Herring Atlas

On On-line Herring Atlas for Buzzards Bay

Background

The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the herring wardens and natural resource officers of the municipalities of have worked continuously to maintain and improve the herring runs in Buzzards Bay. The Buzzards Bay NEP was proud to have assisted in some of those efforts in sometimes modest and sometimes significant ways. Our support included both funding and technical assistance, such as assisting towns prepare the necessary permits or grant applications to facilitate these efforts.

To support future efforts, the Buzzards Bay NEP has set up this webpage and on-line geographic database with information and data about Buzzards Bay herring Runs. This website builds upon the 2004 Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries prepared atlases of impaired herring runs in Massachusetts. It also includes many smaller herring habitat or potential herring habitat areas. It is hoped that this online database will assist towns and agencies establish restoration priorities, and prepare applications for funding and permitting.

Buzzards Bay Watershed Runs and Anadromous Fish Obstructions

Interactive Maps

We have placed DMF herring atlas information and town information for these sites into an interactive Google Earth map file above. These interactive maps have information and locations about each obstruction or other key feature on the run. Click on the dots to identify the site. Here is the google earth file if you want to open it on your computer:January 2010 Buzzards Bay Anadromous Fish obstructions. If a site near you does not include a photograph, please email us a picture so we can include it in the database. Please also report any errors you find. You need the most recent update of Google Earth to view the photographs.

References

1921 Belding Alewife report (10 MB pdf file)

DMF 2004 TR15-report anadromous fish passage southeastern MA

DMF 2004 TR16 anadromous fish passage Cape and Islands

Pew Trust report: Empty Rivers: The Decline of River Herring

Webpage with all Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Technical reports (herring and other species).

USGS Conte Anadromous Fish Laboratory, Turners Falls, MA

Herring Organizations

Alewives Anonymous (Rochester, Marion, Mattapoisett, MA group)

Haas-Castro, R. 2006. Status of Fishery Resources off the Northeastern US: River Herring. NEFSC – Resource Evaluation and Assessment Division at http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/sos/spsyn/af/herring/ (last accessed 1/28/08)

Wilson, J. 2007. Fish of Yesterday, Fish of Tomorrow. NC Wildlife Magazine October 2007, pp20-31.

Herring Alliance. 2007. Empty Rivers The Decline of River Herring and the Need to Reduce Mid-water Trawl Bycatch. October 2007 available at www.herringalliance.org/images/stories/Herring_Alliance_River_Herring_Report.pdf last accessed 1/28/07

NORTHWEST ATLANTIC MARINE ALLIANCE and MIDCOAST FISHERMEN’S ASSOCIATION versus United States Department of Commerce. Information available at www.mass.gov/dfwele/dmf/programsandprojects/anadrom.htm#anadromous last accessed:1/31/08.