Maine wild salmon returns indicate improved survival at sea
USA: This year's salmon counting figures from the Penobscot and other rivers in Maine indicate an increase in the number of Atlantic salmon returning to spawn. Researchers contribute the higher returns to improved survival rate in the ocean and not to the state's restocking program.
This year over 2,100 Atlantic salmon were counted as they were heading upstream in the Penobscot River alone. This is the largest return since 1992.
Though the numbers were smaller for other Maine rivers, they were higher than the five year average for the same rivers.
Combined with information from salmon counts in rivers in Ireland, Scotland and Canada's east coast, scientists seems optimistic that the wild Atlantic salmon situation is improving.
It is Atlantic Salmon Commission (ASC) staff which conducts routine monitoring of the abundance and status of adult Atlantic salmon in Maine rivers. They operates traps at fishways and barrier weirs to monitor adult Atlantic salmon returns to the Penobscot, Narraguagus, Dennys rivers, Union River, Saco River, Androscoggin River and the St. Croix River.
These salmon counting facilities are typically operated from May through early November each year. ASC staff updates the statewide trap catch summary weekly or more often during the peak of the salmon migration.
