The many rainy days this spring are causing a slow start to this year’s alewife run. Water temperatures haven’t risen enough to stimulate the alewives drive to spawn but, more importantly, the level of Damariscotta Lake is very high. To bring the lake level down, water must be spilled down the Middle Stream and the […]
It’s yet another wet morning, thick o’ fog as some might say, and cool out there. As alewives swim up the Damariscotta River, they are drawn to the current, which has an increasing fresh water content as the fish get closer to the fish ladder. Warming water temperatures trigger alewives’ instinct to spawn, especially when […]
There are alewives to see if you visit the fish ladder today—and eagles and osprey too! However, our volunteers will not be at the fish house selling t-shirts and other fish ladder goods and gear–its just too wet! We’ll be there next weekend on both Saturday and Sunday and hopefully by then the sun will […]
The first few alewives have begun to head up the fish ladder and to celebrate, we’ll have volunteers at the fish house answering questions and selling fish ladder t-shirts, hats and other memorabilia from 10am – 2pm on both Saturday and Sunday (weather permitting). Each year we have a new t-shirt design and this year […]
April 30, 2025 The first few alewives—the scouts—were seen in the lower fish ladder pools this afternoon! I wasn’t sure alewives would come in now because the level of Damariscotta Lake is high due to recent rains and much water is being let out through the Middle Stream. But, there were the first alewives, right […]
April 28, 2025 Alewives have already been seen in several Maine rivers—the Penobscot, the Eastern River (a branch of the Kennebec), and the Sheepscot River. With this beautiful weather, I expect to see alewives in Damariscotta Mills soon, many in the next couple of days. Stay tuned–its an exciting time!
April 7, 2025 We have two big events planned for this season: Run with the Alewives 5K, which will be held on Saturday, May 24, at 9am–starting at the train station in Damariscotta Mills, and the Adam Ezra Group Concert, which will be held on Sunday, May 25, at 4pm at the Lincoln Theater in […]
April 4, 2025 Today was the day–we opened the gate at the top of the fish ladder and water quickly began filling the pools! It will soon be time for smelts to spawn in the lower pools of the fish ladder and then….it will be time for alewives! They usually arrive sometime in early May.
March 31, 2025 It will likely be another month before we have alewives in the fish ladder but preparations for their arrival are already underway! In another day or two, we will turn on the water in the fish ladder–it was shut off late last fall so that freezing and thawing would not damage the […]