Just 520 salmon return to river in Maine

BANGOR, Maine (AP) – Maine’s Penobscot River is on track to see the fewest Atlantic salmon in recent years, state officials said.

According to a trap count report provided by the Maine Department of Marine Resources on Aug. 23, 520 salmon had passed through the Milford and Orono dams this year.

Returning salmon are hampered by hydroelectric dams on the Penobscot and Kennebec rivers that reduce their ability to reach spawning grounds upstream.

The total is the fewest fish counted, as of the same date, in four years and is the fourth-lowest total since 2000, the Bangor Daily News reported.

Department officials said a bad year does not spell disaster for the species, as there are many factors that contribute to this year’s low numbers.

“There are many factors that might contribute to the lower run this year, the most significant likely being low survival at sea and poor freshwater survival and passage at dams for juveniles in prior years,” said Sean Ledwin, the sea run fisheries and habitat division director for the Department of Marine Resources.