For centuries, until the removal of the Pawtuxet Falls dam in 2011, anadromous fish – those which spawn in fresh water and live in salt water, such as herring and shad – were effectively blocked from accessing their natural spawning habitats.

Herring and shad are key species to marine fisheries and freshwater ecosystems, providing food for bluefish, striped bass, largemouth bass, as well as herons, ospreys and bald eagles that are returning to the area. The Pawtuxet River empties into Narragansett Bay.

On April 29, the Department of Environmental Management and volunteers from the Adult Correctional Institution brought 1,000 herring to the Pawtuxet River during the morning hours. All the fish were caught in Connecticut.

“Beginning in spring of 2012, [DEM] began a multi-year stocking program on the lower Pawtuxet for both river herring and American shad to help re-establish these annual migratory fish runs from Narragansett Bay,” said Rita Holahan, treasurer of the Pawtuxet River Authority (PRA). “This fish stocking program is sponsored by DEM and U.S. Fish & Wildlife, with logistical support from the Pawtuxet River Authority and Watershed Council. 

The fish stocking access point is at the PRA’s Pontiac Canoe Launch.” The point person for site logistics for the stocking program was Mike Maddalena from the PRA board.

This program is in its fourth year and expected to continue for several more seasons.

“This will continue next year as long as we can get the fish,” said Alan Libby, principal fish biologist for the state and author of “Inland Fishes of Rhode Island.”

To date, 7,000 herring and more than five million shad fry have been delivered to the lower Pawtuxet River, and subsequent sample testing indicates spawning success with both juvenile river herring and shad species in the river prior to the out migration season.

A volunteer fish count monitoring program was initiated this year by DEM and PRA, with the expectation that they should begin to see adults returning to river in 2016, if not this year.