Welcome to PB you CT guys. I suggest you contact Bob. Also contact Doc. Mark Cornwell at CORNWEMD@Cobleskill.edu as I think he can tell you about alewives in NE lakes and the problems. They are a member of the herring family and are high in nutrient value (high in fish oil and lipids). This should help

Adverse Effects of Alewives on Laurentian Great Lakes Fish Communities

Charles P. Madenjian*
U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, 1451 Green Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105, USA

Robert O'Gorman
U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Lake Ontario Biological Station, 17 Lake Street, Oswego, New York 13126, USA

David B. Bunnell, Ray L. Argyle, Edward F. Roseman, and David M. Warner
U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, 1451 Green Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105, USA

Jason D. Stockwell
U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Lake Superior Biological Station, 2800 Lakeshore Drive East, Ashland, Wisconsin 54806, USA

Martin A. Stapanian
U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Lake Erie Biological Station, 6100 Columbus Avenue, Sandusky, Ohio 44870, USA

Abstract

The alewife Alosa pseudoharengus, an invader to the Laurentian Great Lakes from the Atlantic Ocean, has been blamed for causing major disruptions of Great Lakes fish communities during the past 50 years. We reviewed the literature and examined long-term data on fish abundances in the Great Lakes to develop a new synthesis on the negative effects of alewives on Great Lakes fish communities. The results indicated that certain fish populations are substantially more vulnerable to the effects of alewives than others. More specifically, the effects of alewives on other fish populations appeared to follow a continuum—from such fishes as slimy sculpin Cottus cognatus, lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis, and bloater Coregonus hoyi, which were relatively unsusceptible—to Atlantic salmon Salmo salar, lake trout Salvelinus namaycush, and emerald shiner Notropis atherinoides, which were highly susceptible. Intermediate species in this continuum included yellow perch Perca flavescens, deepwater sculpin Myoxocephalus thompsonii, and burbot Lota lota. The predominant mechanism by which alewives exerted their negative effect appeared to be predation on the larvae of other fishes. The key factor in the extirpation of Atlantic salmon from Lake Ontario, however, was probably early mortality syndrome induced by a diet rich in alewives. We conclude that the degree of restoration of the native Great Lakes fish community depends in part on the degree of control of the alewife population.