13th Annual Herring Festival in Middleboro, MA

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13th Annual Herring Festival at Oliver Mills Park, Middleboro, MA. Article by Will Singer. 


This weekend was the 13th Annual Herring Run Festival at Oliver Mills Park in Middleboro, MA. For years, I’ve heard legends about this event for it brings the community together to have fun, eat and drink all the while listening to live music by local musicians. Everyone was here to witness a fascinating natural phenomena that happens every spring, river herring migrating from their ocean home to freshwater ponds and lakes in order to spawn.

 

River Herring refer to two different species of fish that are very similar in appearance and often difficult to tell apart: alewife and blueback herring. They are anadromous fish for each spring they migrate from their ocean. home to freshwater ponds and lakes to breed. This phenomenon typically begin in March, peaks in April, and ends in June. River herring travel miles upstream to reach the place where they were born. On this journey, they must navigate many obstacles, some natural while others man-made, like the Oliver Mills Dam.

The Oliver Mills dam is an historic site once used to harness the power of the Nemasket River for industrial purposes. The dam was built in 1734 and over time, was used to support various activities and businesses, including an iron works, grist mill, sawmill and a shovel factory. Today the dam is obsolete but like many dams, it continues to block the fish on their journey upstream.

At the festival you could see large groups of people gathered at tables listening to music or getting a bite to eat, but just as many were at the river watching the herring swim into the swift current. Their final destination is the Assawompset Pond Complex, a 10,000 acre protected area that is the primary drinking water source for thousands of people in the area. Once they reach the Assawonpset Pond Complete, they will spawn and then head back downstream to the sea.

At the festival, I helped man the NECWA tent with the other volunteers. I always enjoy talking to folks that stop by and answered questions about the marine artifacts on display and the research and rescue work that NECWA conducts in the New England area. Some people had already heard of our group's work, while unfamiliar faces asked how to get involved. All the while, I poured out fun facts on the different animals that NECWA rescues and studies, including ocean sunfish and torpedo rays.


NECWA received a lot of love from the community at the Herring Festival and we want to thank organizers Ann Cavanaugh and the Middleboro Tourism Committee for all their hard work hosting this festival each spring. I had an amazing time there myself and was glad I was able to volunteer for NECWA reached a large audience from young children to retired individuals. It's always refreshing to see people of all ages take an interest in the animals that often go unseen. As the saying goes "Run Herring Run" and they were that day!

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