June 19, 2019 — The federal government says two species of herring are not at risk of going extinct, and will not be listed under the Endangered Species Act.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the government has finished a review of the status of alewife and blueback herring and decided against designating the fish as endangered or threatened.
The fish live on the East Coast and are an important piece of the food chain.
On Cape Ann, the river herring return to the fish run next the West Gloucester water treatment plant off Essex Avenue from the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Little River in the spring. From the river, the alewives swim to the Lily Pond spawning area to begin another life cycle for the important species.
The fish are counted each spring, usually about 2,000, in what is the largest visual count by volunteers in the state.