A Great Year for Fish (and Fish Counters) at Nequasset Lake!
An early start and steady stream of fish through May made this the largest fish count we've had in 13 years of counting!
A Summary of the Season:
Wow! It was quite a year at Nequasset Lake, with an early start on 4/27 and a steady flow of fish arriving at the lake throughout May. This resulted in the largest count of fish by volunteers that we've ever had in our 13 years of counts - 30,620 fish! Our next largest count of 19,061 was in 2014. This year's alewife run also had the largest number of fish into the lake and the largest number of fish harvested over the past 13 years.
See below for:
~ A summary of the final numbers from this year's alewife count
~ A graph of all the 2024 alewife counts
~ A sampling of notes from fish counters during the second half of the season
PC: Courtney Cronin
The 2024 Alewife Run at Nequasset Lake Summary of Numbers and Observations
How many fish entered the lake?
Around 250,000 fish entered the lake.
This is that largest number of fish in the past 13 years!
Most of the fish that come to spawn are usually 4 years old, with a smaller number 5 and older. As you can see from the graph above, the number of fish into the lake wasn't particularly high in 2020 or 2019. The large number of fish that came to spawn this year suggest that there were good survival rates for the juveniles and young adult fish over the past four years.
It will be neat to learn from the Maine Department of Marine Resources' scale sampling this year whether this year's alewife run was big because many of the fish were repeat spawners (5 year old fish born in 2019 that came to Nequasset last year and are spawning this year for a second time) or whether they are mostly 4 year olds from 2020.
Where does the estimate come from? Using each of the volunteer fish counts that were submitted over the season, we calculate an approximate number of fish that made it up the ladder and entered the lake each day, adding them together to determine the total number of fish that entered the lake this year. A computer program designed by staff at the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game makes it easy to do this type of fish math.
How many fish were harvested?
Around 215,600 fish were harvested
This is the largest harvest of fish in the 13 years of harvest data that we have tracked alongside the fish counts.
Where does the estimate come from? The fisherman that the town contracts with to manage the harvest documents the number of bushels of fish that are sold, and the estimate is based on the approximate number of fish in a bushel.
Was this year's alewife run and harvest sustainable?
Yes! This year's harvest met and exceeded the threshold for sustainability.
The escapement this year was 53%.
Escapement is the percent of fish that made it into the lake out of all the alewives that arrived at the dam (both the harvested fish and fish that climbed the ladder to the lake). The Maine DMR has figured out that at least 15% of the fish need to make it into the lake for the run to be sustainable, and we are well above that amount!
What types of wildlife came to eat the alewives?
There were observations of 14 different types of wildlife in 2024. Some were eating alewives and others were just visiting the site!
For the two species with the most observations, it was interesting this year that most of the osprey observations came from the first two weeks of the run and most of the gull observations came from the last two weeks of the run. We only had one sighting of a beaver, but a number of people mentioned needing to pull sticks away from the top of the ladder. There must have been an industrious beaver at work around the ladder pretty regularly through the second half of May!
2024 Nequasset Alewife Count
Total Fish Counted: 30,620
Largest 10 Minute Fish Count in May: 500 by Kathleen Hanning on 5/22
The first fish were seen purposefully going out of the lake on 5/19, and after that date, some the the high counts may partially be due to fish heading out of the lake that then go back and forth in and out of the lake a few times before committing to going down the ladder.
There were a couple very high counts (>1,000) the first two days of June, but they are not included in the graph. This is because there were so many fish leaving (and reentering) the lake that the counts were more reflective of the number of fish going back and forth on their way out of the lake than new fish on their way in.
PC: Angela Brewer
The Nequasset Alewife Count would not be possible without the many amazing volunteers. 185 volunteers took part in fish counting!
Thank you!
Notes from the Fish Ladder
PC: Courtney Cronin
a sampling of the observations shared by fish counters during the second half of the count.
5/13/2024
"Another beautiful day to sit and watch the water flow through the chute. Less water over the dam. No birds anywhere. Very few in the top catch basin as well."
"Not much going on bird wise. Fish were circling deeper in the upper pool but few making a move to enter."
5/14/2024
"A bald eagle, an osprey, and several seagulls. The fish came fast and furious at times today, so in each 10-minute count an occasional fish may have sneaked through uncounted amid the heavy traffic."
"Near high tide. I also saw fish coming to the surface and making a gulping motion as if capturing air."
5/15/2024
"Many gulls on the dam. Two ospreys flying above, one of which perched in the pines overlooking the water but did not dive. An eagle soared farther above. There was a large tree branch wedged in the opening to the lake at the top of the ladder, stretching across the last board."
"Lots of gulls. 2 eagles, 1 osprey overhead but no joy! Low tide. 1 photographer, 4 others."
5/16/2024
"16 herring gulls on dam. I moved a bunch of beaver debris away from the top flashboard that was blocking access to the pond. Talked to one of the harvesters who said he had never seen so many fish in the holding pond or in the fishway. I walked down to look in the holding pond and it was loaded. One dead fish in pool just below the flash board."
"Saw an eagle with a fish. Plenty of seagulls flying around. Fishermen waiting to buy alewives."
"Low tide, so the seagulls were down at the pools doing their own harvesting."
5/17/2024
"Debris blocking the top of the ladder. Beaver? I saw something in the water by the bridge when I came in."
