NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — January 17, 2015 — NOAA Fisheries Thursday announced a quarter million dollars in grants for a pair of research projects seeking answers about the river herring populations along the coast from Maine to Connecticut and in New Jersey.
Although they are not on the endangered list, there is concern that river herring stocks are not as healthy as they should be. The studies will track their populations as they move to and from salt water into estuaries along the coast for spawning. They will also study the effects of fishing on herring populations, which are an important prey species for other fish.