Assessing Diadromous Fish Restoration in the

Kennebec and Androscoggin Rivers

Claire Enterline1, Gail Wippelhauser1, Nate Gray1, Paul Christman1, Karen Wilson2

1Maine Department of Marine Resources, Div. of Sea-Run Fisheries and Habitat

2University of Southern Maine, Department of Environmental Science

Salmon Forum, University of Maine, January 8, 2013

Historical and Continued Importance

Historical and Continued Importance

Historical weir fisheries

Current recreational and commercial

fisheries

“Alewives meet dam”© Heather Perry Photography

Species

Percent Currently

Available/Active

Lamprey 25%

Alewife 41%

Smelt ~50%

American shad 69%

Atlantic salmon 73%

Striped Bass 100%

Access to Habitat

SpeciesPercent

Currently Available

Alewife 41%

Historical and Current Habitat

SpeciesPercent

Currently Available

Alewife 41%

Low passage efficiency at fishways limits population

growth

Historical and Current Habitat

Working Towards Restoration: Kennebec River

1987:  Kennebec Hydro Developers Group (KHDG)

The long term objectives:• Annual production >6 million

alewives above Augusta• Annual production of 725,000

American shad above Augusta

• Trap and truck operations for river herring

• American shad stocking• Fish Passage improvements

Goal : Restore Maine’s native diadromous fishes to their historic range and abundance in the watershed.

Working Towards Restoration:Androscoggin River

1983: Brunswick Fishway1987: Pejepscot passage1988: Worumbo passage

• Trap and truck operations • Fish Passage improvements

Opening Habitat and Trap & Truck Operations: Measurable Results

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

2011

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

BFW RH Run Count (log normal)BFW 4-Year Prior Available Habitat

log

(x)

Correlation= 0.56, p = 0.0052;

Opening Habitat and Trap & Truck Operations: Measurable Results

2012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000199919981997199619951994199319920

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

3,500,000Alewife Restoration Escapement Kennebec Basin

1999 Edwards Dam Removed

2002 Plymouth Pond Fish Passage Installed2002 Guilford Dam Removed East Branch Sebasticook River

2003 Sebasticook Lake Fish Passage Installed

2006 Fish lifts Installed at Benton, Burnham, & Waterville

2008 Ft. Halifax Dam Removed

2009 Fish Passage Installed at Webber Pond

Runs by trap & truck 1992-2006

American Shad Restoration

Fry Stocking 1992 to 2008 :

• Eggs collected from adults from the Kennebec, Connecticut, Androscoggin, Merrimack, Saco, and Sebasticook Rivers

• Raised at the Waldoboro hatchery

• Marked by immersion in an oxytetracycline (OTC) bath

• Receiving locations both below and above dams:

• Androscoggin

• Kennebec

• Sebasticook

• Medomak

• Saco

• Adult shad also stocked in Kennebec and Sebasticook

American Shad Restoration:Assessing Stocking Program through ADULT Returns

19

88

19

90

19

92

19

94

19

96

19

98

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20

02

20

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20

06

20

08

20

10

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

log

10

(x+

1)

Fry Stocked 4-years Previous

Adult Stocked 4-years Previous

Adult Count at Fishways

Correlation with Adult Shad Counts at Fishways

Correlation with

fry stocking = 0.56

p = 0.230

Correlation with

adult stocking = 0.48

p = 0.165

American Shad Restoration:Assessing through Juvenile Abundance Surveys

Correlation with

fry stocking = 0.72

p = 0.005*

Correlation with adult stocking =

-0.06 p = 0.770

19

88

19

89

19

90

19

91

19

92

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93

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94

19

95

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96

19

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98

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99

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00

20

01

20

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20

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0

1

2

3

4

5

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log

10

(x+

1)

Fry Stocked 4-years Previous

Adult Stocked 4-years Previous

Juvenile Abundance Surveys

Correlation with Juvenile Abundance Index

Atlantic Salmon Restoration

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

05

101520253035404550

0

250,000

500,000

750,000

1,000,000

FryEyed Eggs4-yr later Hatchery Adult Returns4-yr later Naturally Reared Adult Returns

Ad

ult

Retu

rns

# F

ry a

nd

Eg

gs

Rele

ase

d

Fry and eyed eggs released in Sandy River drainage

Future Goals1. What is the potential for each species?

Species

Percent Currently

Available/Active

Lamprey 25%

Alewife 41%

Smelt ~50%

American shad 69%

Atlantic salmon 73%

Striped Bass 100%

Kennebec watershed could support over 9,446,765 returning spawning alewives

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

Future Goals

2. How do we monitor success?

• Juvenile Abundance Surveys

• Fishway Counts• Video Monitoring

Future Goals3. What efforts should be continued or (re)initiated? What are the constraints?

Future Goals3. What efforts should be continued or (re)initiated? What are the constraints?

Future GoalsKHDG: • Annual contributions by the hydropower industry

ceased in 2010• Remaining funds are dwindling• Trigger numbers for installation of full fish passage

facilities have not been met.  • There is no provision for continued

funding and restoration activities will subside without a future funding mechanism. Long term restoration dependent on:

• Multi-species restoration• Open passage, not dependent on fishways

and trap & truck• What do stated priorities not address?

Questions?