Each spring, millions of alewives migrate up Maine’s rivers and streams to spawn, and in the summer, their millions of offspring migrate back to the sea. A talk by Dr. Karen Wilson on June 4 will provide an opportunity to learn more about these important fish, their population and migration, and their interactions with other species in the Gulf of Maine.  This free webinar starts at 6 p.m. on Zoom. Registration for the link can be found at https://www.kennebecestuary.org/upcoming-events/2020alewife-webinar or the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust Facebook page.

Dr. Wilson is an associate research faculty with University of Southern Maine’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy.  She is currently working on a project to study juvenile river herring and their habitat in the Penobscot and has studied how alewives create economic and ecologic connections between Maine’s lakes and rivers and the Gulf of Maine. 

Each year since 2012, KELT volunteers have counted fish at the Nequasset Fish Ladder during the annual alewife run. Volunteers sign-up for two hour shifts between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m., and the results are then used to estimate the total number of fish that travel to Nequasset Lake each year. It takes most alewives about four years to grow to adults and then return to the lake to spawn. The results from these volunteer efforts are evidence of that four-year cycle in the fish count numbers.

The webinar registration will provide a link to the free conference on Zoom. For more information or to sign-up, visit KELT’s website at www.kennebecestuary.org or call (207) 442-8400.