"Striped bass predation in the Connecticut River is a significant source of mortality for adult blueback herring. River herring represent a significant portion of striped bass dietsin the Connecticut River during May – June, and striped bass congregate in locationswhere they are successful in capturing herring. The estimated seasonal consumption of river herring is substantial; it far exceeds the number of herring that are passed at theHolyoke fish lift, and is comparable to the number that passed in years before a sharpdecline in the early 1990’s"

Glad someone looked this aspect of the situation. The findings need to be at least tripled to take into account the other 2/3 s of the river below the study area. Thanks for putting this up Todd!
If the bass are indeed in a decline we should start to see a bit of resurgence in the forage numbers, but it will take some time. With the lack of bass in the river, the chances of man made over harvest for bait reasons is highly unlikely as there is really nothing to fish for in the river with them.
If you look at the tables the decline in river herring began just after the last striped bass moratorium was ended, that in itself should be seen suspicious.