Hannah
Hannah is adopted by the Plum Island Surfcasters. Hannah was captured in the Ipswich Mills Dam box trap and tagged on April 27, 2007. She was then transported upstream to the stocking release site in Topsfield, where she was "stocked" back to her natal river.
Hannah was last tracked from a stationary receiver on May 19, 2007 at Site 1 at 2:13 am. Hannah has been one of our most active fish, making back and forth trips in both the upper and lower parts of the river. We have manually tracked her in parts of the river upstream of Wenham Swamp.
April 27: Hannah is captured from the box trap near Site 2 (Ipswich Mills Dam). She is tagged, then put in a 100 gallon stocking tank with 20 other river herring. after a quick trip upstream to the Topsfield Stocking Site, Hannah is stocked in a similar mehod used for the Nemasket origin fish. She spends her first night out of range of any receiver.
April 28, 3:17 pm: Hannah is spotted in the Great Wenham Swamp at Site 8, but she doesn't stick around too long.
April 28, 6:41 pm: From the Great Wenham Swamp, Hannah moves upstream and is spotted at Site 9; although she only stays 15 minutes.
April 28, 7:15 pm: Hannah moves back downstream towards the Audubon sactuary, Site 8.
April 29, 8:01 pm: The next evening, Hannah returns to Site 9. She stays only briefly in the range of this receiver. and then isn't picked up by a stationary receiver until...
May 3, 5:28 pm: Hannah is seen again at Site 9, then leaves the range in under 5 minutes.
May 4, 6:21 pm: This evening Hannah is again spotted at Site 9.
May 5, 1:43 pm: Hannah is picked up by our manual receiver downstream of the Route 97 bridge.
May 5, 5:19pm: An evening manual tracking trip reveals that Hannah has moved upstream of the Route 97 bridge, and may be in the ponded area at the bend in the river here.
May 6, 9:47 am: Another manual tracking trip reveals that Hannah is still in the ponded area upstream of the Route 97 bridge.
May 7, 11:14 am: Hannah turns to head downstream, going into Great Wenham Swamp, and is picked up by the receiver at Site 8.
May 8, 2:21 am: Continuing downstream, Hannah arrives at Site 7 early in the morning.
May 8, 4:50 am: Hannah arrives to the area just upstream of the Willowdale Dam at Site 6. She is picked up by receivers there in the early morning, but then heads back upsream.
May 8, 2:54 pm: We know Hannah has moved upstream because we hear her while manually tracking, just upstream of the Asbury Street bridge.
May 8, 11:01 pm: Hannah is back at Site 6 later that night. She is heard by both the upstream and downstream antennas here at the Willowdale Dam, and it seems to take only 10 minutes for her to pass over the dam heading downstream..
May 8, 11:24 pm: Hannah continues swimming downstream, arriving to Site 5. She then remains out of range until...
May 10, 11:26 pm: Hannah is picked up again by the receiver at Site 5. Was she swimming just above or below it? We don't know, but she seems directed downstream again because her next arrival is...
May 11, 2:17 am: at Site 4. She only stays in range of this receiver about 2 minutes before continuing on her way.
May 11, 4:24 am: Hannah spend tthe early morning swimming downstream, and swims quickly past Site 3.
May 11, 4:45 am: In almost no time, Hannah reaches the receiver near Ipswich Mills Dam at Site 2. She stays here until about 11:45, then makes a turn upstream.
May 11, 1:30 pm: Hannah spends the most of the afternoon and into the evening at the still water near Site 3.
May 11, 10:09 pm: Hannah returns to Site 2 at the Ipswich Mills Dam until about 1:45 the following morning.
May 12, 2:07 am: Back to Site 3 for two and a half more hours!
May 12, 11:18 am: Deciding to make another trip upstream, Hannah passes by the receiver at Site 4 pretty quickly and continues on her way to...
May 12, 2:17 pm: Site 5; Hannah is on a mission because she flies past this receiver in just 6 minutes.
May 12, 3;03 pm: Hannah arrives to Site 6, at the Willowdale Dam, where she is picked up by both the upstream and downstream antennas; she must be very close to the dam or heading up the fishway! She stays in the area until night, then turns and heads back downstream.
May 13, 8:45 am: Hannah arrives to Site 5 in the morning, but then dissappears for three days and stays out of range of the receivers.
May 16, 6:33 pm: After a few days out of range, Hannah is picked up again by the receiver at Site 5.
May 16, 7:09 pm: Very briefly, Hannah makes another visit to Site 6.
May 16, 7:30 pm: Hannah swims back downstream to Site 5, and remains in the area for nearly 2 days.
May 18, 9:10 pm: Hannah returns downstream and passes by Site 4.
May 18, 10:12 pm: Still heading downstream, Hannah swims past Site 3 quickly.
May 18, 10:33 pm: Not long after leaving Site 3, Hannah arrives at Site 2. She stays roughly 10 minutes and then passes over the Ipswich Mills Dam
May 18, 11:00 pm: Hannah arrives at the Site 1, the final receiver in our array. She remains in this area until 2:13 the following morning, the last time we hear Hannah.
What do you think about Hannah's travels: is she determined about where she's going, or just confused? Do you think her back and forth movements are showing that she is seeking something out? This fish, more than any other, spent a lot of time between Sites 5 and 6. Why would this be?