The fishing shacks at the end of Dock Street in the North Bay area of Hudson, NY, (just past the Kite’s Nest River City Garden) are part of a 14.4 acre parcel that was purchased originally in the 1600s by a German immigrant from Indigenous people. There have been businesses on the land including gristmills, slaughterhouses and tanneries.
The first Shantytown shacks were constructed in the 1880s and through the middle of the next century they functioned as sites for shad, sturgeon, and herring fishing. Active use of Shantytown continued into the 21st century until the city decreed that the shacks could no longer be used. A project to demolish most of the shacks and restore a few is part of the city’s 2017 NYS Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant. [Read more…] about Fishing History: A Hudson River Shantytown
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is accepting public comment on a revised regulatory proposal to strengthen protections for threatened and endangered wildlife in New York.
Lake sturgeon can be unintentionally caught by anglers fishing in certain waters in New York during May and June when they’re spawning. The stress incurred from being caught by an angler can inhibit a lake sturgeon’s ability to spawn. It takes many years for female sturgeon to become sexually mature, and they only spawn every 4-7 years, so missing a spawning opportunity can have a big impact on the growth of a population. 
A New York Minute In History is offering the first episode of a special series on folklore.