Maine Fishing News and Conservation Efforts

GM salmon can breed with wild fish and pass on genes

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 08:35:00 +0000

By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC World Service

Scientists from Canada have found that transgenic Atlantic salmon can cross-breed with a closely related species - the brown trout.
The fish, which have been engineered with extra genes to make them grow more quickly, pass on this trait to the hybrid offspring.
The research is published the Proceedings of the Royal Society B..
However, the biotech company AquaBounty, which created the salmon, said any risks were negligible as the fish they were producing were all female, sterile and would be kept in tanks on land.
The transgenic salmon are currently being assessed by the US authorities, and could be the first GM animals to be approved for human consumption.
for the whole story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22694239

Restoring Spawning Habitat for Maine�s Sea-Run Fish

Thu, 09 May 2013 08:51:00 +0000

The Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) announced it has now restored access to 15,000 acres of ponds and lakes and 300 miles of river for Maine’s native sea-run fish.

Brunswick, ME (PRWEB) April 25, 2013
The Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) announced it has now restored access to 15,000 acres of ponds and lakes and 300 miles of river for Maine’s native sea-run fish. These achievements are part of ASF’s Maine Headwaters Project that is focused on restoring critical spawning habitat to sea-run fish in tributaries identified as high priorities in State of Maine fisheries restoration plans. While the target species are Atlantic salmon and alewives, these restoration projects provide a broad range of benefits for all fish and wildlife along the river corridor.
Over the past decade, ASF has completed 13 projects that include six dam removals, five constructed fish ladders, and two road culvert replacements on tributaries in the Penobscot, Androscoggin, Pleasant and East Machias rivers. Working with its Maine Council, ASF is aggressively pursuing getting fish past these obstacles – one blockage at a time. “Our work is cut out for us,” said Andrew Goode, VP of ASF’s U.S. Programs. “There are close to 2,000 dams across our State, over 90% of which are located in tributary streams where most of the high quality spawning and rearing habitat for migratory fish is found.”
To read the whole story......http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/4/prweb10672476.htm

Maine Audubon seeks northern Maine anglers

Tue, 07 May 2013 09:08:00 +0000

AROOSTOOK COUNTY, Maine - Maine Audubon, Trout Unlimited and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) are seeking volunteer anglers to survey remote ponds in western and northern Maine for brook trout this coming fishing season. Survey information collected by anglers will be used by the nonprofit organizations and IFW to help identify populations of brook trout to be eligible for conservation management practices.

This is the third year of the Brook Trout Pond Survey project. Maine is home to 97 percent of the intact wild brook trout lake and pond habitat in the eastern United States, according to a press release from Maine Audubon. Brook trout require clean, cold water and pristine habitat to survive; therefore, the population health of brook trout is considered a key indicator of a healthy ecosystem that also indicates the health of other species, including moose, deer, otters, kingfishers, herons and osprey.

Invasive fish threats in the St. John and Fish River watersheds � what�s next?

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:25:00 +0000

By Jeremiah Wood, Fisheries Biologist, Fish River Lakes Region
for more Maine IF&W news: http://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing/reports/FisheriesGroupActivities.htm

For more than a century the Fish River drainage in northern Maine has been prized for its world class coldwater sport fishery, but with the establishment and expansion of invasive fish species, the future of trout and salmon fishing here is in jeopardy. Muskellunge and smallmouth bass have found a new home in the nearby St. John River, causing its once-popular brook trout fishery to all but vanish. Near the St. John, the lower Fish River has been invaded by these fish, but their upstream movement into the Fish River chain of lakes has been held at bay by the lower Fish River Falls. Upstream from these falls, the traditional coldwater sport fisheries of the Fish River drainage remain some of the best in the state. The expansion of muskellunge and bass upstream of the Fish River Falls would change the area’s fisheries forever. Understanding and dealing with the expansion of invasive fish has become one of the Department’s greatest challenges in recent years, and this particular problem has no easy solution.

