Courtesy of the Buzzards Bay Coalition. Carter Beal Conservation Area has a small footbridge across the Herring River at a fish ladder, where you might see river herring migrating upstream in spring on their way to Plymouth’s Great Herring Pond.
BOURNE – The warm sunshine of spring has returned to the region and that means migratory fish are returning to Buzzards Bay’s waters.
Every spring, millions of river herring migrate from the ocean to coastal rivers and streams to spawn or reproduce where they were born.
The herring are considered a “foundation” fish in the Buzzards Bay ecosystem as many of the Bay’s sportfish and water birds rely on the herring as food. The herring also feed on plankton in the water making them an important link in the food web.
Herring runs make for interesting spots to stop, look, listen and even have a picnic, as the herring also attract many other bird and fish species.
Wareham is home to two of the most active runs on Buzzards Bay. One is Wankinco River Herring Run that leads upstream into Parker Mills Pond. The other is the Agawam River Herring Run next to the Wareham Elks Lodge.
Bourne also has a few popular runs. The Carter Beal Conservation Area, where herring migrate up to Plymouth’s Great Herring Pond, and the Herring Run Recreation Area, where the Herring River flows into the Cape Cod Canal.
Falmouth’s Wing Pond Woods off the Shining Sea Bikeway is another spawning area in the Upper Cape. The herring swim up Herring Brook from Buzzards Bay at Old Silver Beach into Wing Pond.
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