If you’ve stopped by the nature centers at Fields Pond or Gilsland Farm recently, chances are you may have noticed a few hundred new inhabitants: Atlantic Salmon eggs! Both centers are currently raising endangered Atlantic Salmon through Fish Friends, a program of the Maine Council of the Atlantic Salmon Federation.
These salmon are a far cry from the farm-raised fish you might see in the supermarket. Maine’s Atlantic Salmon are the last remaining wild Atlantic Salmon in the U.S. and this population is protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Our participation in the Fish Friends educational program allows visitors to observe the early stages of an Atlantic Salmon’s life cycle—a process that normally takes place out of sight and in just a few streams in Maine. Over the next few weeks, our eggs will hatch into alevin and then grow into free-swimming fry. Later in the spring, when the fry are ready to feed and local waterways have sufficiently warmed, we’ll release them in specially permitted locations.
In the meantime, their presence brings to life many topics and issues important to Maine Audubon’s mission, like stream connectivity, water quality, and the need to protect endangered species. Salmon can only thrive in healthy river ecosystems, and like all migratory species, need healthy and connected habitat along their entire migratory route. We hope you’ll visit soon and often to watch these amazing creatures grow, and to learn more! Visitors to Fields Pond in April and May should also plan some extra time on the trails to experience “An Atlantic Salmon Story” storywalk, an original story based on students in the Fish Friends program!
Want to learn more right now? Read more about Maine Audubon’s Fish Friends participation on the Fish Friends page on our website, or sign up for “Sea Lampreys and More Migratory Fishes,” an online talk with Cody Dillingham on April 27.
