Today, May 22nd, we enjoyed a spectacular spring day to see two of the largest alewife runs in the state; Damariscotta River alewife and the St. George River alewife runs.  Together they represent 86% of the state’s harvest of alewives.  Our local lobstermen frequent the fish trap in Warren for fresh alewife bait, and the fish ladder in Damariscotta Mills is an amazing sight to walk along when filled with fish.  Here are some student reflections…

“I think of the fish as characters in an adventure story…very, very determined to swim to their spawning grounds.  The fish were dark gray and were very packed in the water.  If one was spooked, they all would move with the fish.  There were more fish there than I suspected there would be.  The river was black with them.  I have been wondering how the fish have the unending strength to swim all that way.  I think that we might need a fish ladder to help bring the run back (in Tenants Harbor).  The most interesting thing about the fish today is how many there were and how many dangers there were.  I learned and was more of how difficult the alewive’s journey is.”  Evie

“When I saw the fish it reminded me of the summer, when my friends and I would go fishing and lobstering.  It was so cool watching all the fish and feeling like I could reach my hand out and an alewife would just swim right into it.  I noticed that all of the fish were facing the same way.  There were lots more fish than I expected to see.  I wonder if the fish will always be there?  Is the water there getting saltier?  When I’m 32 will alewives still be in these places or will they be in our marsh by then?  The most interesting thing was walking along the bridge and watching the alewives.  Another interesting thing is how many birds eat alewives that are around where we went today.  What I understand more now, are the rules about alewives that we have now than what we used to.”  Ella

“I thought that it was really cool to see both of the runs from Damariscotta and Warren because personally, I have never seen any alewives in our marsh, so to see thousands all at once was very cool.  I noticed that the fish have to go against the current in Damariscotta to go upstream. There were way more fish than I expected, because I didn’t realize how dense they could get together.  I wonder what the salinity and temperature is in the streams from both Damariscotta and Warren.  I understand the alewife life cycle and can visualize it better now by going to see them today.  I learned that it takes three days to smoke alewives.  I learned what a fish ladder and trap look like.”  Brooke

“I thought it was really cool to see the alewives because we are studying them.  I noticed that the alewives were all going in one direction.  I also noticed that the alewives were moving very slow and going one by one up each ladder.  I thought that the interesting part was the way that the fish stay in a big group.  One thing I learned about alewives is they do not like the light and that they use the current to tell where to go.  I wish that we had restoration that Damariscotta has in St. George.”  Colby

“I noticed that there was a rock, not in the way, but the fish were going around the rock, and there were three to four fish with a chunk taken out of them.  There were more fish than I expected.  I think we should restore our run because I think it would be fun.”  Isla

“It was the best experience ever.” Jayden

“The fish were cool and I noticed that the fish were swimming two different directions. I thought that there were going to be less fish than what I saw.  The most interesting thing about the fish was that there were so so many of them and I have never seen that many fish in one spot before.  What I understand now that I have had this experience is how you smoke the alewives and that alewives like shady spots. What I learned about the fish that I didn’t know was that it takes three days to smoke alewives.  Step one: salt, step two: smoke, step three: smoke again.  I also learned that alewives have a difficult journey.”  Natalie

“I thought that is was amazing to see all of the alewives.  The big ball of alewives under the bridge looked like seaweed because of how they swayed and wiggled.  I found looking at the mechanisms and contraptions of the alewives were really cool.  I really like to look at things like that.  I also thought that the smokehouse was really interesting and I like the fact that they used actual wood to produce the smoke. I am really glad I went on the field trip and I would like to than everyone who made this trip possible.”  Dylan

“The fish were like a swarm of bees trying to go through the current.  The fish had the colors of green, silver, and dark blue.  Another detail is the fish were waiting until the current changed so they could leave the entrance of the stream. There were more than I expected.  What would happen if the alewives became an extinct species?  I learned we were hunting alewives ever since the 1600’s.  The most interesting part of this was learning that there were 3,000+ alewives in the smokehouse.”  Jacob

“I thought that it was really cool to see all the fish schooling up.  It made my day seeing the huge brown trout with all the alewives. I want to try a smoked alewife.  The warden was very informative.  It was a great day.” Nathan

“It was so cool to see all the fish in the water.  They were like the water itself. It was so beautiful to see them in the water.  I noticed a lot more fish than I expected, I thought there were going to be maybe, 500 fish, but it was more like 5,000 fish.  I noticed that all the fish stuck together, even if something disturbed them in the water.  I wonder why our alewives haven’t come back.  I learned that people have been fishing in the waters for 9,000 years.  I thought that all the birds near all those alewives were interesting, because they didn’t even try to get one to eat. The experience was really amazing.  I got to see all those fish, and it is super cool because all those fish have made it back to their natal rivers and they have survived.”  Leilani