2013 Annual Meeting Summary

Fifty people attended the third annual meeting of the River Herring Network on October 24, 2013 in Buzzards Bay. Participants represented 19 towns, 2 state agencies (Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) and Division of Fisheries and Wildlife), the federal agency NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, and 5 non-profit organizations. Two representatives of the Massachusetts Bays Program also attended.

Five speakers gave power point presentations on the topics of bycatch of river herring in the Atlantic Herring fishery, updates on local, state and federal efforts to manage river herring populations, the river herring enforcement activities of the MA Environmental Police, and DMF's 2013 efforts to monitor using video counts.

The meeting also featured a panel discussion with members of town herring committees. Five people representing the Middleboro-Lakeville Herring Fisheries Committee, the Westport Fish Commission, the Town River Fisheries Committee of Bridgewater & West Bridgewater and the non-profit organization Alewives Anonymous discussed the origins and operations of their groups and shared their opinions on the challenges and benefits of managing their herring runs.

The powerpoint presentations and notes from the meeting are available at the link below. http://riverherringnetwork.com/about-us/annual-meeting.html

If you have ideas for activities you would like to see happen in 2014, or would like to join the River Herring Network Steering Committee, please send an email through the "Contact Us" tab on the website.

Abby Franklin Archer