S EA 



SCIENCE 



TOP: Jeff Bucket records data for his striped bass study in the Chowan River and Albemarle Sound. 

 BOTTOM LEFT: At night, researchers obtain density estimates of river herring. 

 BOTTOM RIGHT: Electrofishing is used to collect fish under bridge pilings. 



Herring Primer 



When North Carolina's dogwoods bloom, 

 river herring aren't far behind. In March, alewives 

 begin swimming up North Carolina's rivers to 

 spawn. Bluebacks follow in three or four weeks. 

 Both are anadromous fish that leave their salty 

 ocean homes to seek spawning grounds in the 

 shallow freshwater creeks where young are 

 hatched. Spawning occurs from March into May 

 in coastal rivers and estuaries. 



When the first explorers and settlers arrived 

 in North Carolina, they found rivers teeming with 

 herring. In North Carolina, Algonquian Indians 

 tended weirs or enclosures set for fish across the 

 streams. Settlers raided those weirs or built their 

 own, and "kippered" the fish with smoke and salt 

 much like their European forebearers had done. 



For generations, riverside communities 

 celebrated the return of herring in local waters. 

 Families scooped up herring with nets and 

 baskets. Since river herring could keep for a year 



or more if properly cut and brined, it was often 

 stored for fish suppers. 



In the 1 760s, commercial fisheries were 

 established on several of the state's rivers. 

 Pickled herring were shipped up the coast to 

 Baltimore, New York and Boston, west to the 

 Great Plains, and south to the West Indies. 



Two Dutch brothers introduced the pound 

 net in 1 869, vastly improving the efficiency of the 

 herring fishery. By the turn of the century, herring 

 numbers were dropping markedly because of 

 overfishing, pollution and the destruction of 

 spawning grounds. 



Still, North Carolina had a large herring 

 fishery. Electricity and refrigeration were slow to 

 spread to the remote eastern reaches of the 

 state, and river herring remained one of the few 

 meat sources poor families could afford. Until 

 the mid-1 900s, most households in eastern 

 North Carolina had a barrel of "corned" herring 

 stored in the kitchen. 



From 1 960 to 1 976, many foreign fleets 

 fishing ocean waters competed with the N.C 

 fishing community for river herring. With the 

 establishment of the Exclusive Economic Zone in 

 1 976, which banned foreign vessels within 200 

 miles of the United States, foreign competition 

 for herring diminished. 



Herring Quota 



Now, the state's dependence on herring is 

 almost a memory. In 2000, the N.C. Marine 

 Fisheries Commission approved the Albemarle 

 Sound River Herring Management Plan that 

 established a 300,000-pound quota. The quota 

 is subdivided into 200,000 pounds for the 

 Chowan River pound net fishery, 67,000 

 pounds for the Albemarle Sound management 

 area gill net fisheries and 33,000 pounds for the 

 other gears in the management area. 



"River herring are still overexploited," says 

 Sara Wnslow, DMFfish biologist. "There has 

 been little juvenile production in the last few 

 years. In the last 1 years, the majority of the 

 harvest for herring has been from the Chowan 

 River pound net fishery." 



In 2002, the commercial fishing industry in 

 North Carolina landed 1 74,860 pounds in 

 comparison to 306,761 pounds in 2001 , 

 according to DMF. 



"Commercial fishermen didn't even meet 

 the quota for the entire management area in 

 2002," says Wnslow. 



Each year, DMF samples the river herring 

 harvest to assess the overall stock. Most of the 

 herring harvested are 3 to 5 years old — usually 

 first-time spawners — suggesting that the older 

 ones have been fished out. Younger fish are still 

 in the ocean, maturing before they spawn for 

 the first time. 



To restore river herring stocks and manage 

 those stocks more effectively, the causes of low 

 recruitment must be understood, Buckel says. 



The Sea Grant study will allow for more 

 informed decisions on the herring fishery, 

 including predator-prey dynamics, by fishery 

 management, he adds. 



The study is just one part of the river 

 herring's life cycle that needs to be examined. 



'To fully understand recruitment of river 

 herring, studies of all life stages — egg, larval 

 and juvenile — are needed," says Buckel. 

 "Additionally we know very little about the 

 oceanic period of their life. Predation on juvenile 

 herring in the ocean may be a significant source 

 of mortality." □ 



22 HIGH SEASON 2003 



