ASSOCIATED PRESS • February 15, 2021
A lack of ice in cold weather states this year has made it difficult for scientists to study the population of an ecologically important fish. Rainbow smelts, which are small fish that are very popular with ice anglers, have been a focus of conservationists for many years. The federal government listed the fish as a species of special concern more than 15 years ago due to declines in its population. In Maine, a late arriving winter has made it difficult to collect data about the health of the smelt population. The weather had been warmer than typical until early February, so there hadn’t been enough ice to attempt to catch them.