Herring Return to Auke Bay: Significant spawn for first time in decades

By MARY CATHARINE MARTIN
JUNEAU EMPIRE

At the end of June, herring returned to Auke Bay to spawn in significant numbers for the first time in more than 20 years — and though the ultimate success of the eggs remains to be seen, it’s a promising sign for those working to increase herring’s abundance in Lynn Canal and Southeast Alaska.

Lynn Canal herring stocks have been depressed for decades. For the last seven years until recently, first Lynn Canal and then Southeast herring stocks were under consideration for listing as an endangered species, but neither population was deemed distinct enough for the listing.

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