Littoral​ Society

  • Home
  • What We Do
    • Education
    • Conservation
    • Restoration
    • Advocacy
    • Fish Tagging
    • Presentations
  • Where We Work
    • Sandy Hook
    • Barnegat Bay
    • Delaware Bay
    • Jamaica Bay
    • Sarasota Bay
    • National Policy
  • Who We Are
    • History
    • Staff
    • Officers & Trustees
    • Financial Accountability
    • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice
    • Contact
  • Newsroom
    • Littoral News
    • Press Releases
    • Videos
    • Publications
    • Reports
  • Blog
  • Join Us
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Sponsor
    • Sign Up for Littoral Updates
    • Littorally Local
    • Lobster Run
    • Upcoming Events
    • Field Trips
    • Volunteer
    • Jobs
  • Store
  • Home
  • What We Do
    • Education
    • Conservation
    • Restoration
    • Advocacy
    • Fish Tagging
    • Presentations
  • Where We Work
    • Sandy Hook
    • Barnegat Bay
    • Delaware Bay
    • Jamaica Bay
    • Sarasota Bay
    • National Policy
  • Who We Are
    • History
    • Staff
    • Officers & Trustees
    • Financial Accountability
    • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice
    • Contact
  • Newsroom
    • Littoral News
    • Press Releases
    • Videos
    • Publications
    • Reports
  • Blog
  • Join Us
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Sponsor
    • Sign Up for Littoral Updates
    • Littorally Local
    • Lobster Run
    • Upcoming Events
    • Field Trips
    • Volunteer
    • Jobs
  • Store

The Society Blog

Earth Day Fish Ladder Opening Welcomes River Herring Back to Upper Wreck Pond Watershed

4/22/2021

 
Fish in the Wreck Pond watershed now have a little bit of extra room to roam thanks to the Earth Day opening of a fish ladder at the Old Mill Pond Dam.

The 60-foot-long fish ladder is part of ongoing efforts to restore Wreck Pond and its 12.8 square mile watershed in the southern Monmouth County municipalities of Wall Township; and the Boroughs of Spring Lake Heights, Spring Lake and Sea Girt.  

The restoration project, which launched in 2014, has been coordinated by the American Littoral Society in conjunction with federal and local  partners.

The opening of the ladder, on April 22, 2021, will provide access an additional mile of habitat for alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), both river herring species that live in saltwater but spawn in fresh water. This stretch of habitat has been inaccessible to the migratory fish for more than a century, due to the installation of the dam at Old Mill Pond.
"This is incredible," said George K. Newberry, Wall Township Mayor, who was present for the opening. "I'm simply amazed watching something that hasn't been possible for more than one hundred years."
 
River herring are classified as species of special concern. That means their numbers are declining and appear to be in need of concentrated conservation actions.
 
Once abundant along the east coast, river herring numbers have drastically declined to as little as 1% of their historic populations due to over harvesting, and the blockage of their historic spawning rivers by dams and other obstructions.
 
“River herring are anadromous, meaning they live their adult lives in the ocean but return to freshwater streams and ponds to spawn each spring,” said Capt. Al Modjeski, Habitat Restoration Program Director for the American Littoral Society. "This project is taking steps to hopefully build back the local population and expand access to historical spawning habitats."
 
Wreck Pond and its watershed were once prime spawning grounds for migratory fish such as river herring. However, their access was largely cut off decades ago with the closure of the inlet from the Atlantic Ocean. The fish ladder complements the larger restoration project that provided more access to Wreck Pond from the Atlantic Ocean.
 
The initial phase of the larger restoration project, which was completed in 2015, included installation an underground fish passage from the ocean to the pond. Partnering with the municipalities around the pond, as well as state and federal agencies, the first step was designed to address pollution in Wreck Pond, reduce flooding in the adjacent communities, and restore the pond as a breeding ground for migratory fish.
 
Subsequent work has involved monitoring the watershed to determine if river herring were returning and taking steps to open the upper reaches of the watershed.
 
The initial fish passage work led by the American Littoral Society was done in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, through a Coastal Resiliency Grant received from the a US Department of the Interior in conjunction with another grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Partners included the Army Corps of Engineers, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Monmouth County, the Borough of Spring Lake, Monmouth University, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Leon S. Avakian, Inc., and Najarian Associates.
 
The fish ladder work was funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Atlantic Coast Fish Habitat Partnership, and the Spring Lake 5k. Thanks to Wall and Spring Lake Heights townships for traffic coordination, as well as Princeton Hydro, Atlantic Lifts, Ground Hawg Demolition, the Mill at Lakeside Manor, and NJDEP. Special thanks to the late Don Byrne of NJDEP who provided the inspiration for this project.
 
 
Click here to learn more about the Wreck Pond Restoration Project.
Jilly MacDowell link
5/2/2021 08:21:32 am

This is fantastic! I'm going to go see it today. Great work. :)


Comments are closed.
    BLOG HOME

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

     Subscribe in a reader

    Categories

    All
    5k
    Action
    Advocacy
    Amazon
    Art
    Asbury Park
    Ballot Question
    Barnegat
    Bay
    Beach
    Benefit
    Biomedical
    Breakfree
    Camp
    Celebration
    Cleanup
    Climate
    Coast
    Conservation
    Crafts
    Delaware Bay
    Delbay
    Drilling
    Dune
    Dune Grass
    Earthday
    Earth Day
    Economy
    Eggs
    Election
    Estuary
    Event
    Family
    Fishing
    Fun
    Global Warming
    Horseshoe Crab
    Jamaicabay
    Legislation
    Litter
    Live Music
    Lobster
    Long Beach Island
    Marine Science
    NJ
    NY
    Oil
    Open Space
    Oyster
    Oystere
    Parade
    Party
    Plastic
    Policy
    Pollution
    Protect
    Race
    Rain Garden
    Red Knot
    Reef
    Restoration
    River
    Run
    Sandy Hook
    Shark Fin
    Shell-a-bration
    Shell Bagging
    Shore
    Shorebird
    Summer
    Superstorm Sandy
    Surfcasting
    Tag
    Tagging
    Tourism
    Volunteer
    Wetlands
    Wreck Pond

     Subscribe in a reader

Picture
18 Hartshorne Drive
​Highlands, NJ 07732

What We Do

Education
Conservation
Restoration
Advocacy
Fish Tagging

Where We Work

Sandy Hook
Barnegat Bay
Delaware Bay
Jamaica Bay
Sarasota Bay
National Policy

Who We Are

History
Staff
Officers & ​Trustees
Financials
Contact

Newsroom

Blog
Press Releases
Videos
Publications
Reports

Join Us

Memberships
Donate
Sponsor
Upcoming Events
Field Trips
Volunteer
Jobs
Donate
Membership
Mailing List
Volunteer
Privacy Policy
Copyright ​© 2017, American Littoral Society, All Rights Reserved
Photo used under Creative Commons from A. Strakey