PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A small fish that has been the subject of conservation efforts for years appears to be growing in number in the rivers of the East Coast.
River herring are critically important to coastal ecosystems because they serve as food for birds and larger fish.
Regulators have described the fishes’ population as nearing historic lows because of dams, pollution, warming waters and other factors.
But years of effort to save them appear to be paying off.
Documents provided by the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission says counts of the fish in 2019 showed 2.7 million more fish than in 2015.
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