Prohibition On The Taking Of Alewife And Blueback Herring From Connecticut Waters Extended For Another Year
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced that the prohibition on the taking of alewives and blueback herring from most inland and marine waters of the State of Connecticut has been extended for another year. This action was initially taken in April of 2002, and then continued each successive year through March 31, 2009. The current action by DEP Deputy Commissioner Susan Frechette extends the prohibition through March 31, 2010.
"The DEP initially took this action in 2002 because river herring populations had declined to historically low levels," said Deputy Commissioner Frechette. "Since that time, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and North Carolina have all closed their river herring fisheries as well - demonstrating this is a region wide problem."
River herring is a term used to collectively refer to alewife and the blueback herring. Both species are anadromous, which means they hatch in freshwater, migrate to the ocean to grow, then return to freshwater to spawn. Historically, river herring runs into Connecticut rivers and streams have numbered into the millions; however, runs have been declining steadily since 1990. In 1985, 630,000 blueback herring were passed over the Holyoke Dam on the Connecticut River. In 2006, only 21 passed, the lowest number in the history of the Holyoke Fishlift. Last year the number was 84 river herring.
"River herring are important to our freshwater, marine and estuarine ecosystems because adult herring and their young provide food for a variety of predators including freshwater gamefish, marine gamefish, osprey, bald eagle, harbor seals, porpoise, egrets, kingfishers, and river otter," said Edward Parker, Chief of DEP’s Bureau of Natural Resources. DEP wildlife biologists have noted that strong runs of river herring enhance the survival rate of osprey chicks.
The DEP sees no indication that the river herring populations will rebound anytime soon and the prohibition on the taking of river herring could likely extend well into the future. "We will continue to monitor the State’s river herring runs and will continue to extend the prohibition until they have recovered to the point where we believe that they are out of danger. Protecting populations of wild fish is one of our top priorities," said Parker. Monitoring conducted during 2008 indicated that the river herring stocks remain depressed and DEP found no signs of an imminent recovery of river herring populations. "The fishery closure will reduce fishing mortality, thereby helping to protect small spawning runs until such time as the regional trend is reversed," noted Parker.
The DEP will continue its other efforts to enhance river herring stocks by transplanting adult herring from streams with healthy runs into streams where runs have been eliminated or greatly depleted, removing obsolete dams and building fishways that allow fish to migrate past remaining dams.
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced that the prohibition on the taking of alewives and blueback herring from most inland and marine waters of the State of Connecticut has been extended for another year. This action was initially taken in April of 2002, and then continued each successive year through March 31, 2009. The current action by DEP Deputy Commissioner Susan Frechette extends the prohibition through March 31, 2010.
"The DEP initially took this action in 2002 because river herring populations had declined to historically low levels," said Deputy Commissioner Frechette. "Since that time, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and North Carolina have all closed their river herring fisheries as well - demonstrating this is a region wide problem."
River herring is a term used to collectively refer to alewife and the blueback herring. Both species are anadromous, which means they hatch in freshwater, migrate to the ocean to grow, then return to freshwater to spawn. Historically, river herring runs into Connecticut rivers and streams have numbered into the millions; however, runs have been declining steadily since 1990. In 1985, 630,000 blueback herring were passed over the Holyoke Dam on the Connecticut River. In 2006, only 21 passed, the lowest number in the history of the Holyoke Fishlift. Last year the number was 84 river herring.
"River herring are important to our freshwater, marine and estuarine ecosystems because adult herring and their young provide food for a variety of predators including freshwater gamefish, marine gamefish, osprey, bald eagle, harbor seals, porpoise, egrets, kingfishers, and river otter," said Edward Parker, Chief of DEP’s Bureau of Natural Resources. DEP wildlife biologists have noted that strong runs of river herring enhance the survival rate of osprey chicks.
The DEP sees no indication that the river herring populations will rebound anytime soon and the prohibition on the taking of river herring could likely extend well into the future. "We will continue to monitor the State’s river herring runs and will continue to extend the prohibition until they have recovered to the point where we believe that they are out of danger. Protecting populations of wild fish is one of our top priorities," said Parker. Monitoring conducted during 2008 indicated that the river herring stocks remain depressed and DEP found no signs of an imminent recovery of river herring populations. "The fishery closure will reduce fishing mortality, thereby helping to protect small spawning runs until such time as the regional trend is reversed," noted Parker.
The DEP will continue its other efforts to enhance river herring stocks by transplanting adult herring from streams with healthy runs into streams where runs have been eliminated or greatly depleted, removing obsolete dams and building fishways that allow fish to migrate past remaining dams.