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 most 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 successive year through 2006 with an expiration date of March 31, 2007. The current action by DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy extends the prohibition through March 31, 2008.

"The DEP initially took this action in 2002 because river herring populations had declined to historically low levels," said Commissioner McCarthy. "In response to the continuing region-wide decline in river herring abundance, both the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State of Rhode Island have also closed their river herring fisheries as well."

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. In 1985, 630,000 blueback herring were passed over the Holyoke Dam on the Connecticut River. In 2006, only 21 passed, the lowest number in the history of the Holyoke Fishlift. 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.

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.

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 during 2006 indicated that the river herring stocks remain depressed and DEP found no signs of an imminent recovery of river herring populations. "We believe that the fishery closure may reduce the threat of further population declines and that it may enable river herring populations to increase more quickly in years when striped bass are less abundant," noted 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.