Make way for herring on the carbon highway

Black-crowned night herons standing along the Mystic River herald for me that, once again, the herring are running.

Spring is when alewives, blueback herring, and shad return to East Coast rivers to spawn and reproduce, while the more numerous Atlantic herring school into coastal salt marshes.

River herring, which include alewives, blueback herring, and shad, play a critical role in transferring nutrients and minerals from the ocean to freshwater ecosystems during their annual spawning runs, earning them the nickname "the carbon highway."

Last year, south of Cape Cod, the southern New England river herring run experienced a significant downturn. State agencies, watershed organizations, and volunteer groups who had worked hard at restoring rivers and access to spawning habitats were disappointed.

The troubles for river herring began offshore in the Atlantic Ocean, where fishers for other fish caught too many herring. Atlantic herring reproduce quickly and are so abundant that there is little chance of overfishing them. But, river herring (alewives, blueback, and shad) that swim with the sea herring are less plentiful and are unavoidably caught with the other fish.

To save alewives, blueback herring, and shad, fishery management authorities and fishermen protect, avoid, and monitor river herring.

Global Warming Solutions is committed to conservation efforts for essential forage species like the river herring. Will you help fuel our conservation movement with a donation before our end-of-the-month deadline?

Each year, a group of river herring known as a "year class" swims together and can spend up to seven years at sea before returning to their river. Surveying at sea in research vessels and on herring trawlers, researchers have learned over the years where and when the hot spots of river herring are likely to be. For example, river herring are most abundant off Rhode Island from September to December.

Herring are protected when herring trawls are not permitted in their seasonal hotspots.

Unfortunately, due partially to currents shifting due to climate change, river herring may be in new places. That is why monitoring bycatch (the unintentional catching of non-target species) is so crucial on boats and at the docks.

Fishery managers are implementing the necessary measures to protect river herring, but significant challenges are still threatening their survival.

Finding and training high-volume fisheries monitors is difficult; only about ten are qualified.
The Industry Funded Monitoring program needs more dedicated funding and is a low priority.
There have been no observed Atlantic herring trips for bottom or midwater trawl vessels fishing in the southern New England river 
  herring cap area since 2018.
NOAA Fisheries are left to extrapolate river herring catch, unaware of seasonal and interannual variability and likely missing 
  unintentional catching of non-target species.
Significant reduction of the Atlantic herring catch quotas did not show a corresponding decrease in river herring losses, indicating more 
  incidental bycatch than expected.
The Amendment 8 Inshore Midwater Trawl Restricted Area was opened to fishing.

We must better manage waterways and our fishing practices to make way for herring.

As river herring populations decline, the loss of this species can have cascading effects on the health of ecosystems and, ultimately, on our own welfare. By protecting and restoring river herring populations, we can ensure the continued flow of nutrients and minerals to these ecosystems, promoting their resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Supporting conservation efforts and legislation for critical species such as the river herring is a top priority for Global Warming Solutions. Consider making a donation to help us continue our important work before the end of the month.

More soon,

Rob