Resources

Photo credit: NASA, Cape Cod from space, 2018.

resource links:
Please scroll through listings below for a wealth of related content on herring, regularly updated.
Note the "Brewster Specific" section below and The Ponds page for more detailed Brewster information.

Massachusetts & New England:

Mass Gov 25 yr Biodiversity Initiative/Gov. Healey, 8/21/'25
Mass Gov Executive Order on Biodiversity, 9/21/'23
State Wildlife Action Plan, MA Div. of Fisheries & Wildlife, '15
MA Species of Greatest Conservation Need (Alewife), '15
BioMap: The Future of Conservation in MA, '22

Mass Gov/ Dept of Marine Fisheries, Herring on Cape Cod with Brad Chase Video, 2019
Mass Gov River Herring Counts, 2021
Mass Gov River Herring Guide
Mass Gov Div. of Fisheries & Wildlife, MassWildLife

EPA to DMF Intro to BWR/WP 22-1 policy letter/pdf
*MA Div. Marine Fisheries- Diadromous Fisheries Stream Management (BWR/WP 22-1) 4/'22

Mass DMF, Diadromous Fish Monitoring Plan, '20
Mass DMF, River Herring Spawning & Nursery Habitat Assessment, Acushnet River, '23
Mass DMF, River Herring Spawning & Nursery Habitat Assessment, Tom Matthews Pond, Yarmouth, '22

MA General Laws (M.G.L.) Ch. 130, Sections 93-95 on Diadromous Fisheries Regulations.
MA Dept. Environmental Protection, Wetlands Protection CMR 310/ 10.35
Town of Brewster Wetlands Bylaw

NOAA, "River Herring Science"/Ecosystem Approaches to Restoration, '21
NOAA, "River Habitat"
NOAA, "River Herring Forum"

NEFMC, New England Fishery Management Council
NEFMC, Herring A10 Scoping Meeting, 4/17/'24, CT, Audio Only

ASMFC, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

courtesy of Damariscotta Mills- All About Alewives
Coonamessett River Trust Stats
Mystic River Watershed Association

Falmouth Pond Coalition
Orleans Pond Coalition

Capecod.gov/riverherring

Riverherringnetwork.org

*DMF, River Herring Habitat and Nursery Assessment Study for the Stony Brook Watershed, Brewster, B. Chase, 2/'24
DMF/NRCS Tom Matthew's Pond, Yarmouth, Habitat & Nursery Study, '12-'13/ pub. '22
DMF Fishway Operation Plan/ Bog Pond
DMF Fishway Operation Plan/ Seymour Pond

Seymour Pond Fishway Photos

Cape Cod Cranberries Brief History

Scientific papers, studies, & resource articles:

