It’s almost the end of the 2023 alewife run

June 1 There are still alewives coming into the fish ladder but the run has definitely slowed down. We saw a small school of alewives in Great Salt Bay earlier today and there were fish headed into the fish ladder and making their way pool to pool to the top…..but definitely there are fewer fish than a few days ago.
It’s certainly been a strange year—-we’ve had spells of heavy rain that have affected the lake level (and therefore the amount of water spilling down the Middle Stream).  We’ve had lots of cold weather, including at least one or two overnight frosts.  In between the cold and the rain, we’ve had plenty of alewives. The harvest numbers are down but it seems as if plenty of alewives are getting into Damariscotta Lake to spawn. It will be interesting to see what the numbers tell us when the run finally ends.
That said, the run hasn’t ended yet and there are still alewives to see in the fish ladder. Don’t wait to visit though, you never know when the fish will decide it’s time to head back to open ocean!