Massachusetts Bay Smelt Spawning Habitat Monitoring Program - 1990 Summary Report for the North Coastal Basin
Chase BC. 1990. Massachusetts Bay Smelt Spawning Habitat Monitoring Program - 1990 Summary Report for the North Coastal Basin. STAP 90-102. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Sportfisheries Technical Assistance Program. Salem, MA
A field sampling program was initiated by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries in l-988 to monitor rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) populations in coastal Massachusetts. The primary objective of the program is to document temporal and spatial characteristics of spawning habitat use by smelt populations in coastal rivers systems along Massachusetts Bay. Massachusetts Bay smelt populations are considered to be at levels of abundance well below historical levels. This program will provide baseline data useful to resource management goals of protecting the sensitive spawning habitat from further degradation, and restoring the Commonwealth's rainbow smelt populations. Secondary objectives of this program include the characterization of river systems by the collection of baseline water chemistry, and the documentation of the occurrence of other diadromous species in the river systems. The purpose of this report is to briefly describe the results of three years of field sampling. Detailed data presentation will be made in subsequent reports on individual river systems.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Chase, Bradford
- Date of Issue
- 1990-11-06
- Publisher
- Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Sportfisheries Technical Assistance Program
- Units
- SAIR , SAMA
- Keywords
- Annisquam River, basin, coastal, Danvers River, Essex River, fish, Forest River, Manchester Bay, Massachusetts, north, Rockport, Saugus River, smelt, spawning, Walker Creek