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Kennebec River Watershed Anadromous Fish Restoration. Maine Department of Marine Resources 21 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0021. State of Maine Anadromous Fisheries Goals. State of Maine Statewide Fisheries Management Plan, June 1982
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Kennebec River Watershed Anadromous Fish Restoration Maine Department of Marine Resources 21 State House Station Augusta, Maine 04333-0021
State of Maine Anadromous Fisheries Goals State of Maine Statewide Fisheries Management Plan, June 1982 • To restore, maintain, and enhance anadromous fish resources for the benefit of the people of Maine • To provide increased employment through the expansion of commercial and recreational fisheries for anadromous fish resources.
Kennebec River Watershed Fisheries Restoration Goal Restore river herring, American shad, striped bass, rainbow smelt,Atlantic sturgeon, and shortnose sturgeon, to their historic range
Strategic and Operational Plan for the Restoration of Shad and Alewives • Goal: To restore the alewife and shad resources to their historical range in the Kennebec River system • Objective: To achieve and annual production of 6.0 million alewives above Augusta • Objective: To achieve an annual production of 725,000 shad above Augusta
Anadromous Life History 1 summer in FW egg 1 - 5 years FW juvenile SW 3-5 years in SW adult
Alewife life history • Adults migrate upriver from the ocean to spawn in lakes and ponds at ages 4-9 from mid-May to early June (repeat spawn) • Juveniles migrate downstream from lakes to ocean in August-Sept • Planktonic feeders primarily • Range from Newfoundland to North Carolina
Importance of Alewives • Important prey fish for coastal and inland fish species • Important prey source for bald eagles, osprey, king fishers, fur bearing mammals • Important source of bait for the spring lobster fishery
Osprey Bald eagle Greatblueheron Cormorant
Belted king fisher Herring gull Black backed gull Mallard
Common Merganser Hooded merganser Common loon Black duck
Raccoon River otter Weasel Mink
Harbor porpoise Humpback whale Harbor seal Finback whale
Atlantic halibut Atlantic cod Atlantic salmon Striped bass
Bluefish Haddock American eel Swordfish
Landlocked salmon Brook trout Chain pickerel White perch
Largemouth bass Yellow perch Redbreast sunfish Smallmouth bass
Causes of decline Lack of access to upstream spawning and nursery habitat and access downstream to the ocean due to dams Degraded habitat • Poor water quality • Soil erosion • Reduced riparian cover Overfishing
Restoration Actions • Trap, transfer and release returning adult alewives in lake spawning habitat • Improve upstream and downstream fish passage
Edwards dam spring 1999 Before After Edwards dam fall 1999
Fort Halifax dam Lower most dam on Sebasticook River 2008
Northern pike White catfish