Build to Scale: Restoration of Alosines Hinges on Recognizing the Obvious.

Gahagan, Benjamin¹, Michael M. Bailey², Adrian Jordaan³, Gary Nelson¹, Daniel S. Stich⁴, Joe Zydlewski⁵, ¹Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Gloucester, MA, ²USFWS, Washington, D.C., ³University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, ⁴State University of New York, Oneonta, NY, ⁵USGS, Maine Co-Op Unit, Orono, ME

Migratory fish in the northwest Atlantic are greatly reduced relative to historical levels of historical abundance. Anadromous alosines (American Shad [Alosa sapidissima], Alewife [A. pseudoharengus] and Blueback Herring [A. aestivalis]) have been a focus of conservation and restoration efforts for decades, yet few clear success stories exist. If coast wide restoration goals include restoring alosines to a level of ecological relevance, current mitigation efforts have been unambiguously inadequate. Over the past 20 years, multiple stock assessments, ESA listing determinations, and quantitative studies have synthesized historic and contemporary information. These assessments inform possible actions that could result in significant restoration outcomes over ecologically relevant scales and provide a wealth of evidence that loss of access to habitat through damming is the primary impediment to alosine restoration. While reductions in river connectivity impede access of alosines to spawning and rearing habitat, increases to connectivity (e.g., dam removal, operational changes, and fishways) often require participation of a wide range of stakeholders with differing values and objectives. In many localities, the importance and relevance of alosines has diminished with the closure of fisheries. As a result, the effectiveness of traditional fisheries management frameworks and approaches may not be effective over much of alosines’ historic range. We emphasize the importance of clear communication about outcomes, compromise, and coalition building among stakeholders to affirm the historic and potential value of these fish and their corresponding fisheries. Effective restoration will likely require meaningful changes in how society values basic commodities (e.g., water and electricity) relative to ecological function. Fisheries and restoration professionals have an important role in communicating those choices by providing innovative solutions, building coalitions, and providing honest communication as to the costs and benefits of action versus the status quo.