David Wilkins, Contributing Blogger
On March 26th, at the Bremen Town meeting, voters approved unanimously to not operate an alewife fishery in either Muscongus Harbor, nor Muscongus Brook. Recent federal regulations require municipalities managing alewives, to operate them in ways promoting sustainability. Beginning in 2012, federal regulators are closing all U.S. ocean target fishing of alewives and the majority of in-river alewife fisheries. These actions are in response to a steep decline in alewife numbers along their entire Atlantic seaboard range. Towns granted harvesting rights will have needed to provide a history of spawning count data as well as catch samples.
Presently Bremen’s alewife numbers in Muscongus are small and their spawning is limited by the 2 RT 32 road crossings. The DOT has been working on design and engineering of these 2 road crossings, with some talk of their fish friendly replacements in the next year or two.
When Bremen approved conservation measures at town meeting, it tells regulators that Bremen is committed to the restoration of this recourse
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