Alewives
Ryan Hagerty/USFWS
Each spring, alewives make their way up the Damariscotta River from the ocean, heading for the fresh water of Damariscotta Lake to spawn. The migration of these silver fish has taken place for centuries in Damariscotta – a name derived from a Wabanaki word meaning “place of an abundance of alewives” – and all along the Atlantic Seaboard.
Alewives are a type of herring found in North America. Growing to less than a foot long, they weigh about half a pound and are an essential food for a wide range of life, from perch, bass, salmon, and trout to bald eagles, osprey, and great blue herons. Even their eggs and sperm provide nutrition to zooplankton, clams, and insect larvae.
They are culturally significant to – and a traditional food of – the Wabanaki peoples, who organized their seasonal movements around the runs of these and other migratory fish. Alewives have also been used as fertilizer and are valued by today’s lobster industry as bait.
Before Maine’s rivers were dammed and polluted in the 18th and 19th centuries, nearly all coastal watersheds had alewife runs and some of those runs were reportedly enormous. Today, though far below historic levels, alewives have returned to many of the state’s waterways thanks, primarily, to fish ladders and dam removals.
Among the success stories is the restoration of the fish ladder at Damariscotta Mills. Originally built in 1807, the fish ladder underwent a decade-long community-led restoration beginning in 2007. Rising 42 vertical feet, the ladder is a series of 69 connected pools. In May in Damariscotta Mills – and at other fish ladders and riverbanks statewide – the public gathers to celebrate and watch the return of the alewives.
Author: Stephanie Bouchard
