Fish and Stream Restoration

Some fish are permanent residents of the North and South Rivers and their tributaries, while others visit only to feed or spawn. There are two categories of visiting fish: anadromous and catadromous. Anadromous fish (such as herring, shad and alewives) live part of their lives at sea, then migrate up river to spawn in fresh water. Catadromous fish (such as the American eel) breed out at sea, and the young travel up the river to feed and grow.

River herring fact sheet

These fish depend on free flowing rivers and streams for their spawning needs and livelihood, and they are often prevented from migrating upstream by old mill dams, fish ladders that have not been maintained or are poorly designed, or by a lack of streamflow and habitat.

Impacts of Dams on River Systems fact sheet



The NSRWA has been working with the Massachusetts Bays Program and numerous regional partners including the MA Department of Marine Fisheries, MA Riverways Program, MA Office of Coastal Zone Management, South Shore towns, and private landowners to help restore anadromous fish passage and stream habitat at various sites on the South Shore.

First Herring Brook Restoration Project

NSRWA and Mass. Bays have been working with federal (US Fish and Wildlife) state (Mass. DMF, Mass. Riverways, Mass. Division of Fish and Wildlife), and local partners (First Herring Brook Watershed Initiative, Scituate Water Study Committee, Scituate Water Department)  to evaluate the potential for restoring anadromous fish and quality habitat to the First Herring Brook, a tributary to the North River.  The First Herring Brook has two defunct fish ladders that provide a physical barrier to migration. The town of Scituate also draws its municipal water supply from the First Herring Brook watershed, so there is a need to understand how ecological flow demands and municipal water demands can be balanced. The restoration partners are working with Tufts University, the Nature Conservancy, and the Stockholm Environment Institute to model these water demands and determine if comprimises are possible. In addition, NSRWA, Mass. Bays, Mass. Riverways, and Mass. DMF have been monitoring habitat quality in the system.

Third Herring Brook Restoration Project
The Third Herring Brook is a tributary to the North River, located on the town line between Norwell and Hanover. There are anadromous fish that try to migrate upstream here, but due to four dams along the length of the brook they are unable to get very far. In addition, flows get rather low during the late summer, and the system is very "flashy" (high flows immediately after rain) due to the presence of impervious surfaces (mostly roads and parking lots) in its watershed. The runoff from these roads also contributes measurable quantities of road salt, which has increased the conductivity in the brook and the water supplies of Norwell and Hanover, which draw from its watershed.

The NSRWA and Mass. Bays have worked to restore Third Herring Brook for years and are currently waiting for the right partners to assist us in evaluating dam removal along the brook, having had previous dam removal efforts fall through. Right now we are focusing on evaluating flow in the brook with the help of the Mass. Riverways RIFLS Program. If you would like to help read stream gauges on Third Herring Brook, please contact Sara Grady.

Herring Counts

Every spring volunteers count herring at one or more of our tributaries and fish ladders in the North and South Rivers. In the past, we have counted at each of the numbered Herring Brooks (First, Second, and Third) , at Herring Brook in Pembroke, and the South River at Veteran's Memorial Park. If you would like to help out in Spring 2010, please contact Sara Grady. It only requires about ten minutes of your time a few times a week.