The 70 mile long Fish River finds its origins in the North Maine Woods west of the town of Portage in Aroostook County, flows southeast to Portage and then north through a scenic, forested valley to its confluence with the St. John River in the town of Fort Kent. The Fish is unique in that its watershed is dotted with large lakes connected by thoroughfares, most of which provide phenomenal coldwater fishing. The most popular lakes in the drainage include Fish River Lake, Portage Lake, St. Froid Lake, Eagle Lake, Long Lake, Cross Lake, and Square Lake. Historically, these were home to native populations of brook trout, togue and whitefish. The expansion of railroads and visiting anglers into the area spurred the introduction of landlocked salmon and rainbow smelt into the Fish River Chain around 1894. These fish became instantly popular and along with brook trout and togue, have been the staple of an economically and culturally important fishery for over 100 years.

Muskellunge have been in Maine longer than most people think. They were introduced in 1970 by the Quebec government into Lac Frontier, a headwater lake in the St. John River drainage. The fish quickly made their way into the headwaters of the St. John in Maine, reportedly caught by anglers beginning in 1973. The fish populated the river and became more widespread in the following decades, being caught as far as 400 miles from the source of introduction as early as 1988. More recently, muskies have become very abundant throughout the entire length of the St. John River, the St. Francis River (including Beau and Glazier Lakes), the Allagash River below Allagash Falls, and the Fish River below Fish River Falls.

Smallmouth bass have been a more recent introduction to the St. John. An unauthorized 1990’s stocking of bass in a private pond near the St. John in New Brunswick is probably the source. Bass have spread rapidly throughout the drainage, and are even present in the Fish River up to the base of the Fish River Falls.

Since the establishment of muskies and bass, limited biological sampling data and angler reports have indicated a drastic decline in the wild and native brook trout populations of the St. John River drainage. Muskies are voracious predators on fish of all sizes, and bass compete with and prey upon younger age classes of trout. Large trout once commonly caught throughout the main river are now extremely rare, leaving the brook trout population supported by outmigration from small coldwater tributaries. This spells potential disaster for trout and salmon in the Fish River drainage if these invasive species make it above the falls.

The Fish River Falls is located approximately 5 miles upriver from the town of Fort Kent. Though considered the linchpin holding the trout and salmon fisheries of the Fish River drainage intact, its effectiveness at stopping muskies and bass is questionable. An Army Corps of Engineers study in 2002 determined that the falls are not a complete barrier to the upstream movement of these fish, and that steps need to be taken to make the falls an effective barrier. More than ten years later, the funding and support necessary to achieve this have not materialized. To date, muskies and bass have not been confirmed in the Fish River above the falls, though many believe their colonization of the Fish River drainage is inevitable.
The presence of muskellunge and bass in northern Maine waters poses a huge challenge to the Department’s Fishery Division. The expansion of their populations and impacts to native fish must be documented and monitored with very limited resources. Stopping the spread of these species into new waters is a daunting task. Additionally, these fish are becoming very popular among a dedicated following of northern Maine anglers and visitors. Support from the public to manage these species is growing rapidly, and must be weighed with the impacts management might have on native fish. Like it or not, invasive species are changing the fisheries landscape of northern Maine and beyond, forcing us to take a closer look at how our overall management must adapt to preserve native fish while providing quality angling opportunities long into the future.

Piscataquis anglers cautioned to be on lookout for stocked Atlantic salmon smolts

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:35:00 +0000

by John Holoyoke
Each year anglers flock to the Piscataquis River to take advantage of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s ambitious fish-stocking efforts near Guilford and Dover-Foxcroft.
Anglers should be aware, however, that the DIF&W is not the only agency stocking fishing fish in the Piscataquis: The Maine Department of Marine Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are teaming up this year to again stock Atlantic salmon smolts in East Dover.
When I caught wind of a similar salmon-stocking effort a year ago, I learned that some anglers were apparently confused, and thought that they were catching (and keeping) the stocked brook trout that they’d become accustomed to catching in the river each spring.
They weren’t.
read the whole article: http://outthere.bangordailynews.com/2013/04/09/fishing/piscataquis-anglers-cautioned-to-be-on-lookout-for-stocked-atlantic-salmon-smolts/

World's first land-based-farm sockeye salmon ready for harvest in B.C.

