Volunteer River Herring Monitoring at Beaver Dam Brook and Manomet Brook

Hooray! We have fish! So far 36 river herring have been seen at Bridge #2 and what's even more amazing, 2 fish have been seen at Bridge #1. This is the first year that we've seen herring there so that's very exciting. Right now our number of fish per week is tracking along with 2018, which was a relatively low year, but there's still 2/3 of a month to go as well. In 2018, the issue was likely the inability of river herring to get through the entrance to Beaver Dam Brook at White Horse Beach. We have talked to the town and they recently cleared the culvert and brook entrance so that's not a concern this year. That said, the structure of the beach and location of the sand on it means that passage into Beaver Dam Brook is difficult except at high tide, so fish passage is limited through part of the tidal cycle. It is a testament to the restoration of Tidmarsh that there are river herring traveling through the system at all. Keep collecting that data so we can have a valid population estimate at the end of the season. Happy May!

This could be the week that we see herring! Here's why that seems very possible:

On April 1, 2022 our counters apparently saw 21 herring (an April Fools joke?), but no herring have arrived yet this year! That's to be expected. In four out of six of the years that we've been counting, the first herring have arrived between the 10th and 16th of April. In 2018, they didn't arrive until April 27th but that was a difficult year for their migration due to multiple coastal storms that impacted the inlet at White Horse Beach. Be reassured though - we have seen herring every year at some point. Keep recording those zeros and soon there will be fish to see.

This is a reminder that the counts start this Sunday on March 24th! 

That time of year is here again! Herring count trainings have been scheduled for our new and returning volunteers!

The data from 2023 have been compiled and Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries has provided us with a population estimate of ~2,390. This is the highest population estimate thus far, although close to the estimate of ~2,246 in 2019. All the fish were seen at Tidmarsh #2. This was a welcome increase in abundance after multiple years across SE Massachusetts with low counts. Similar recoveries were seen at other South Shore runs including Pembroke's Herring Brook (up to ~190,000 after an estimate of ~5,800 in 2022) and Plymouth's Town Brook (~277,000 up from ~169,000 in 2022).

Several counters have now experienced the surprise and excitement of suddenly seeing fish moving quickly upstream. Thanks to everyone, we are hoping for a good count this year. As everyone knows there are other perks about visiting Tidmarsh on a regular schedule. James Pike captured this image following a count and a short shower on Thursday, May 11.

Water in Beaver Dam Brook today was a little cooler than optimum, but never the less 2 herring were counted swimming upstream. The 8 foot + tide this morning likely helped send them along. Morning tides through Wednesday are in the 8 foot range. They are then a little lower until early May. May 6 and 11, we get 9 foot + tides which could bode well. Keep the faith and keep counting. You can check the tides here If you are curious about other herring runs, you can check out Town Brook via their

April is here. Volunteering for the herring count provides a great opportunity to watch spring as it arrives at the Tidmarsh Sanctuary. On your way to and from the count sites, enjoy bluebird sightings in the meadow, the leafing out of skunk cabbage and wetland shrubs, and the red glow of the maple swamp in flower. When you are doing your count, stay alert as the fish when they come can appear suddenly. Don't forget to record your data on EpiCollect and enter it in the notebook provided at the site. Also enter your volunteer hours and the new, very easy to use volunteer site.

Fish counting for 2023 will begin soon. Sign up for a training session.