Lagoon Pond Association supports Amendment 10 to protect river herring

Science Committee Chair, Maria Abate, represented the LPA Board at the New England Fishery Management Council's April 22 Scoping Meeting to voice the LPA's support for “Amendment 10” regulations on Atlantic Herring commercial trawlers. These trawler nets also capture 100+ metric tons of river herring as the herring swim from the sea each spring into typical spawning grounds such as Upper Lagoon Pond where they were born. River herring are an important food source to migratory birds, striped bass and other fish thereby supporting the island food web and local fishing economy. The numbers of fish homing to the island herring “runs” are down to a few percent of historic amounts.  The LPA Board recognizes urgent actions are required to reverse their loss and recommended 1) fishing area closures to avert the trawlers from the path of the migrating river herring; 2) restore the coastal midwater trawler exclusion zone, 3) employ a robust observer program to document river herring being caught are within sustainable population limits; and 4) support funding initiatives for locally monitoring river herring runs.

4/30/24 The LPA recently participated in the Earth Day beach clean up and Earth Day Conservation Festival at the museum! Pictured is Dani Ewart, Doug Reece, Amy Russo, Lani Goldthorpe, and Rick Karney cleaning up trash and managing our booth!