Banded Sunfish Returned to Peconic River
During the Peconic River cleanup project much of the thick vegetation lining the banks of the river was destroyed. Prior to the cleanup, an attempt to save the population of New York State threatened banded sunfish was conducted in 2003 and 2004. BNL staff and members of the Peconic River Working Group worked with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to net and remove 195 banded sunfish from the river. The fish were relocated to nearby Zeeks pond.
Following the completion of the cleanup and restoration, several of the fish were returned to the river on September 22, 2005.
The banded sunfish is one of many endangered, threatened, and special concern speices that make BNL their home. Through BNL's Natural Resources Division and inconjunction with BNL's Office of Education Programs, many summer student interns have conducted research studies on them. Studies were done on the banded sunfish in 2005 and 2007. Through these studies BNL has been able to monitor the size of the populations.