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Chapter 6 - Diadromous FishRainbow SmeltRainbow smelt spawning has been documented near thehead of tide in rivers all along the coast from the HudsonRiver northward; the species becomes more widely distributed(Figure 6-15) and common north of Cape Cod.There is evidence of significant, recent range contraction.Levinton and Waldman (2006) report that rainbow smeltdeclined through the late 1900s and were extirpated fromthe Hudson River by 2000. A survey by a University ofConnecticut graduate student in 2005 failed to documentany smelt runs in Connecticut and the species isnow listed by the state as “Threatened” (Gephard, notdated). Until the 1960s, there were many abundant runsof rainbow smelt in rivers across coastal Connecticut.Buchsbaum et al. (1994) also noted a marked declinein smelt between 1965 and 1994 samples taken in PlumIsland Sound on the north shore of Massachusetts.ARainbow smelt is primarily an inshore fish that does notusually travel to offshore waters, therefore was not sampledadequately in the NOAA trawl survey.Important Marine Areas for Rainbow smeltNot enough data to determineSea-run Brook Trout (eastern brook trout,sea-run form)Coastal populations of eastern brook trout are limitedto the two northern subsections of the region, with significantreductions in abundance and distribution at thesouthern limit of the range (Figure 6-16). The sea-runform is currently documented in very few locations insouthern New England (Anderson et al. 2006), but becomesmore common in small coastal streams northwardthrough the Saint Lawrence River. Typically, anadromousBFigure 6-13. Areas with high persistence and abundance over 40 years for blueback herring during the spring andfall seasons.Northwest Atlantic Marine Ecoregional Assessment • Phase 1 Report 6-19