Nequasset Alewife Count
Why Count Fish?
Every spring, the alewives migrate to Nequasset Lake to spawn.
The eggs hatch in late spring, and the fish spend the first few months of their lives growing in the Lake. In late summer/early fall, the young alewives migrate out to sea, where they grow to adults. Alewives are a vital part of the foundation of the food chain in the Gulf of Maine. The fish that spawn at Nequasset Lake have supported an historic alewife fishery at the Nequasset Dam site for hundreds of years. The fish count and the fish ladder are both important for keeping this run healthy and sustainable.
Volunteers help us to count the fish that reach the lake each year. Volunteering takes two hours or less, and volunteers of all ages are invited to take part in this fun community science project. You can choose to count once in the season or come back many times. The Nequasset fish count helps to support Nequasset's alewife population and annual harvest. It can also help to check how well the fish ladder is working.
Get Involved!
There are fish count sign-up times available every day, once the fish arrive. Each fish counting sign-up block is two hours long, and there are seven counting blocks available each day, between 6am and 8pm. Pick the best time for you, and count fish for two 10 minute periods in your two hour block. Once someone has signed up for a date/time, it disappears from the calendar.
Submit your count results using this online form or email to rindrick@kennebecestuary.org
What Have We Learned?
Each year since 2012, volunteers have counted fish at the Nequasset Fish Ladder during the annual alewife run. We enter the results from these counts into a model developed by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and are able to estimate the total number of fish that make it into Nequasset Lake each year. It takes most alewives about 4 years to grow to adults and then return to the lake to spawn, and it looks like we might be seeing evidence of that 4 year cycle in the fish count numbers.
Sponsors
Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund
Maine Coastal Program
Davis Conservation Foundation
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior
Resources for Volunteers
Stories From the Shores
