September 20, 2014 — Early in September, Gerritt found schools of 15 to 50 little menhaden, and then one morning, he arrived downtown at 8:15 a.m. just past high tide to find “the entire width” of the lower Moshassuck filled with small fish.
In September, not all drama on Smith Street in Providence takes place at the Rhode Island State House.
During late summer and early fall, a fish, called menhaden, moves into tidal waters downtown, and is most easily seen in the shallow Moshassuck River, between Steeple and Smith streets, before streaming back to sea.
Oily-fleshed and laterally compressed, menhaden are nutritionally rich, silvery-blue relatives of herring. They feed on plankton and are fed upon by other fish, and by birds, mammals, and sea turtles.
The skin of menhaden, I’m told, feels like a blend of grease and slime.
Greg Gerritt, founder of the Friends of the Moshassuck and author of the Prosperity for RI blog, lets folks know when the menhaden arrive.
Usually Gerritt sees schools of three-inch-long fish. Some years, the menhaden do not appear, while foot-long adults show up in other years.
Early in September, Gerritt found schools of 15 to 50 little menhaden, and then one morning, he arrived downtown at 8:15 a.m. just past high tide to find “the entire width” of the lower Moshassuck filled with small fish.
Read the full opinion piece at the Providence Journal