RIVER HERRING

Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (A. aestivalis), collectively referred to as river herring, are NMFS species of concern, and due to the petition for listing under the Endangerd Species Act (ESA) and subsequent process of reviewing the species' status under the ESA, they are also considered to be a candidate species.

What's New:

NOAA conducted a series of workshops to gather more information on the status of alewife and blueback herring, collectively known as river herring, in the Northeast. NOAA has been working closely with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to use information contained in their river herring stock assessment (May, 2012) and the best available information to help make a determination as to whether these species should be listed under the Endangered Species Act.  Several areas where additional information were needed included stock structure, extinction risk, and the impact of climate change on these species. NOAA held three workshops in June and July to gather more information on each of these areas.

• Press Release
• ASMFC River Herring Stock Assessment (May, 2012)
  • Volume I
  • Volume II
  • Overview

NOAA invited various experts to each of the workshops based on their specific expertise in each area. The workshops were open to the public. On June 20-21 and July 11-12, invited experts continued discussions and modeling in closed working groups (this was invitation only).  The were held on the following dates and locations, and presentations, audio recordings and further information on the workshops follows:

• Stock structure workshop on June 22, 2012 at NOAA Fisheries Service's Northeast Regional Office in Gloucester, MA;
  • Agenda
  • Workshop Leads: Tara Trinko Lake (tara.trinko@noaa.gov) & Dan Kircheis (dan.kircheis@noaa.gov)
  • Participant Selection Criteria
  • Audio File (Wav file, 85mb)
  • Stock Structure Workshop Presentations
  • Stock Structure Working Group Report
  • Peer Review Reports
    • Carvahlo Report
    • Hutchings Report
    • Chaput Report
  • Expert Opinions from the River Herring Stock Structure Workshop - Appendices
    • Appendix A
    • Appendix B
  • Updated Stock Structure Information, November 12, 2012
• Extinction risk analysis workshop on July 10, 2012 at the Environmental Protection Agency offices in Boston, MA; and
  • Agenda
  • Workshop Lead: Sarah Laporte (sarah.laporte@noaa.gov)
  • Participant Selection Criteria
  • Extinction Risk Workshop Presentations
  • ERA workshop Audio recording (Wav file, 130mb)
  • ERA Working Group Report
  • Peer Review Reports
    • Carvahlo Report
    • Hutchings Report
    • Chaput Report
• Climate change workshop on July 18-19, 2012 at NOAA Fisheries Service's Northeast Regional Office in Gloucester, MA.
  • Agenda
  • Workshop Lead: Diane Borggaard (diane.borggaard@noaa.gov)
  • Participant Selection Criteria
  • Climate Change Workshop Presentations
  • Supplementary Materials
    • RH Climate Workshop Matrix
    • RH Climate Workshop Matrix Areas
    • River Herring Supplementary Information
  • Climate Change Workshop Audio recordings 
    • Day 1 (Wav file, 227mb)
    • Day 2 (Wav file, 207mb)
  • Draft Climate Workshop Summary
  • Peer Review Report - The draft climate workshop summary was sent to five interested peer reviewers with experience in climate science, anadromous fish and/or assessing impacts of climate or environmental change on fish. Interested reviewers (in alphabetical order): Dr. Nathan Mantua (University of Washington); Dr. Martha Mather (University of Massachusetts Amherst and Kansas State University); Dr. Michelle McClure (NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center); Dr. Mark Scheuerell (NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center); and Dr. John Waldman (City University of New York). The peer reviews received are included below, although the names of the peer reviewers are not directly associated to a specific review.
    • Climate_Reviewer 1
    • Climate_Reviewer 2
    • Climate_Reviewer 3
    • Climate_Reviewer 4
  • Final climate workshop summary
    • River Herring Climate Change Workshop Report

The meeting summaries for each workshop will be independently peer reviewed. NMFS sought recommendations for peer reviewers for the Stock Structure, Extinction Risk Analysis, and Climate Change workshop/working group reports based on the peer reviewer criteria provided in the link below.  The deadline for peer review recommendations was August 10th, and recommendations are no longer being accepted

• Peer review process and selection criteria

Background on Species and ESA Process Alewife and Blueback Herring Petition to List River Herring under the ESA (Received August 5, 2011) 90-day Petition Finding; Request For Comments; Petition To List Alewife and Blueback Herring as Threatened Under the Endangered Species Act E-Mail comments were submitted, identified by RIN 0648-XA739 via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov NOAA extended the public comment period deadline for river herring from January 3 to February 3, 2012 (Comment period now closed) Q&As for 90-Day Finding on the Petition to List River Herring Other River Herring News and Projects in the NER

For more information on the Proactive Conservation Program,
please contact Sarah Laporte at (978) 282-8477
or Sarah.Laporte@noaa.gov

Last Updated: March 14, 2013