Gulf of Maine River Herring Network: Connecting People Around the Fish that Connect Us All.

Thalhauser, Mike¹, Emily Farr², ¹Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, Stonington, ME, ²Manomet, Brunswick, ME

The Gulf of Maine River Herring Network is a collective of participants, from diverse backgrounds and incentives, participating in an attempt at “co-management”, that have committed to working together to: increase our understanding of river herring, restore river herring populations, and sustainably and collaboratively manage river herring. Initial participants were identified, unscientifically (on a canoe paddle/eDNA sampling trip) by two NGO staffers at Manomet and Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, aiming to bring together partners that represented managers, researchers and fishermen. Each participant brought unique capacity and motivations for wanting to benefit this keystone group of species with crucial social, economic and ecosystem value. Over the course of the last two years (and one pandemic) the group now has a listserv with 85+ members, and over 40 active participants that meet several times a year. A website has been created to facilitate information sharing (gomriverherringnetwork.org). Major areas of focus have been information sharing, collaborative research and policy. Overall goals are to create a level playing field where managers (local, state, federal and tribal), researchers, and fishermen/community members can work together towards their individual and collective goals in river herring. The network focuses on creating foundational trust, and the facilitators are intentional about allowing participants to guide the direction of the network. This session will discuss the value and opportunity that co-management represents with regards to river herring, the process for and challenges of creating this kind of network, and the views of participants in the network itself.