Do You Know?
What local animal is seen in amazing numbers in the Mystic River Watershed each spring?
The answer is river herring.
River herring migrate from the ocean to fresh water. This migration happens each spring in the Mystic River watershed.
River Herring
In the spring, adult river herring we see in the Mystic River swim from the ocean to Boston Harbor and then up the river to find places where they can lay eggs.
SCIENTISTS are interested in studying river herring in the Mystic.
To do this, they need help. You can be a community scientist and count fish on video as they come through a fish ladder at Mystic Lakes.
Photo Credit: David Mussina
Herring need clean water and access to habitat (rivers and ponds). A fish ladder helps fish to swim from a lower lake or stream to a higher one. They can't get out of the water and walk around! This is a view of the fish ladder at Mystic Lakes. Before there was a fish ladder here, people helped fish with a bucket brigade.
Learn more about this amazing ecological success story here.
Photo Credit: David Mussina
Right now this is how river herring get into Horn Pond. Improvements to this fish passage at Scalley Dam in Woburn will be coming soon. Learn more about this project here.
Scientists from UMass Amherst are studying river herring in the Mystic River watershed. They are collecting zooplankton in Upper Mystic Lake to understand what river herring eat.
Herring are important to the ecosystem. They provide food for many animals, including Bald eagles, cormorants, herring gulls, stripped bass, snapping turtles, and many others. Photo(L-R): Ram Subramanian, Jim Renault, Rick Olick, Rick Olick and Rick Olick.
Data Story
Each spring, river herring begin their migration up the Mystic River. But what triggers them to start migrating? Why do they start earlier or later in some years relative to others? Let’s explore the data to find out!
CLASSROOM VISITS
In the past, Mystic River Watershed Association has brought local school and youth groups out to see the migration, learn about river herring and meet some of the people who study or monitor the migration.
Students have seen first-hand migrating fish, the Lakes, birds, and an amazingly beautiful ecosystem so close to Boston, Somerville and Cambridge.
This spring we are bringing this amazing story to students virtually. Teachers in our watershed should contact natalia.bayona@mysticriver.org for more information.