2006 ~ Herring Counting Project

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=45 BGCOLOR="#0099FF" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <I>2006 ~ Herring Counting Project</I></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=415 BGCOLOR="#0099FF" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <I>Counting Project Results</I></div> <div> <I>________________________________</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Projection Made From Counts</B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" >The daily counts were consolidated on June 18, 2006 and forwarded to the Massachusetts Division Of Marine Fisheries. They used the </FONT>S .G. Rideout (1979) method to project the total run to be 6,906 herring.</div> <bR> <div> They commented that the data showed that the run was definitely comprised of alewife [that is, not blue-back herring or a combination of the two] which means that we won't have to count as late next year. We should be able to stop at the end of May.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Is This High Or Low?</B></div> <div> We don't know - that's the primary reason we doing the counting: to understand the volumes we see each year. There is no question that this was low compared to recent prior years, just on casual observation by people who watch the run regularly.</div> <bR> <div> As a historical reference, a survey done on 1912 by the Massachusetts Division Of Marine Fisheries estimated how many herring could potentially be harvested from the Marstons Mills River each year, taking about 80% or so of the total run.</div> <bR> <div> That estimate was 600 barrels and at 480 herring per barrel that comes out to 288,000 fish that could be harvested. If that was just 80% of the total run, then that total would be 360,000 herring or over 52 times the 2006 run.</div> <bR> <div> Now its hard to say what conditions existed at that time, both with the overall population of herring, as well as the effectiveness of the Marstons Mills River herring run itself. And while it's dangerous to make this kind of comparison, just the same it's tempting to express what that 1912 volume would mean in comparison to this year's observations.</div> <bR> <div> This year, our biggest sample count [a 10 minute period] was on April 15, 2006 at 7:00 pm - it was 60 herring, or 360 per hour. With the total of the 1912 run 52 times the 2006 run, this would mean that in 1912, in this <I><B>imaginary comparable period</B></I>, 18,766 herring migrated in that hour, or 312 per minute [if they all could get through!].</div> <bR> <div> Again, this is NOT a very reliable projection, but just an idea of what 52 times the 2006 volume might look like.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Counting Contest</B></div> <div> In conjunction with the River Day program in Marstons Mills, we asked local organizations and businesses to help us [financially] to run a contest to guess the size of the run. The purpose of the contest was to generate interest in the program and solicit additional help for next year. The contest paid off for us as several people indicated they would help count in 2007!</div> <bR> <div> We'd like to thank the following for their support:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a7300a800f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">American Excavating Contractors</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a7300a800f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Barnstable Association of Recreational Shellfishing (BARS)</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a7300a800f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Barnstable Land Trust</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a7300a800f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Indian Ponds Association</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a7300a800f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">River Day Committee</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a7300a800f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Souza's Land Company</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a7300a800f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Three Bays Preservation</div> <bR> <div> <B>And The Winner Is...</B></div> <div> We announced the winner at the Liberty Hall Club's Chicken B-B-Q on June 25, 2006 and it was Charlie Thifault of Marstons Mills who guessed 6,890 fish - off by just 16! And Charlie was one of our counters too! He was awarded the cash prize of $375.00.</div> <bR> <div> We had 74 people enter the contest with guesses ranging from 100 to 990,000 fish with the mean at 69,864 and the median being 4,500.</div> <bR> <div> <B>A Sincere Thanks To All!</B></div> <div> This 2006 Herring Counting Program for the Marstons Mills River was a <I><B>total success!!! </B></I>That was due completely to the efforts of all of those who counted, and thank you all again for your time. We hope you'll participate in 2007 as well! </div> <bR> <div> We'd like to especially thank the <A HREF="http://www.capecodsalties.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.capecodsalties.com/"><U>Cape Cod Salties</U></A>, <A HREF="http://www.shellfishing.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.shellfishing.org/"><U>Barnstable Association for Recreational Shellfishing</U></A> [BARS] and the Liberty Hall Club organizations - without their support we couldn't have done this project!</div> <bR> <div> <B>And Next Year...</B></div> <div> Well, we learned a lot from this year's project, like having to count fewer days, for example. We'll also look at better methods to communicate back and forth [we sent/received over 500 emails] and easier ways for our counters to report their numbers.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Comments? Complaints? Suggestions?</B></div> <div> If you have a comment, criticism, or idea to make the program better, please call Kevin Galvin at 508-420-0075 or email him <A HREF="mailto:Kevin@GalvinAssociates.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Kevin@GalvinAssociates.com"><U>here</U></A>.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Thanks Again, And We'll Be Back Mid-March 2007!</B></div> <div> Kevin Galvin ~ Herring Count Coordinator</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>  <script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> _uacct = "UA-379555-1"; urchinTracker(); </script>  </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=20 BGCOLOR="#CCCCCC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >Links:</FONT>  <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to Marstons Mills"><U>Home</U></A> | <A HREF="map.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MarstonsMills.org Site Map"><U>SiteMap</U></A> | <A HREF="id779_m.htm" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="2006 Herring Counting Project"><U>Top</U></A> | <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >Page updated: June 28, 2006</FONT></div> </td> </tr></table></body>