Annual Woonasquatucket River spring herring count set to kick off

The yearly count helps environmentalists gauge the health of the river as herring swim upstream to spawn

By: Tim Studebaker

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council is gearing up once again for their yearly effort to count herring in the river as they swim upstream to spawn.

Alicia Lehrer is the Executive Director of the watershed council.  Lehrer says, “Herring are fish that live in the Atlantic Ocean, but they use our local rivers as spawning grounds so they can raise their young.  It is just a great way to see our local, even urban, rivers come alive.”

Lehrer tells us herring always return to the same river they came from.  In some rivers, like the Woonasquatucket, that’s a challenge because of dams that are still in place from southern New England’s industrial days.  That’s why fish ladders have been installed next to the dams, allowing those fish to move further up the river past the dams.

Lehrer says, “This fishway is just one ramp with a turning pool and another ramp that helps the fish go from that lower area to the higher area. The thing about herring is that they’re not like salmon.  They don’t leap up waterfalls.”

The spring herring count takes place at one of those fish ladders, behind Rising Sun Mills in Providence.  This year, they’re adding shifts to get a more accurate count based on recent trends.

Lehrer says, “One thing we’ve learned from our friends at DEM Fish & Wildlife is that they have been noticing that more herring are making the move up the river to spawn at the hours of dawn and dusk. So, we’re really asking the people who volunteer with us if they are willing to come and take a counting time around those times.”

The count will last for two months, April and May, and volunteers are welcome to sign up for as many 10 minute shifts as they want.  A training session is being held Friday March 25 at 5:30pm, however if you don’t make it to that training, the council welcomes you to reach out to them to get started.  To learn more, click here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b4eaead2ea7ff2-rising

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