03-30-2006, 11:00 AM
Prohibition on the Taking of Alewife and Blueback Herring from Connecticut Waters Extended for Another Year
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced that the prohibition on the taking of alewives and blueback herring from inland and marine waters of the State of Connecticut has been extended for another year. This action was initially taken in April of 2002, and then extended each year through 2005 with an expiration date of March 31, 2006. The current action by DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy extends the prohibition through March 31, 2007.
"The DEP initially took this action because river herring populations declined to historically low levels," said Commissioner McCarthy. "Continued monitoring by Department biologists shows that the decline has stopped, but that stocks have not recovered. Therefore it is prudent to continue this prohibition to protect these species."
Drastic declines in river herring abundance have now been observed throughout southern New England, prompting neighboring states to take action to protect river herring. Massachusetts recently placed a three-year moratorium on the harvest, possession, or sale of river herring, and the State of Rhode Island is currently developing regulations that will ban the taking of river herring from its waters.
River herring is a term used to collectively refer to alewife and the blueback herring. Both species are anadromous, which means they hatch in freshwater, migrate to the ocean to grow, then return to freshwater to spawn. Historically, river herring runs into Connecticut rivers and streams have numbered into the millions; however, runs have been declining steadily since 1990. While the reasons for the decline are not fully understood, DEP biologists believe predation by increasingly abundant striped bass is an important factor.
"River herring are important to our freshwater, marine, and estuarine ecosystems because adult herring and their young provide food for a variety of predators including freshwater gamefish, marine gamefish, osprey, bald eagle, harbor seals, porpoise, egrets, kingfishers, and river otter," said Edward Parker, Chief of DEP’s Bureau of Natural Resources. DEP wildlife biologists have noted that strong runs of river herring enhance the survival rate of osprey chicks.
Non-migratory alewife populations are also established in several lakes and ponds in Connecticut. However, these landlocked populations are not experiencing similar declines. The DEP prohibition does not include landlocked alewives from Amos Lake, Ball Pond, Beach Pond, Candlewood Lake, Crystal Lake, Highland Lake, Lake Quassapaug, Lake Quonnipaug, Rogers Lake, Squantz Pond, Uncas Pond, and Lake Waramaug. Alewives in these lakes may still be taken by angling and scoop net as established in state statute and regulation.
The DEP indicates that the prohibition on the taking of river herring could likely extend well into the future. "Protecting wild fish populations is one of our top priorities. We will closely monitor the progress of the runs and will recommend an end to the prohibition once river herring have recovered to the point where we believe that they are out of danger," said Parker. Monitoring, conducted annually since 2002, indicated that the river herring stocks remain depressed, noting that the number of blueback herring counted at the fishway at the first dam on the Connecticut River reached an all-time low in 2004 and did not improve in 2005.
The DEP does not expect river herring populations to recover immediately. "We believe that the fishery closure may reduce the threat of further population declines and that it may enable river herring populations to recover more quickly in years when striped bass are less abundant," explained Parker. The local abundance of striped bass cannot be controlled since they are highly migratory and harvest is constrained by a coast-wide management plan.
The DEP will continue its other efforts to enhance river herring stocks by transplanting adult herring from streams with healthy runs into streams where runs have been eliminated or greatly depleted, removing obsolete dams, and building fishways that allow fish to migrate past remaining dams. In an effort to learn more about river herring in the state, DEP is funding a three-year study at the University of Connecticut. This study, which focuses on the relationship between striped bass and river herring in the Connecticut River, will expand on previous research into the status of herring populations in coastal streams and tributaries of the Connecticut River. [center][url "http://dep.state.ct.us/whatshap/press/pressrel.htm"]Press Releases[/url] | [url "http://dep.state.ct.us/news.htm"]News[/url][/center] [font "Arial"][size 2][url "http://dep.state.ct.us/index.htm"]Home[/url] | [url "http://dep.state.ct.us/aboutdep/contact/contact.htm"]Contact Us[/url] | [url "http://dep.state.ct.us/search.htm"]Search[/url] | [url "http://dep.state.ct.us/survey/survey.htm"]Feedback[/url] | [url "http://dep.state.ct.us/legal.htm"]Website Legal Info[/url][/size][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2]Send comments or questions regarding this site to[/size][#800000][size 2] [url "mailto:dep.webmaster@po.state.ct.us"]dep.webmaster@po.state.ct.us[/url][/size][/#800000][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2]Copyright 1998-2004 Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection[/size][/font]
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The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced that the prohibition on the taking of alewives and blueback herring from inland and marine waters of the State of Connecticut has been extended for another year. This action was initially taken in April of 2002, and then extended each year through 2005 with an expiration date of March 31, 2006. The current action by DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy extends the prohibition through March 31, 2007.
