Here come the herring: What you should know about Cape Cod’s famous fish

Spring on Cape Cod can be a cold, clammy affair, but we do have one thing going for us: herring!

As the weather and water begins to warm up, a great fish parade starts at herring runs around Cape Cod. River herring make the perilous passage up rivers and streams to return to their place of birth and create the next generation.

Hungry seagulls take notice, and so do Cape Codders looking for a sign that summer is drawing near.

Herring and Harwich

The history of Harwich is also intertwined with the fish that give the Herring River its name. In earlier times, herring were a rich natural resource for Native Americans and settlers. And the Herring River in Harwich is one of the most significant herring spawning areas in the state.

A robust herring fishery existed for centuries, but in 2005, the state Division of Marine Fisheries implemented a river herring harvest ban due to declining numbers of herring at runs in Massachusetts. In many coastal communities in the state, herring are counted each spring as they swim up runs, to provide important data for future policy decisions.

Volunteers from the Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) are on the front line of this vital citizen science effort. During the spawning season, which typically runs from April to June, HCT volunteers are “on the run,” counting herring at a location on the Herring River that borders Hinckleys Pond.

Fish that make it into the pond are counted during a ten-minute time period each hour during the day, and other data, including water and air temperature is recorded.

Counting at the run

On April 22, we splashed down at the Hinckleys Pond run to see if a fishy frenzy was afoot. Hundreds of herring were gathered in a pool in the Herring River, trying to work their way through the run into the pond. 

Along came Sharon Foster, HCT volunteer herring counter. She unlocked a box that held the tools of the trade: a clicker-type counter, a digital timer and a thermometer. Foster has been counting herring at the location for the last five years.

We walked over to the observation spot on the run and Foster explained the process. “Typically, what you do is stand here for a minute, just to let them get used to your shadow,” she said. “You just become part of the landscape and you chill, and then they will be more inclined to go for it, because they don’t see you as a threat.”

Foster focused on the border between the Herring River and Hinckleys Pond and started the timer. The golden ten minutes began. “I use it as kind of a Zen time,” she said. “It’s kind of meditative.”

Valiant attempts were made, but we didn’t see a single fish jump over the last threshold into the pond. “When there aren’t many jumping, it’s very easy,” said Foster. “You’re just standing there and clicking a little bit. If they’re really going like gangbusters, that’s the challenge — how fast can your finger click.”

The bigger herring picture

Data provided by HCT volunteers is funneled into the Association to Preserve Cape Cod’s (APCC) Herring Run Program, which began in 2007 in response to the state moratorium. Michael Palmer, APCC Restoration Ecologist, said the program collects data from about 20 runs around the Cape.

Palmer is grateful to volunteers, like those from the Harwich Conservation Trust, who take the time to count herring each season. “We couldn’t do it without them,” he said. While electronic counters are used in a few spots around the state, the technology is expensive and maintenance can be challenging.

Volunteer counts are a cost-effective way to monitor herring populations. The data also helps officials see if restoration work on herring runs is making a difference.

According to APCC, herring populations have been significantly depleted by factors such as overfishing, human-constructed barriers to migratory passage such as dams, and impacts from climate change.

We asked Palmer if herring populations seem to be rising or falling based on the data from the regional program. “It’s tough to say,” he replied. “There’s a lot of variability between years, and a lot of time series we have from the runs are less than ten years.”

It remains to be seen if river herring populations will return to levels that could lead to the lifting of the harvest ban around the state, but the herring count program and conservation efforts are important steps in the right direction. 

Preserving land around the Herring River is an important part of the HCT’s mission. Land conservation helps prevent and reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loads that negatively impact this fragile ecosystem. Together, we can help herring thrive as they make their age-old journey to the ponds of Harwich.