Nequasset Fish Count Update
Photo Credit: Courney Cronin. Students from Brightfield School visit the fish ladder.
There was a strong and early start to this year's alewife run. We need your help to document the number of alewives that make it into the lake from now through early June!
The first fish made it into Nequasset Lake this year on April 27th.
This is the second earliest arrival of alewives in the past 13 years of alewife counting (the only earlier start was April 18th in 2012). The run started strong, and although there have been some days with small fish counts, the numbers are looking good so far this year. For the harvest, this is the first time in recent years that more than 100 bushels of fish were harvested before the 1st of May.
In the first few weeks of counting, a number of people mentioned in their notes that the fish look larger this year than they remember in the past. I passed the question about size on to Mike Brown, a Marine Resource Scientist at the Maine Department of Marine Resources, and he shared that older fish are typically larger, and the early run fish tend to be older fish. He also mentioned that females tend to appear larger than males because of the eggs they are carrying.
See below for:
~ An article about the neat Nequasset alewife facts that can be learned from fish scales
~ A graph of the alewife counts so far (5,638 fish have been counted!)
~ A sampling of notes from fish counters
Large Scale Information from Small Scales
Guest Article by Mike Brown, Marine Resource Scientist at Maine Department of Marine Resources
Along with our volunteer counts, fish scale sampling at Nequasset reveals valuable details about each year's alewife run!
At the fishway, the harvester collects biological samples (fish scales!) that assist in determining the health of the river herring population returning to Nequasset Lake. The harvester collects scale samples from 100 fish during the commercial harvest each year. Analysis of these samples by the Maine Department of Marine Resources provides information regarding the age structure of the population, species of river herring (either alewife or blueback herring), the number of times each fish has spawned throughout its life, and relative strength of each year-class of fish returning to Nequasset Lake in the spring.
The age of each fish sampled is determined through an analysis of the growth patterns in its scales. Similar to counting the growth rings in a tree to determine its age, the same type of analysis can be conducted for river herring scales to determine fish ages. River herring do not die after spawning and will return to the ocean soon after spawning has concluded for the season and water flows allow passage out of the lake. River herring ages for spawning fish range from 3-years old to 9-years old depending on the location and survival of specific individuals throughout the year.
The following table shows the age of fish returning to Nequasset Lake in 2022 and 2023.
We can also determine the spawning history of each fish sampled in the commercial catch using a similar technique. As river herring are migrating to spawning grounds, they do not feed or feed very little. This causes some reabsorption of the scale material which leaves a scar on each scale during the year that they spawned. By counting these scars, we can determine the number of times each fish spawned and associate spawning history with the age of each fish sampled.
Most river herring returning to Maine each year are age 4 and are spawning for the first time. As fish age they eventually die and drop out of the spawning population due to commercial harvest, predation, disease, or other factors. Having a wide range of ages and repeated spawning supports overall population sustainability.
The table below represents the frequency of repeat spawning in the Nequasset river herring population. (Note: R-0 are first time spawning fish, R-1 are fish that are returning for the second consecutive year to spawn, etc..)
These biological data and many others are all considered when determining the sustainability of the local river herring population and the degree to which harvest can occur without harming the population returning to Nequasset Lake.
2024 Nequasset Alewife Count
Total Fish Counted So Far: 5,638
Largest 10 Minute Fish Count So Far: 310 by Steve Eagles on 5/7
Notes from the Fish Ladder
See below for a sampling of the observations shared by fish counters this spring.
4/27/2024
"First fish!!! Just noticed one at the top two pools of the ladder. Osprey flew over, sitting in tree down the brook."
4/28/2024
"4 seagulls; 1 heron; 1 osprey; 2 large mouth bass waiting for a snack. The alewives looked bigger in size than the last time (previous year) I counted."
"Two loons above the dam."
4/29/2024
"I saw an osprey catch an alewife below and then a bald eagle follow his flight, then a juvenile bald eagle follow after that. :)"
"I heard a loon call close by, but didn't see it. Sky was turning hazy."
"It seemed like more fish made it over as the water got warmer. I watched an osprey grab one from below the falls and fly away home with it."
"Lots of fish in the fish ladder and immediately downstream of the ladder entrance."
4/30/2024
"3 ospreys, a bald eagle, a great blue heron."
"2 heron flying (seen twice), 1 seagull taking off with a fish in its mouth as we arrived, 2 osprey circling and crying out nearly the whole time we were there (30 min), one eagle seen flying above."
5/1/2024
"Two cormorants swam upstream as we arrived. Eagle, heron, osprey in trees and osprey flying over pond."
