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Hearing Looks at New Atlantic Salmon Protections

November 05, 2008 - AUGUSTA -- A federal proposal to designate Atlantic salmon in the Kennebec, Androscoggin, and Penobscot rivers as endangered species faces a public hearing Wednesday in Augusta. The designation would provide additional protections to the fish.

Opponents say the designation would bring new restrictions on what sorts of activities could occur in the rivers and on their banks.

Species listed as endangered are offered the full protection of the Endangered Species Act, making it illegal to "harass, harm, pursue, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect" them, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service.

The fisheries service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service propose to expand the endangered listing of Atlantic salmon to the Kennebec, Androscoggin and Penobscot river systems.

Andrew Goode, a vice president at the Atlantic Salmon Federation, said the listing is "a signal the species is in trouble and people need to work together. It does bring more resources, but it doesn't necessarily bring more teeth" in regulations.

When the federal agencies announced their proposal to list Atlantic salmon as endangered in the three Maine rivers, U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins said in a joint statement the move was "heavy handed." The senators also warned that a prohibition on disrupting Atlantic salmon habitat could hinder efforts already under way to restore salmon populations on the Penobscot.

The senators' statement said "bureaucracy is not the answer to restoring the Atlantic salmon populations," and said efforts already under way on the Penobscot "will pay great dividends in the form of increased fish stocks while continuing to provide energy for the region and a boost to local industries."

Currently, Atlantic salmon are protected in seven Maine rivers -- the Dennys, Machias, East Machias, Pleasant, Narraguagus, Ducktrap and Sheepscot rivers. Cove Brook is a "federally protected Atlantic salmon water."

A decision on whether to include salmon that inhabited the main stems of the Kennebec River above the former site of Edwards Dam, the Penobscot River above the former site of Bangor Dam, or the Androscoggin River, was deferred during the initial listing. Officials wanted to determine if the fish in those three rivers were genetically similar to the Atlantic salmon in the smaller rivers Down East.

The most recent review concluded the fish were the same. That same review indicated their population is substantially lower than historic levels.

Goode said the listing of the eight other water bodies in Maine has not harmed industry and the economies in the communities along those waters, as critics claimed it would.

He noted other animals found in Maine have been listed as endangered species, without major negative impacts on the economy.

"When you look, in Maine, it's not going to make a big difference on the ground," Goode said. "Shortnosed sturgeon were listed, bald eagles were listed, and industry has continued to thrive, things have still gotten done."

Tuesday November 4th, 2008

by Keith Edwards
Kennebec Journal

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