[SEMCO] Herring Count Volunteers Needed for 2022

[Jo Ann Muramoto]

Herring Count Volunteers Needed for 2022

 [cid:0a217826-48be-4843-805a-ff0018c9cb8d]
Spring is just around the corner and the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) is once again seeking volunteers to count river herring. River herring include alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (A. aestivalis), both listed as Species of Special Concern by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. River herring are important in the coastal food web and coastal ecosystem, but despite a moratorium that began in 2006 banning their catch, sale and possession, their populations remain perilously low. Count data are urgently needed to document their presence.

Volunteer herring counts provide valuable scientific data on herring populations and are used by fisheries managers to manage and protect herring stocks. Herring counts also help to document the need for restoration or improvement of fish runs and the success of restoration projects. Cape Cod has many runs that provide opportunities for volunteers to view the spring herring migration while collecting valuable scientific data.

This year volunteers are needed to count herring along the following runs:

  *   Stony Brook, Brewster
  *   Bound Brook and Scargo Lake, Dennis
  *   Bridge Pond and Herring Pond, Eastham
  *   Trunk River, Falmouth
  *   Mashpee River, Quashnet River and Santuit Pond, Mashpee
  *   Mill Creek, Sandwich

Volunteers are needed to count several times a week between April 1 and June 1. Counts are done for 10 minutes. Volunteers must be able to safely traverse rough terrain, be able to visually see fish in the stream, and provide their own transportation to the counting site. The counts are reported to APCC via our website data entry system.


Individuals interested in counting herring at any of these runs, or at other runs which will need volunteer counters, can sign up to count herring at APCC’s website at Herring count volunteer signup<https://apcc.org/our-work/science/community-science/monitoring-program-volunteers/>. To learn more about APCC’s herring count program, instructions for counting, past run sizes, counts at other runs, a schedule of training events, and our website data entry system, visit APCC’s website at APCC Herring Monitoring Program<https://apcc.org/our-work/science/community-science/herring/> . If you have questions, please contact Dr. Jo Ann Muramoto, APCC’s Director of Science Programs, at jmuramoto at apcc.org<mailto:jmuramoto at apcc.org> .

Photo of herring at Stony Brook run by L. Keeran.


Jo Ann Muramoto, Ph.D.
MassBays Regional Coordinator, Cape Cod region
Association to Preserve Cape Cod
482 Main Street, Dennis, MA 02638
jmuramoto at apcc.org
www.apcc.org<http://www.apcc.org>
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