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, River Herring Stock Assessment, 8/7/'24
APCC, Cape Cod Herring Run Summary, '24
NOAA Fisheries/ Ecosystem & Socioeconomic Profile, 12/'23
NOAA Fisheries, "Atlantic Coast Habitat Conservation Plan for River Herring"/Intro Article on Plan, 5/23
NOAA Fisheries, "Atlantic Coast Habitat Conservation Plan for River Herring"/ PDF of Plan, 5/'23 (See especially: pgs. 14-21; 85-90; 92-96;173-181)
NOAA Fisheries, "The Fish That Feeds All," "Restoring Habitats for River Herring." 5/'23
NOAA Fisheries, "Species of Special Concern Designation", 2007. (No longer in effect.)
Transactions of the American Fisheries Society Journal, "Feeling the Squeeze (Juvenile River Herring)", Matthew Devine, Dept. of Environmental Conservation, UMass/Amherst, co-author, 2021.
Univ. of So. Maine Abstract, "Alewife Contributions to Lake Phosphorus Budgets", 4/'22
Scientific Research, "Trophic Interactions between Anadromous Juvenile Alewife and Cyanobacterial (Pond) Populations", 9/'20
Science Direct/Science of the Total Environment, "Climate Change & Natural Resource Management," 2020.
Scientific Reports, "Climate Change & Habitat Availability," 2019.
Brewster Freshwater Ponds: Water Quality Status and Recommendations for Future Activities, Cape Cod Commission, 2009, Town of Brewster & Barnstable County (needs update)
USDA/NRCS- Guide to Fish Screens
Natural Resources Defense Council, Biodiversity 101. 4/'22
The Royal Society, Why is Biodiversity Important
State of the World's Migratory Species, UN Report, 2/12/'24 (& background press release)
Penn State Extension, The Role of Trees and Forests in Healthy Watersheds, '22
Freshwaterhabitats.org.UK, Managing Trees Around Ponds, '15
Camptonconservation.org (NH) As Leaves Change, '22
Univ of Idaho, When Leaves Fall, '20
Comm. of MA, Alewife Fisheries of MA, 1921
Canadian Journal of Fisheries, (Summary), Nutrient Loading by Alewife, 2010
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Diadromous Fish Habitat Study, '09
Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, Fishes of Maine (useful chart), '02
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Conservation of River Herring Spawning Runs
The American Fisheries Society, The Importance of the Otolith
NOAA Fisheries, Age and Growth
USGS, Fish Passage Design & Analysis at the S.O.Conte Research Lab
Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association, Proving Safe Passage for Anadromous Fish, MA Gen. Law, Ch. 130, Sec. 19
Ambrook Research, Wetland Restoration for Struggling Cranberry Farmers, 5/'24
Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission, Special Report, Sea Run, 6/'23
Harwich Natural Resources Special Report- History of the Herring River, 9/'97
UConn edu- River Herring, The Fish You Didn't Know You Needed, 10/'20
WWF, 2024 Living Planet Report, 10/'24
UMass, Amherst, Culverts Delay Herring Migration, Abstract, 2021
MA Div. of Fisheries & Game, A Report on the Alewife Fisheries of MA, David L. Belding, 1920.
Purdue Univ. Ext, Pond Management, '21.
Ecological Applications, Abstract: Mechanisms for Migration of Anadromous Herring, 2002
MA Dept. of Fish & Game, Div. of Ecological Restoration, Cranberry Bog Program, Learning from the Restoration of Wetlands on Cranberry Farming, Preliminary Benefits Assessment; Living Observatory, Inc. 2020

brewster, cape cod:
Capecod.gov/riverherring

Riverherringnetwork.org

*DMF, River Herring Habitat and Nursery Assessment Study for the Stony Brook Watershed, Brewster, B. Chase, 2/'24

*Stream Maintenance Plan (ref. Slough Pond) MA DMF/Brewster DNR & ConCom/under DEP, approved '20, '21, '23 (Note: there was no written plan prior to 2020; the agreement is between the NRD and the DMF, with no mention of the Alewife Committee except in opening paragraph)
Video: Brewster Con Com with DMF & DNR updated new DEP policy on Herring Run Management, 3/14/'23

Video: Alewife Committee Meeting, 2/'23'23

Video: Alewife Committee Meeting, 6/13/'23

Video: Alewife Committee & Natural Resources Advisory Commission Joint Meeting, 7/13/'23

Video: Alewife Committee Meeting, 3/7/'24

Video: Alewife Committee Meeting, 10/10/'24

Video: Natural Resources Advisory Commission Meeting, 10/10/'24

Video: Alewife Committee Meeting, 11/25/'24

Video: Alewife Committee Meeting, 1/27/'25

Video: Conservation Commission Meeting, 1/ 28/ '25. Slough Pond discussion @ 1 hr. 34 min.

Video: Alewife Committee Meeting, 2/18/'25

Video: Alewife Committee Meeting, 3/24/'25

Video: Joint Alewife Committee & Conservation Commission Meeting, 4/8/'25

Video: Stony Brook Mill Retaining Wall & Fish Passage, '24
Stony Brook Fishway Conceptual Design Improvements Plan, Curt Orvis, 1/21/'22

MA Precipitation Data Records
MA Drought Records

Alosa pseudoharengus -Wikipedia Commons

related links:

Cape Cod Commission (see esp. Climate & Natural Resources)
CCC, Draft Pond & Lake Atlas, '21
CCC. Final Cape Cod Pond & Lake Atlas, '21

