management of alewife
DESCRIPTION
Presentation from 2008 Wellfleet Harbor ConferenceTRANSCRIPT
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