The silvery river herring, once prized by Native Americans for food and fertilizer, is so steeped in New England tradition that scores of places bear its name, from Herring Cove to Alewife Brook Parkway.
In the past two decades, however, herring runs have seen dramatic declines, more than 50 percent in many waterways. Some fishermen and environmentalists are pointing the finger at offshore industrial fishing boats.
Using a football-field-size net strung between two vessels, the New England boats chase a different species called sea herring, but inevitably scoop up some river herring that swim with the sea species.
Earthjustice, an environmental group, filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a group of commercial fishermen and one recreational fisherman earlier this month against two government agencies for failing to protect river herring and shad, another river fish that goes to sea, from the big boats.
Read the complete story from The Boston Globe.