Dolphin pods are spotted in New York City's East and Hudson Rivers as waters are now cleaner than at any point since the Civil War...
The aquatic mammals typically flee towards New York City's water during the warmer months between spring and fall for feeding season, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society.
To keep water safe, a nearly $50 billion project dating back to the mid 1980's is an ongoing investment to reduce the amount of pollution that gets discharged into the water ways.
To sustain and improve the water, scientist are testing its health regularly to compare how much cleaner the waterways have become - made possible through a portion of funds from state water bills.
The harbor is the cleanest it's been in the last 100 years, and there has been an 80 percent reduction in sewer overflows since the mid-1980s. The improvement has resulted in an uptick of dolphins and their main source of food - bunker fish or menhaden.
While there are several hypothesis about why dolphins may be increasing in the area, it's expected that the increase in menhaden might be the key, according to Sarah Trabue, a WCS research assistant.
'This is supported by our finding that dolphins were foraging in the majority of days that they were present in the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary, which suggests that this area serves as a feeding ground for the migratory population of dolphins that use these waters from spring to fall each year,' Trabue said.
Fishing regulations implemented over the past few years have also prevented overfishing of menhaden - a staple food in the mammal's diet.
Trabue also suggested that the big ticket effort to restore the quality of the habitat in the rivers is drawing in the marine mammals.
The Hudson River, which stretches more than 300 miles past the tip of Manhattan, is home more than 200 species of fish and a variety of birds feeding from it's waters.
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Not a huge surprise about the dolphins - I've seen dolphins off of Sandy Hook for the last 5 years , at least .
ReplyDeleteThey are great to see , though !