BEACON, NY – Clearwater’s Key to Common Hudson River Fishes is a classic guide to the Hudson’s most common fishes is now an interactive website. Clearwater’s new site will expand the Key’s audience for science-based information about natural history of the Hudson River’s fish from approximately 12,000 to 100,000 people annually. Visit the website here https://www.clearwater.org/fishkey/ .
Clearwater’s Key to Common Hudson River Fishes was originally published as a paperback in 1987 and has been utilized by educators along the Hudson River for decades. This waterproof paperback edition is still available to the public and educators through Clearwater’s online store.
The new website is an interactive, responsive design website that will dramatically expand the Key’s content on the history, ecology and management issues facing Hudson River fish, and exponentially increase its distribution from its last printing of 3,000 in 2010 to unlimited free access via the internet. The responsive design of the website can easily be used on any device – desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphone. This one-of-a-kind guide currently uses physical characteristics of fish to enable identification by Key users and includes eight (8) “Fun Fish Facts.” The new website will add new information including videos, maps, current research, natural history, current status and health advisories that cannot be included in a printed publication and updated regularly.
“One of Clearwater’s most used and beloved tools is our Key to Common Hudson River Fishes. It is an easy and interactive way of learning about fish from our waterways. Now teachers, students, and the public can access this same identification tool online with any smartphone, tablet, or computer. The online fish key has a number of updated features for everyone to explore but with a familiar feel to those of you who have been using it for years” said Maija Niemisto, Education Director at Clearwater.
Funded by the DEC Hudson River Estuary program, the purpose of Clearwater’s Key to Common Hudson River Fishes is to educate the public and engage them in environmental stewardship. Protecting fish is important because they are an essential element of the river’s ecosystem. Clearwater’s mission is to enable people to use the river – to catch fish recreationally and as a source of food; and to use the water for swimming, drinking and boating. Clearwater has done this by promoting protection of the River’s ecosystem – removing and reducing pollution and invasive species. Fish also provide food for wildlife and their natural history helps explain the human history of the Hudson Valley. The new Key will promote public understanding of the Hudson River including the challenges the river’s fish face and how they can be addressed.