"Men working at the shed below selling fish in small amounts but lots of people in & out. I saw 2 great blue heron fly by & 3 osprey came for a look & perched for a bit."
"One osprey & very few fish in the upper pooling area quite different from Monday night when it was warm! 1 osprey came for a free meal. She dove down into the pool where the men keep the fish at the end furthest from them & came up with a nice lunch. She circled & flew away! She made a big splash!"
5/2/2024
"We love counting the alewives! We saw three ospreys."
"Water through the chute was just at dam level and there was some flow over the dam.
One osprey was circling and screaming but not dining."
"Disappointed Loon, two Osprey, and one seagull. Tide was rising. Could see several fish below dam. The fishermen taking fish for bait told me it was a very slow day with only four bushels taken."
5/3/2024
"Some fish in the ladder boxes. Song birds, eagle in the distance, occasional sea gull. Breezy. Tree leaves emerging."
"5 osprey flying over and 2 landed in pines along pool above dam, 6 herring gulls flying over pool above dam but continued to Nequasset Lake."
5/4/2024
"There were a lot of fish in the last box waiting to enter the lake."
"Ospreys perching and diving for alewives. Alewives schooling below entrance to fish ladder."
"There were a lot of folks stopping by the fish way to see the run."
5/5/2024
"Several ospreys calling and flying around. Harvesting taking place/selling of fish. Fish appear to be of good size this year."
"Ospreys perched and many gulls circling far overhead. Mostly cloudy with a little wind. Alewife smoke in progress."
"Only a couple of seagulls there - but maybe a dozen on the Meeting House roof!"
5/6/2024
"Three bald eagles, 3 ospreys, and one great blue heron were flying and roosting in the area around the dam. Farther upstream a cormorant was in the water near Nequasset Park. Twenty-four seagulls were perching on the roof of the 1757 building next to the cemetery, across from the Municipal Building. The water level was higher (up to the top of the concrete adjacent to the fish ladder) and flowing faster than when we counted fish on 4/30."
"Some fish in the waiting room jumped out of the water with their mouths open while they were swimming around. I hadn't seen that before!"
"Doesn't it seem they hang back until one decides to cross, then a group does? I wonder if there's a behavior tied to being in a school."
5/7/2024
"It was one of the first warm days! 1 alewife when back into the ladder. 2 loons landed on the pond above the dam but only stayed briefly while I was there. There were no other sightings of birds that might prey on the alewives. Lots of photographers and visitors though."
"I have never seen so many - the water was high so it was easy for them to get over the last hump."
5/8/2024
"Soooo many gulls all fighting for fish at the bottom of the waterfall, some on the dam & many in the sky. They all left when a big eagle came to sit in the cove below. He didn't stay long because there were so many photographers. At one time there were 4 osprey circling but only one landed for a few minutes before leaving. Cold & cloudy & got cloudier & colder as it got later."
"Are the fish bigger this year?"
"2 alewives counted entering Lake were tagged with silvery tags."
"Osprey circling overhead during this count. As I left there were 40 or so sea gulls that took up residence on the dam."
5/9/2024
"Lots of seagulls on top of the dam and below the end of the fish ladder. The ladder was filled with fish."
"3 seen going "backwards" or "backsliding"."
"Group of elementary age students and adults out and about."
5/10/2024
"This was so cool."
"There was a small school group with instructors at the dam when we arrived, but they soon left. Otherwise it was quiet; no bird activity observed other than a few gulls passing overhead."
"Cormorant on shore below dam."
"Slow day reported by fishermen waiting for bait fish."
5/11/2024
"No alewives. Lots of fishermen standing around hoping for bait. Lots of seagulls making lots of noise."
"An eagle arrived, landing in a nearby tree. Several people stopping by to observe the fish. Several fish at top of ladder, not moving quickly into the pond, resulting in some being washed back down. The eagle was still in the tree when I left."
"5 Osprey observed. Started as partly cloudy and started raining halfway through to the end."
5/12/2024
"Lots and lots of gulls, Osprey fly-over. Many fish at the screen at the smokehouse when we went down to look. Two people fishing from the driveway bridge upstream."
"Saw an osprey flying around. Lot’s of alewives trying to enter the lake but only 5 made it."
"I removed a small branch caught in the V notch of the top ladder. 1 fisherman, 2 lobstermen, 1 heron, 1 osprey, some gnats."
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!
Please feel free to contact us with any comments or questions about the Nequasset Alewife Count.
Ruth Indrick, Project Director, Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
(207) 442-8400 ~ rindrick@kennebecestuary.org