Things are grinding to a halt...

The counts for the last few days have been mostly zeros, so we'll be terminating the counting program on May 23 instead of June 2 as originally planned.

I know I said that I'd post a graph comparing 2007 and 2006, but other tasks, like getting ready for River Day, took priority.

About 60 people entered the Herring Counting Contest today at River Day and the winner will receive a prize of $250. I'll post a list of the guesses in a few days.

I'll also post complete counting results when we have them back from the Division Of Marine Fisheries, which should be in a couple of weeks.

This 2007 counting program was a tremendous success and the online posting of counts save yours truly a tremendous amount of work. So, thanks again to all who participated!

Volume still strong

The counts are yielding relatively strong and steady numbers, with things still quiet in the morning and most activity in the late afternoon.

The second week of the run [April 29 - May 5] was stronger then the first week in total numbers counted.

This has been a noticeable change from 2006 where the second week faded away to almost nothing.

I'll post a chart in a day or so comparing this year to last.

Encouraging numbers, trends...

Compared to 2006, the herring migration [to date] has been different in several ways.

I say to date, however, because you really can't make an accurate assessment until it's all done, but these points are clear:

1. The quantity is greater than last year: in 2006 the highest single 10 minute count was 60 herring [or 360/hour] and so far this year we've had a high count of 109 [or 654/hour].
2. Many other counts are higher although not as strong as that peak number.
   
3. The trend by day this year is quite different then 2006, when there was a noticeable drop-off after the first week. Except for a few relatively lighter days, this year it's been pretty steady from the beginning.
4. The mornings have been very light, with most of the herring passing in mid to late afternoon, from 2:00 to 6:00 pm.
   

We have only last year to compare to, so it's hard interpret these trends and to make any meaningful predictions, except that in general terms, things look somewhat improved over 2006.

The whole program has been running quite smoothly and our counters have been doing a great job!!

Having them post their counts directly to their online spreadsheets saves a lot of work all around and allows us to post these timely observations.