Herring Run * Weymouth *
Jackson Square Dam and Fishway - Back
River-WeymouthLocated in Weymouth’s historic district (Jackson
Square), the herring run has played an important role in
the city’s history as the herring was both a prized and
protected resource. The new fishway is a weir-pool design
built in the 1990’s by MarineFisheries.
The run begins atWhitman’s Pond, and flows through and under the Iron
Hill area, passing under Commercial Square. It flows
past the town incinerator, into Back River and out to sea.
Location: Intersection of High Street, Water Street and Pleasant
Street, East Weymouth, MA
Two species of fish in coastal
Massachusetts are collectively referred to as “river herring.” They are the
alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and the blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis).
They are very similar in appearance and both species are anadromous, meaning
they are born in freshwater, spend the majority of their lives in the ocean,
and return to freshwater to spawn. Mature river herring undertake an upriver
spawning migration in the spring. In Massachusetts waters, alewives spawn in
late March to mid-May when water temperature reaches about 51ºF. Blueback
herring spawn later in the spring (late April through June), when water
temperature reaches about 57ºF.
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Check out this video
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Jackson Square Dam and Fishway is located in Weymouth’s
Jackson Square, the herring run has played an important role in Weymouth’s
history as the herring was both a prized and protected resource. The herring
run centers around a so-called “fish ladder” – a series of steps where the
river pools to make it easier for the fish to swim upstream – built by the
state in the 1940s. The run begins at Whitman’s Pond, and flows through and
under the Iron Hill area, passing under Commercial Square. It flows past the
town incinerator, into Back River and out to sea.
A pair of murals by local artists
depicting the run’s prominent place in Weymouth history now hang from what used
to be the bare back wall of The Venetian Restaurant. Two kiosks at the park
provide information on the different species that swim in the river and some
important dates in the run’s history.
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