Why should we care about the River Herring?
Both Alewife and Blueback herring (collectively called "River Herring" along the East Coast have declined over the past decade to all-time low population levels. They are currently designated as a “species of concern” and soon could be reclassified as Threatened or Endangered. It is likely that a combination of many causes has contributed to this drastic decline, but water quality issues and by-catch at sea losses (unintentionally caught & discarded during commercial fishing) are making it increasingly difficult for recovery. River herring, at all stages of life, attract and feed fish along our coast, along with many other wildlife species such as Herons, Ospreys and many more. Without a robust river herring population, many local creatures are struggling to replace this missing link of the marine food web. In turn, valuable recreational fishing activity and ecotourism are adversely affected. Fewer river herring coming into Monmouth County’s coastal waters and watersheds lead to a decline in the health of our local ecosystem. Monmouth County has a large recreational fishing community and many people enjoy watching wildlife along our rivers and streams and along the coast creating a thriving tourism industry.
Be motivated to take action with us and help document the current status of the local river herring population.
Our goal is to observe and confirm the existence of river herring at historic river herring "hot spots" within Monmouth County. With your help, we can do our part to collect needed data and help the species at this critical time.
