Tag: Alewife

NINE ALEWIFE COUNTED FROM THE NEW FISH COUNTING STATION!!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

It’s a little too cold and a little too early in the season for the Alewife to run, yet despite today’s 44 degree temperature, Gloucester’s new shellfish warden Tammy Cominelli shares that nine were counted from the Little River’s brand new counting station on Saturday!

Today marked the official opening of the station with Mayor Sefatia and members of SumCo eco contractors, NOAA, and the Mass Division of Marine Fisheries in attendance.

Tammy Cominelli (Gloucester Shellfish Warden), John Catena (NOAA Fisheries Restoration Center), Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, Anna Macan (NOAA Fisheries Communications), Jen Goebel (NOAA Fisheries Communcations), Max Schenk (City of Gloucester Health Department), Michael Pentony (NOAA Fisheries – Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator), and Travis Sumner (SumCo co-founder).

* Unfortunately, I did not get everyone’s name. Please let me know if you know the names of the gentleman in the far back row and the gentleman to the far right. Thank you!

Tammy Cominelli, Gloucester’s new Shellfish Warden, checking the water temperature.

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In Massachusetts, the Alewife run between late March through May (when the water temperature is 51 degrees) and Blueback Herring run from late April through June (57 degrees); both species use the Little River to spawn at the freshwater Lily Pond.

The river herring begin their spring journey by swimming from the Atlantic Ocean, traveling through the Little River brackish, marshy basin.

Little River

River herring travel upstream to the little pool just below the Lily Pond, where they then swim up the new ladder, called an Alaskan sea pass, to spawn.

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Here the adults will stay for about three to six weeks. Unlike salmon, which spawn and die, river herring that survive spawning take the return trip back to the sea.

Lily Pond snowy spring day

After the baby herring hatch, they live at the Lily Pond anywhere from one to three months. Once they have grown large enough, the young herring begin their journey to the Atlantic Ocean, first migrating down to the Little River basin, which is a mixture of both fresh and sea water, and then slowly out to the open sea to join large schools of Alewife and Blueback Herring.

River herring return to their home river to spawn once they become adults, in three to five years.

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Beautiful Fish: Alewife -By Al Bezanson

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

ALEWIFE; GASPEREAU; SAWBELLY; KYAK; BRANCH HERRING; FRESH-WATER HERRING; GRAYBACK

The alewife, like the shad and the salmon makes its growth in the sea, but enters fresh water streams to spawn. This “anadromous” habit, as it is called, forced itself on the attention of the early settlers on our coasts. In the words of an eyewitness, “experience hath taught them at New Plymouth that in April there is a fish much like a herring that comes up into the small brooks to spawn, and when the water is not knee deep they will presse up through your hands, yea, thow you beat at them with cudgels, and in such abundance as is incredible.”  And they are no less persevering in their struggles upstream today. Numbers of them are to be seen in many streams, any spring, alternately swimming ahead; resting in the eddy behind some irregularity of the bottom; then moving ahead again, between one’s feet if one happens to be standing in midstream. And they are much more successful than the shad in surmounting fishways of suitable design.

From Fishes of the Gulf of Maine by Bigelow and Schroeder (1953) online courtesy of MBL/WHOIhttp://www.gma.org/fogm/Pomolobus_pseudoharengus.htm

 

This Saturday, March 31st ,  help out with the alewife count right here in Little River.

 

LOOK WHAT’S IN OWL PELLETS!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Michelle Anderson sent along the following wonderful series of photos of her troupe of young naturalists. IMG_3753

Elijah, Atticus, and Lucas

Atticus ‘Eagle Eye’ Anderson discovered a pile of owl pellets under a large hemlock tree in Rockport.

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IMG_3747IMG_3751Dissecting the pellets are Sabina and Lucas Sappia, Esme and Elijah Sarrouff, and Atticus and Meadow Anderson. So interesting and so cool! THANK YOU MICHELLE FOR SHARING!!!

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Puzzle piece for scale

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Close-up

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Earlier that same day, the naturalists were checking for alewife at the Gloucester fish ladder. They saw seven alewife in total, three actually going up the ladder!

Story and photos by Michelle Anderson.