Hudson River Park Staff Finds 'Exciting' Fish In Local Waters

LOWER MANHATTAN, NY — It's not every day a northern pipefish appears in the Hudson River.

The Hudson River Park River Project staff found and photographed a 19-centimeter-long (7.48 inches) adult northern pipefish, along with a 6.5-centimeter (2.55 inches) juvenile pipefish from the same trap Tuesday.

While checking fish ecology sampling gear last week, HRPK River Project staff encountered something exciting — a 19cm long adult northern pipefish. Moments later, they collected a 6.5cm juvenile pipefish from the same trap! pic.twitter.com/o4y039NRe0
— Hudson River Park (@HudsonRiverPark) October 13, 2020

"This is thrilling for a number of reasons," the Hudson River Park staff tweeted. "Seeing adults and juveniles of the same species together like this gives us the opportunity to see how these fish grow and change over the course of their lives."

Additionally, the park staff mentioned that finding an adult and juvenile together meant that the northern pipefish are reproducing in the Hudson River Estuary. The two fish were returned to the water shortly after the picture was taken.

Pipefish are closely related to seahorses and can change color to match their surroundings, according to the Chesapeake Bay Program. The camouflaging ability means that the fish have very few common predators.

The Hudson River Park stretches along the West Side of Manhattan from Chambers Street to 59th Street.