Name: New fish ladder aims to get more alewives to spawning grounds on Pemaquid River
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New fish ladder aims to get more alewives to spawning grounds on Pemaquid River

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AdvertisementNew fish ladder aims to get more alewives to spawning grounds on Pemaquid RiverHide TranscriptShow TranscriptWHERE CONSTRUCTION IS UNDERWAY ON A NEW, MODERN FISH LADDER. ---NATS OF BUILDING--- (13-02-00)(DEB WILSON/BECKER CONSTRUCTION) "RIGHT NOW WE'RE JUST SEEING THE WORK BUT WHAT ABOUT WHEN THOSE FISH COME? I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE THAT." THOSE FISH,, ALEWIVES WILL START COMING IN SPRINGTIME -- AND, BY THEN, THIS NEW, STATE OF THE ART LADDER WILL LET THEM EASILY BYPASS THE BRISTOL MILLS DAM,, WHICH,, FOR DECADES,, HAS STOPPED MOST IN THEIR TRACKS.. (13-17-51)(RICK POLAND/BRISTOL FISH COMMITTEE) "FOR YEARS, FIRST SIX OR SEVEN YEARS THAT I WAS ON THE FISH COMMITTEE I NEVER SAW A FISH GET UP THROUGH THE LADDER UNLESS WE HELPED IT." (13-13-29)(WILSON) "IT'S GOING TO MAKE SUCH A DIFFERENCE FOR THE FISH HERE." DEB WILSON WITH HER HUSBAND MARK OWN BECKER CONSTRUCTION WHICH IS BUILDING THE LADDER... AND THOUGH MUCH SMALLER,, THIS PROJECT IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE NEARBY DAMARISCOTTA MILLS FISH LADDER WHICH THEIR COMPANY ALSO BUILT. (13-12-16)(WILSON) "THE DAMARISCOTTA MILLS PROJECT HAS 69 POOLS BUT IT'S THE SAME DESIGN, A POOL AND WEIR FISH LADDER (BUTT TO 13-12-30) EACH POOL RISES NINE INCHES TO THE NEXT POOL AND THAT HAS BEEN DETERMINED TO BE AN IDEAL RISE FOR ALEWIVES." FROM OUT OF THE OCEAN,, THE ALEWIVES MAKE THEIR WAY UP THE PEMIQUID RIVER TO SPAWN BEYOND THE DAM....... IN A GOOD YEAR,, SOME 50-THOUSAND MIGHT HAVE MADE IT...... BUT NOT WITHOUT SOME CREATIVE EFFORTS BY FISH COMMITTEE HEAD RICK POLAND AND MANY VOLUNTEERS... (13-17-08)(POLAND) "WE HAD A BUCKET BRIGADE THIS SUMMER,, THE FISH STARTED SLOWING DOWN GETTING UP OVER THE LADDER SO WE HAD A BUCKET BRIGADE WHICH WE HAD QUITE A FEW PEOPLE COME OUT." BUT WITH THIS NEW LADDER,, THE DAYS OF BUCKET BRIGADES WILL NO LONGER BE NEEDED.... (13-06-58) "BASICALLY THE FISH ARE DRAWN TO THE CURRENT" INSTINCTIVLY,, THE ALEWIVES WILL HEAD FOR THE LADDER -- MORE AND MORE RETURING EACH YEAR.... AND HOPE IS, LIKE DAMARISCOTTA MILLS WHICH NOW CARRIES MORE THAN 1-MILLION FISH A YEAR,,,, THE NUMBERS HERE WILL, IN FACT BE, EXCITING TO SEE... (13-13-29) "I THINK THEY'VE BEEN GETTING PRETTY MUCH A MINIMUM OF FISH COMING HERE , IT'S ESTIMATED THERE SHOULD BE 600 THOUSANDAdvertisementNew fish ladder aims to get more alewives to spawning grounds on Pemaquid RiverA new fish ladder aims to allow more fish to get past the Bristol Mills Dam on the Pemaquid River in Bristol.For decades the Bristol Mills Dam has stopped most alewives in their tracks, but come next spring, the new fish ladder will be in place."For years, the first six or seven years that I was on the fish committee, I never saw a fish get up through the ladder unless we helped it,” Bristol Fish Committee member Rick Poland said.Deb Wilson and her husband own Becker Construction, which is building the ladder.Although much smaller, the project is similar to the nearby Damariscotta Mills fish ladder that their company also built."The Damariscotta Mills project has 69 pools, but it's the same design. A pool and weir fish, each pool rises nine inches to the next pool, and that has been determined to be an ideal rise for alewives,” Wilson