Thousands of dams, large and small, built over the last 250 years have cut fish off from freshwater spawning grounds, thwarting reproductive cycles that had been ongoing for eons. The impacts of these dams, on top of pollution, overfishing, and climate change, have led to a drastic decline in river herring populations – threatening their survival.
Jun 15
2020
2020
Jun 13
2018
2018
Taking On Dams on Maine’s Royal River
The Royal River runs about 30 miles from its headwaters in New Gloucester, Maine, to its outlet in Casco Bay in Yarmouth. Like many of New England’s coastal rivers, the Royal drove vital economic growth during the region’s industrial era, when dams built along its route harnessed water to power mills, tanneries, and more. While…
Jan 26
2017
2017
The Great Dam Is History
New Hampshire is not a huge state. But, it is home to almost 5,000 dams – some active, some in disrepair, and some abandoned. That large number can now be reduced by one. The Great Dam in Exeter is no more. Great Bay is fed by seven freshwater rivers – and now two are without head-of-tide dams. In 1638,…
Jun 12
2014
2014
A Fish Runs Through It: Restoring Fishways on the Presumpscot and St. Croix Rivers
Slowly but surely fish are returning to the Presumpscot and St. Croix rivers and your support of CLF is making that happen. As detailed in this recent article, the years of litigation to force the South African Pulp and Paper company to allow fish like alewives and blue back herring to get beyond their first…
Jun 14
2013
2013
This Week on TalkingFish.org – June 10-14
This week on Talking Fish, CLF’s Sean Mahoney and the State of Maine celebrate the return of alewives to the St. Croix River; Gloucester Daily Times reporter Richard Gaines has died; 20 years after New England’s cod stocks collapsed, the sense of deja vu is unshakeable; in Fish Talk in the News, the first great white of the season is spotted off Cape Cod and Connecticut scales back its salmon restocking efforts.
Jun 7
2013
2013
Day of Celebration on the St. Croix
It’s not often you get the chance to celebrate such a clear victory for the environment as the return of the alewife to the St. Croix River watershed. As discussed in prior posts, a Maine law prohibiting alewives from accessing this fish ladder at the Grand Falls Dam was repealed this past May and for…
Jun 7
2013
2013
This Week on TalkingFish.org – June 3-7
This week on Talking Fish, elvers may be the most valuable fishery you’ve never heard of; in Fish Talk in the News, puffins and squid may be in trouble and Maine celebrates the reopening of fishways on the St. Croix River.
May 10
2013
2013
This Week on TalkingFish.org – May 6-10
This week on Talking Fish, stakeholders meet in DC to discuss the future of fisheries management and the Magnuson-Stevens Act; in Fish Talk in the News, NOAA releases its new scallop regulations and John Bullard defends the 2013 groundfish rules.
May 8
2013
2013
Fishway Opens at Cumberland Mills Dam in Westbrook
Do you recognize these fish? They are anadromous alewives, also known as river herring. These small fish leave the ocean and swim upriver to spawn each May and June in Maine ponds and lakes. They provide food and cover for other migrating fish and are a critical part of the food chain in the ocean.…
Apr 25
2013
2013
Alewives Now Able to Swim Freely in The St. Croix: Maine’s Economy, Environment, and People to Benefit
After 18 years, Maine alewives can finally swim freely into their ancestral habitat. In an event that went largely unnoticed, on Monday, April 22nd, Governor LePage decided not to veto L.D. 72, legislation requires Maine to ensure that the fish ladders on the Woodland Dam and the Grand Falls Dam be reconfigured or operated in such a way that “allows the unconstrained passage of river herring.” The deadline for this action is May 1st.