These fish were once a part of the cultural fabric of springtime in the Hudson Valley. Now we see very few smelt. Being a fish of colder northern waters, the Hudson River may have grown too warm, perhaps only by a fraction of a degree, for their comfort. The Hudson has evolved to be less like the colder estuaries of New England, where smelt are common in spring, and more like the warmer tidewater rivers of the Mid-Atlantic such as Delaware and the Susquehanna. As the river begins to fill up with migrating fishes this month and next, keep a sharp eye out for harbor seals.
Harbor seals are marine mammals and, as such, are federally protected.
Here to dine on herring and shad, they delight those of us who are fortunate enough to spot them. Nowhere is this more evident than along the Hudson in March. From the snowy summits of the Adirondacks to the warming tidewaters of the lower Hudson, March is a month of transition. With the retreat of winter the awakening cycles of spring's renewal are everywhere to see. In the early morning hours of March 20th, the vernal equinox, the sun will be directly overhead at the equator, heading towards its zenith in our summertime sky.