The Life History and Management of Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus)

Abigail Franklin, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Department of Natural Resources Conservation

• Natural history of herring

• Population status & possible causes of declines

• Nature-like fishway research

• Agencies that manage alewife

• New management plan!

• Situation at Herring River, Wellfleet

The Biology and Management of Alewife (Alosa psuedoharengus)

Atlantic Salmon

American Shad

Alewife Blueback Herring

Sea Lamprey

Atlantic Sturgeon

Shortnose Sturgeon

Sea-run Brown TroutSea-run Brook Trout

White Perch

Rainbow Smelt

Striped Bass

American Eel

Hickory Shad

Gizzard Shad

Alabama Shad

Skipjack Herring

Anadromous and Catadromous Species

Alewife Blueback HerringWhite Perch

Striped Bass

American Eel

Anadromous and Catadromous Speciesof Wellfleet

Range of Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus)

Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus)

Ocean Estuary River

Upstream spawning migration to natal river

Downstream migration

Spawning in ponds

Eggs

•0.80-1.27mm

•Hatch in 2-5 days

•Larvae form schools 2 weeks after hatching

http://www.glooskapandthefrog.org

Juvenile alewife research

• Yako, Mather, & Juanes 2001

- Not just temperature

- Migrate July-November

- Migration is complex

- First to leave are smaller

- Peak migrations correspond to low food

- Migrate during new moon

Where do they go in the ocean?

Summer and Fall

Gulf of Maine

Where do they go in the ocean?

Winter

Where do they go in the ocean?

How do they switch from salt to freshwater?

Gills

Gill filaments

Chloride cell

Pounds of River Herring Landed 1950-2004 River Intercept Fisheries

Data from National Marine Fisheries Service

Population Status

Who cares if herring populations are declining? So what?

People

Zooplankton

Atlantic cod

Bluefish

Striped Bass

eat

eateat

Blueback HerringAlewife

eat

eat

eat

Who cares if herring populations are declining? So what?

http://www.glooskapandthefrog.org

Who cares if herring populations are declining? So what?

•Water quality

•Blocked access to spawning

grounds

•Fishing mortality

Cause of declines?

United States Geological Survey

Silvio O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center

One Migratory Way, Turners Falls, MA

Research Sections

•Ecology

•Physiology

•Behavior

•Fish Passage

-Dr. Alexander Haro

2500

Goal: create appropriate slope and water velocity to allow fish to pass with minimum amount of stress, injury, delay,

and mortality

Technical Fishways

Pool and weir

Denil

Steeppass

Technical Fishway

Nature-like Fishway

• Constructed with metal, concrete, wood

• Same hydraulic conditions

•Goal: Pass target species

• Constructed with natural substrates

• Range of velocities, design site specific

•Goals: Stream continuity, pass all migratory fish, provide habitat

Technical vs. Nature-like Fishways

Steeppass Nature-like

Town Brook, Plymouth

Plymouth

Harbor

Billington Sea(freshwater lake)

Nature-like Fishway Study Site

Off Billington St. Dam and Pond

Newfield St. Weir & Fish Tagging Site

Fish Release Site

Jenny Grist Mill Dam

500 meters 0

Town Brook

Gulf of Maine

Plymouth

Harbor

Billington Sea(freshwater lake)

Nature-like Fishway Study Site

Off Billington St. Dam and Pond

Newfield St. Weir & Fish Tagging Site

Fish Release Site

Jenny Grist Mill Dam

500 meters 0 500 meters 00

Town Brook

Gulf of Maine

Town Brook, Plymouth

Billington St. Dam 2002

Billington St. Dam 2002

Town Brook, Plymouth

Town Brook, Plymouth

Nature-like Fishway

Town Brook, Plymouth

Length: 30m Slope: 1:20 Width: 7-8m

A1

Off Billington St. Dam

Pool & weir Fishway

A6

A8

A5

A4

A7

A2

A3

Town Brook

Pond

Release Site ~1 km downstream

Nature-like Fishway

Flow

Antenna Layout – Town Brook

Town Brook, Plymouth

• 103 fish detected at beginning of fishway

• 96 fish detected at top of fishway

• Passage: 94% completed NLF

• Only 5.8% pass beyond next dam

Results

Town Brook, Plymouth

Off Billington St. Dam

= 96

=6

N=95

Attempts

1 2 3 4 5

Per

cent

age

of F

ish

0102030405060708090

100

Town Brook Off Billington Dam, Plymouth

N=95

Hours

0 24 48 72 96 120144168192216240

Per

cent

age

of F

ish

05

101520253035404550

How many attempts did they make to pass?

How long did they stay below the dam on the

first attempt?

Ocean intercept fishery

CHOIR Coalition

CHOIR Coalition

CHOIR Coalition

Who manages river herring?

• Federal: NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

• Regional: Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

• States: Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

• Local: Town of Wellfleet Watershed Associations

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

DRAFT AMENDMENT 2 to the

Interstate Fishery Management Plan

For SHAD AND RIVER HERRING

For Public Comment

(River Herring Management)

http://www.asmfc.org

Comments due by January 1, 2009

Public Hearing December 1,2008

•Technical Report: A Survey of Anadromous Fish Passage in Coastal Massachusets

•River Herring Moratorium 2005, 2008

•Dockside Sampling

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

What impacts river herring populations in the Herring River?

Delay Water Quality

http://www.glooskapandthefrog.org