Volunteers Needed For Herring Count

Did you know there is a fish that lives in the ocean and swims all the way to the Mystic Lakes to lay its eggs each spring?

The Mystic River Watershed Association is seeking volunteers from April 1 through mid-June to count river herring as part of the third year of the Herring Monitoring Program. Counting will take place seven days per week, twelve times daily, at the fish ladder at the DCR Upper Mystic Lake dam in Medford.

Volunteers should commit to at least one 10-minute count, between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm each week. No previous experience or knowledge is required and training is provided. Monitors must be at least 18 years old unless accompanied by an adult.

New volunteers must attend a training session, with the primary training scheduled for Saturday, March 21st, 10:00 am to noon at the Medford Boat Club, 1001 Mystic Valley Parkway, Medford, MA. Additional trainings will be scheduled as needed. To register for the training and for more information see www.mysticriver.org/herring-monitoring/.

The goal of the Herring Monitoring Program is to collect valuable data about herring populations as they make their way up the Mystic River to reach one of their native spawning grounds. The data is used to estimate the total herring run size in the Mystic River and is shared with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries to help inform trends across the State. In 2014, 31,063 herring were counted from April 1 through June 26, 2014. Using modeling software provided by the Division of Marine Fisheries, the Mystic River herring run was estimated to be 239,059 +/- 37,288 herring. This citizen science program also serves to educate the public about river herring and engage them in their local watershed.

The Mystic River Watershed Association would like to thank the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Medford Boat Club and of course all the monitors for supporting this program.

The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) was founded in 1972 and has largely functioned as a volunteer-run organization, mobilizing activists on a project-by-project basis. The Association’s mission is to protect and restore the Mystic River, its tributaries and watershed lands for the benefit of present and future generations and to celebrate the value, importance and great beauty of these natural resources.

Mystic River communities include: Arlington, Belmont, Burlington, Cambridge, Charlestown, Chelsea, East Boston, Everett, Lexington, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Reading, Revere, Somerville, Stoneham, Wakefield, Watertown, Wilmington, Winchester, Winthrop and Woburn.

For more information see www.MysticRiver.org.