Medford Residents Help with Mystic Herring Count

The following was provided by the Mystic River Watershed Association:

Herring matter.  Herring count.  And that is exactly what Medford residents have discovered in their efforts to help the Mystic River Watershed Association with their newly initiated Herring Monitoring Program.  This baseline study will provide valuable information to marine biologists who are studying river herring, referring collectively to two similar species - the Blueback and Alewife herring - in one of the Commonwealth’s largest urban watersheds.

Medford volunteers are working with over 120 other volunteers from watershed cities and towns as part of this effort.  The monitoring program takes place at the newly remodeled Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation dam between the Upper and Lower Mystic Lakes, which span Winchester, Medford and Arlington. 

Volunteers stand over the new fish-ladder at the dam to count the herring as they make their way to the Upper Mystic Lake to lay eggs (or spawn).  Volunteers are at the dam in 10 minute shifts, over a twelve hour period each day counting herring.  Estimates can be made from data collected to determine how many herring are running upriver between April 1st and mid-June. 

Asked why she was participating in this, Julia Thompson of Medford said, “I am participating in the herring monitoring program for a few reasons. One is that I am interested in helping to support environmental causes - especially local ones. The Mystic River is very close to my home in West Medford, and I am curious about its ecology and cleanliness. I also am a new mother, and wanted to share herring monitoring and trips to the river with my 3 1/2 month old daughter, Adela.

I hope to share values of caring for our world with her as she grows up,”  Thompson said. “I hope to tell my daughter about monitoring and the annual herring migration when she’s older and we go there for a swim one day.”

Monitoring river herring is especially important in light of the species’ recent population decline.  Over the last decade, coastal landings of both river herring species averaged a little more than one million pounds—indicating a decline of more than 98 percent when compared to averages from 1950 to 1970.

Between 2000 and 2010 Alewife counts in Massachusetts’ Monument and Mattapoisett Rivers—two of the state’s most significant herring runs—plummeted almost 85 and 95 percent respectively.  River herring population decline is associated with many factors including pollution, by-catch (unintentionally caught fish), lack of spawning habitat, habitat degradation, and dams.

In April, river herring—after traveling hundreds of miles from the northern Atlantic Ocean—make their way up the Mystic River to spawn.  Before the new dam, efforts like MyRWA’s Bucket Brigade have allowed herring to enter the Upper Mystic Lake.  The new fish-ladder, a step-like structure that enables fish to pass through the dam, provides access to an additional 165 acres of prime spawning habitat and allows MyRWA volunteers the opportunity to conduct an accurate count of river herring in the Mystic for the first time.  This data will become an important baseline determining critical herring trends and learning more about habitat conditions. 

Since the program began in April, over 3,800 herring and more than 700 eels have been counted.   Since 2006—the year that The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) listed river herring as a species of concern—fishing river herring in Massachusetts has been illegal. Low herring numbers prompted the National Resources Defense Council to file a petition in August 2011 to list river herring as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In November 2011 NMFS agreed to investigate the petition and is currently in a twelve month scientific review before assigning a classification.

In addition to reaching out to the community by engaging volunteers in Citizen Science efforts, the Mystic River Watershed Association has planned educational outreach events, inviting the public to the dam to learn about the Program and witness the herring and eel migration.  Open houses are scheduled for Sunday, May 20 from 12 to 3 p.m. and Thursday, May 24 from 3 to 7 p.m.  See www.MysticRiver.org for more details.  Please join us at these free, public events!  This program would not be possible without the support and collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the generous financial support from Federal Realty Investment Trust.

Though largely unseen, herring are an important component of a healthy Mystic River Watershed.  River herring are integral to the fresh water and marine ecosystem; they are prey for ospreys, bald eagles, striped bass, sharks, tuna, seabirds, and marine mammals including whales, porpoise and dolphins.  Through monitoring efforts, we are provided a glimpse into their journey and can better track this pulse of spring.  Join MyRWA on May 20th at the Blessing of the Bay Boathouse, 32 Shore Drive, in Somerville for a celebration of the herring at the 16th annual Mystic River Herring Run and Paddle. The day’s events include a 5K road race starting at 9 a.m., the Mystic River Report Card presentation by the US Environmental Protection Agency at 10 a.m. and a 3, 9 or 12-mile paddling race beginning at 11 a.m. See www.MysticRiver.org for more details and to register.