Maine Department of Marine Resources 2017 Plan

“The goal of this management plan is to protect, conserve, and enhance the fisheries resources of the Androscoggin River for their intrinsic, ecological, economic, recreational, scientific, and educational values and for use by the public.”

The ladder at the Brunswick dam “…designed to pass 85,000 American Shad and 1,000,000 alewives annually. The upstream passage facility was one of the first vertical slot fishways designed to pass American Shad on the east coast, and was a scaled-down version of a fishway located on the Columbia River.” page 9

“Currently, the factor limiting successful American Shad restoration to the Androscoggin River, and perhaps restoration of other diadromous species, is the lack of effective passage at the Brunswick Project.” page 9

“Visual observations, underwater videography, and radio telemetry studies conducted at the Brunswick Project by MDMR in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have shown that American Shad swim past the fishway entrance repeatedly, but rarely enter it. Furthermore, the few shad that enter the fishway rarely ascend beyond the turning pool (pool 23), and fish that reach the exit often have significant scale loss. Analysis of tag return data indicates lower than expected numbers of alewives successfully navigate the fishway.” page 9

“Management Problems · Lack of timely and effective upstream and downstream passage at Brunswick Dam for anadromous fish.” page 24

“The MDMR and MDIFW recognize that the public benefits from the intrinsic, ecological, economic, recreational, scientific, and educational values associated with both resident and migratory fisheries.” page 25

“a. The Licensee of the Brunswick Project will:  i. Improve upstream and downstream passage for anadromous species and test effectiveness no later than 2025. ii. Provide upstream and downstream passage for American Eel no later than 2031. iii. Develop fish passage designs, effectiveness testing studies, and operations and maintenance plans for passage facilities in consultation with the state and federal resource agencies.” page 26