By Tom Bell, State House Writer Maine Sunday Telegram news story INDIAN ISLAND – In 1835, when the new dam at Veazie was closed in the winter, blocking all fish passage, the Penobscot Indians protested that the dam would destroy the annual runs of salmon and other sea-run fish. Their complaints went unheeded, even when Read More
Atlantic salmon
My First Day of Duck Hunting – Ever!
It was seven years ago, and my first day of duck hunting didn’t go very well. It was a friend’s fault, I thought at the time, that I got into this mess. He first mentioned duck hunting to me on a warm summer evening fishing for stripers in Winslow. The striper fishing wasn’t very good, but Read More
Endangered Listing for Salmon Now Includes Kennebec
by Keith Edwards, staff writer Morning Sentinel news story AUGUSTA — Just more than two weeks before the 10-year anniversary of the removal of Edwards Dam, Atlantic salmon in the Kennebec River, as well as the Penobscot and Androscoggin rivers, were declared an endangered species by the federal government. While state officials decried the listing Read More
Success on Kennebec Bodes Well for Dam Removal on Penobscot
Feds give $6 million to help with Great Works project by Kevin Miller Bangor Daily News news story AUGUSTA, Maine — In the weeks leading up to the historic breaching of the Edwards Dam, there was little doubt that striped bass, sturgeon and salmon would eventually return to the Kennebec River north of Maine’s capital Read More
Ten Years After Dam Removal Kennebec River Fish are Jumping Back
by Susan Sharon Maine Public Radio news story For centuries, dams that harnessed water power fueled factories around the Northeast. But the walled barriers prevented migrating fish from reaching their native spawning grounds. Water quality and entire ecosystems changed. Think about a dam on a river you know. Imagine what would happen if that structure Read More
Endangered Species Protections Extended to Atlantic Salmon on Three Major Maine Rivers
by Anne Ravana Maine Public Radio news story The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service today extended endangered species protections to Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot, Kennebec, and Androscoggin rivers and their watersheds. The news has not been well received by some Maine officials. The state’s Department of Read More
Creature Feature: Atlantic Salmon
The Atlantic salmon is an anadromous fish, which means it spends the majority of its lifetime in the ocean, but returns to spawn in the same freshwater river or stream where it was born. In Maine, salmon begin returning to their home rivers between March and November, with a peak migration during June and July. Unlike their Pacific cousins, Atlantic salmon do not die after spawning, and can return year after year to reproduce.
200 Years of Troubled Waters for Atlantic Salmon
By Kevin Miller, staff writer Bangor Daily News news story Atlantic salmon did not disappear from New England rivers overnight. Rather, North American populations of this resilient fish beloved by anglers for its fight and by food aficionados for its flavor has suffered what some describe as “death by a thousand cuts” over the past Read More
Atlantic Salmon Fishing Returns to Maine
Portland Press Herald editorial It’s not a long season, there are plenty of restrictions and fishermen can’t keep their catch. But starting this morning, anglers will once more be angling for sea-run Atlantic salmon in Maine. The month-long, experimental season is limited to a short stretch of the Penobscot, the river that has the healthiest Read More