What’s it all about?

With our heads down, focusing on the day-to-day tasks and deadlines, it’s easy to lose track of why we do this work. For MassBays’ part, we try all the time to pause and ask, “how is this (project/investment/policy) advancing our goals?”

In 2024, EPA endorsed our 10-year Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, the result of a years-long community process to generate desired outcomes that direct our work. A central component of these are habitat targets, generated in collaboration with EPA’s Office of Research and Development and Office of Science Technology, and our own Science and Technical Advisory Subcommittee. The targets consist of both condition (healthy habitats) and extent (acres) for four coastal habitats:

The target for salt marsh and tidal flat extent is to match their acreage to the amounts recorded in June 2005. Due to sea level rise and development along the coastline, it is unlikely that these habitats will be able to exceed that, so MassBays’ work in salt marsh and tidal flats is focused on maintaining and improving the health of existing the habitat. 

Eelgrass, a seagrass once abundant along our coasts, is in steep decline. We have hope, however, that dedicated restoration efforts can bring this important habitat back to levels seen in 1995, and improve its health as well.

Migratory fish habitat includes the restoration and improvement of access to historic migratory and spawning habitats for herring and smelt along coastal rivers. Our target is to improve and restore access by 105 migratory miles and 3,900 acres of spawning habitat.

Click here for more on how we developed this guidance; to see how habitats near you are faring, check out our Ecohealth Tracking Tool.

Pam DiBona, MassBays Director

Dr. Janet Duffy-Anderson

Gulf of Maine Research Institute

Dr. Damian Brady

University of Maine

Dr. Jon Witman

Brown University

Preserving and Protecting River Herring on Cape Cod: APCC’s River Herring Monitoring Program

Each spring river herring, specifically alewives and blueback herring, migrate from the ocean’s expanse to swim upstream, navigating Cape Cod’s coastal rivers and streams to reach freshwater spawning habitat. This annual event is more than just a seasonal migration; it’s a vital part of our coastal ecosystem, sustaining larger fish, birds, and marine mammals that rely on these fish as a crucial food source.

For nearly two decades, the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC), supported by MassBays, and in partnership with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, has been a key player in tracking this critical migration on Cape Cod. The program relies on a dedicated network of volunteers who contribute valuable data for conservation and management efforts.

Dr. Jo Ann Muramoto, who successfully developed and led the program for many years, retired from APCC in 2024 and management of this program has been taken on by Mike Palmer, APCC’s new Restoration Ecologist and a fisheries scientist with over two decades of experience. Over the past two months, Mike has been working closely with nearly 20 local run coordinators to recruit and train volunteers. Training sessions covered essential topics such as fish identification, counting techniques, data recording, and best practices for observation. “Run coordinators” manage volunteer schedules and address site-specific challenges. APCC maintains the Herring Monitor Hub, a centralized online platform that consolidates training materials, historical data, and real-time data entry. By the time the river herring arrived in early April, Cape Cod's volunteer network was fully prepared to document the migration.

For more information on the Cape Cod Herring Monitoring Program, visit APCC’s website or contact Mike Palmer at mpalmer@apcc.org.

Fish are returning to the MassBays' Metro Region’s estuaries for spring spawning. All across Massachusetts’ east coast, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), watershed associations, local municipalities, and other partners have worked for years to expand the length of rivers available for fish passage and this means our spring fish runs include some places in Metro Boston one might not expect:

• Thanks to several fish ladder and fishway improvements, herring can now reach as far up the Mystic River as Horn Pond in Woburn! Learn all about this success story and get involved in Mystic River herring counts with the Mystic River Watershed Association. In-person monitoring slots are mostly full for the season, but volunteers can still assist by counting fish on underwater “fish cam” videos starting in May.

• The Charles River Watershed Association will run its third annual Charles River Herring Count at Watertown Dam. Volunteer monitoring slots are still available.

• The Weymouth Back River supports one of the largest herring runs in Massachusetts. Visitors can observe fish pass a critical series of five fish ladders from Jackson Square to Whitmans Pond.   

• It’s not just herring coming up the rivers! Rainbow smelt prefer to lay eggs in shallow, fast-flowing riffle habitat, which in the Metro Boston area includes some highly developed creek and river zones in the Saugus River and Fore River.

MassBays' regional coordinator, Merrimack Valley Planning Commission will be holding the 2025 Merrimack River Water Quality Round Table on Tuesday, April 29, from 9:00 - 11:00 AM, via Zoom. The public is invited to join. Read more about this event here.

Click here to Register Now!