As the numbers show here, the counts so far have been our lowest since we started 5 years ago, and low by a very big number.
Through the 11th day of the run, we've counted just 39 fish. That's 96% below the average for the first 11 days of the prior 5 years. And this year should have included many returning young from 2008 - the best year we had since we started counting in 2006.
We've checked the other side of Route 28 [opposite Mill Pond] to see if getting past there was an issue: there were no fish in the pool just before Route 28. Three weeks ago, the Natural Resources Division had checked the entire river, from Route 28 down to Prince Cove, looking for obstructions [there were none] and they are checking again now as I write.
Five days ago, I personally visited the runs in Mashpee, Sandwich, Bournedale and Plymouth, spending 15-20 minutes at each location and saw a grand total of 5-6 fish. But I hear that some runs are having very good numbers, like Weymouth. The difficulty I have writing this blog is there isn't an easy way to find out what's happening at other runs on a timely basis - so I can't effectively compare what we're experiencing.
Real-Time Posting Of Numbers [as if we really needed this...]
I've been making a number of enhancements to the spreadsheets that we use in counting to save time and improve accuracy. Instead of me reviewing each counter's spreadsheet and posting those numbers into a summary sheet, now when a counter posts a count, it is reflected here immediately. Below, we have a counter using her iPad at Mill Pond to post a count [yes, another zero].
River Day 2011
River Day is Sunday, May 1 at Burgess Park on Route 149, and the Program can be seen here. All of the 2011 counters are invited to a FREE lunch - the least we can do for counting all those zeros. See me under the tent for a coupon. I'll also be doing a talk on anadromous fish at Mill Pond at 11:00 and you can catch a bus from Burgess Park [I'll bring a box of Kleenex].
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