Media Coverage

Atlantic Salmon Federation's Maine Headwaters Project

Conserving the most important habitat in rivers and streams, removing barriers to fish passage and eradicating invasive species are examples of restoration activities that can dramatically improve the long-term viability and productivity of wild Atlantic salmon populations and their environment. ASF is involved in restoration projects throughout Maine, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada. We always work closely with Indigenous organizations, local communities, government agencies, volunteers, and NGOs to tackle the most pressing problems.

USFWS Fish of the Week: Atlantic salmon

Interview with host Katrina Liebich, NMFS' Fisheries Biologist Rory Saunders and the Penobscot Indian Nation's Fisheries Program Manager, Dan McCaw.

Introducing Audubon's "Salmon Shorts" Videos

Just a few hundred years ago, Atlantic Salmon were abundant up and down the northeast coast. Now, Maine is home to the last remaining wild populations of Atlantic Salmon in the United States and they are a federally recognized endangered species. This decline has had huge impacts on everything connected to salmon–traditional ways of living, wildlife up and down the food chain, and the health of our watersheds. Beginning in 2018, Maine Audubon has participated annually in the Atlantic Salmon Federation’s educational Fish Friends program to highlight the significance of wild Atlantic Salmon. Raising salmon provides a concrete and accessible entry point into many topics that are important to our work: habitat needs and interdependence, stream connectivity and river restoration, and the power of bringing Traditional Ecological Knowledge together with western science. Through Fish Friends, participating classrooms and organizations like Maine Audubon receive eggs from local hatcheries and raise them through the beginning of their life cycle. Then, with expert guidance, the young salmon are released in local waterways.

Brookfield Renewable Temporarily Shuts Down 3 Kennebec River Dams To Protect Salmon Migration

Fred Bever Maine Public

Media Coverage

Includes televised news reports, newspaper articles and editorials that appear in the media that are relevant to Atlantic Salmon and sea-run fish restoration in Maine.

Megunticook Watershed Restoration, Camden ME

Watershed and connectivity restoration

Magic on the River

dam removal habitat accessibility restoration

The art of collaboration in natural resource management

Resource Management

SALAR THE SALMON – AUDIOBOOK

Famous faces have donated their precious time to record extracts from the magnificent story of SALAR THE SALMON (Henry Williamson) & narrated by James Murray in order to let you all know how this iconic species needs your help! All proceeds from the audiobook (amazon audible) will go to @atlanticsalmontrust. Actor James Murray explains why: ‘Wild Atlantic salmon are a vital part of our marine ecosystem, the canaries of our rivers and oceans. Their future as a species is now at near tipping point and yet very few people are aware of this impending crisis. That needs to change quickly, and awareness is key.’ HUGE THANKS to #HughFearnley-Whittingstall @HughFW, #SarahParish @sarahparish23, #HughBonneville @bonhughbon, #BurnGorman burngorman1 , #PaulWhitehouse, #NinaSosanya, #JamesStokoe @jamesthebigfish #IainGlen @iainglenofficial , #BobMortimer, #RogerAllam, #MarinaGibson @marinagibsonfishing, #RobsonGreen, #AnthonyCalf, #JamesMurray, @thejimmurray, #strathmorepublishing #salarthesalmon #AtlanticSalmonTrust #Themissingsalmonproject, #wildsalmonmatter, #yearofthesalmon To find out more about the recording of the Salar the Salmon Audio book visit: https://www.atlanticsalmontrust.org/salar-the-salmon-audiobook-2/ RAISE YOUR VOICES FOR SALAR DURING THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE SALMON! Special Thanks to: Audiobook Publishers: Strathmore Publishing Video editing and music: Andy Bancroft Cooke, THEM USEM @themusem @adtbc Video: Alan Ward, Country Field Media,

Sir David Attenborough promotes International Year of the Salmon

YouTube IYS video

Down East salmon restoration efforts celebrated

The building that houses the Downeast Salmon Federation is wearing a disguise, Dwayne Shaw says with a grin, gesturing around the sparkling building that contains the Peter Gray Hatchery, a museum, a laboratory and office space.

Atlantic Salmon Numbers Dropping

Top researchers with the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) are trying to figure out why wild Atlantic salmon numbers are dropping dramatically once they leave their home rivers and head into saltwater.

