Alewives

The alewife, an anadromous fish that lives in the ocean but travels up rivers each spring to spawn,  is a “keystone species”  that provides food for many animals, birds and larger fish species native to Maine’s marine and fresh waters.  Despite its recognized economic and environmental  importance, Maine’s alewife population has declined precipitously, in large part because dams block access to alewife spawning grounds.

A movement is afoot to restore alewives. For example, last summer the lower two dams on the Penobscot River were removed and a third dam was bypassed, opening 1000 miles of river to alewives and other anadromous fish like salmon. This year, the Passamaqouddy Nation, Conservation Law Foundation, other organizations and concerned citizens are working to reverse a 2008 law that bans alewives form 98% of their habitat on the St. Croix River.  There are two parts to this effort. First, a series of lawsuits filed by CLF seeking an order to open fishways on the river, and second proposed legislation to reverse a law that has blocked alewives from the St. Croix River.

Their restoration could mean millions of dollars of income throughout Washington County – the state’s poorest county. The Passamaquoddy Tribe, environmental advocates, scientists, government agencies that manage fish, and many people who make their living on the St. Croix now agree: there is no basis for limiting alewives’ access to the St. Croix, and no sense in limiting access for a fish that is so important biologically, sociologically and economically.

As on many of Maine’s rivers, alewives on the St. Croix River were once all but destroyed due to pollution and damming. However, in the early 1980’s, the population of alewives in the St. Croix River was restored, reaching more than 2.5 million a year due to cleaner water and effective fish passage at the river’s dams. However, in 1995 the Maine legislature passed a bill specifically designed to block alewife passage at the Woodland Dam and Grand Falls Dam on the St. Croix River, based on what turned out to be unsubstantiated claims that alewives were causing a decline in the non-native smallmouth bass population in the St. Croix watershed. In 2008, even after those claims were found to be without merit, the Maine legislature amended the law to allow alewives passage only at Woodland Dam, restoring only 2% of the natural habitat previously available to alewives – effectively preventing them from accessing 98% of their natural habitat in the St Croix above the Grand Falls Dam.

In June 2012, CLF filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The lawsuit resulted in a settlement and a finding by EPA that the state’s law barring alewives from the St. Croix River was a violation of the Clean Water Act. In July, the EPA issued a letter adopting the recommendations made in our lawsuit seeking to restore alewives to the St. Croix River. After the Maine Attorney General ignored EPA’s determination, CLF filed a second law suit against the State of Maine. This suit challenges the law that continues to prevent alewives from accessing their native habitat in the St. Croix River watershed. The issue is before the federal district court for decision.

“The State’s response to both sound science and the law has been to delay and to evade the issue,” said Sean Mahoney, VP & Director, CLF ME. “The State law clearly and intentionally frustrates the purpose of the Clean Water Act. It is our hope that this lawsuit will allow the operator of the Grand Falls Dam to open the existing and functioning fish ladder at the dam to allow alewives and other anadromous fish access to their native habitat. Further delay is unnecessary, unwise, and illegal.”

On the legislative front, in the spring of 2013 CLF joined many in a vigorous debate over competing versions of the laws designed to reopen fishways on the St. Croix. The State’s bill would only allow a limited number of fish into the river; the bill supported by CLF, the Passamaquoddys and many others would open access without restriction.

For regular updates on this issue, check CLF Scoop by clicking here.