"Several seagulls in the area, & appear to be taking advantage of the fish entering the ladder. Many fish at the top of the ladder but slow to enter the pond. When 1 goes then 5-6 follow, but several minutes between groupings."
5/18/2024
"Gulls flying around about. Saw one alewife with a chunk out of its side."
5/19/2024
"Fishermen and seagulls."
"The fish were running slow today. Our shadow may have scared them because when we stepped back we saw 8 zoom into the lake quickly."
"Four fish had some sort of injury or disease. Two of them looked particularly bad with whitish spotted lesions. A fifth fish floated back down the fish way."
"So many fish kept going back into space between v board and top board."
5/20/2024
"Heron fly-by, eagle fly-by, large dead fish (striper?) in 3rd step of ladder, increasing clouds, predatory fish above dam were active."
"The fish were swarming in. My count is the best I could do but it's likely +/- 10%. However, great bunches of alewives swarmed back out."
5/21/2024
"Gulls flying upstream from the dam. 1 osprey perched."
"Number of dead and dying fish on the rocks below the dam."
5/22/2024
"So many were going out too, some were going out then coming back in, so some had to be counted again! some fish had patches of scar? tissue? one had a wound, red chunk missing right on top. Heard an Osprey calling loud, but the fish were jumping over too fast to look up!"
"No birds or fishermen of prey seen, just fish."
"A lot of fish coming out of the lake as well. Colliding with incoming & many were pushed back out & down the ladder by the outgoing."
5/23/2024
"A bass or two in the pond feasting on fish."
"Some fish heavily scarred."
"Large numbers of fish in the ladder, moving more quickly today into the lake. Very quiet at the fish ladder today. No visitors or birds. The fish were active, swimming up into the lake, but several were swept back down into the ladder so most likely counting some more than once."
5/24/2024
"Lots of fish in the harvester’s area but no fisherman here to purchase. Bass still here in the pond. Lots of run backs."
"We’ve been counting every year and have NEVER had numbers like that! Lots of seagulls, no other birds."
5/25/2024
"Run backs. Two of them had chunks taken out of their back near the dorsal fin. One photographer. Harvester here but no fishermen."
"About 100 fish left the lake. There were large schools of fish above the ladder. Counting was challenging when fish were schooled directly above the opening. There were about 20 gulls on the dam when I walked down. An eagle flew over with something that looked more like a frog or eel than an alewife before the count started. Harvesting underway."
5/26/2024
"Very hard to count. There are a lot of fish in the top pool as well as at the top of the ladder in the pond. They are churning up the water. Cormorant in the pond."
"2 herons, 2 turkey vultures flying around dam; several seagulls across the street, none by the water; one person fishing at the adjacent private property's bridge. Many fish milling around just above the dam, with lots of splashing; many dead fish in the water below the dam. Low tide. After this count, we noticed a large branch stuck in the ladder and removed it."
5/27/2024
"Lots are jumping out too, and back in, kind of hanging around. Many gulls on dam and below."
"Lots of fish entering the ladder from the pond making it a challenge counting those entering it. Very quiet at the ladder today. No birds or visitors."
"One eagle, 10-12 great blue herons, lots of gulls. No alewives noted slipping back down into the ladder."
5/28/2024
"A dozen gulls and 2 great blue herons present on arrival."
"Crazy how many fish there were! It was very chaotic, so many fish entering the lake and so many fish leaving the lake (looked like some fish were swimming out, some were going tail first, and some being pushed out!). Water level was very high."
5/29/2024
"Lots of fish in the pond & top box was full of them teeming. One would go through & many would follow. I'm not sure how many of the fish I counted went through a few times. LOTS of fish flipping around on the dam & going over the waterfall. Gulls eventually came & stayed up above but when the big birds came through they would scatter."
"The water was higher, the fish were swimming in place at the weir, and many were going out and back in, and slapping against fish going in. I know there was one with a gash that went in, then out, then in, so others were probably doing that too."
5/30/2024
"Maybe 25 fish swept back over the last gate during the count, so this may be an overcount. I removed a branch from the uppermost pool. Also observed ~ 20 gulls right at the dam, 3-5 great blue herons, one bald eagle perched on a limb, maybe just 2 feet above the water, downstream."
5/31/2024
"106 fish left the lake. Herons and eagles in channel below the fish house. Loon in the lake. Large schools of fish in the lake above the ladder. A number of fish leaving the lake over the waterfall at the far side of the dam."
6/1/2024
"Was hard to count as so many going in and out."
6/2/2024
"There was at least one heron flying around. Between our two 10-minute periods, an osprey circled low and repeatedly dived at the water, finally succeeding in landing a fish on the 4th or 5th attempt. Even more fish than today's first reading, so even more challenging to count them properly! Two gulls around the dam and a person fishing from the adjacent private bridge. Two fish (separately) jumped from the ladder onto the dam, then flopped their way back into the ladder."
"Not confident in my count being accurate due to the fish in the pond coming back in. I couldn't click fast enough. The pond looks like it's bubbling it's so full of fish. After counting, I was in my car in the dirt parking lot overlooking the pond & saw 4 heron on the ladder picking fish out & eating them as fast as they could. 7 or 8 on the dam squabbling & deciding whether to join the shenanigans of 5 to 6 more on the fences & deck of the platform all puffed up & chasing each other away from the spot of honor which overlooks the fish going into the pond."
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Your donations make it possible for us to continue the annual Nequasset fish count and carry out a range of other conservation and restoration programs in the Kennebec Estuary.