Counting fish is simple! 

But there are a few things we'd like you to keep in mind...

1. Only count fish that swim all the way upstream

• Fish migrating upstream will be swimming from left to right in the video. Only count the ones that swim entirely out of view (across the right edge of the video), including any you might see at the start of the video. Do not count fish that only swim part of the way across before the video ends.

2. Ignore any fish that swim back downstream

• After spawning, the fish will start swimming back downstream towards the ocean (from right to left in the video). Simply ignore these fish, and do not subtract them from your count.

3. If you don't see any fish, submit a count of zero

• Sometimes the camera will record a video even when there are no fish. Sticks, leaves, other aquatic species, and even changes in light can trigger the camera to start recording. If this happens, you should still submit a count of zero. That's useful data!

4. If there are too many fish, then pause, slow down, or go full screen

• Sometimes there are too many fish to count. But you can pause, slow down, or open the video in full screen using the controls along the bottom. If there are still too many to count, then make your best guess and just leave a comment saying that you are unsure.

5. You don’t need to differentiate different species of river herring

• We have two species of river herring: alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis). They look nearly identical externally, but the way the research is structured, there’s no need to differentiate between the two! If you see other fish pass by and can tell it’s not a herring, don’t count it- sometimes a rogue trout or panfish will swim by, but they look pretty different from river herring, so just ignore it.