said.From the ocean, the alewives make their way up the Pemaquid River to spawn beyond the dam.In a good year, about 50,000 alewives might have made it upstream but not without some creative efforts by Poland and many dedicated volunteers."We had a bucket brigade this summer. The fish started slowing down getting up over the ladder, so we had a bucket brigade, which we had quite a few people come out,” Poland said.Instinctively, the alewives will head for the ladder, and more and more will return each year.The hope is similar to Damariscotta Mills, which now carries more than 1 million fish per year, the numbers in Bristol will be exciting to see.“I think they've been getting pretty much a minimum of fish coming here. It's estimated there should be 600,000 fish in this system, and I expect in a few years, we'll see that here,” Wilson said.The project, which costs about $550,000, was approved by Bristol voters earlier this year.A new fish ladder aims to allow more fish to get past the Bristol Mills Dam on the Pemaquid River in Bristol.For decades the Bristol Mills Dam has stopped most alewives in their tracks, but come next spring, the new fish ladder will be in place.Advertisement"For years, the first six or seven years that I was on the fish committee, I never saw a fish get up through the ladder unless we helped it,” Bristol Fish Committee member Rick Poland said.Deb Wilson and her husband own Becker Construction, which is building the ladder.Although much smaller, the project is similar to the nearby Damariscotta Mills fish ladder that their company also built."The Damariscotta Mills project has 69 pools, but it's the same design. A pool and weir fish, each pool rises nine inches to the next pool, and that has been determined to be an ideal rise for alewives,” Wilson said.From the ocean, the alewives make their way up the Pemaquid River to spawn beyond the dam.In a good year, about 50,000 alewives might have made it upstream but not without some creative efforts by Poland and many dedicated volunteers."We had a bucket brigade this summer. The fish started slowing down getting up over the ladder, so we had a bucket brigade, which we had quite a few people come out,” Poland said.Instinctively, the alewives will head for the ladder, and more and more will return each year.The hope is similar to Damariscotta Mills, which now carries more than 1 million fish per year, the numbers in Bristol will be exciting to see.“I think they've been getting pretty much a minimum of fish coming here. It's estimated there should be 600,000 fish in this system, and I expect in a few years, we'll see that here,” Wilson said.The project, which costs about $550,000, was approved by Bristol voters earlier this year.Loading more articles...

AdvertisementNew fish ladder aims to get more alewives to spawning grounds on Pemaquid RiverHide TranscriptShow TranscriptWHERE CONSTRUCTION IS UNDERWAY ON A NEW, MODERN FISH LADDER. ---NATS OF BUILDING--- (13-02-00)(DEB WILSON/BECKER CONSTRUCTION) "RIGHT NOW WE'RE JUST SEEING THE WORK BUT WHAT ABOUT WHEN THOSE FISH COME? I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE THAT." THOSE FISH,, ALEWIVES WILL START COMING IN SPRINGTIME -- AND, BY THEN, THIS NEW, STATE OF THE ART LADDER WILL LET THEM EASILY BYPASS THE BRISTOL MILLS DAM,, WHICH,, FOR DECADES,, HAS STOPPED MOST IN THEIR TRACKS.. (13-17-51)(RICK...

New fish ladder aims to get more alewives to spawning grounds on Pemaquid River

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