mpralvarez

Imagine a beach.  The sand is a smooth, bright tan.  The dunes are perfectly shaped and the water is completely clear, to the point where you can see your feet.  The fish are all of exotic shapes and sizes.  Now revert back to New York City and your standing at the Hudson River, not as appealing.  Only in appearance is this true.  There are many other aspect to which the Hudson River is almost an entity itself and it lives cooperatively with the island of Manhattan.  Recreation such as fishing, boating, and tour groups all take place on the waterfront.  In addition to recreation, fishing also supplies food for restaurants to cook and sell to customers.  Home to various fish, as well as people who live on boats they own.  Such an important contributor to New York City, the Hudson River has Organizational groups come together to try and preserve this body of water and protect it from pollution and the growing epidemic of overfishing.  These organizational groups such as the Clearwater hold importance in rejuvenating and sustaining a great land mark of Manhattan. 

                The Hudson River, to clarify, is not actually a river, it is actually an estuary.  An estuary has one or more sources of water flowing into it, is partially enclosed, and has access to the sea.  The Hudson River is 315 miles long beginning in the Adirondacks, and emptying out into the Atlantic ocean from the New York City bay (Clearwater.org).  “The river was observed by Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524 as he became the first European to be credited with entering Upper New York Bay,” (Wikipedia.org).  Later, after Manhattan had been colonized as New Amsterdam, the River was renamed after the English explorer Henry Hudson.

                Unfortunately, Manhattan’s Hudson River was deemed the thirty-third most polluted river in the United States (web.bryant.edu).  Toxic contaminants such as Polychlorinated biphenyl, PCB,  and DDT were dumped into the river by General Electric’s facilities located close to the estuary.  Roughly 200 miles of the river from the Hudson Falls to the New York Harbor have been polluted to do GE, (web.bryant.edu).  Both PCB and DDT are very toxic to a wide range of animals and have been known to lead to several forms of cancer.  In addition, pregnant women who are exposed to such toxins, from sources such as fish exposed to either contaminant or from contaminated drinking water from the Catskill and Delaware watersheds, have a higher probability in having children being born with birth defects.  “These contaminants are also known to cause damage to the nervous system, immune system, and the reproductive system,” (web.bryant.edu).  With risks like these pollution seems as a horrible alternative to paying to properly dispose of wastes other than dumping them into the Hudson River.

                As a result of GE’s disregard to properly dispose waste for thirty years, from 1947 to 1977, the Hudson River was severely polluted.  “GE’s Hudson Falls and Fort Edward facilities discharged between 209,000 lb and 1.3 million lb of PCBs into the river from 1947 to 1977. In 1976 the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) banned all fishing in the Upper Hudson due to health concerns with PCBs,” (Wikipedia.org).  However due to proper planning and dedicated individuals the Hudson River has been on its way to recovery.  The EPA declared that it was necessary to clean up the 200 mile stretch, from the Hudson Falls to New York City, (Wikipedia.org).  Organizations have begun to clean the river as well as provide knowledge of the river, one such organization is the Clearwater Organization. 

                Overfishing is another epidemic that is not only disturbing the Hudson River but as well as bodies of water all over the world.  “Overfishing can be defined in a number of ways. However, everything comes down to one simple point: Catching too much fish for the system to support leads to an overall degradation to the system. Overfishing is a non-sustainable use of the oceans,”

(overfishing.org).  The reason linked to overfishing is due to the over abundance of those taking an overabundance of fish from the oceans.  Popular fishing methods also can cause the death of unwanted fish, or fish who are thrown back.  “Popular” never necessarily means the best.  Fishers are removing more fish from the water than that can be produced to keep a proper equilibrium.  According to overfishing.org; 52% of fish are fully exploited, 20% are moderately exploited, 17% are over exploited, 7% are depleted, and 1% are recovering from depletion.  If this continues entire ecosystems will collapse, such as the ones that exist in the Hudson River.  This also means that we are in danger of “losing a valuable food source many depend on for social, economical and dietary reasons,” (overfishing.org).  It is common knowledge that roughly 75% of the World is covered by bodies of water, such as Oceans.  The massive amount of species and ecosystems are depleting rapidly due to the lack of management, lack of self-control. 

                With the Hudson River slowly recovering due to organizations that care such as Clearwater, there is a higher probability of the Hudson River’s survivability.  Fish are returning and reproducing and is now home to over 200 species of fish.  Clearwater is a non-profit organization is filled with devout volunteers and supporters who have the common goal to defend and restore the Hudson River.  They state their mission on their website:  “to investigate and research conduct research into any causes or sources of contamination and destruction of this river, its tributaries and similar river systems;  To inform the public of such dangers and to assist the public in taking such measures to stop such contamination; To educate the general populace as to the importance of preserving the Hudson River, its tributaries and other similar river systems; To foster the historic and cultural heritage of the Hudson River Valley from the mountains to the sea; To protect the well-being of individuals who dwell along its banks and related areas; To protect and restore other great waterways; to conduct other actions that will enhance and improve the environment of the Hudson River Valley and surrounding areas,”

(Clearwater.org).  The Clearwater has also accomplished many achievements such as building and sailing the quaint sloop, having the first on-board environmental classroom open to all who wish to learn of this organization and the river itself.  Other accomplishments include, the rescuing a part of the Hudson River shore from development which now stands as a park, being an incubator for environmental scientists, activists, and community leaders, and much more.  “…Most important of all, the many, many small, everyday victories that occur, one acre, one species, and one person at a time,” (Clearwater.org).

                Unfortunately, chaotic events such as pollution and overfishing have proven to be an epidemic to the citizens as well as the fish of New York City.  The Hudson River’s history tells us of a trading port of the newly colonized New Amsterdam, we now know this as Manhattan, the center of business and trade.  Letting the problem such as pollution and overfishing affect the river as well as the City itself is unforgivable.  However, there are many hard at work to restore the Hudson River to reach a new prime, and slowly the restoration is working.  Organizations such as the Clearwater are effective, efficient, and a very good way to become involved in the rescuing of natural beauties such as the Hudson River.

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