Operational Plan for the Restoration of Diadromous Fishes to the ...

Because adult shad mortality increases with increasing temperature and distance
that fish must be trucked, only sources of broodstock within a 5-6 hour drive were
considered. Potential sources of sufficient broodstock in the Gulf of Maine are
limited (Table 7). A remnant population exists in the lower Penobscot, but DMR
estimates this population to be 1000 fish at most. In addition, capturing these fish
for broodstock before the removal of Veazie and Great Works dams would be nearly
impossible. Runs in the other Maine rivers are either too small, are undergoing
restoration, or cannot be easily captured. The nearest source 13 of 1000-1200 adults
within the Gulf of Maine is the Merrimack River (Table 7). This quantity of
broodstock is also available from the Connecticut River, located outside the Gulf of
Maine.
During the development of this operational plan, we reviewed the best available
information regarding the genetic structuring of shad populations on the east coast in
order to assess the potential impacts of using out-of-basin shad broodstock for the
Penobscot River restoration. This analysis is presented in Appendix A.
Table 7. Nearest potential sources of American shad broodstock.
River system Distance Status of run
Penobscot 0 mi Size unknown, not easily captured
Kennebec/Androscoggin 58 mi Size unknown, ongoing restoration, not easily
captured
Narraguagus 72 mi 100 adults in 2008
Saco 93 mi ~1200 adults, ongoing restoration, capture at
fishlift
Merrimack 125 mi ~29,000 in 2008, ongoing restoration, capture
at fishlift
St. John 179 mi Less than 1000 in 28 of 29 years from 1974-
2002
7.1.2. Double capacity of Waldoboro American shad hatchery.
The Waldoboro Shad Hatchery currently can produce up to 6 million fry per year. It
would have to be expanded to produce 12 million fry per year, which could be
accomplished in less than one year if funding becomes available.
7.1.3 Develop an assessment plan for evaluating the effectiveness of the
American shad hatchery stocking program (per ASMFC protocols).
Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River
Herring requires that states with a hatchery program must submit proposals for
evaluation and provide information in the annual report of the hatchery contribution
(percent wild versus hatchery fish for juveniles and adults). Most programs mark
hatchery fry with OTC, which shows as a fluorescent ring on the otolith. Samples of
emigrating juveniles and returning adults are sacrificed and their otoliths are
13 Distance measured from river mouth to river mouth.
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