Increase the abundance of diadromous fishes in coastal massachusetts through research, stock enhancement, maintenance and increase of fish passage structures, and technical assistance to scientific…

Increase the abundance of diadromous fishes in coastal massachusetts through research, stock enhancement, maintenance and increase of fish passage structures, and technical assistance to scientific bodies and to towns of the commonwealth. The emphasis of this project will be towards species that require fish passage assistance to complete their life history, species that contribute to fisheries directlyor as forage, and species whose spawning grounds, nursery and migratory habitats have been degraded by human activities (e.g., river herring, american shad, rainbow smelt, american EEL). The coastal rivers and streams of massachusetts are home to one catadromous and sixteen anadromous species of fish. These species are all important to the recreational fishing community either for direct harvest (e.g. striped bass, white perch, american shad, rainbow smelt) or as forage or bait (e.g. alewives, blueback herring, american EEL). River herring (alewives and blueback herring) have been of particular importance to the recreational fishing community and to the coastal ecology owing to their abundance and widespread distribution. Approximately 100 separate river herring runs now exist in coastal massachusetts. Historically, most coastal streams and rivers contained a river herring run, and approximately 200 fish passage structures have been built to maintain these populations in the presence of nearly 500 dams and other in-river structures that can impede past and present diadromous fish runs in MA coastal rivers. IT is believed massachusetts has the largest number of fish passage structures in the U.S. Yet all diadromous fish species in massachusetts continue to show population declines. American EEL, river herring and rainbow smelt have all undergone reviews within endangered species act processes with EEL and river herring evaluated as potential endangered species. Known historical and contemporary contributing factors are over-harvest, by-catch in other fisheries, poor passage to and from spawning grounds, degradation of spawning grounds, excessive water withdrawals from streams and ponds, increasing natural predation, and environmental factors including climate change. The activities outlined within this grant will help to understand the causes of diadromous fish declines, sustain and enhance populations through internal and cooperative fish passage and habitat improvements, and supplement populations through hatchery stocking and spawning stock transfers, and will provide technical and scientific advice to fisheries managers, federal, state, and local officials, and other involved parties to assist with managing and restoring diadromous fish populations.