Neponset River Watershed Association
Rainbow smelt eggs
Following a call from someone who'd witnessed dead fish along Gulliver Creek in Milton, we drove out to the Creek to have a look, on March 30, 2012. What we found were a few schools of Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), swimming upstream. What an awe-inspiring sight! At this time of year, these silvery fish swim from Neponset Estuary into less salty contributing creeks, to lay eggs at night. This occurs each spring, around this time. // Smelt populations have declined drastically over the years, due to water pollution and the construction of dams along their migration routes. Thus, the sight of hundreds of these migratory fish swimming up a Neponset stream is heartening! However, it appears that the smelt can't get past the point at which the stream has been enclosed in a tunnel under the road. If that culvert were modified and fish could get past, they could reach more habitat for spawning, upstream. The more smelt that successfully hatch from eggs, the better! // The dead fish along the edge of the brook may have been killed by raccoons searching out the female, egg-laden smelt, and letting go of the male fish, according to Brad Chase. PHOTO BY TOM PALMER. Learn more about the Neponset River Watershed and how you can help to protect it: www.neponset.org.
Rainbow smelt eggs
Following a call from someone who'd witnessed dead fish along Gulliver Creek in Milton, we drove out to the Creek to have a look, on March 30, 2012. What we found were a few schools of Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), swimming upstream. What an awe-inspiring sight! At this time of year, these silvery fish swim from Neponset Estuary into less salty contributing creeks, to lay eggs at night. This occurs each spring, around this time. // Smelt populations have declined drastically over the years, due to water pollution and the construction of dams along their migration routes. Thus, the sight of hundreds of these migratory fish swimming up a Neponset stream is heartening! However, it appears that the smelt can't get past the point at which the stream has been enclosed in a tunnel under the road. If that culvert were modified and fish could get past, they could reach more habitat for spawning, upstream. The more smelt that successfully hatch from eggs, the better! // The dead fish along the edge of the brook may have been killed by raccoons searching out the female, egg-laden smelt, and letting go of the male fish, according to Brad Chase. PHOTO BY TOM PALMER. Learn more about the Neponset River Watershed and how you can help to protect it: www.neponset.org.