Life in the Gowanus, and I don’t mean the mythological Carroll Gardens flipper-baby frogmen that are supposedly heard plopping and flopping in the greasy water on still moonless nights.
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This work by Matthew Wills is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Backyard and Beyond 
Good to know that there is life in those waters.
I’ve seen mallards, cormorants, and even red-breasted mergansers in there, too. Yesterday, swallows were poetically swooping over its foul waters. Some years ago there was an effort to seed mussels, but I don’t know where that plan went. A couple of years ago, during our big jellyfish bloom, they came all the way to the Union St. Bridge.
These little guys are probably spearing (Atlantic Silversides, Menidia menidia) or perhaps killifish (Mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus). I’m curious if there are snappers (juvenile bluefish) or fluke (summer flounder)following these baitfish into the Gowanus . . .
Thanks for this information, Ron. These little ones were at the 3rd St. Bridge, so a good bit “up” the canal. I don’t see why larger fish wouldn’t follow them in.
Come by Smith and 9th Street behind FIND and Build It Green and you will see THOUSANDS of these and striped bass or something preying on them too. It’s pretty cool.