ECOWATCH • April 5, 2021
Atlantic salmon once numbered in the hundreds of thousands in the United States and ranged up and down most of New England's coastal rivers and ocean waters. But dams, pollution and overfishing have extirpated them from all the region's rivers except in Maine. Only around 1,000 wild salmon return each year from their swim to Greenland. Fewer will find adequate spawning habitat in their natal rivers to reproduce. That's left Atlantic salmon in the U.S. critically endangered. The best place for salmon recovery is in Maine's two largest watersheds. "The Penobscot River and the Kennebec River have orders of magnitude more habitat, production potential and climate resilient habitat" than other parts of the state, says John Burrows, executive director of U.S. programs at the Atlantic Salmon Federation." “It's not just about salmon — it's about other native fish, wildlife, water quality, economic opportunity for ground fishermen and lobstermen, and more sustainable forms of recreation and community development.”