PEP Annual Alewife Monitoring

Alewife monitoring is carried out annually and includes a coordinated effort to analyze video footage to estimate alewife abundance. Biological data is collected (sex, size and age) on the Peconic River alewife population led by Suffolk County Community College. Abundance data will be used by the Peconic Estuary Partnership and our partners to evaluate the success of fish passage restoration efforts. Additionally, the data continues to be provided to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to aid in stock assessments and the management of alewife. PEP works with the LI Diadromous Fish Workgroup with the assistance of partners and continues to promote and expand the Long Island Volunteer River Herring Survey. This is a citizen science action, and more information can be found in the outreach section of this report.