"The DEP initially took this action because river herring populations declined to historically low levels," said Commissioner McCarthy. "Continued monitoring by Department biologists shows that the decline has stopped, but that stocks have not recovered. Therefore it is prudent to continue this prohibition to protect these species."
Drastic declines in river herring abundance have now been observed throughout southern New England, prompting neighboring states to take action to protect river herring. Massachusetts recently placed a three-year moratorium on the harvest, possession, or sale of river herring, and the State of Rhode Island is currently developing regulations that will ban the taking of river herring from its waters.
River herring is a term used to collectively refer to alewife and the blueback herring. Both species are anadromous, which means they hatch in freshwater, migrate to the ocean to grow, then return to freshwater to spawn. Historically, river herring runs into Connecticut rivers and streams have numbered into the millions; however, runs have been declining steadily since 1990. While the reasons for the decline are not fully understood, DEP biologists believe predation by increasingly abundant striped bass is an important factor.
"River herring are important to our freshwater, marine, and estuarine ecosystems because adult herring and their young provide food for a variety of predators including freshwater gamefish, marine gamefish, osprey, bald eagle, harbor seals, porpoise, egrets, kingfishers, and river otter," said Edward Parker, Chief of DEP’s Bureau of Natural Resources. DEP wildlife biologists have noted that strong runs of river herring enhance the survival rate of osprey chicks.
Non-migratory alewife populations are also established in several lakes and ponds in Connecticut. However, these landlocked populations are not experiencing similar declines. The DEP prohibition does not include landlocked alewives from Amos Lake, Ball Pond, Beach Pond, Candlewood Lake, Crystal Lake, Highland Lake, Lake Quassapaug, Lake Quonnipaug, Rogers Lake, Squantz Pond, Uncas Pond, and Lake Waramaug. Alewives in these lakes may still be taken by angling and scoop net as established in state statute and regulation.
The DEP indicates that the prohibition on the taking of river herring could likely extend well into the future. "Protecting wild fish populations is one of our top priorities. We will closely monitor the progress of the runs and will recommend an end to the prohibition once river herring have recovered to the point where we believe that they are out of danger," said Parker. Monitoring, conducted annually since 2002, indicated that the river herring stocks remain depressed, noting that the number of blueback herring counted at the fishway at the first dam on the Connecticut River reached an all-time low in 2004 and did not improve in 2005.
The DEP does not expect river herring populations to recover immediately. "We believe that the fishery closure may reduce the threat of further population declines and that it may enable river herring populations to recover more quickly in years when striped bass are less abundant," explained Parker. The local abundance of striped bass cannot be controlled since they are highly migratory and harvest is constrained by a coast-wide management plan.
The DEP will continue its other efforts to enhance river herring stocks by transplanting adult herring from streams with healthy runs into streams where runs have been eliminated or greatly depleted, removing obsolete dams, and building fishways that allow fish to migrate past remaining dams. In an effort to learn more about river herring in the state, DEP is funding a three-year study at the University of Connecticut. This study, which focuses on the relationship between striped bass and river herring in the Connecticut River, will expand on previous research into the status of herring populations in coastal streams and tributaries of the Connecticut River. [center][url "http://dep.state.ct.us/whatshap/press/pressrel.htm"]Press Releases[/url] | [url "http://dep.state.ct.us/news.htm"]News[/url][/center] [font "Arial"][size 2][url "http://dep.state.ct.us/index.htm"]Home[/url] | [url "http://dep.state.ct.us/aboutdep/contact/contact.htm"]Contact Us[/url] | [url "http://dep.state.ct.us/search.htm"]Search[/url] | [url "http://dep.state.ct.us/survey/survey.htm"]Feedback[/url] | [url "http://dep.state.ct.us/legal.htm"]Website Legal Info[/url][/size][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2]Send comments or questions regarding this site to[/size][#800000][size 2] [url "mailto:dep.webmaster@po.state.ct.us"]dep.webmaster@po.state.ct.us[/url][/size][/#800000][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2]Copyright 1998-2004 Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection[/size][/font]
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