MAINE PUBLIC • March 6, 2023
In 2014, a new fishway began helping endangered Atlantic salmon make their way past the Milford Dam on the Penobscot River so they could spawn upstream. Six groups now say the fishway is failing to be effective and the reason is timing. Daniel McCaw, the fisheries program manager for the Penobscot Nation, says when the fishway was first licensed, it was supposed to allow 96% of salmon to get past the hydro-power dam. McCaw says the fish also had to find the fishway in just 48 hours. But a Maine Department of Marine Resources analysis indicates 79% of salmon failed to meet the 48-hour standard.