BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 8, 2021
Sea-run brook trout, or salters, are best described as diadromous, fish that live and spawn in freshwater, moving into saltwater for food and thermal refuge. Salters have been all but extirpated from Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. But they persist in Maine, home to 90 percent or more of the salters found in America today. There is hope, with groups like Downeast Salmon Federation and Native Fish Coalition working to preserve and restore salter habitat, support population studies, lobby for protective regulations, and educate the public about salters and the threats they face. Now we need the agencies responsible for preserving these fish to follow suit and do everything they can to protect Maine’s unique sea-run brook trout. ~ Bob Mallard