Dam removals aid groundfish rebuilding

GLOUCESTER, MA – In recent years there’s been little news to cheer fishermen in the Gulf of Maine, but they have reason to be encouraged by the 40 to 50 dam removal and fish passage improvement projects that are in various stages of planning and implementation over the next few years.

As these project are completed along river tributaries to the US side of the Gulf, populations of anadromous species such as blueback herring, alewives, and smelt are expected to repopulate the streams they once thrived in.

And, according to fisheries experts, their swelling numbers will benefit fishermen who harvest them directly and, over time, improve the habitat and abundance of mackerel, cod, haddock, and other groundfish species in nearshore waters

 
Read the rest and much, much more in the November issue of Commercial Fisheries News. Read online immediately and download for future reference.

LoadingUpdating...