Salmon recovery pleases conservation group

Efforts to boost the numbers of wild Atlantic salmon in eastern P.E.I. are showing signs of success. Staff of the Souris and area wildlife federation have just finished a three-week survey of all rivers in the area. They say they're finding record numbers of Atlantic salmon nests, also called redds, by fisheries scientists.

Letters to the editor: Yarmouth Harbor life dependent on removing silt

Eugenie Francine’s Nov. 29 op-ed piece on removal of two Royal River dams (“Maine Voices: Royal River’s journey to future should begin with removal of lower dam”) makes the case for a free-flowing river eloquently, but dismisses the concerns of the advocates for the impoundment above the upper dam and for the harbor.

Egg by egg, Department of Marine resources restoring Atlantic salmon to Maine Rivers (video)

State biologists working in shallow river tributaries reachable by dirt roads and snowmobile trails are on the front line of the battle against extinction of the Atlantic salmon. They visit the waterways in January and February, sometimes dragging their equipment on a plastic sled more than a mile to the sites, to mimic wild salmon spawning. They're planting thousands of eggs in the gravel of riverbeds, an effort mostly funded through a federal grant.

Down East salmon hatchery expansion under way in East Machias

The Downeast Salmon Federation took delivery this week on 53,000 North Atlantic salmon eggs that will be among 125,000 to be incubated and reared to “parr” stage over the next nine months for release into the East Machias River watershed in Washington County.

Maine plans emergency debate on fish passage

Maine’s state legislature is getting ready to debate an emergency bill that could see the St. Croix River re-opened this spring to gaspereau, ending a controversy that has spanned almost 20 years.

Upstream Battle: Fishes Shun Modern Dam Passages, Contributing to Population Declines

A river study in the U.S. Northeast has found that many fish species are unable to use standard passageways to swim past dams on their spawning runs.

Alewives Will Help Smallmouth Bass

Letting alewives up the St. Croix River will not hurt smallmouth bass, says Maine’s Commissioner of Marine Resources Patrick Keliher. “No, except getting fatter,” he said in a telephone interview Thursday, meaning that the smallmouth bass introduced to the St. Croix in 1877 feed on the native anadromous alewife – also called river herring and gaspereau.

Conservation: Restoring salmon rivers with liming

The Nova Scotia Salmon Association is maximizing the benefits of the U.S. Clean Air Act by giving a river that is home to endangered wild Atlantic salmon in southern Nova Scotia continuous doses of lime.

Maine alewives begin a legislative run

A legislative committee has endorsed a measure that would open most of the St. Croix River to alewives, a small schooling fish, by the end of this month. L.D. 72 received unanimous support from the Marine Resources Committee on Monday. As an emergency bill, it needs two-thirds approval from the full House and Senate and would take effect immediately. The votes could come as early as Wednesday.

Legislature sends St. Croix alewife restoration bill to LePage

Emergency legislation to open the St. Croix River watershed to sea-run alewives easily won passage Wednesday in the Maine Senate and House. The bill, LD 72, now goes to Gov. Paul LePage, who has 10 days to sign, veto or let the bill become law.

Atlantic Salmon Released into Aroostook River (video)

Volunteers in Sheridan have been working for years to preserve a fish species here in Aroostook County. This week – as they do every year – they released thousands of Atlantic salmon into the river, after raising them for months. News Source 8′s Katie Zarrilli has more.

Return of alewives on St. Croix River celebrated (video)

For nearly 20 years, conservationists and, at times, state natural resource agencies, have sought to open the St. Croix River watershed to alewives. Those river herring had their passage at dam fishways officially blocked in 1995 due to concerns that their presence had led to a collapse of the smallmouth bass fishery in nearby Spednic Lake.

Bad News for Atlantic Salmon

The Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) is extremely disappointed that the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) has been unable to stop factory sales of wild Atlantic salmon in Greenland and has also failed to put a limit on Greenland’s subsistence fishery. The salmon harvested in Greenland originate from rivers across eastern North America, where the vast majority of salmon populations are protected under federal species at risk legislation in Canada and the US.

Environmentally Sustainable Salmon Dinner a Success

The Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) hosted a dinner event in support of its environmentally-sustainable salmon aquaculture programme on Wednesday, 15 May at the Yale Club, New York, NY. Sixty guests had the opportunity to sample land-based, closed containment salmon, which was prepared by renowned chef and culinary consultant Tom Valenti.

