Herring Count Volunteers

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Welcome Herring Monitors!

Instructions for Counting Herring and Reporting Data

If you’re a herring count volunteer, thank you for your efforts! Your monitoring work results in the collection of valuable information about the river herring populations on Cape Cod. This information is used by fisheries managers for protection and management of river herring. (To see how Cape Cod herring runs did in previous years, click here (PDF))

Counting Method: We will be using the same counting method used in previous years. This method was developed by Gary Nelson of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries:

Start date for counting groups: April 1 or when many herring are seen migrating, whichever occurs first

End date for counting groups: June 1 or a week after the last herring are counted, whichever occurs first

Time of day to do counts: Between 7 am and 7 pm

Length of time for count: 10 minutes

Number of counts needed: 9 counts per day at the run (not 9 counts per person)

Comments: Do counts at random times, some in the morning, some in the afternoon

Recording data: For each 10-minute count, write down your data in a Count Form:

Your name
The name of the run you’re monitoring
Date
Start time for 10-minute count (use 24-hour “military” time)
End time for 10-minute count (use 24-hour “military” time)
Number of herring counted in a 10-minute period
Water temperature (degrees Celsius)
Air temperature (degrees Celsius)
Weather code (see the Count Form for possible weather conditions and codes)
Comments – anything else you think may be interesting or important.

Reporting data: To report your data to APCC, you have several choices:

  • If you have a local count coordinator, give the completed form to that person;
  • Enter the count data using APCC’s online web site, and save paper, postage and hassle! See the directions below.
  • Email your completed count form to [email protected].