Objective
Our objective in this study was to assess the vitality of the York River ecosystem through a survey of fisheries resources and their supporting habitats.

Goal
Our goal in this study was to assist the York Rivers Association and partners in their work as stewards of the York River and its watershed, by documenting the current and potential fish habitat value of this exemplary coastal ecosystem. Our study provides data that is essential for wise stewardship of this precious but threatened community resource.

Study Design
For this initial characterization of fish distribution of the entire York River ecosystem, we used an extensive sampling scheme, with many sampling sites distributed throughout the estuary and watershed. These sites were sampled only once or twice, during the appropriate season. We conducted a fyke net survey for evidence of fish migrations at four locations both day and night in late April and early May of 2001, and coordinated a volunteer visual survey to look for evidence of fish spawning runs at 15 locations during May and June. We used an electroshocker to sample fishes in 44 freshwater stream segments (each 200 ft in length) during June and July, and mapped instream and riparian habitat and flows in each segment. We sampled the tidal wetlands within the estuary with fyke nets at four sites both day and night during the month of August. Finally, in late August we sampled the main stem of the estuary at nine stations from the inlet up to the tidal marshes with a beam trawl, both day and night.