First Update from the Nequasset Alewife Count
Volunteers have counted 4,336 fish so far! This has already been a unique year for the fish count…
A flooded ladder!
The first fish of the season were seen circling below the fish ladder on Saturday 4/29. We were expecting to see the first few fish enter the lake a day or two later... until the rainstorm hit on Sunday 4/30. That led to A LOT of flooding at the ladder! (Check out some of the pictures below!) It also meant that we didn't see any fish below the ladder until the following Friday evening, 5/5. The first fish were counted going into the lake on Saturday 5/6. That was also the first day that fish were harvested below the ladder. The first days of the count are usually a bit slow, but not this year. The fish have been coming in consistently for the first week and a half since that first fish made it in on 5/6.
This update includes:
Early May flooding at the fish ladder
Comparing the first week of this year's fish count to the past 11 years of counts
A graph of fish counts so far
Some samples of fish counter observations
A link to videos of neat sights observed at the ladder this spring
Flooding at the Fish Ladder!
There was serious flooding at the fish ladder after the big rain storm on Sunday 4/30. The flood levels seemed to peak Monday afternoon/evening, with more water than I have ever seen at the site! The lake height was even with grass outside the gate. Check out some photos below from Monday, 5/1.
How weird is the early part this year's fish run?
From when volunteers counted the first fish on Saturday 5/6 through the first full week of the count, the fish count numbers have seemed more consistent and higher than I remember from previous years. Looking at the numbers from 2012 - 2023 for that first week of counts, it turns out this year is pretty unique, even taking into account the slight differences in volunteer participation each year! Check out the graphs below to see how this year stands out.
Adding together all the fish counted by volunteers in the week after the first fish made it into the lake, 2023 has more than 1,000 more than the next highest year!
In the week after the first fish make it into the lake, there are often still a number of fish counts where volunteers count "0" fish... but not this year! There were only 2 "0" counts this year, compared to 10+ in all other years.
Sometimes it can take a number of days after volunteers see the first fish for volunteers to have 10 minute counts of 100 or more. This year, it happened on the first day! And it wasn't just a little over 100 - the highest count on day 1 this year was 240.
2023 Fish Counts
Neat observation notes from fish counters!
4/27/2023: "High water slack tide. Osprey in the predator tree on East bank. Otherwise, not one fish, insect, animal or bird apparent. No breeze."
4/30/2023: "Low tide. Tide change as # seagulls increased and 2 osprey flew over."
5/5/2023: "Water flowing over the dam, counting area slightly wet with flowing water, murky lake water. I cleared half a dozen sticks caught in the upper ladder."
5/6/2023: "After the count at 11:09am - 1 fish made it into the upper reservoir! We saw maybe 2 dozen fish down by the smokehouse." (note - this was the first fish seen going into the lake!)
"Flooding over dam reducing. Can see the fish in river below dam. Bald Eagles, Osprey, and Sea Gulls observed feeding on fish. Two fishermen getting bait fish from town rep."
5/8/2023: "So excited to see so many fish this time. Still no birds and still fairly breezy but very sunny and warm. As I'm filling this out, the fish keep jumping"
5/9/2023: "Not a lot of birds by ladder, a few eagles below fish shacks."
5/10/2023: "Two guys from the Bath Water District were adjusting the fish way weirs. Three guys with huge camera lenses were taking photos of two loons. We also saw an osprey and lots of seagulls."
"I found that 90% or so of the fish made it over in the very corners of the chute with less than 10% making it over the middle of the board. No birds seen and lots of fish down in the chutes of the fish house."
5/11/2023: "Herons do a flyby; loon swims right up while we are there and picks off several fish! One fish goes out."
"Lots of traffic to fish house. 2 bird photographers on the dam. Many gulls, some fishing successfully. Large 15" predatory fish lying in ambush as alewives jumped into the lake. Light breeze."
5/12/2023: "Eagle swooped in for breakfast."
"Flock of 10-15 seagulls fishing along lake/river around 9:20am, ~945am -- 2 bald eagles perched on nearby trees beneath falls & 2 great blue herons flew overhead -- no fish caught by any of the birds that I could see."
"Tons of fish and super fun. Resident Loon was enjoying the scene and doing some fishing himself."
5/13/2023: "There were a lot of seagulls on and below the dam, some of them catching and eating the alewives."
5/14/2023: "Beautiful day, but a bit on the cool side. Saw several eagles, ospreys, broad wing and sharp shin hawks."
"Saw lots of gulls overhead + a bald eagle flew by & the whole time a loon was feeding/fishing just 6-12 feet away, very cool."
5/15/2023: "1 harvester, 1 seagull, 2 bald eagles, 1 great blue heron"
"An Osprey got one. Weather high overcast, not thick clouds"
Scenes from the Ladder
KELT staff and volunteers have seen neat sights at the ladder! Check out photos and videos from some scenes this spring at the links below.
We love being able to share great photos and videos in these emails and on our website!
Your alewife count results help to support the alewife population and the sustainable alewife harvest at Nequasset Lake.
The fish count numbers are used by the town to sustainably manage the harvest, the Bath Water District to measure and improve the function of the fish ladder, the Maine Dept. of Marine Resources to study and manage fish populations around the state, and other groups who do local road and stream projects to make sure these projects don't harm fish.
The Nequasset Alewife Count would not be possible without the many amazing volunteers who take part. Thank you!