A tale of herring do: Record number of fish spotted swimming up the Mystic

The Mystic River Watershed Association reports volunteers counted 40% more herring swimming up the river to spawn at the Mystic Lakes this year than last year.

The 630,000 or so anadromous fish counted between April and June is the largest number ever recorded, the association says. A new fish ladder installed in the Aberjona River north of the lakes could let some of the fish reach as far inland as Woburn next year.

The group's executive director, Patrick Herron, said:

This has been an exciting year for herring! We are thrilled that the herring count has increased, and glad our volunteer monitoring program and our new underwater video monitoring program are engaging more people in the community – including local students – in the amazing river herring migration that this urban river supports. We will continue to partner with agencies and municipalities to improve water quality and habitat in the Mystic River watershed.