PORTLAND, Maine - Fishery regulators are giving $166,659 to a project that will assess the number of juvenile river herring in rivers from Maine and Connecticut.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and National Marine Fisheries Service are awarding the money to the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and University of California, Santa Cruz in partnership with several governmental, nonprofit and academic organizations. Researchers will also collect biological samples and conduct genetic analysis on river herring caught in Atlantic herring and mackerel fisheries.
Spokesmen for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission say researchers hope to learn more about the fishery and identify areas where the fish spawn. Researchers will also investigate environmental factors influencing the success of spawning.