Association for the Preservation of Cape Cod (see esp. Cape Cod Ponds Network, under Freshwater Ponds & Initiative)
APCC Regional Pond Monitoring Program, 9th Annual Meeting, 2/26/'25 Video
APCC River Herring Monitoring Dashboard

APCC State of the Waters Report, 2025

Cape Cod Conservation Calendar (Cape Cod Conservation Trusts & Partners)

Brewster Ponds Coalition
Brewster Conservation Trust
Town of Brewster
Dennis Conservation Land Trust
The Compact of Cape Cod

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS): Cape Cod Water Resources Conservation Project

iNaturalist: riley4477-pondlore-sloughpond

A Journey That Never Ends, John Hay's The Run, ©2004, Janice riley. Documentary available @ Brewster Ladies' Library.

APCC State of the Waters Report, 2024

Coonamessett River Trust

Harwich Fishery to Remain Closed, 2023
Harwich Conservation Trust, Cold Brook Eco-Restoration Project, 2024
Harwich Conservation Trust, "Six Ponds Resource Management Initiative," 7/'23.
Harwich Conservation Trust, "Tuttle Family Protects Local Land, Water & River Herring," 5/'20

Town of Barnstable River Herring Management

Native Lands Conservancy
Aboriginal Rights (to collect herring)

The Rights of Nature Movement
Bioneers

International Union for Conservation of Nature (And Natural Resources) IUCN.

Safe Harbor
Friends of Herring River Restoration Project: herringriver.org

Industrial Fishing Threat/ Pew Environmental Group Report/ Atlantic Herring Campaign, '07

NOAA Atlantic Herring Management/ Temporary Order, 11'23
NOAA, Herring River Restoration Project, (includes video) 6/'24
NOAA, Cape Cod Cranberry Bog Project, Restoring Wetlands and Fish Passage (Falmouth), 4/1/'25

Print Articles:

Provincetown Independent, As the Stripers Go..., 10/8/'25
CC Times, MA Biodiversity Initiative, Gov Healey announces on Cape, 8/21/'25
AWI, The Endangered Species Act, Animal Welfare Institute Quarterly, Winter, '23.
NOAA, "Biden-Harris/ Investing in America," July, 2023
On the Water/ April 17, 2023
Down East Magazine, May, 2023, "Maine's Alewife Run, A Spectacle of Abundance"
CC Times article, May '23, Rights of Herring Resolution/ Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
NY Times article, Jan. '23. A Toxic Stew on Cape Cod/ on cyanobacteria
Martha Vineyard Times, Feb. 2018, "Dire State of River Herring"
Trout Unlimited Magazine, Jun '23. "How to Bring a River Back From the Dead," on restoring Mashpee's Quashnet River
Cape Cod Times, Oct. '23. "Until the Last Fish are Gone"/Atlantic Herring Depletion (River herring are a bycatch).
WHOI, Oceanus, Feb. '17. "A Big Decline of River Herring" (Tiny stones hold clues for research).
Earth Justice, '13. Troubled Waters for Atlantic Herring.
Cape Cod Times, A Tale of Tenacity, 4/'04
Cape Cod Chronicle, DMF to Assess Herring Spawning Ponds, 3/'24
Cape Cod Chronicle, Citizen Science on the Alewives of Slough Pond, Opinion (pg. 23/ pdf), 3/'24
Provincetown Independent, With Herring Count Ahead, a Look at What Aids a Rebound, 3/'24.
NOAA, Friends of Hood Pond: How Partnerships Build Community, 3/'24.
Cape Cod Times, A Different Kind of Harvest, NRD's Aquatic Weed Harvesting in Elbow Pond, 2019
WCAI, Mashpee Wampanoag Youth Ambassadors group/ Rights of Herring, 4/'24
Science Direct, Satellite Imagery/ management tool for Cape ponds, 3/'24
Provincetown Independent, Fishermen Join Fight for Herring, 5/'24
Cape Cod Chronicle, Harwich Celebrates the Return of the Herring, 5/23/'24
Daily Hampshire Gazette, Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center , '17
Provincetown Independent, Bacteria Monitoring Expands (mentions Lower Mill Pond), 7/4/'24
Falmouth Enterprise, APCC Receives Huge Federal Grant to Restore Rivers, Marshes, 9/4/'24
Provincetown Independent, More Boats Gathering Ocean Data, 12/6/'24
Cape Cod Chronicle, Long Pond (Harwich) Culvert Project, 1/23/'23
Cape Cod Chronicle, Harwich Natural Resources Director Resigns, 4/17/'25

