Lily Pond, snowy day West Gloucester

Little River Volunteer Fish Counters Needed!

The Lily Pond and the Little River host a small, but resilient population of river herring. These fish, alewives and blueback herring, migrate from the ocean to the Lily Pond, spawn and then return to the sea. The young fish head downstream in late summer. This is one of the few “runs” remaining on the North Shore, and also one of the oldest in the commonwealth. We would like to know more about when and how many fish travel upstream every year. You can help us by volunteering to count fish as they migrate upstream to the Lily Pond from the Little River.

River herring provide important forage for cod fish, bluefish, tuna and striped bass….all important commercial, recreational and sport fish for the City of Gloucester. Each spring the City of Gloucester hosts a river herring count at the top of the fish ladder by the West Gloucester Water Filtration Plant. Volunteers monitor the once a year spawning run from the Atlantic Ocean This is a wonderful activity for families, scouts, home schoolers, youth and adult groups….. suitable for all ages!

Volunteering is simple and requires as little as ten minutes of your time.

The count runs from April 1st to May 30th .

There will be an informational training session held on Monday, March 25, 2019 at 6 PM in the first floor conference room at 19 Harbor Loop, Gloucester, and a field training session on Saturday March 30 at 10 AM at the West Gloucester Water Filtration Plant at 372 Magnolia Ave, Gloucester.

If you would like to count fish in Gloucester, contact:

Peter Seminara, Gloucester Shellfish Constable and Alewife Warden at the Shellfish Department at (978) 325-5248, by cell phone or text at (978) 949-1223, or by email at pseminara@gloucester-ma.gov.