“Maine’s lobster industry needs alewives for bait, but there are so few alewives now we import expensive bait from away,” says David Cousens, President, Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “The Maine Legislature can fix that at no cost and I say ‘just do it.’”

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River herring were designated a “Species of Concern” by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2006 due to worries about their stock status, which is presently unknown.

“We have no idea how many river herring there are today,” Cournane says, “and we’ll use simulation modeling to try and figure out what the entire coastal population could be so that our work can improve the existing management program.”

River herring, which collectively include alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), live in salt water as adults but annually journey up rivers in “runs” to spawn in freshwater. Many river herring runs have declined along the East Coast to a degree such that a collapse of the coast-wide stock is feared to be underway.

Underlying the concern over the status of the population is the fact that river herring are an important forage species for such large predatory fish like cod, haddock, and tuna, and protected species of whales, seals, and seabirds. It has been speculated that replenishing the population of river herring would in turn help bring back populations of iconic Northeast fish like Atlantic cod.

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Maine’s Diadromous Fish Community:

Past, Present, and Implications for Atlantic Salmon Recovery
FEATURE: ENDANGERED SPECIES
Rory Saunders
Michael A. Hachey
Clem W. Fay

ABSTRACT: Co-evolved diadromous fishes may play important roles in key life
history events of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in northeastern U.S. riverine ecosystems.
We reviewed available information on the historic and current abundance of
alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus), blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), American shad
(Alosa sapidissima), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), and sea lamprey (Petromyzon
marinus) for several rivers in Maine. Historically, these diadromous fishes were substantially
more abundant and were able to travel much farther inland to spawning
and rearing areas in comparison to contemporary conditions. At historic abundance
levels, these diadromous fishes likely provided several important functions for
Atlantic salmon such as providing alternative prey for predators of salmon (i.e., prey
buffering), serving as prey for juvenile and adult salmon, nutrient cycling, and habitat
conditioning. Restoring the co-evolved suite of diadromous fishes to levels that
sustain these functions may be required for successful recovery of the last native
Atlantic salmon populations in the United States.

Fisheries • VOL 31 NO 11 • NOVEMBER 2006 • WWW.FISHERIES.ORG