The Adopt‐a‐Herring Program as a Fisheries Conservation Tool

Abstract

Successful conservation depends on a scientifically literate public. We developed the Adopt‐A‐Herring program to educate nonscientists about fisheries and watershed restoration. This interactive educational and outreach project encouraged coastal residents to be involved in local watershed restoration. In the northeastern United States, river herring (Alosa spp.) are an important component of many coastal watersheds and often are the object of conservation efforts. In order to understand river herring spawning behavior and to improve the effectiveness of restoration efforts, our research tracked these fish via radiotelemetry in the lpswich River, Massachusetts. In our Adopt‐A‐Herring Program, participating stakeholder organizations adopted and named individual tagged river herring and followed their movements online. We also made information available to our adopters on our larger research goals, the mission and activities of other research and management agencies, examples of human actions that adversely affect watersheds, and opportunities for proactive conservation. Research results were communicated to adopters through our project web page and end‐of‐season summary presentations. Both tools cultivated a personal interest in river herring, stimulated discussion about fisheries and watershed restoration, educated participants about the goals and methods of scientists in general, and initiated critical thinking about human activities that advance or impede sustainability.

Goodbye to “Rough Fish”: Paradigm Shift in the Conservation of Native Fishes

“…Positive experiences with nature influence a person's relationship with the natural world and tendency toward future pro-environmental behavior; yet those Accepted Article experiences are dwindling, especially in children (Miller 2005;Soga and Gaston 2016). Adopt-a-fish educational programs support K-12 students and stakeholders in learning about watersheds, aquatic ecosystems, and fisheries research through a multidisciplinary approach (Schmetterling and Bernd-Cohen 2002;Frank et al 2009). Youth fishing programs are also effective at promoting positive experiences that encourage higher levels of self-identity, recruitment and retention, and decreased perception of barriers to fisheries (e.g., money, transport, time, skills; Morales et al 2020).…”

Role of origin and release location in pre‐spawning distribution and movements of anadromous alewife

“…2008). The anadromous alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus (Wilson), is highly valued by local communities in the northeastern United States (Frank et al. 2009a).…”

Merging Scientific Silos: Integrating Specialized Approaches for Thinking about and Using Spatial Data That Can Provide New Directions for Persistent Fisheries Problems

“…We increased the effectiveness of this outreach and education effort by integrating biologically relevant spatial data at the whole‐estuary scale with locations familiar to non‐scientific stakeholders. We accomplished this integration through our adopt‐a‐fish program for Striped Bass and anadromous Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus, which captured the interest of recreational anglers, conservation organizations, and teachers in coastal towns adjacent to PIE (Frank et al 2009a). In our adopt‐a‐fish program, we provided whole‐estuary location‐linked information about tagged fish to anglers, school programs, and other stakeholders through an associated web site (available: https://bit.ly/3zrS2FW).…”