What and why are we monitoring?
One of the goals of the inlet restoration project is to restore opportunities for passage of diadromous fishes into and out of Wreck Pond. River herring, which is a collective term for alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), are anadromous fishes that migrate into Wreck Pond in the spring to spawn in the upper watershed. Juveniles migrate out of the watershed in summer and/or fall. American eel (Anguilla rostrata) are a catadromous fish that lives in freshwater and migrates to the Sargasso Sea to spawn. Alewife, blueback herring and American eel were once abundant in the Wreck Pond Brook Watershed, however, degradation of the watershed due to runoff, sedimentation, and lack of flow, among other things, has led to a decline in the abundance of these three species.
Spring monitoring of adult river herring and American eel began in 2006 and occurred again in 2007 and 2008 as part of the original pipe extension project. Monitoring started up again in 2014 as part of the current culvert installation project. We now have pre-construction data for 2014, 2015 and 2016, and will be monitoring through 2021 post-construction. In 2015 and 2017 we conducted habitat assessments throughout the watershed in order to document the suitability of the habitat for river herring spawning and rearing as well as impediments to fish passage. Click on the links below to view and download fish and habitat monitoring reports from 2014 and 2015. New reports will be uploaded as they are completed. For copies of the 2006, 2007 and 2008 reports, send an email to Capt. Al Modjeski at alek@littoralsociety.org OR download them from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Wreck Pond page- www.nj.gov/dep/wreckpond/documents.htm.
Spring monitoring of adult river herring and American eel began in 2006 and occurred again in 2007 and 2008 as part of the original pipe extension project. Monitoring started up again in 2014 as part of the current culvert installation project. We now have pre-construction data for 2014, 2015 and 2016, and will be monitoring through 2021 post-construction. In 2015 and 2017 we conducted habitat assessments throughout the watershed in order to document the suitability of the habitat for river herring spawning and rearing as well as impediments to fish passage. Click on the links below to view and download fish and habitat monitoring reports from 2014 and 2015. New reports will be uploaded as they are completed. For copies of the 2006, 2007 and 2008 reports, send an email to Capt. Al Modjeski at alek@littoralsociety.org OR download them from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Wreck Pond page- www.nj.gov/dep/wreckpond/documents.htm.
