Volunteer and professional photographer David Mussina posted about his experience as a river herring monitor this season. Below is one of his posts and accompanying photographs. Please check out his Instagram to see the whole series and other wonderful pictures from around the watershed.
"As one of America's ten most endangered rivers, our northern neighbor, the Ipswich River, is undergoing significant restoration. Part of this endeavor is the restoration of the Ipswich River Watershed's river herring population. Our state's Division of Marine Fisheries has organized a herring bucket brigade at our fish ladder next to the dam between the Lower and Upper Mystic Lakes. Ben Gahagan, with his team, are fishing for blueback river herring that prefer this warmer water of late May. As with the first bucket brigade, fish are netted and placed in buckets half-filled with water. But this time, the herring are taken to a large circular tank of water, swirling to school and calm the frightened fish. The goal is to transfer to the Ipswich River at least 1,000 fish, so they are counted as they enter the tank.
The tank now filled with fish is driven to the Ipswich River in Topsfield. A large cylinder is carefully attached to the tank, and 1,200 river herring are poured into the Ipswich River. The adults, after spawning and their juveniles, will have no trouble swimming downstream to the ocean.
As the juvenile fish are maturing in the ocean, a multi-phased effort is underway, so by 3-4 years, as adults, these fish can successfully return and spawn within the Ipswich watershed. With support from the Army Corps of Engineers and the dam owners, Marine Fisheries will replace the ineffective fish ladder at the Willowdale dam. Additionally, stream maintenance is scheduled to remove restricted channels. Most importantly, the cause of the Ipswich River's endangerment, excessive water withdrawals, needs to be addressed at the municipal and state level.
What excites me is how our watershed's 1,200 river herring contribute to the Ipswich River Watershed Association's important, ongoing work towards restoring a healthy ecosystem for its watershed."
