NFC Executive Director Bob Mallard Chimes in on Maine's Endangered Atlantic Salmon (American Fly Fishing)

NFC Executive Director and Maine Board member Bob Mallard writes about critically endangered Atlantic salmon and how Maine is not doing everything it can to save them. The most egregious example is a 20-year refusal to list Atlantic salmon as endangered at the state level.

The article was published in the November/December edition of American Fly Fishing under Conservation. For a digital copy of the magazine click here. To get a print copy click here. To subscribe to American Fly Fishing click here.

“Though classified as endangered at the federal level, Atlantic salmon are not listed as endangered, threatened, or even as a species of concern at the state level.”

NFC founding member, former Maine Chair, and National Vice Chair Emily Bastian with Downeast Salmon Federation Executive Director Dwayne Shaw posting an informational sign noting the presence of endangered Atlantic salmon.

“A recent effort by Native Fish Coalition, Downeast Salmon Federation, Atlantic Salmon Federation, and others to have salmon classified as endangered under Maine’s Endangered Species Act was rejected by IFW; the agency cited the salmon’s status as a marine not inland species. The group will now turn its attention to DMR, and the Maine Marine Endangered Species Act, hoping for a better outcome.”

“If Atlantic salmon are to survive into the next century, much more will need to be done, including removing dams that impede migration, changing how we stock such as embracing the practices in place at Downeast Salmon Federation’s Peter Grey Hatchery, and protecting adult and juvenile fish when they are in freshwater. Anything less is akin to a death sentence, and will doom this iconic fish to extinction.”