Connecticut scales back salmon stocking program

...after more than 40 years of stocking millions upon millions of baby salmon hatchlings, or "fry," in rivers throughout Connecticut and the other states -- and after floods during Hurricane Irene wrecked the federal hatchery in Vermont -- the U.S. government and Connecticut's three salmon restoration partners have called it quits.

Endangered Atlantic Salmon Are Facing A New and Potentially Devastating Threat

The Atlantic salmon, already an endangered species in the United States and in parts of Canada, is facing a new threat: A recent breakdown in an international agreement with Greenland may mean that tens of thousands of Atlantic salmon—which otherwise would have been protected—will be harvested at sea before they can return to North American rivers to spawn.

Down Comes Another Dam (editorial)

On Monday, a demolition crew will begin removing the Veazie Dam on the Penobscot River just above Bangor, Me. The Veazie is the lowest of the Penobscot dams and closest to the river’s mouth on the Maine coast. It is also critical to the entire Penobscot River watershed, which covers nearly a third of the state. Thanks to the work of the Penobscot River Restoration Trust and its partners, the lower river will be free-flowing once again, allowing the revival of a complex migratory ecosystem once teeming with fish working their way up from the sea.

A river in the balance (editorial)

On Monday, crews began demolishing the Penobscot River’s Veazie Dam. It marked an important moment for sea-run fish, efforts to restore a complex habitat and unlikely partnerships. The day was notable not only for the state but also for the nation: The dam breaching is part of one of the largest river restoration projects in the country’s history.

Ceremony - and Eagles - Mark Beginning of Veazie Dam Removal

The restoration of the Penobscot River in Maine has taken a monumental step forward with the breaching of the Veazie Dam, which will open up the river from Indian Island at Old Town to the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in more than 150 years.

Date set for historic Veazie Dam breaching

Mainers will have an opportunity to see some history in the making in July, when the effort to remove the Veazie Dam - one of the few remaining impediments to the return of native sea-run fish to the Penobscot River - gets underway with its initial breaching.

Removal of Veazie Dam to free historic paddling route on Penobscot

Water burst through the Veazie Dam on July 22, a day that marked the beginning of its destruction. By the end of the year, the river will flow free. And after the ice melts next spring, canoeists and kayakers will be able to paddle from Old Town to the Atlantic, unimpeded, for the first time in nearly 200 years.

Veazie dam removal project gets $1 million boost

The organization behind a key conservation project on the Penobscot River has been awarded a major grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, members of the state's congressional delegation announced last week.

Breaching Veazie Dam begins as part of Penobscot River Restoration

Hundreds of onlookers stood on the banks of the Penobscot River on Monday morning, watching as demolition crews breached the Veazie Dam, continuing the process of opening the river to sea-run fish for the first time in almost 200 years.

'Ah, freedom': Historic Penobscot dam removal begins (slideshow)

The river restoration project will allow fish access to spawn deep in the heart of Maine.

Removal of Veazie Dam Begins on Maine's Penobscot River

Removal of Veazie Dam begins on Maine's Penobscot River.

Veazie Dam Coming Down

Veazie Dam removal brings hope to salmon anglers.

Veazie Dam Removal Brings Hope to Salmon Anglers (video)

Veazie Dam removal brings hope to salmon anglers.

Historic removal of Veazie Dam gets under way

When the project is complete, sea-run fish - such as salmon, sturgeon, alewives and shad - will have significantly improved access to about 1,000 miles of upstream habitat.

Merrimack salmon restoration program to end

Low returns and budgetary restriction lead to decision

Maine Voices: Lessons of controversial salmon hearings more relevant today

Despite dire predictions, listing salmon as endangered hasn't hurt the blueberry or forest-products industries.

Downeast Lakes Land Trust touts new culvert design aimed at restoring trout habitats (video)

Officials with Downeast Lakes Land Trust said earlier this week that a new project it completed with several partners and support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has the potential to be a model for cost-effective restoration of aquatic habitats.

Maine's Penobscot River finally runs free after huge restoration project (video)

For the first time in 200 years, the Penobscot River in northeastern Maine is running free.

Maine's Aquaculture Industry Bouncing Back

About a decade after state's salmon-farming industry tanked, the aquaculture industry is continuing to rebound and has become more diverse than it was when it consisted solely of Atlantic Salmon.