The Atlantic salmon is an anadromous fish, which means it spends the majority of its lifetime in the ocean, but returns to spawn in the same freshwater river or stream where it was born. In Maine, salmon begin returning to their home rivers between March and November, with a peak migration during June and July. Unlike their Pacific cousins, Atlantic salmon do not die after spawning, and can return year after year to reproduce.
Atlantic salmon
200 Years of Troubled Waters for Atlantic Salmon
By Kevin Miller, staff writer Bangor Daily News news story Atlantic salmon did not disappear from New England rivers overnight. Rather, North American populations of this resilient fish beloved by anglers for its fight and by food aficionados for its flavor has suffered what some describe as “death by a thousand cuts” over the past Read More
Atlantic Salmon Fishing Returns to Maine
Portland Press Herald editorial It’s not a long season, there are plenty of restrictions and fishermen can’t keep their catch. But starting this morning, anglers will once more be angling for sea-run Atlantic salmon in Maine. The month-long, experimental season is limited to a short stretch of the Penobscot, the river that has the healthiest Read More
Penobscot’s Rebirth is Cause for Rejoicing
by Dr. Paul Liebow Bangor Daily News news story Interior Secretary Gale Norton’s visit to the Veazie Salmon Club last week gives the Bush administration’s final blessing to a project that will add immensely to Bangor’s revitalization. The Penobscot River Restoration Project is a brilliant example of how the needs of society and the environment Read More
Penobscot Restoration Passes Major Milestone
Statement of Laura Rose Day, Project Director, Penobscot Partners Good afternoon. Today we gather here on the banks of the Penobscot River overlooking the Veazie Salmon Club and the Veazie Dam. Both hold an important place in Maine history, and both are now at the gateway to an exciting and historic transition to a new Read More
Restoring Maine’s Mightiest River—the Penobscot
For more than 60 years, the Natural Resources Council of Maine has led efforts to protect and restore thousands of miles of Maine’s rivers, for the benefit of people, fish, and wildlife throughout the Gulf of Maine. In 1999, working with the Penobscot Indian Nation and other conservation groups, during three long years of negotiations Read More
A River Reborn
Agreement could lead to dam removals and restoration of fish runs by Misty Edgecomb Bangor Daily News news story OLD TOWN – In what conservationists are calling the biggest restoration project north of the Everglades, two dams will be removed from the lower Penobscot River. Representatives of a broad coalition including the Penobscot Nation, environmental Read More
Victory for Maine People, Undeveloped Lakes, Forests, and Prime Salmon Rivers Downeast
Facing certain defeat in front of the Board of Environmental Protection, Bangor Hydro Electric has withdrawn its application for a new transmission line across Hancock and Washington Counties in Downeast Maine, which was strongly opposed by the Natural Resources Council of Maine and citizens from throughout the state and region. “This is great news for Read More
Stopping the “Big A” Dam on the Penobscot’s West Branch
In what was one of Maine’s most contested environmental battles, the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), along with other Penobscot Coalition members, successfully defeated the Big A Dam project. In March of 1984, Great Northern Paper (GNP) submitted a proposal to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct a $100-million concrete dam 15 Read More
