Ipswich River Herring
Where's Alex (#60)?
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The alewife Alex is named after Dr. Alex Haro of the Conte Anadromous Fish Laboratory and adjunct professor at the Department of Natural Resouces Conservation, UMass. Alex has provided much guidance on the design of this study, as well as insight on anadromous fish behavior. The river herring Alex was collected from the Nemasket River on April 30, and was last seen on May 11 by our furthest downstream stationary receiver at Site 1. Alex remained in the river following that, and was located by manual tracking in the area of the Ipswich Town Wharf on May 16.
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Updated 7/9/07
April 30, 12:45  pm: Alex is netted from his natal river in Middleborough, tagged, and placed in the stocking truck for transport upstate. At 12:45, Alex is introduced into the Ipswich River.
May 1, 3:08 am: Alex has been in the Ipswich River over twelve hours before we finally locate him. He has made it to Site 8, in the Audubon Sanctuary, in the early hours of the morning. He is picked up by this receiver for about an hour and a half before continuing downstream.
May 1, 6:58 am: Alex winds his way through the wetlands of the Audubon Sanctuary, reaching Site 7 just before 7:00 am. He stays over ten minutes in the range of this receiver.
May 1, 11:40 pm: Just before noon, Alex reaches the Willowdale Dam (Site 6) and is recorded by the upstream antenna there. He stays in the impoundment at the Dam for several hours, passing downstream and out of range of the receiver just before 11:00 pm that night.
May 1, 11:12 pm: Just minutes after swimming over the Willowdale Dam, Alex is at the Site 5 receiver. The river here is narrow and deep, and Alex passes through quickly.
May 2, 12:00 am: The clock strikes midnight as Alex approaches the receiver at Site 4. Swimming though the fast flowing water, Alex continues his way downstream.
May 2, 12:49 am: The high water has made it possible to swim out of range of the receiver at Site 3. Alex is heard at Site 2, the Ipswich Mills Dam, by the downstream receiver. After passing over the dam he continues on his way downstream.
May 2, 1:38 am: Alex is picked up by the receiver at Site 1, our furthest downstream receiver. We don't hear from Alex again for over a week.
May 11, 6:11 am: Alex makes a brief return to Site 1, leaving by 7:44am. Where was he when he was out of range? What made him return?
May 15, 5:36 pm: Alex isn't picked up by our stationary receivers again, but we do hear him with our manual antenna. His signal is strongest at the area around the Ipswich Town Wharf, and we pick up signals from fish of each release treatment here. As the sun sets, we see splashing at the surface where we believe the fish are gathered.
May 16, 11:48 am: Alex is again heard using our manual antenna, and we find him just downstream of the Green Street Bridge. He seems to be in the same aggregation as the previous night, as we hear signals from many of the fish heard on May 15. This is our last time hearing from Alex.