Herring In Our Midst

Last year, 200 herring were released to the Bronx River riverfront of the Bronx Zoo. The 2006 release turned out to be highly successful, with the fish taking immediately to their new home. The herring spawned, producing the first official generation of Bronx alewives in more than 300 years, since the river was dammed for local industry. Last fall, the reintroduced herring’s offspring were observed swimming downstream, presumably on their way to sea. (Like salmon, river herring hatch in freshwater and swim out to sea, returning as adults to their birthplace to spawn.) They are expected to return to the Bronx River in 2009, following a three to five year maturation period in the Long Island Sound and other coastal waters.

With the first stocking effort complete, a second alewife herring release of approximately 400 fish occurred on April 5, 2007. The ongoing effort will increase the chances that a breeding population flourishes in the river once again.