The alewives are here–at least they came in strong for the past two days but this morning the entrance and lower pools are empty. So it often goes in the early days of the run. Can you visit this year and, because of Covid, what are the rules? The fish ladder is open to the […]
A huge school of alewives showed up in the fish ladder this morning, April 25. It was truly an April surprise because it’s really early for their arrival in Damariscotta Mills! We’re sure glad to welcome them—but we’ll see if more come in behind them right away or if this is an unusually enterprising group. […]
This year we passed 1,069,488 alewives into Damariscotta Lake to spawn. It’s just great to get more than one million—it’s always our goal since the restoration. It was an interesting year—the fish came in late and stayed late but they did their job.
The fish have slowed down considerably—very few new schools of alewives are entering the fish ladder and any fish that are coming in are small. Small fish, often 3 year olds, are typical of the end of the run. These young fish, not ready to spawn for another year, seem to be practicing for the […]
Not to be missed – on Thursday, June 11 at noon, the Natural Resource Council of Maine will host a webinar called Maine’s Sea-Run Fish – Stories of Success. Deb Wilson will present slides showing the Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder Restoration and Nick Bennett of NRCM will look at other river herring runs in Maine, […]
Many people have taken the opportunity to visit the fish ladder since we opened it to the public on June 2. The alewives have been thick and the show—complete with eagles and Osprey and occasional herons—continues. That said, we expect to see the run slow down in the coming week. The signs are there….many of […]
With so many alewives in, we’ve had a great harvest this year. The plan is to harvest this Monday, June 8, although we may not have as many fish as last week. The run-backs have begun in earnest (fish returning after spawning) and fewer schools of alewives are coming in. Still, we’ll see what tomorrow […]
Due to changes in state policy, the fish ladder will be open to the public beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, June 2. We are excited to share this year’s great fish run, which will last for at least another week and probably for two more weeks. To take advantage of this awesome opportunity to see Damariscotta Mills […]
There are thousands and thousands of fish streaming under the Rt. 215 bridge and in every pool throughout the fish ladder. Wow! What a year!With the fish ladder closed to the public, it’s been really sad not to share this extraordinary spectacle fully. However, many people have enjoyed watching the fish from the Rt.215 bridge. […]
