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Restoring Rivers, Reviving Species: Our Work to Help River Herring
Addressing River Herring Bycatch in Our Region
For alewife populations to return to Connecticut rivers, where they can be monitored, counted, and released to enjoy the many unobstructed miles we have worked to provide them, we must first make sure the fish are making it home to the rivers of Long Island Sound.
A peer-reviewed paper published in November showed that a significant number of river herring are ending up as bycatch, collateral casualties of mid-water trawls for Atlantic herring and mackerel. Genetic data outlined in the study determined that between 2012 and 2015, 22% of the bycatch along the entire eastern seaboard came from Long Island Sound; 34% came from Block Island Sound. Another brand-new paper has released maps showing the areas on the eastern seaboard where interception of shad and river herring is most likely. These two sets of information can now be brought together to effectively reduce the bycatch of our regional fish.
“Millions of taxpayer dollars are spent restoring hundreds of miles of fish passage in Connecticut and New York for fish that aren’t making it back to rivers and streams to spawn,” said Long Island Soundkeeper Bill Lucey, who is serving on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Shad and River Herring Advisory Panel.
Fortunately, the New England Fisheries Management Council voted in December to add the issue of low observer coverage on river herring bycatch reporting to its priorities for 2023, which means resources would be officially dedicated to exploring solutions. Bill testified to the NEFMC in April, calling the situation “critical,” and planned to provide testimony at the late-June Council meeting, where the notion of a buffer zone—an area in which fishing for Atlantic herring and mackerel would be prohibited, minimizing the risk of river herring bycatch—would again be discussed.
Fish Trap Data From the West River in Woodbridge, CT
