This project has been funded by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, as a State Wildlife Grant.
"Assessment of Alewife and Blueback Herring Populations in Connecticut Coastal Streams and Connecticut River Tributaries"
Eric Schultz, project director; Robert Neumann, co-principal investigator. Justin Davis, executing student.
Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus and blueback herring A. aestivalis, collectively referred to as river herring, have declined substantially in Connecticut. In response to the declining numbers of river herring, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection implemented a conservation measure by closing the fishery statewide starting in 2002. Current information on the run sizes and population characteristics of river herring in many systems in Connecticut is lacking.
This proposed study is intended to develop a standardized sampling protocol for estimating run size of river herring, as well as to provide current information on population characteristics in coastal streams and tributaries of the Connecticut River. Information gathered during this investigation will provide a reliable source of baseline data for the development of river herring conservation and restoration plans, and for the development of long term data sets and future research directions.
The specific objectives of the proposed research are to:
1) Quantify run size of river herring in two streams, and develop a periodic-count sampling strategy to reliably estimate the run size in several additional streams.
2) Determine population characteristics of river herring in several streams.
3) Assess the timing of out-migration for juvenile river herring.