Annual Gloucester river herring count to begin April 1 3/12/15

Annual river herring count to begin April 1

Wicked Local Gloucester
Posted Mar. 12, 2015 at 2:09 PM

GLOUCESTER
Each spring for over 10 years, the City of Gloucester, the Eight Towns and the Great Marsh Committee and NOAA-NMFS have coordinated the annual river herring (alewife) count at the top of the fish ladder by the West Gloucester Water Filtration Plant on Essex Avenue.

Volunteer monitors help scientists by observing and documenting the spring run of herring as they migrate from their home in the Atlantic Ocean to their freshwater spawning grounds. This is a wonderful activity for interested individuals, families, youth organizations and students who want to play an active part in local conservation efforts. Learning to become a volunteer monitor is easy and the time spent observing can require as little as ten minutes of your day.

This year's count will take place from April 1 to May 30. A training session will be held on Saturday, March 28 at 9 a.m. in the Friend Room of the Sawyer Free Library.

If you would like to become a volunteer monitor and help efforts to protect this important species, please contact: Dave Sargent, Alewife Warden, at 978-282-8018 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Also contact Max Schenk at 978-282-8025 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Time coverage is the key to a successful count and any time you can give will make a difference.