Jesse McLaughlin’s “eel mops” are part of his Dean’s Award for Summer Research project practicing interspecies artistic collaboration with the endangered American Eel in the New York Harbor.
Eel mops provide habitat to small species, particularly juvenile eels, allowing for easier monitoring. Typically made from frayed plastic rope and conventional concrete, eel mops can also create harmful pH imbalance and release microplastics into the water. In a partnership with the Harbor School, Jesse is developing a new eel mop model to propose to the DEC that is made with more environmentally-neutral materials.
