Request to help hurting herring will be on Lakeville warrant 2-23-18
Request to help hurting herring will be on Lakeville warrant
SouthCoast Today
By Bill Abramson / Contributing Writer
Posted Feb 23, 2018 at 6:34 PM
Updated Feb 23, 2018 at 6:34 PM
LAKEVILLE — As invasive weeds clog their path, the herring population is hurting and their advocates are looking for some help.
Representatives of the Middleborough-Lakeville Herring Fishery Commission came to the Board of Selectmen earlier this week in search of a town meeting article that would provide it with $5,000.
That would match the amount Middleboro is seeking for the fishery commission at its town meeting this spring.
The Lakeville selectmen will include the article on the annual town meeting warrant for the June 4 meeting. The commission will use the funding to find a way to improve getting the herring to its breeding grounds in Assawompset Pond and getting the fry out of the pond and back to the ocean.
A side effect to the herring's problem is a potential issue for Lakeville residents who live along one of the ponds, the rising water levels.
As of its Feb. 14 reading, Long Pond had a water height of 53.85 feet, Assawompset Pond is 53.35 feet and the Nemasket River is 52.90 feet, a total difference of less that a foot. The small gradient is keeping the water from flowing into the river and instead is backing up onto the shores of the ponds, the path of least resistance.
Also adding to the problem is the spread of invasive weeds that is choking the river's flow. A workshop on how to address the problem will be held at the Lakeville Library on March 7.
At a meeting Wednesday, Selectman John Powderly said he was in favor of the initial investment, but was afraid of being dragged into a major expenditure.
"I don't object to $5,000, but I don't want a $300,000 project to pull weeds," Powderly said. "If you want to improve the flow, dredge the river to the width it was. Go to the Army Corps of Engineers. They've been very cooperative.
"We (Lakeville) have been chasing invasive weeds on Long Pond for a long time. It has been studied to death. Dredge the river and forget all the other options. Dig the river out and do it right."
"There was a catastrophic drop in the herring count last year," Louise Dery-Wells, the Fish Warden for the commission, said. The commission's report said the fish count for 2016 was 550,000 and in 2017, it was 150,000.
The past three years of drought has caused the Nemasket River to go from a once-powerful river to a sluggish stream. Instead of a river, Dery-Wells pointed out, the area has become a marsh land.
"Our charter is to make sure the herring have a way to get through to the pond and get back out again," Ron Burgess, chairman of the commission, said. "Our mission is to provide support for the herring."