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 08:53:00 +0000

B.C. seafood firm Willowfield Enterprises will begin harvesting next week the world’s first commercial supply of sockeye salmon raised on a land-based farm.
The Langley fish farm expects to produce up to 500 kilograms of sockeye a week under the West Creek brand for wholesaler Albion Fisheries, according to company president Don Read. It will be sold at Choices Markets.
Initially, the harvest will be considerably smaller. Sockeye take about three years to achieve a harvest weight of two to three kilograms. Fish coming to market next week are between 1.1 and 1.5 kilograms.
“We have plans to double our capacity, but we want to take time to grow the market,” said Read, who is taking a conservative approach to growing his business. “We have been farming trout for 20 years, but we have only been profitable for three years.”
West Creek sockeye will carry the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise sustainability certification.
“Getting Ocean Wise certification (for West Creek trout) brought a lot of awareness and really helped our business,” Read said. “It allowed us to raise our prices 20 per cent.”

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/World+first+land+based+farm+sockeye+salmon+ready+harvest/8161539/story.html#ixzz2OuvTuBis

Restore Alewives to the St. Croix River!!!

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:15:00 +0000

Here is an email I recieved:

Restore Alewives to the St. Croix River!!!

On Monday, March 25^th at 9 AM the Marine Resources Committee of the Maine Legislature will hold a public hearing on several bills that will allow alewives back into the St. Croix River watershed above the Grand Falls Dam.

ASF is supporting LD 72: An Act to Open the St. Croix to River Herring. This bill is sponsored by Rep. Madonna Soctomah of the Passamaquoddy Tribe. This bill will simply remove the blockages in the fishway at the Grand Falls Dam and allow the alewife population access to the Grand Falls flowage and adjacent interconnected water bodies. This bill will reverse the misguided, unilateral actions of the Maine Legislature back in 1995 that banned alewives from 99% of their spawning habitat in the St. Croix, causing the population to crash from more than 2.5 million fish down to a few thousand within a decade.

ASF is opposed to a plan from the LePage administration that calls for implementing the draft Adaptive Management Plan put together back in the 2010 by the International Joint Commission. This plan was never finalized and was widely criticized during the public comment period. This plan holds alewife restoration hostage to fluctuations in the non-native smallmouth bass population and ignores all of the science that shows that alewives pose no threat to bass or other species.

NOAA Fisheries, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada are opposed to Adaptive Management Plan and its approach, as are Maine and New Brunswick Indian tribes/First Nations and the environmental and conservation communities on both sides of the border.

We strongly encourage you to contact your state legislators and ask them to support LD 72 and NOT the plan put forth by the LePage Administration in LD 584: An Act to Provide for Passage of River Herring on the St. Croix River in Accordance with an Adaptive Management Plan. LD 584 has a misleading title and is simply a bill to severely limit the number of alewives in the St. Croix, depriving the river, estuary and Passamaquoddy Bay the myriad benefits of a rejuvenated alewife run.

To find out how to contact your legislators you can use this Website:http://www.maine.gov/legis/house/townlist.htm

Salmon in the Classroom Project Concludes at Boise-Eliot/Humboldt Elementary School

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 08:39:00 +0000

In the culmination of their three-month long participation in “Salmon in the Classroom,” nearly 100 fourth- and fifth-grade students took a 70-mile field trip Wednesday into the Columbia River Gorge to release a tankful of Chinook salmon fry in Washington’s Drano Lake.

