A decision is expected this week on whether river herring will be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

River herring refers to both alewives and blue back herring.

The National Marine Fisheries Service decision has had local harvesters and conservationists concerned about the future of alewives. Although concern over the health of this fishery is widespread, some feel Maine will escape the listing.

Researchers have been conducting water quality tests at Nequasset Brook in Woolwich. Last spring, volunteers manually counted adult alewives as they migrated upriver to nesting grounds in Nequasset Lake.

Alewives are an anadromous fish. This means they return from the sea to upriver nesting grounds each spring to spawn. Juvenile alewives leave freshwater lakes for the ocean and return as adults to repeat the life cycle. This life cycle has been threatened by pollution and dams that block upriver passage.

Researchers, conservationists and fishermen hope to improve fish passage upriver at Nequasset Lake Dam, to ensure future harvests and to protect the delicate marine ecology.

People have been waiting to hear the results of a 12-month status review from the Fisheries Service after the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a petition to list river herring in the Endangered Species Program in August 2011.

The Fisheries Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been reviewing information culled from a series of recent workshops to determine whether river herring should be listed as threatened. 

According to Maggie Mooney-Seus, communications officer for the NOAA Fisheries Service, researchers found more information that required additional discussion beyond their 12-month deadline. Throughout June and July, researchers engaged in workshop discussions and panel presentations to share information about river herring and to facilitate the decision making process. 

Participants included university professors, members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, departments of environmental conservation from several states along the Atlantic coast and members of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Stock assessments, mortality and extinction risks were among the topics of discussion. Much of this discussion stems from a determination that river herring populations along the Atlantic coast have been depleted. 

Kennebec Estuary Land Trust Project Manager Alisha Heyburn said it's possible river herring in Maine will be given a different classification because Maine has the healthiest stocks along the whole coast. However, she is concerned about what will happen if the decision is made to list river herring as endangered or threatened.

“I worry that if given the designation, the 18 harvest sites in Maine will be shut down,” she said, adding that many people understand the harvest works to sustain the fishery. Harvesters are invested in making sure passage upriver for herring is clear, Heyburn said. Research and monitoring of fish ladder sites can be done through volunteer work, but much of the experience and years of first-hand knowledge passed on through the generations would be lost without the work of the harvesters.

Jeffrey Pierce of Dresden is the founder of the Alewife Harvesters of Maine. He does not believe the fisheries service will “do a blanket listing” of the fish across all coastal states. The population of alewives in Maine increased, dramatically in some places, in the past 10 years, he said.

He credits the increased numbers to the efforts made to maintain alewife runs throughout the state. 

“We have a long history of maintaining the fishery,” Pierce said, crediting generations of harvesters whose livelihood once depended it.

Pierce criticizes dam owners who have neglected maintaining fish ladders. The Bath Water District, he said as an example, should have maintained the fish ladder at their dam over the years. 

To minimize impacts on the ratepayers, the district has plans to replace the ladder using grant funding. The district has been working with the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust toward this goal. Part of their research has involved counting fish as they migrated upriver this past spring.

Pierce praised their efforts, but emphasized the importance of community involvement and commitment to maintaining fish ladders.

Woolwich residents have shown their commitment to repairing the Nequasset Brook fish ladder by volunteering for counts and attending public discussions. Those whose family history extends to early days of harvesting truckloads of alewives have shared their stories and information with those seeking funds to replace the ladder.

According to Heyburn, marine biologists working for the Department of Marine Resources are interested in the research being conducted on alewives at Nequasset Brook. She said university researchers will be measuring nitrogen and phosphorus in Nequasset Lake through October and November to determine the important role alewives play in transporting nutrients.