Brewster Specific: see under PONDS heading for more

Pond Summit 2023, A Brewster Ponds Coalition & Town of Brewster Collaboration
Ecosystems Services Assessment/ MA Audubon & BCT for TOB/ Cape Cod Sea Camps Long Pond, 12/'21 & 5/10/'23
Dana Condit Interview, BHS Oral History Project, Part 1/June 2018
Dana Condit Interview, BHS Oral History Project, Part 2/see 43-53 min. in video for Alewives Committee
The Historic Stony Brook Grist Mill, Cape Cod Life Article, 2015.
National Registry of Historic Places, 2000.
Brewster Reconnaissance Report, MA Heritage Inventory & CCC Landscape Inventory, 2009
Stony Brook Valley Stewardship Plan, Michael Lach, 2005.
District of Critical Planning Concern, CCC & Town of Brewster (see pg 3/ Slough Road Woodlands Conservation Areas), 2008
Lower Mill Pond Dam Improvements Plan, Tighe & Bond, 4/'12 (In addition to the 3 Mill Ponds, only Canoe Pond is referenced.)
Stony Brook Fishway Conceptual Design Improvements, Curt Orvis, 1/'22
Stony Brook Fishway Rehabilitation Project, Notice of Intent, 2/24
Stony Brook Fishway Rehabilitation Project, Order of Conditions, 5/'24

Stony Brook Fishway Construction Permit, 12/30/'24.

Spring Migration Timeline @ Slough Pond, 2024

Fall Migration Timeline @ Slough Pond, 2024

Slough Pond Stakeholders

Recommended Books & Videos:

The Run, John Hay/ book (widely available)
A Journey That Never Ends, John Hay's The Run/ Janice Riley & John Hay/ documentary (available in library)

What a Fish Knows, Jonathan Balcombe/ book

NPR, Fish Have Feelings, Too
NOVA, Fish Have Feelings, Too/ documentary

NOVA, for 3 min video of Life Cycle of an Alewife, see PBS Learning Media

David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet/ documentary

Saving Our Ponds, video series, W.H.O.I.

Do Fish Matter? Becca Franks

The Gulf Stream Orphan, lowercapenews, 10/25/'24 (featuring Owen Nichols)

The Cape Needs Its River Herring, 4/22/'25, Lower Cape TV with Brad Chase

The Alewife's Tale, Barbara Brennessel/ book
Herring: A History of the Silver Darlings, Mike Smylie/ book
A Tale of Two Rivers, Ron Lasko/ book
A Moving Meditation, Stephen Waller/ book
Red Gold, The Managed Extinction of the Giant Bluefin Tuna, Jennifer E. Telesca/book
Beautiful Swimmers, William W. Warner/book
Meet the Neighbors, Animal Minds and Life in a More-Than-Human World, Brandon Keim/book

Historic Maps:
United States Geological Survey (USGS) maps, 1887- 1961, with Slough Pond passageway. Maps prior to 1961 are not as reliable. We are assessing the presence of the Walker to Slough Pond fishway over time as the history of its evolution is lost in time. It appears in 1943 but may have been present as early as 1918, so we can safely average the fishway as being used for approximately a century, 80-100 years. It may have been dug to bring water to the cranberry bog that was cultivated in the Slough Pond low lying wetland area where the channel is at present. It may have been dug to bring migrating alewives into Slough Pond for fishing. These channels have been dug across Cape Cod and are in existence today as viable fishways. The Slough Pond fishway may have already existed as at least a stream for centuries. Click on images for full-sized pdf.

Graphs
Presented by DMF Biologist Brad Chase on July 13, 2023 at Brewster Natural Resources Advisory Commission Meeting.