After spawning next month, these adults will head back to the Atlantic. During their stay in the Bay, some will add more links to the food web by feeding everything large enough to eat them, from rockfish on their own spawning runs to great blue herons and ospreys. In addition, some of the young herring about to be spawned will feed white perch in the creek during the summer, as their siblings grow and prepare to make their way to the Atlantic. The ecological value of river herring may well outweigh their commercial value, a compelling reason to assist them in their rebound. With due regard to both those values, though, the best may be the live current of silver that they bring to signify the changing season.
Winter s back is broken.
If the herring are here, so is spring. John Page Williams John Page Williams is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Senior Naturalist. He is based in Annapolis but travels all over the Chesapeake watershed to find people at work on local projects that restore the Bay's health. All rights reserved. Internet connectivity donated by Crosslink Internet Services .