Atlantic salmon count on the Penobscot up to 560

While we’re talking about the Penobscot, biologists with the Maine Department of Marine Resources report that Atlantic salmon continue to return to the river.

An Atlantic salmon makes its way to a holding tank at the Milford Dam fishway at Brookfield Energy in Milford Wednesday. After more than three decades capturing Atlantic salmon at the Veazie Dam, that operation has moved to Milford, where a new fishlift was unveiled in 2014. Ashley L. Conti | BDN

An Atlantic salmon makes its way to a holding tank at the Milford Dam fishway at Brookfield Energy in Milford Wednesday. After more than three decades capturing Atlantic salmon at the Veazie Dam, that operation has moved to Milford, where a new fishlift was unveiled in 2014. Ashley L. Conti | BDN

Mitch Simpson, a biologist for the DMR’s Division of Sea-Run Fisheries and Habitat, said in his weekly report that a total of 560 salmon had returned to the fish lift at Milford Dam as of Tuesday. That’s an increase of 103 from last week’s total.

“We are getting about 20 new salmon every day,” Simpson reported in his email. “River herring are still coming in, but the run is tailing off.  American shad numbers have picked up slightly since the last report.  We have caught a total of 1,444 American shad to date.  I suspect that we will continue to see them coming in for a few more weeks.   We have also caught six striped bass to date and I suspect we will continue to see a few more over the next few weeks.”

That total is the highest accumulated by June 29 since 2012 (562).

That striped bass total — six — is more evidence of stripers in the river. A week ago, the season total of stripers trapped in Milford stood at one.

A total list of fish counted at the Milford Dam thus far: 2 American eels, 1,444 American shad, 560 Atlantic salmon, 45 brook trout, 30 brown bullhead, 1 chain pickerel, 1 common shiner, 3 cusk, 32 fallfish, 26 landlocked salmon, 6 largemouth bass, 1 northern pike, 4 pumpkinseed, 47 redbreat sunfish, 588,797 river herring, 485 sea lamprey, 477 smallmouth bass and 6 striped bass.

 

John Holyoke

About John Holyoke

John Holyoke has been enjoying himself in Maine's great outdoors since he was a kid. Today, he's the Outdoors editor for the BDN, a job that allows him to meet up with Maine outdoors enthusiasts in their natural habitat. The stories he gathers provide fodder for his columns, and this blog.