Title
Maryland Fish Passage Program: Anadromous Fish Restoration and Monitoring - Final Report
Publication Date
1991
Keywords
anadromous fish, fish passage, monitoring, restoration, Chesapeake Bay, migratory fish, adult, river herring, herring, alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, blueback herring, Alosa aestivalis, stocking, identification, releases, spawning, mortality, eggs, larvae, behavior
Abstract
This report presents results of work conducted during spring 1990 under the Maryland Fish Passage Program to evaluate and enhance migratory populations in the Chesapeake Bay area. Task I consisted of sampling for migratory fish, including adult river herring (alewife Alosa pseudoharengus and blueback herring Alosa aestivalis), transport and stocking of adult river herring, and collection, sorting, and identification of ichthyoplankton. A total of 10,195 river herring was stocked in 13 separate releases at five major spawning rivers. Only 3% mortality was observed. Evidence of spawning by river herring (presence of either adults or eggs and larvae) was found at all sites except Stony Run on the Patapsco River. Task II consisted of releasing adult river herring fitted with radiotransmitters above blockages and tracking them to investigate migratory behavior of transported fish. A total of 38 fish was fitted with transmitters and released on eight separate occasions, then tracked from 14 April to 2 June. No difference was detected in the time spent above stream blockages for radiotagged blueback herring transported within their natal stream (12.8 days) and herring transported from another drainage (13.7 days). Radiotagged alewife transported within their natal stream above the stream blockage, spent less time above the dam (6.5 days) than radiotagged blueback herring.
Notes
Submitted to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.