lowwall
11-21-2008, 12:07 PM
Final count of salmon at Veazie best since 1992
11/18/2008
Bangor Daily News
by John Holyoke
For the past several months, avid anglers and conservationists have been paying close attention to the Penobscot River, where adult Atlantic salmon returned in numbers not seen in years.
After early Mays freshet finally flowed into the ocean, the fish trap at the Veazie Dam was activated. Staffers from the Maine Department of Marine Resources Bureau of Sea-Run Fisheries and Habitat began monitoring the trap, taking several hundred salmon to Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery in Orland and moving others upriver.
Along the banks of the Penobscot (and via the Internet in living rooms and offices across the state) folks counted along as the trap total rose and rose and rose.
Today, Im happy to be able to report the final tally. Oliver Cox of the DMRs Bureau of Sea-Run Fisheries and Habitat checked in late last week with his final report of the year.
This year's run was remarkable for all the right reasons, Cox reported. On Oct. 31, when the trap was pulled, we had 2,115 salmon at Veazie. This year's run was bigger than any year since 1992.
In addition, Cox pointed out, this years run was double the 10-year average return.
As you likely know, federal agencies are currently working on a proposal to include the Gulf of Maine Atlantic salmon population under Endangered Species Act protection.
And while Cox didnt comment on that process, he did allow himself to express a bit of well-deserved optimism after a banner year.
As we debate the expansion of the Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment let's hope this year represents good things to come, Cox wrote.
I dont think any of us would disagree with that sentiment.
Speaking of Salmon
Speaking of salmon, here in the Penobscot Valley we're lucky to live near a legendary U.S. salmon river.
And because of that, I will often dispense tidbits from the Atlantic salmon world that you might find interesting even though the information originates hundreds of miles away.
Thats the case today, as I pass along word that the Atlantic Salmon Federation has presented its top award, the Lee Wulff Conservation Award, to Nathaniel Reed of Hobe Sound, Fla.
According to an ASF press release, the award recognizes Reeds outstanding international work, especially in protecting wild salmon on their feeding grounds off West Greenland.
In the interest of full disclosure, I ought to tell you that the U.S. chairman of the ASF is BDN publisher Rick Warren.
Warren cited Reed for his years of service as a salmon conservationist, and said Reed was among the first to recognize that commercial fishing for wild Atlantic salmon was devastating the runs on North American Rivers.
His interest and concern were very influential in getting increasingly strict controls on this fishery, Warren said in the release. Today ASF has an agreement with the Greenland fishermen that suspends their commercial fishery until 2013. Since joining the Board, Nat has been very involved in the effort to improve the science upon which ASFs restoration efforts in Maine and throughout eastern Canada are based.
Reed neither lives in Maine nor works here, but the work he and those who share his goals should be applauded by all who support Atlantic salmon conservation.
bangornews.com/detail/93497.html (http://bangornews.com/detail/93497.html)
11/18/2008
Bangor Daily News
by John Holyoke
For the past several months, avid anglers and conservationists have been paying close attention to the Penobscot River, where adult Atlantic salmon returned in numbers not seen in years.
After early Mays freshet finally flowed into the ocean, the fish trap at the Veazie Dam was activated. Staffers from the Maine Department of Marine Resources Bureau of Sea-Run Fisheries and Habitat began monitoring the trap, taking several hundred salmon to Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery in Orland and moving others upriver.
Along the banks of the Penobscot (and via the Internet in living rooms and offices across the state) folks counted along as the trap total rose and rose and rose.
Today, Im happy to be able to report the final tally. Oliver Cox of the DMRs Bureau of Sea-Run Fisheries and Habitat checked in late last week with his final report of the year.
This year's run was remarkable for all the right reasons, Cox reported. On Oct. 31, when the trap was pulled, we had 2,115 salmon at Veazie. This year's run was bigger than any year since 1992.
In addition, Cox pointed out, this years run was double the 10-year average return.
As you likely know, federal agencies are currently working on a proposal to include the Gulf of Maine Atlantic salmon population under Endangered Species Act protection.
And while Cox didnt comment on that process, he did allow himself to express a bit of well-deserved optimism after a banner year.
As we debate the expansion of the Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment let's hope this year represents good things to come, Cox wrote.
I dont think any of us would disagree with that sentiment.
Speaking of Salmon
Speaking of salmon, here in the Penobscot Valley we're lucky to live near a legendary U.S. salmon river.
And because of that, I will often dispense tidbits from the Atlantic salmon world that you might find interesting even though the information originates hundreds of miles away.
Thats the case today, as I pass along word that the Atlantic Salmon Federation has presented its top award, the Lee Wulff Conservation Award, to Nathaniel Reed of Hobe Sound, Fla.
According to an ASF press release, the award recognizes Reeds outstanding international work, especially in protecting wild salmon on their feeding grounds off West Greenland.
In the interest of full disclosure, I ought to tell you that the U.S. chairman of the ASF is BDN publisher Rick Warren.
Warren cited Reed for his years of service as a salmon conservationist, and said Reed was among the first to recognize that commercial fishing for wild Atlantic salmon was devastating the runs on North American Rivers.
His interest and concern were very influential in getting increasingly strict controls on this fishery, Warren said in the release. Today ASF has an agreement with the Greenland fishermen that suspends their commercial fishery until 2013. Since joining the Board, Nat has been very involved in the effort to improve the science upon which ASFs restoration efforts in Maine and throughout eastern Canada are based.
Reed neither lives in Maine nor works here, but the work he and those who share his goals should be applauded by all who support Atlantic salmon conservation.
bangornews.com/detail/93497.html (http://bangornews.com/detail/93497.html)