juro
06-26-2006, 05:33 PM
(Associated Press)
Commission votes for one-month salmon season on Penobscot River
June 23, 2006
EDDINGTON, Maine --Anglers will be allowed to hook sea-run salmon in Maine for the first time since 1999 following a decision by the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission to open a stretch of the Penobscot River to catch-and-release fishing this fall.
The commission unanimously approved a plan Thursday to reopen a portion of the river near Bangor from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 in what is being called an "experimental" season.
The stretch that will open -- from 150 feet below the Veazie Dam fishway downstream to the former site of the Bangor Dam -- includes many of the fishing pools that made the Penobscot famous for its salmon fishing.
"This is a great milestone and a great opportunity, and I personally hope it works," said Roland "Danny" Martin, commissioner of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and one of the commission's three board members.
Fishermen will be restricted to artificial flies with single-pointed, barbless hooks and must immediately release any caught fish unharmed without removing them from the water.
The Atlantic Salmon Commission closed all Maine rivers to fishing for sea-run Atlantic salmon in December 1999 in response to sharp declines in the fish populations. The federal government later placed the salmon populations in eight Maine rivers on the endangered species list.
The salmon in the Penobscot have since recovered somewhat, and biologists are pleased with the more than 650 adults counted in the Veazie Dam fishway so far this spring.
Commission staff and board members received feedback from biologists, fishermen and conservation groups for and against reopening the Penobscot to salmon fishing.
Some fishermen and scientists urged the commission to keep the river closed, arguing that even a monthlong fishery could weaken a population already teetering on the edge.
Many fishermen said they would prefer to fish in the spring when populations are higher and the fish stronger, while others said they would take whatever fishing opportunities they can get.
In the end, the commission concluded that a catch-and-release fishery in the fall would pose no long-term danger to the Penobscot's salmon population, said board chairman Dick Ruhlin.
George Chalmers, a member of the Penobscot Salmon Club, said he would have preferred a spring season but was pleased that the commission chose to reopen the Penobscot at all.
The decision, he said, will help local fishing clubs.
"All of the clubs are hurting for membership," he said. "No fishing, there's no membership."
Commission votes for one-month salmon season on Penobscot River
June 23, 2006
EDDINGTON, Maine --Anglers will be allowed to hook sea-run salmon in Maine for the first time since 1999 following a decision by the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission to open a stretch of the Penobscot River to catch-and-release fishing this fall.
The commission unanimously approved a plan Thursday to reopen a portion of the river near Bangor from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 in what is being called an "experimental" season.
The stretch that will open -- from 150 feet below the Veazie Dam fishway downstream to the former site of the Bangor Dam -- includes many of the fishing pools that made the Penobscot famous for its salmon fishing.
"This is a great milestone and a great opportunity, and I personally hope it works," said Roland "Danny" Martin, commissioner of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and one of the commission's three board members.
Fishermen will be restricted to artificial flies with single-pointed, barbless hooks and must immediately release any caught fish unharmed without removing them from the water.
The Atlantic Salmon Commission closed all Maine rivers to fishing for sea-run Atlantic salmon in December 1999 in response to sharp declines in the fish populations. The federal government later placed the salmon populations in eight Maine rivers on the endangered species list.
The salmon in the Penobscot have since recovered somewhat, and biologists are pleased with the more than 650 adults counted in the Veazie Dam fishway so far this spring.
Commission staff and board members received feedback from biologists, fishermen and conservation groups for and against reopening the Penobscot to salmon fishing.
Some fishermen and scientists urged the commission to keep the river closed, arguing that even a monthlong fishery could weaken a population already teetering on the edge.
Many fishermen said they would prefer to fish in the spring when populations are higher and the fish stronger, while others said they would take whatever fishing opportunities they can get.
In the end, the commission concluded that a catch-and-release fishery in the fall would pose no long-term danger to the Penobscot's salmon population, said board chairman Dick Ruhlin.
George Chalmers, a member of the Penobscot Salmon Club, said he would have preferred a spring season but was pleased that the commission chose to reopen the Penobscot at all.
The decision, he said, will help local fishing clubs.
"All of the clubs are hurting for membership," he said. "No fishing, there's no membership."