On July 30th, AYLUS members were able to assist in conducting a fish survey that was held along Raritan Bay in Union Beach, NJ, hosted by Save Coastal Wildlife Nonprofit. Members were tasked with pulling seine nets along the edge of tidal waters in Raritan Bay to catch aquatic creatures in the water, collecting and recording data about the creatures, and releasing them back into the ocean. Many creatures, such as crabs, jellyfish, pufferfish, and a variety of small fish were caught and cataloged. We did six hauls in total and discovered juvenile fish, shrimp, baby puffers or blowfish, seahorses, green seaweed, red seaweed, or sometimes even tropical fish from Florida as they follow warm Gulf Stream waters northward. The diversity of species we encountered was limitless. It all depended on what plants and animals were visiting the area at the time we were seining. Surprisingly, we also caught some northern stargazer fish, one skeleton shrimp, and one baby bunker. This research helps us to understand the diversity of species in the ocean and the status of the ecosystem to ensure that it is still healthy.
Thanks to all the members who came out and helped in conducting the fish survey!
Reported by: Daniel Yu
Activity Lead: Daniel Yu (3.5 hours)
Participants: (1.5 hours for each)
Vivian Sun, Albert Y He, Austin Ing, Xiaowen Kang, Cindy Wu, Matthew Ding, Colin Hou
