Moirs Environmental Dialogues

Matt McKenzie, Ph.D.,UCONN & Patrick Paquette, striped bass fishing community organizer say where have all the herring gone, how Cape Cod has changed. McKenzie tells the social and ecological history of the rise and demise coastal fisheries in the 19th century. His book: Clearing the Coastline, includes Thoreau’s thoughts on Cape Cod fisheries and how these changed after his death.Matt also tells of helping out a family’s herring weirs on Cape Cod and of a fisherman well known to Paquette.Patrick explains early efforts to save herring through the CHOIR collaboration“where different voices needed to learn to sing in harmony.”He also noted a striped bass food shortage along the East Coast caused by industrial-scale fishing of coastal herring, mackerel and menhaden. NMFS and the New England Fishery Mgmt Council failed to take measures to stem the decline of sea herring, river herring, and shad populations. Visit Ocean River Institute for how you can help w ORI’s lawsuit to save herring.