Matthiessen: "shocklingly different"

CROTON-ON-HUDSON – According to a report released Thursday by Riverkeeper, there is a “dangerous” decline in the amount of fish in the Hudson River, all due to man-made causes, and as a result the organization will be launching a campaign aimed at restoring sustainable fish levels in the river.

Speaking at Croton Point Park with the Indian Point nuclear power plant in the background, Riverkeeper President Alex Matthiessen said that is an example of one of the causes of the fish shortage, something he described as “shockingly different” than reports from power plants along the river over the past few years.

The organization’s leader expressed concern for the population of 10 of 13 fish species studied, including shad, tomcod, bay anchovy, alewife, blueback herring, rainbow smelt, hogchoker, white catfish, weakfish,  and white perch – all of which he said have declining numbers since the 1980s.  Only the striped bass, bluefish, and spottail shiner have increased, according to the study.

Mattheissen, however, did acknowledge that runoff from power plants is not the only culprit; he also argued that commercial fisherman have been accidentally on occasion catching fish attempting to swim north to lay eggs, and that “sloppy construction habits” along shorelines up and down the Hudson River also contribute to the sudden decline.

He noted that these are all man-made sources of the problem.

The Riverkeeper leader said he felt deceived by recent reports from power plants and developers.

 “The Hudson River is actually declining in stability, not improving, and that’s a shock to all of us that have been proud of what we thought we were accomplishing over the last 40 years thinking that this river was in a upward single direction trajectory toward recovery, when in reality we have a new set of problems.”

Mattheissen also noted this affects swimming and other recreational activities residents use the river for, and could have an adverse affect on the commercial fishing industry, as well as a massive ecological shift in the river.

As a result of the study, produced by Pisces Conservation Ltd., Riverkeeper has announced they will be launching its Hudson Fisheries Defense Campaign immediately to find more precisely where most of the problem is being caused, and how they can find a solution.

Mattheissen said the new campaign will address issues of overfishing, sewage runoff, power plant fishkills, habitat loss, and invasive species.

Meanwhile, Dr. Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace and advisory to the group New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance, said Riverkeeper’s goal in issuing the report is “to wage a new attack against Indian Point in hopes of closing the plant, causing economic and environmental hart to the downstate region of New York.”