April 2, 2012 – Prohibition on the Taking of Alewife and Blueback Herring from Connecticut Waters Extended for another Year
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) 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 has been extended each successive year after DEEP monitoring showed no improvement in population size during the past year. The current action by DEEP Commissioner Daniel C. Esty extends the prohibition through March 31, 2013.
“East Coast states have all experienced dramatic declines in river herring populations. Since Connecticut took the first step to close river herring fisheries to protect the stocks, other states have followed. The best available data from this past year indicates that the closure of these fisheries must remain in place,” said Commissioner Esty.
River herring is a term used to collectively refer to alewife and 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, millions of river herring returned to Connecticut rivers and streams each year. In 1985, over 630,000 blueback herring were passed over the Holyoke Dam on the Connecticut River. By 2006, only 21 passed the Holyoke Dam (Massachusetts), the lowest number in the history of the Holyoke Fishlift. Last year that number had crept up to 138. While river herring are not typically consumed by humans, they are important food to many species of freshwater and marine gamefish, as well as osprey, bald eagle, harbor seals, porpoise, egrets, kingfishers and river otter.