April 3, 2009

Fundy Baykeeper Joins Action to Restore Fish to St. Croix River

Fundy Baykeeper has joined with the Atlantic Salmon Federation and the New Brunswick Salmon Council in an appeal to the International Joint Commission to restore alewife (gaspereau) populations in the St. Croix River by ordering the removal of blockages at dams and fishways which currently prevent fish migration to spawning areas. 

In 1995 the State of Maine enacted legislation to close fishways on the St. Croix River to migrating alewives based on assumed impacts to the population of smallmouth bass, a species which had been introduced to the river and has become popular with some sports fishermen. The closing of passageways to spawning areas for alewives in the river appears to have come at the request of some fishing guides in Washington County. They believe that growing numbers of sea-run alewives had caused a collapse of the smallmouth bass populations in the 1980’s. There was no scientific evidence to support these claims but none the less, the Maine Legislature moved forward with the closure over objections of conservation organizations and fisheries experts on both sides of the Canada US border. Recent scientific studies have demonstrated that the presence of sea-run alewives poses no threat to smallmouth bass. Alewives serve as a critical component to the river ecosystem and as a source of food for many species of fish in both the St. Croix River and the Bay of Fundy including trout, salmon, striped bass, cod and pollock. They also provide a food source for bald eagles, ospreys, otters and seals.  

The blockage of passageways on the St. Croix River has prevented alewives from accessing more than 99% of their historic spawning habitat in the watershed. With blockage of passage the alewife run immediately plummeted, falling from 2.6 million fish in 1987 to only 900 fish in 2002 and a five-year average of 7600 fish between 2004 and 2008. 

The 1995 law was amended in 2008 to allow alewife passage at the Woodland Dam. However, this has only allowed alewives to access about 1.1 percent of additional habitat. The vast majority of spawning habitat is still off limits due to the continued closure of the fishway at the Grand Falls Dam.  

Additional alewife information: please Click Here for St. Croix River Talking Points, please Click Here for St. Croix River Background pt. 1, and please Click Here for St. Croix River Background pt. 2.