Tag Archives: St. Croix River
Maine’s river herring making dramatic comeback
River herring – in the midst of a dramatic comeback in Maine’s rivers with the recent removal of dams that blocked their spawning runs for decades – had a banner spring run this year, with millions of fish traveling up the Kennebec and Penobscot and the best run in decades recorded on the St. Croix. This was despite heavy rains this spring that created extra challenges for the fish. The recovery of the small schooling fish is having dramatic secondary effects, as they represent a perfect food source for everything from bald eagles to Atlantic cod, and researchers anticipate future benefits as the herring’s numbers grow in the coming decade. click here to read the story 10:10
Commercial fishermen catch carp and more in the cold waters at Point Douglas.
It was cold and windy on March 21 when Jim Shiely went down to the beach across from his home in Prescott. Waves washed against the sand. The commercial fishermen were out in their big broad-beamed boats and chest waders, hauling in nets full of rough fish: a writhing mass of suckers, sheepshead, and assorted bottom-feeders. “No paddlefish that I saw,” Jim wrote. “Saw one good sized musky which the MN DNR weighed and measured around 44 inches and one small sturgeon. A lot of quillback, all of which they threw back. Saw a nice number of huge walleyes, which of course are thrown back along with all other game fish.” view the photo gallery, read the rest here 08:38
Gaspereau fish population rebounds in St. Croix River
More than 93,000 gaspereau returned to the St. Croix River this year, making it the highest fish count in 17 years and four times the 10-year average. In 1998 there were 177,000 fish. The St. Croix River was reopened to gaspereau in the spring of 2013. Prior to that, the government of Maine had blocked the river to prevent the fish from migrating to their spawning grounds since 1995. State legislators claimed they were protecting the smallmouth bass, an introduced fish favoured by anglers. The fish population dropped significantly since the state’s actions. Read the rest here 08:12
Maine legislators reject (alewive) gaspereau-blocking bill – Canadian delegation credited for helping convince Maine committee
A legislative committee in Maine has unanimously rejected a bill that would have blocked the gaspereau migration in the St. Croix River. Last week, Canada was represented at public hearings by Frank Ruddock, acting consul general in Boston and Harvey Millar, the area manager for the Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Among other things, they reminded the committee of Canada’s shared interests in the St. Croix River and emphasized the importance of the restoration of the gaspereau population. Read the rest here 10:43
Latest dispute over alewives in St. Croix River may lead to independent review
The LePage administration wants to create a working group to examine the scientific arguments over alewives in the St. Croix River as a way to defuse the latest flare-up in a debate over the fish that has raged for two decades. Yet Monday’s hours-long legislative hearing showed that alewives – a type of river herring occupying a critical niche in the – remain divisive even though they have yet to return to the St. Croix in large numbers. Read the rest here 15:09
Grand Falls fishway reopens, ending dispute over cross-border fish
A rift between Canada and the United States was settled on Wednesday after an international agreement was signed, marking the reopening of a fishway. The fight was over a fish with two different names – one for each side of the border – and a decision made two decades ago to shut the door on those fish returning to the New Brunswick side of the St. Croix River to spawn. continued
Return of alewives on St. Croix River celebrated
BAILEYVILLE, Maine — For nearly 20 years, conservationists and, at times, state natural resource agencies, have sought to open the St. Croix River watershed to alewives,,, continued
Maine alewives heading for newly opened fishways this week – In time, the St. Croix River could have the largest alewife run in the country.
BAILEYVILLE Me.— Alewives are expected to swim upriver of the Grand Falls dam on eastern Maine’s St. Croix River this week for the first time in 22 years. continued
Maine Governor LePage allows alewives bill to become law
Eighteen years ago, the Legislature approved a blockade that prevented alewives from running up the St. Croix River. In this June 4, 2005 file photo, alewives congregate in the Damariscotta Mills fishway, in Nobleboro, 
Maine. An 18-year-old blockade on the St. Croix River will be lifted in a few days. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) In a historic decision that largely went unnoticed, that blockade will be lifted in a few days after Gov. Paul LePage opted not to veto L.D. 72. The bill takes effect Tuesday. The emergency legislation requires the state to ensure, by May 1, that the fishways 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.” continued
Rival measures would restore alewives into the St. Croix
The future of spawning alewife runs in the St. Croix River will likely be decided by state lawmakers next month as they evaluate rival bills aimed at allowing the fish back into the watershed. Alewives, or “river herring,” are a small schooling fish that spend most of their life in the oceans but travel up freshwater rivers in spring to spawn. Read more here
