59 
National Marine 
Fisheries Service 
NOAA 
Fishery Bulletin 
established in 1881 -<?> 
Spencer F. Baird 
First U S. Commissioner 
of Fisheries and founder 
of Fishery Bulletin 
Growth of adult river herring that spawn in 
tributaries of the Potomac River in northern Virginia 
C. J. Carroll Schlick 
Kim de Mutsert 
Email address for contact author: cjcschlick@gmail.com 
Abstract —This study assessed the 
aging techniques and growth rates 
of river herring, the alewife ( Alo- 
sa pseudoharengus ) and blueback 
herring ( Alosa aestivalis), in the 
tributaries of the Potomac River in 
northern Virginia. River herring are 
currently under moratoria in the 
Potomac River because of a lack of 
information about their populations. 
Ages determined from the use of oto¬ 
liths and scales collected from river 
herring were compared to quantify 
aging bias and precision. For 2- and 
3-year-old individuals, ages were 
commonly higher when derived from 
scales than when derived from oto¬ 
liths. Length-at-age data were ana¬ 
lyzed by using 9 growth models, and 
the best-fit-model was determined 
by using Akaike’s information cri¬ 
terion (AIC). The outputs from the 
growth models were only slightly 
different, with differences of 10.6% 
and 10.5% in the AIC weights be¬ 
tween best- and worst-fit models 
for alewife and blueback herring, 
respectively. Results from the use 
of a von Bertalanffy growth model 
indicate that alewife grew larger 
and faster than blueback herring 
(P<0.0001) and that females grew 
larger and faster than males for 
both species (PcO.OOOl). The find¬ 
ings of this study provide needed 
aging and growth information about 
2 species within the Potomac River, 
where information about growth 
rates and population ages is limited. 
Manuscript submitted 26 June 2018. 
Manuscript accepted 7 February 2019. 
Fish. Bull. 117:59-69 (2019). 
Online publication date: 22 February 2019. 
doi: 10.7755/FB. 117.1-2.7 
The views and opinions expressed or 
implied in this article are those of the 
author (or authors) and do not necessarily 
reflect the position of the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
Department of Environmental Science and Policy 
George Mason University 
Potomac Science Center 
650 Mason Ferry Avenue, Room 1305 
Woodbridge, Virginia 22191 
The alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) 
and blueback herring ( Alosa aestiva¬ 
lis), collectively called river herring, 
were once important target species of 
commercial and recreational fisheries 
along the Atlantic coast of the Unit¬ 
ed States and Canada. Returning 
to freshwater spawning grounds in 
early spring, river herring and other 
similar anadromous species were the 
targets of a thriving fishery after 
harsh winters for much of the north¬ 
ern Atlantic seaboard for centuries 
(Wharton, 1957; Fay et al. 1 ; Jessop, 
1994; Greene et al. 2 ; ASMFC, 2012). 
Commercial landings of river her¬ 
ring declined by 98% in the United 
States from the 1950s (when detailed 
records were first kept) to the 1970s, 
and average landings in the Chesa¬ 
peake Bay plummeted 99% or more 
1 Fay, C. W., R. J. Neves, and G. B. Par- 
due. 1983. Species profiles: life histo¬ 
ries and environmental requirements of 
coastal fishes and invertebrates (mid- 
Atlantic)—alewife/blueback herring, 25 
p. Div. Biol. Serv., U.S. Fish Wildl. 
Serv., FWS/OBS-82/11.9. U.S. Army 
Corps Eng., TR EL-82-4. 
2 Greene, K. E., J. L. Zimmerman, R. W. 
Laney, and J. C. Thomas-Blate. 2009. 
Atlantic coast diadromous fish habitat: 
a review of utilization, threats, recom¬ 
mendations for conservation, and re¬ 
search needs. Atl. States Mar. Fish. 
Comm. Habitat Manage. Ser. 9, 463 p. 
[Available from website.] 
from the 1970s to 2010 (NRDC 3 ). De¬ 
clines in populations of river herring 
throughout their geographical region 
have been attributed to overfishing 
and habitat degradation in spawn¬ 
ing habitats; therefore, populations 
are termed depleted rather than 
overfished (Hightower et al., 1996; 
NMFS 4 * * * 8 ; NRDC 3 ). To promote the re¬ 
covery of river herring, the Atlantic 
States Marine Fisheries Commis¬ 
sion (ASMFC) established that com¬ 
mercial and recreational fisheries in 
any jurisdiction may not land river 
herring unless a sustainable fishery 
management plan has been approved 
starting in January 2012 (Greene et 
al. 2 ; ASMFC, 2012). 
In the stock assessment complet¬ 
ed in 2017, the status of the alewife 
stock in the Potomac River was list¬ 
ed as stable, but the stock of blue- 
back herring was listed as unknown 
(ASMFC, 2017). Data collection and 
3 NRDC (Natural Resource Defense Coun¬ 
cil). 2011. Petition to list alewife 
(Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback 
herring ( Alosa aestivalis) as threatened 
species and to designate critical habitat, 
107 p. Nat. Resour. Defense Counc., 
Washington, D.C. 
4 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Ser¬ 
vice). 2009. Species of concern: river 
herring (alewife and blueback herring) 
Alosa pseudoharengus and A. aestivalis, 
8 p. Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., Washing¬ 
ton, D.C. 