Developed in coordination with Portland Public Schools, the Portland Black Parent Initiative, The Urban League, The Oregon Youth Development Council, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Salmon in the Classroom project uses salmon-themed natural resource lessons to educate elementary school students.

Beginning with an aquarium and salmon eggs placed in the classroom, Salmon in the Classroom enables students to learn through day-to-day observation in conjunction with units on Pacific Northwest ecology, salmon habitat and behavior, and fish anatomy.

Using curriculum developed by the Columbia River Gorge National Fish Hatchery Complex Information and Education Program, Salmon in the Classroom has been taught for decades in dozens of communities in the Columbia Gorge. The lessons at Boise-Eliot/Humboldt mark the first time the Service has taught Salmon in the Classroom in a Portland public school.

For the whole story: http://www.fws.gov/pacific/news/news.cfm?id=2144375205

Warden�s legacy one of hope, determination

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 12:21:00 +0000

Back in April, and again in May, then once again in June, I chatted with Maj. Gregory Sanborn about the challenges he faced.

Sanborn, the deputy chief of the Maine Warden Service, didn�t talk about budget constraints. He wasn�t worried about public reaction to the reality TV show � �North Woods Law� � that focused on the men he helped lead. He didn�t talk about moose or deer or bear or poachers.

He talked about life. About trying as hard as he could to hang onto his own. About realizing, when you decide to have your last will and testament prepared, at the age of 47, the challenges ahead are a bit more serious than the ones you regularly face.

Gregg Sanborn had cancer: cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

His only chance, he said back then, over three conversations and three months, was a longshot: He had to put his faith in others. He had to hope that a stem-cell donor was found. And he had to pray that after his own immune system was systematically, intentionally destroyed by chemotherapy, those donor stem cells would slowly rebuild him, and allow him to live.

Read the whole story: http://outthere.bangordailynews.com/2013/02/06/hunting/wardens-legacy-one-of-hope-determination/

Effort to introduce Atlantic salmon roe to Sheepscot River in Palermo uses innovative technique

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 10:49:00 +0000

http://www.kjonline....2013-01-19.html

By Paul Koenig

Staff Writer

PALERMO -- State biologists working in shallow river tributaries reachable by dirt roads and snowmobile trails are on the front line of the battle against extinction of the Atlantic salmon.

They visit the waterways in January and February, sometimes dragging their equipment on a plastic sled more than a mile to the sites, to mimic wild salmon spawning. They're planting thousands of eggs in the gravel of riverbeds, an effort mostly funded through a federal grant.

Near a site along the Sheepscot River on Tuesday, Maine Department of Marine Resources biologist Paul Christman prepared the salmon eggs, carefully lifting the tiny, pinkish-orange orbs wrapped in damp cheesecloth and placing them into a wide-mouthed beverage cooler.

The eggs, fertilized last fall at Green Lake National Fish Hatchery in Ellsworth, have developed small black specks for eyes and are no larger than the tip of a child's pinkie finger. They're stronger than recently fertilized eggs, Christman said.

While Christman fetched the eggs, Jason Overlock and Jason Bartlett, two other biologists for the department, worked in icy, foot-deep water to prepare the nests.

They pressed a long metal funnel into the ground with a cross-shaped pipe connected to a water pump, mounted on a backpack frame, with plastic tubing.

Overlock swung the standing pipe back and forth, digging the metal funnel into the ground, as the blue tubing behind him followed the movement. The gas-powered pump blasted water into the ground through the pipe, allowing the funnel to be pushed into the riverbed and create a hole for the eggs. After reaching the desired depth in the ground, Overlock lifted the pipe out of the funnel, which was now stuck in the gravel.

Christman scooped a cupful of about 500 eggs and lowered his arm into the cone to release the eggs.

Read the whole story here...........

http://www.kjonline.com/news/egg-by-egg-mainers-bringing-back-atlantic-salmon_2013-01-19.html