Resources

There are many other places to find information about river herring. Several resources are linked below. If you have a resource you would like to add to this page, please fill out this form.

Find a River Herring Run

Maine Rivers 2022 Alewife Trail Map

Help Count River Herring (Online)!

Several river herring runs have set up websites where anyone can view video of fish migrating upstream, and help count them from home.

Count river herring in the Pennamaquan River, Pembroke, ME

Count river herring in Town Brook in Plymouth, MA

Count river herring in the Mystic River in MA

Information about River Herring

Maine Department of Marine Resources Maine River Herring Fact Sheet

Maine Department of Marine Resources: All About Maine Alewives

NOAA Fisheries: River Herring

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: Shad & River Herring

Maine Sea Grant: Connecting Rivers for Healthy Ocean Fisheries

Maine Sea Grant: Sea Run Fish

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: River Herring

Tools and Data

Maine Stream Habitat Viewer

The Nature Conservancy’s Aquatic Barrier Prioritization tool

Maine Department of Marine Resources Data Portal: Alewife spawning habitat, ME-NH Inshore Trawl Survey Data

SHEDS Stream Temperature Database (ecosheds.org). View and download temperature time-series data using an interactive map. 

USGS Interactive Catchment Explorer: Stream Temperature and Brook Trout Occupancy in the Northeast

NOAA Fisheries River Herring/Shad: Herring Catch Cap Monitoring

Management

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: Shad & River Herring

2024 Maine River Herring Sustainable Fishery Management Plan

2022 Massachusetts River Herring Sustainable Fishery Management Plan

2024 New Hampshire River Herring Sustainable Fishery Management Plan

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: Research Priorities and Recommendations to Support Interjurisdictional Fisheries Management for Selected Species

Maine River Herring Regulations

Best Management/Maintenance Practices Worksheet for Herring Run Management in Massachusetts & Resources and Guidance for writing a River Herring Management Plan.  These documents were developed by the MA River Herring Network, and are intended to help MA herring wardens determine what information is known and unknown about their particular run(s), and develop a plan for managing their run(s). 

More

Downeast Fisheries Partnership

Alewife Harvesters of Maine

Downeast Salmon Federation Alewife Monitoring

Massachusetts River Herring Network

Atlantic Coast River Herring Collaborative Forum

Videos & Films: