After dam removals and fish passage improvements, endangered Atlantic salmon are returning to the Penobscot River in encouraging numbers.
019’s International Year of the Salmon proved to be a good year for biologists counting adult Atlantic salmon returns in Maine’s Penobscot River. After a one-day count of 107 salmon at the Milford Dam fish lift set a record on June 20, numbers have continued to rise. The latest count is more than 1,100—the highest since almost 3,000 returns were counted in 2011.
“That’s great news,” says NOAA Fisheries Atlantic Salmon Recovery Coordinator Dan Kircheis. Engaged in Atlantic salmon management for many years, Dan notes that high years can be followed by low years and building sustainable populations will take some time. “I’m cautiously optimistic about this year's returns.”
The Penobscot River hosts the largest run of Atlantic salmon left in the United States. Atlantic salmon used to return by the hundreds of thousands to most major rivers along the northeastern United States, down into Connecticut. Salmon were big business—both commercial and recreational fishermen sought these prized fish. They in turn supported the local bait shops, gear stores, and more. Tribes relied on watersheds and their natural abundance of sea-run fish, including Atlantic salmon, for physical and spiritual sustenance. The Penobscot River once saw 75,000 to 100,000 Atlantic salmon per year return to spawn.
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