March 1
Waiting weather has begun. No sign of the out-migrating fry today, though they were in abundance yesterday. We hope the engineers down at the Stony Brook Mill Fish Ladder did, in fact, set up a barrier at the head of the ladder, as promised, so they will not be harmed within the dry construction site. The first phase of the construction should be complete by mid-month and they will be set free again.
Never underestimate the spirit of the pond and its alewives! The wind sweeping across the pond on Friday swept the fry over the blockade installed by a warden in December preventing their outmigration. They survived two months in the frozen pond. It was the selfsame warden who stated at the last meeting that one option for herring management at Slough Pond this spring might be to just "let nature take its course."
In the meantime... read about the APCC's Regional Pond Monitoring Program, in partnership with the Cape Cod Commission. Their 9th quarterly meeting (video link) , which I attended, was held on 2/26. Slough Pond is one of the 50 representative ponds chosen for their three-year study which began in 2024; that data will be available by the end of the month. For more: www.capecodcommission.org/our-work/regional-pond-monitoring-program/
Waiting weather has begun. No sign of the out-migrating fry today, though they were in abundance yesterday. We hope the engineers down at the Stony Brook Mill Fish Ladder did, in fact, set up a barrier at the head of the ladder, as promised, so they will not be harmed within the dry construction site. The first phase of the construction should be complete by mid-month and they will be set free again.
Never underestimate the spirit of the pond and its alewives! The wind sweeping across the pond on Friday swept the fry over the blockade installed by a warden in December preventing their outmigration. They survived two months in the frozen pond. It was the selfsame warden who stated at the last meeting that one option for herring management at Slough Pond this spring might be to just "let nature take its course."
In the meantime... read about the APCC's Regional Pond Monitoring Program, in partnership with the Cape Cod Commission. Their 9th quarterly meeting (video link) , which I attended, was held on 2/26. Slough Pond is one of the 50 representative ponds chosen for their three-year study which began in 2024; that data will be available by the end of the month. For more: www.capecodcommission.org/our-work/regional-pond-monitoring-program/
March 8
A few small schools, which may have been alewife fry, were observed dashing along in the passage today along with a few other small single fish resembling Mummichogs. The sandbags had been moved (and the landowner's footbridge returned) and there was a strong flow through them and into the channel. A definite plan needs to be established for the sandbags this month through early June, one that is well-coordinated and known to all. The pond level has gone down nearly an inch in the past week. The water level, sandbags, and flow is critical to the adult herring migration which begins this month or within the next six weeks.
A few small schools, which may have been alewife fry, were observed dashing along in the passage today along with a few other small single fish resembling Mummichogs. The sandbags had been moved (and the landowner's footbridge returned) and there was a strong flow through them and into the channel. A definite plan needs to be established for the sandbags this month through early June, one that is well-coordinated and known to all. The pond level has gone down nearly an inch in the past week. The water level, sandbags, and flow is critical to the adult herring migration which begins this month or within the next six weeks.
March 15
The pond level has gone down an inch but there is still water throughout the passage. It is lower by the sandbags however and the weir should be closed off in anticipation of rainfall this week and the impending arrival of the migrating herring. The adults need 5" of water level by our records and right now there is only 4" with sand accumulation below the sandbags due to the heavy current. It is unknown who opened the bags recently.
The pond level has gone down an inch but there is still water throughout the passage. It is lower by the sandbags however and the weir should be closed off in anticipation of rainfall this week and the impending arrival of the migrating herring. The adults need 5" of water level by our records and right now there is only 4" with sand accumulation below the sandbags due to the heavy current. It is unknown who opened the bags recently.
March 17
In anticipation of the next Alewife Committee meeting (link) scheduled for next Monday, March 24 @ 5pm, the chair of the committee visited the passage yesterday. The committee will be voting on a management plan for this spring. This is a critical meeting. Here are some critical documents:
Draft Alewife Committee Mission
Options for Slough Pond Passage Management
Mechanisms for Migration for Anadromous Herring, Abstract
" Excerpt, pg. 532
Updated: We noted a large number of the mystery fish dashing back and forth and may have identified them, incorrectly again, as resident Swamp Darters (Images courtesy of Wikipedia). We now believe them to be Yellow Perch. Three frogs and one female Mallard were also present. These same fish were first observed last month mixed in with the departing alewife fry and I erroneously identified them as Mummichogs. Note the similarities in their size and coloration below, which led to the confusion, although their swimming behavior (and lack of departure from the channel) is markedly different from the alewife fry. We simply have never seen them in the channel before and their number was surprising, but neither have we seen alewife fry in the passage in February!
In anticipation of the next Alewife Committee meeting (link) scheduled for next Monday, March 24 @ 5pm, the chair of the committee visited the passage yesterday. The committee will be voting on a management plan for this spring. This is a critical meeting. Here are some critical documents:
Draft Alewife Committee Mission
Options for Slough Pond Passage Management
Mechanisms for Migration for Anadromous Herring, Abstract
" Excerpt, pg. 532
Updated: We noted a large number of the mystery fish dashing back and forth and may have identified them, incorrectly again, as resident Swamp Darters (Images courtesy of Wikipedia). We now believe them to be Yellow Perch. Three frogs and one female Mallard were also present. These same fish were first observed last month mixed in with the departing alewife fry and I erroneously identified them as Mummichogs. Note the similarities in their size and coloration below, which led to the confusion, although their swimming behavior (and lack of departure from the channel) is markedly different from the alewife fry. We simply have never seen them in the channel before and their number was surprising, but neither have we seen alewife fry in the passage in February!
