Populations of river herring have undergone a significant decline

The annual arrival of the river herring signifies the official arrival of spring. It draws many of us to the run, to witness the upward migration of these beloved fish, who after surviving several years at sea, return to spawn in the same exact lake or pond where they were born. River Herring [Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and Blueback Herring (Alosa aestivalis)] are referred to as a “keystone species” as they are a vital part of the marine, estuarine, and freshwater food webs. Many predatory fish, birds, turtles and terrestrial, aquatic and marine mammals depend on them as a major food source. However, over the past several centuries, populations of river herring have undergone a significant decline. Construction of dams and culverts, industrial-scale fishing off our coasts, and declining water quality in estuaries and freshwater spawning areas, threaten their continued survival. Massachusetts placed a moratorium on the harvest of river herring in 2006, but they could still disappear from our waters.

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