Brewster and Wellfleet Herring Count Results Are In!

APCC began this year's Herring Run Monitoring Program with volunteer training in early spring, followed by the counts continuing through the summer. Using a statistical method developed by the state Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), APCC's Senior Scientist, Dr. Jo Ann Muramoto, has analyzed the counts at two locations.

Stony Brook Herring Count Site
Stony Brook: The size of the 2009 herring run in Stony Brook is estimated at 19,197 fish, considerably lower than 2008 and 2007 when the estimated numbers of herring were 33,384 and 30,252, respectively. Run size refers to the estimated number of herring passing a given point, in this case the mouth of Lower Mill Pond at the Stony Brook Mill. The reasons for the apparent decrease in the Stony Brook run from previous years are not known
At Stony Brook, an undersized tidal culvert under Route 6A will be replaced with two larger culverts, which should lead to restoration of 20 acres of salt marsh and improved passage for herring and American eels, a species that is also declining in numbers. Culvert construction is planned for fall 2010. APCC will continue the volunteer count in spring 2010, before the culvert is replaced.

Wellfleet: At the Herring River in Wellfleet, run size for 2009 is estimated at 31,590 fish, an encouraging number as this is the first year of a volunteer herring count program. The volunteers from the Friends of the Herring River also observed many American eels. The Herring River is the site of the largest salt marsh restoration project in New England, and restoration of tidal flow should also benefit the herring run.

The DMF instituted a three-year ban on the taking of river herring in November 2005, when it became apparent to fisheries managers that river herring populations had crashed throughout the Northeast. The moratorium has now been extended to 2011 to allow populations more time to recover.  

Jo Ann will continue to work on the herring count data because the volunteers recorded other information, such as timing of the downstream run back to the sea, numbers of elvers (young eels), predators, other species and weather. Stay tuned for more information, or contact Jo Ann Muramoto at 508-362-4226, ext. 16 or jmuramoto@apcc.org.