Nate Gray knows alewives. He went to work for Maine Department of Marine Resources after graduating from college. He has been working with alewives for 22 years.  He is a Sea-Run Fisheries and Habitat Scientist and an advocate for returning alewives to the watershed, returning the fishery to a living, breathing ecosystem . He  started at the Benton Falls Project hydro dam and fishlift in the Spring of 2009 after the Ft. Halifax dam got torn out  in fall ’08.

Nate has been a tireless advocate for the fish. His approach to managing the alewife fishery is based on information, experience, passion, caring, and intuition. He sees each situation as unique. He knows the river, it’s nature and its currents.   He knows the fish. He knows the weather. He knows that each fish passage on the river has to be designed and managed individually to best serve the fish. He knows that all fishways are imperfect. He knows what he does not know. He is clear that he is there for the fish.

I came upon him one day sitting in the small observation room at Benton Falls; sitting quietly, watching simultaneously, the monitor screen and the observation window. He  can tell from their behavior if the passage is going well or if there is a something amiss. The whole purpose is to get as many fish as possible upstream with the least stress.

While I am standing there the fish start to turn around and head back the way they had come. He waits to see if they right themselves and as it gets more crowded and turbulent, he moves quickly to stop the lift so no more fish can enter the the flume. Something was causing them not to pass out into the river above the dam. He knows that if too many get into the passageway they will get jammed up.
I asked him why?

“Sandy, we see this behavior every year.  We’re not sure why the fish do what they do.  Any answer on my part would be pure speculation……Sometimes larger smallmouth bass will take up positions near the exit of the flume and beat up on transient river herring.  River herring have developed a keen sense of “danger” and will become cautious moving forward if they think they’re going to get mugged.  So, as a schooling fish, one fish thinks there is a potential hazard, ALL fish will soon think there is a potential hazard.  Hows that for speculation?”