River herring are a key species in the ecosystem because they tie our ocean, rivers and lakes together, providing vital nutrients and forage needed to make healthy watersheds. Seeqanamâhsak provide food for striped bass, bluefish, tuna, cod, haddock, halibut, American eel, brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, lake trout, landlocked salmon, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, pickerel, pike, white and yellow perch, seabirds, bald eagle, osprey, great blue heron, gulls, terns, cormorants, seals, whales, otter, mink, fox, raccoon, skunk, weasel, fisher, turtles, and humans.​  Their sense of smell/taste is so powerful that when they are ready to spawn, they find their way home to the exact freshwater pond where they were born after three years of maturing in the ocean. Every year.