March 18 & 19
We received 2.5" of rain from Tuesday's storm, bringing the pond level on the gauge up to 6.5"! The Alewife Meeting (link) for Monday, March 24 now has an active link on the Town's website. The immediate future of the Slough Pond passage will be voted on. See March 17 for two important documents, also available on the Town's website. This is an in-person and virtual meeting.
We received 2.5" of rain from Tuesday's storm, bringing the pond level on the gauge up to 6.5"! The Alewife Meeting (link) for Monday, March 24 now has an active link on the Town's website. The immediate future of the Slough Pond passage will be voted on. See March 17 for two important documents, also available on the Town's website. This is an in-person and virtual meeting.
March 23
The herring are running in Middleboro today, just south of Plymouth, about 59 miles by land. Unlike Brewster's herring, who come in from Cape Cod Bay, these fish come in earlier, from Narragansett Bay, up the Taunton River, Nemasket River, and then into the Assawompsett Pond Complex- according to our Alewife Committee Chair Abigail Archer. The Bay temperature was recorded at about 40° today, average for this time of year. The river herring migrate inland when the pond waters are warmer than the ocean, generally closer to 50 °. We may have news any day that the herring are arriving in our town, if they haven't already slipped in unnoticed. The Alewife Committee (link) meets tomorrow evening and we will be there to hear what decisions they will be making this year, especially on management of the Slough Pond migratory channel. The pond level has dropped an inch, water is overflowing the sandbag weir and sand has accumulated just below it, but the rest of the passage is quite deep.
The herring are running in Middleboro today, just south of Plymouth, about 59 miles by land. Unlike Brewster's herring, who come in from Cape Cod Bay, these fish come in earlier, from Narragansett Bay, up the Taunton River, Nemasket River, and then into the Assawompsett Pond Complex- according to our Alewife Committee Chair Abigail Archer. The Bay temperature was recorded at about 40° today, average for this time of year. The river herring migrate inland when the pond waters are warmer than the ocean, generally closer to 50 °. We may have news any day that the herring are arriving in our town, if they haven't already slipped in unnoticed. The Alewife Committee (link) meets tomorrow evening and we will be there to hear what decisions they will be making this year, especially on management of the Slough Pond migratory channel. The pond level has dropped an inch, water is overflowing the sandbag weir and sand has accumulated just below it, but the rest of the passage is quite deep.
March 25
The Alewife Committee voted unanimously on Option 3 for the Slough Pond herring passage for 2025 last night after a thorough discussion- Video.
We are grateful for a well conducted meeting under the leadership pf Chair Abigail Archer. I believe that if Abigail had not been added to the committee last year, along with alternate Owen Nichols, who each bring a vast knowledge base and quiet diplomacy to the committee, things would have turned out otherwise. DMF Biologist Brad Chase was on hand to help guide the discussion and clarify several stated misconceptions and we are all grateful for his knowledge and support. We look forward to the publication of his habitat study which concludes this year.
There is still much work to be done on coordination of the plan for its skillful execution. I am hopeful that acknowledgement of the other stakeholders involved will be added to the plan to amend the statement that "this work will only be done by Town staff," as I wrote to the committee: "This option recognizes the rights and responsibilities of the Division of Marine Fisheries, the Cape Cod Mosquito Control Project, and the landowners, as they may legitimately take action that may impact the herring migration (coordination is advisable)." They each have legal rights and it is best to state this fact as part of the plan to avoid confusion.
The Alewife Committee voted unanimously on Option 3 for the Slough Pond herring passage for 2025 last night after a thorough discussion- Video.
We are grateful for a well conducted meeting under the leadership pf Chair Abigail Archer. I believe that if Abigail had not been added to the committee last year, along with alternate Owen Nichols, who each bring a vast knowledge base and quiet diplomacy to the committee, things would have turned out otherwise. DMF Biologist Brad Chase was on hand to help guide the discussion and clarify several stated misconceptions and we are all grateful for his knowledge and support. We look forward to the publication of his habitat study which concludes this year.
There is still much work to be done on coordination of the plan for its skillful execution. I am hopeful that acknowledgement of the other stakeholders involved will be added to the plan to amend the statement that "this work will only be done by Town staff," as I wrote to the committee: "This option recognizes the rights and responsibilities of the Division of Marine Fisheries, the Cape Cod Mosquito Control Project, and the landowners, as they may legitimately take action that may impact the herring migration (coordination is advisable)." They each have legal rights and it is best to state this fact as part of the plan to avoid confusion.
In other news , the APCC crew was on the pond collecting data today, as they did last year from March through November, for their own study, the Cape Cod Regional Pond Monitoring Program, in partnership with the Cape Cod Commission, under their Freshwater Initiative.
