Help us with the River Herring Count!

The videos below were recorded at the Nequasset Dam fish ladder. The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust is currently assisting the Bath Water District in restoring the fish ladder and improving access to river herring spawning habitat. To properly monitor the population, sustainably manage the fishery, and fully restore the fish ladder (with NOAA backing) the Department of Marine Resources needs your help to count the number of fish going through the fish ladder! Either scroll down to start counting river herring in recorded videos or click the button below to sign up to count in person for the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust. 
I Want to Help with the In-Person Counting

Directions for Video Counting

Follow these directions step-by-step to help us monitor the number of river herring passing through the fish ladder this season! 
  1. Randomly select a 1-minute video to watch from the list below. Make note of the video number because you will need to provide it later when you tell us how many fish you saw.
  2. Watch the video and count how many fish you see pass through the fish ladder. Watch multiple times to ensure that your counting is accurate. Feel free to pause the video at any time to make sure that what you are seeing is actually a fish.
  3. Once you have finished watching, go to the bottom of this webpage to fill out the form. Indicate what video you watched (the video number), how many fish you saw swim through the passage, and if you saw anything interesting other than the fish.
  4. Feel free to watch another video or two after submitting your count information. Simply fill out the count survey and submit it for each video you watch. You may have to refresh the webpage to get a new survey form to show up after submitting your first video's count information.

Pick one of the videos below to start counting!

    Record how many fish you counted!

Thank you for helping us count! We cannot properly manage the river herring without the help of reliable volunteers like you!!! Check out our blog to keep track of how the count is going this season. 
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