- GARFO
-
Programs
- Analysis & Program Support
- Fishing Industry Homepage
- FOIA
- General Counsel
- Grants
- Habitat Conservation
- Habitat Restoration
- Highly Migratory Species
- Law Enforcement
- NEPA
- Operations and Budget
- Protected Resources
- Seafood Inspection
- Stakeholder Engagement Division
- Sustainable Fisheries
- Vessel Monitoring System
- Science Center
- Councils & Commission
- Contact Us
-
Commercial Fishing
- Bulletins (Permit Holder Letters)
- Cooperative Research
- Federal Register Actions
- Fishery Information Sheets
- Fisheries Charts
- Fishing Industry Homepage
- Fish Online
- Forms and Applications
- Observer Program
- Permit Information
- Protected Species Regulations
- Scientific Research
- Seafood Dealer Reporting
- Species ID
- Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)
- Vessel Reporting
- Recreational Fishing
-
Managed Species
- American Lobster
- Atlantic Herring
- Atlantic Salmon
- Atlantic Salmon Recovery
- Atlantic Sea Scallop
- Atlantic Sturgeon
- Black Sea Bass
- Bluefish
- Mackerel, Squid, Butterfish
- Marine Mammals
- Monkfish
- NE Multispecies
- Red Crab
- River Herring
- Scup
- Sea Turtles
- Shortnose Sturgeon
- Skate
- Spiny Dogfish
- Summer Flounder
- Surfclam/Ocean Quahog
- Tilefish
- Whiting, Other Hakes
- Aquaculture
- Tribal Relations
- Regulations
-
Quotas, Landings
- Atlantic Herring
- Atlantic Mackerel
- Atlantic Sea Scallop
- Black Sea Bass
- Bluefish
- Butterfish
- Butterfish Mortality Cap
- Haddock
- Illex Squid
- Incidental Golden Tilefish
- Longfin Squid
- Monkfish
- NE Multispecies (Groundfish)
- NE Skate Complex
- River Herring / Shad
- Scup
- Small Mesh Whiting (Hakes)
- Spiny Dogfish
- Summer Flounder
- Surf Clam / Ocean Quahog
- - Quota Report Archives -
- Outreach
- Resources
- Section 7 Consultation
Get Text Alerts
Sign up for recreational and commercial text alerts
River Herring
Alewife photo credit: Jerry Prezioso, NOAA
River herring (alewife and blue back herring), range along the east coast and have supported one of the oldest fisheries in the United States. They also provide food for commercial fish like striped bass, cod and haddock.
Over the years, their populations have declined due to overfishing in the late 1800s through the 1960s, habitat loss and other factors. NOAA considers river herring to be “Species of Concern" and “Candidate Species.” Our staff are working on a number of management measures and habitat protection and restoration efforts to help protect and recover river herring populations.
Because river herring are so widely distributed and spend time in both fresh water and the ocean, NOAA works with a variety of partners -- federal and state agencies, non-profit organizations, commercial and recreational fishermen and others -- to conduct research and develop management measures for these species.