Herring run in full swing along South Shore 5-1-18

Herring run in full swing along South Shore

Wicked Local Norwell
May 1, 2018

Herring are filling local streams and rivers during their annual migration from the sea. Like salmon, herring live in salt water but travel to fresh water to spawn.

In Pembroke, Herring Brook is full of fish fighting their way upstream to the top of a fish ladder that allows them to get around a dam at Glover Mill Pond. During the peak of the migration, it can see as many as 40,000 fish in one day.

River herring have been in decline for more than 200 years, cut off by dams from their spawning beds. The North and South Rivers Watershed Association has led efforts to rebuild fish ladders and remove dams and culverts, but more than 60 dams remain.