New Englands worst herring year

[finchaser]

http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/about/news-room/news/2015/08/18/southern-new-englands-worst-year-in-history-for-river-herring-raises-concerns-at-sea

[CharlieTuna]

(Connecticut and Rhode Island show the number of migrating fish declining dramatically compared with recent years, leading one prominent biologist to call this year "the worst in history" in his state. Consider a few examples from Rhode Island. Last year, more than 102,000 river herring passed through Gilbert Stuart Brook in North Kingstown. This year, that number dropped to about 11,000. On nearby Buckeye Brook, volunteer coordinators say they saw only about 15,300 herring this year compared with an average of more than 90,000 in previous years. And on the Saugatucket River, where volunteers net migrating fish (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djc0QHvrt3c) and lift them over a dam to spawning areas upstream, only about 15,000 fish showed up this year, compared with 74,000 last year.
Steve Gephard, Connecticut's supervising fisheries biologist for migratory fish, told me that "everything crashed" this year in the streams he monitors and that he hasn't seen anything like it in his 35-year career. "Fishways that usually count 90,000 counted 8,000," Gephard said. "Our premier run at Bride Brook was off by at least 100,000.")


It was off in Mass as well. I didn't have any idea of the numbers until I read this. Some areas it's down by 90%. That's terrible. Thanks for sharing.

[lostatsea]

Must be the commercial fishermen. Every river and spring herring area I know of is closed to herring. And they are still dropping in numbers. Sharks and whales can only eat so much herring. jmo

[finchaser]

they are a by catch and dis-guard of the commercial squid boats

[Rip-Plugger]

they are a by catch and dis-guard of the commercial squid boats
I agree with fin,they are being decimated not by us fishermen but,by being bycatch.
we were the first to blame and the first to be banned from using them as bait,those of us that fish bait btw.
it's easy to say we did it.
now what do they say is doing it?


R-P

[williehookem]

I think its the commercial netters. I read another article that said the same thing.

[BassBuddah]

Hopefully the conditions are getting better.