile device
- Scan the QR code on the left using your phone’s camera. If you are currently on your mobile device, click here to download the River Herring & American Eel survey and proceed with steps 4 & 5
- After scanning the QR code, click the top banner notification to open ArcGIS
- Choose “Open in the Survey 123 field app”, and “Open this page in Survey 123”
- Choose “Continue without signing in”
River Herring & American Eel Survey Map
Please Note: Clickable data points (shown in red) do not reflect confirmed sightings of wildlife. Each red dot indicates a survey submission.
Related Information
River Revival
Seatuck’s Long Island River Revival Project seeks to restore the ecological health of the region’s coastal rivers and streams.
Protecting Birds – EN
In September 2019, in a widely reported article appearing in Science magazine, researchers documented a significant decline in the overall abundance of birds in North America. Studies showed a 29% reduction birds since 1970, totaling approximately 3 billion birds. Some bird groups – such as grassland birds – have declined even more precipitously, dropping by more than half.
Bellmore Creek
Progress continues on the effort to develop plans for fish passage at the Wantagh Mill Pond. Check here for the latest updates.