Salmon in danger

By KEITH EDWARDS
Staff Writer

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

A federal review of wild Atlantic salmon, including those in the Androscoggin, Kennebec and Penobscot rivers, indicates their population is substantially lower than historic levels.

A genetic analysis conducted as part of the review indicates the Atlantic salmon in the three larger rivers are indeed similar to the fish in eight smaller rivers in downeast Maine. The fish in those eight rivers are on the endangered species list.

The review stops short of recommending the fish in the Androscoggin, Kennebec and Penobscot rivers be added to the endangered species list. But it does say the current population is at extremely low levels and is, genetically, part of the same distinct population of Atlantic salmon in the eight other rivers.

The recently released report was compiled by a panel of biologists including federal, state, and Penobscot Nation representatives, as well as fisheries experts.

The Atlantic salmon in eight Maine rivers were designated as federal endangered species in a review released in 2000.

However, a decision regarding whether or not to include salmon that inhabited the main stems of the Kennebec River above the former site of Edwards Dam, the Penobscot River above the former site of Bangor Dam, or the Androscoggin River, was deferred during the initial listing.

Officials wanted to determine if the fish in those three rivers were genetically similar to the Atlantic salmon in the smaller rivers downeast. The most recent review concluded the fish were the same.

Fisheries advocates said the fish in the larger and smaller rivers should have been considered as one population from the beginning.

"To include some fisheries, and not others, never really made sense," said Andrew Goode of the Atlantic Salmon Federation, an international, nonprofit organization that promotes the conservation and management of wild Atlantic salmon and their environment.

In 1999, the state fought against Atlantic salmon being listed as an endangered species, with opponents claiming the designation would place too many restrictions on waterfront development.

Goode said that if the federal government considers extending the endangered species designation to Atlantic salmon in the three large rivers, he hopes the state won't challenge the designation.

He said there was fear-mongering over the endangered species designation in 1999 regarding Atlantic salmon on the eight downeast rivers. Since then, he said, collaboration between businesses, government, and conservationists on those rivers has been the norm, not the conflict opponents claimed would happen.

George LaPointe, commissioner of the state Department of Marine Resources, said he has spoken about the issue with Gov. John Baldacci, though it is too early for a decision on whether the state would challenge any efforts to add Atlantic salmon in the Androscoggin, Kennebec, and Penobscot to the endangered species list.

"The governor wants a collaborative approach," LaPointe said. "We would rather work together, as long as it is a reasonable process."

LaPointe said the review confirms what many already knew about the Atlantic salmon population: It is not doing well.

Both LaPointe and fisheries advocates said the best way to help Maine's Atlantic salmon population recover is to support the Penobscot River Restoration Project. That project seeks to provide migrating Atlantic salmon with access to upper parts of the river by removing hydroelectric dams in the lower section of the river. Ultimately, LaPointe said, the power produced by the those dams could be replaced by dams that could be built further upstream, where they wouldn't block fish returning to the river from the sea.

"The single, best thing that could happen would be to implement the Penobscot Project," Goode said. "That, to me, is a project that addresses the root of the problem."

The Penobscot River Restoration Trust is currently working to raise private, state and federal funds to pay for the ambitious project.

Atlantic salmon are anadromous, meaning they are born in freshwater, go out to sea where they undergo their greatest feeding and growth in salt water, and return as adults to spawn in native fresh water streams where the eggs hatch and juveniles grow, according to the Atlantic Salmon Federation. Adults typically weigh between eight and 15 pounds.

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com

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