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Thank you to our sponsors:
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River Herring / Alewife Restoration
Salmon is the dramatic king of fish restoration
in the Merrimack River valley, but beginning in May 2000 a quiet
revolution to overthrow the king began in the Concord River. A team
of people from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Massachusetts
Riverways Program, and volunteers from groups like the Sudbury Valley
Trustees (SVT) released 7,000 adult River Herring or alewife to
the Concord River. Like salmon, alewife are anadromous fish. They
breed in fresh water rivers then, after a period of juvenile growth,
the young fish swim downriver to spend their adult life in the ocean.
After about 3 to 5 years in the ocean the now mature alewife return
to the river in which they were born.
The native population of Concord River alewife
became extinct in the 1800s when dams constructed across the Concord and
Merrimack Rivers prevented the mature fish from getting back "home" to
spawn. Alewife and all other anadromous fish will return only to the river
in which they were born. The instinct is imprinted on the fish's brain
when it is born. Since there were no detour signs constructed at the mouth
of the Merrimack in the early 1800s -- "Caution: Dams Ahead - Detour to
Spawn in the Connecticut River", alewife born in the Concord River couldn't
return home and the native population died. 
The 7,000 adult alewife that are the seeds of the Concord River restoration were transferred from the Nemasket River to lay their eggs and spawn in the upper reaches of the watershed. The
young alewife that hatched from these eggs last spring are now imprinted with the water of the Concord River as their home river. They spent this summer growing up in the Concord
and this fall (late August through November) up to two million (2,000,000) juvenile alewife will migrate downstream to spend the next 3 to 5 years in the ocean. When it is time for these
alewife to spawn, they will return to their birthplace in the Concord River. It will be the first time in over a century that alewife native to the Concord River will
return spawn. The Concord River alewife will be back from extinction!
You Can Help the Alewife Restoration - Volunteer Positions
Open
According to Doug Smithwood of the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service restoration of alewife to the Concord
River has the potential of being one of the most successful and
dramatic fish restoration projects in New England. But bringing
a native population of alewife back from extinction is not an
easy task. The Fish and Wildlife Service (and the alewife) needs
some help. The Concord River in Lowell is a critical point to
monitor the alewife's progress. Volunteers are needed to monitor
the downstream migration of juvenile alewife past the Wamesit
and Middlesex Falls. Some alewife also need to be collected in
nets (provided by us) so the Fish and Wildlife Service can study
them. In the spring volunteers will be needed to help transport
new breeding stock from the Nemasket River to the Concord.
If you are interested in helping or learning
more about the Concord River alewife restoration, check the volunteer
listings or contact us at 978-934-0030.
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