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Sunday, May 18, 2003
Angling for more fish
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||||||||
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LAKE AUBURN — The large pickup with the silver tanks pulled up slowly along the road, the sun reflecting off the containers on the back as if in celebration of the ceremony to come. There was nothing exotic or elaborate about the 20-year-old industrial truck. Yet the allure of what it offered attracted fishermen like salmon to smelts. Andre Cloutier was one. Cloutier walked toward the truck at the side of Auburn Lake after it parked. With a can of Moxie in hand, a fishing T-shirt revealing his passion, Cloutier posed the inevitable question that came from so many fishermen that day: "What size are they?" the Auburn resident asked biologists Carlton Bryant and Jesse Coleman as they ran a tube from the truck tanks into the lake. That was the question posed by all who were drawn to the hatchery truck that the two biologists were emptying into Lake Auburn. Cloutier, like others, nodded approval at the 1,000 fish being stocked that were 8-to-10 inches in length. Last year, 747 waterways were stocked with about a million fish from state hatcheries. But fishermen statewide have told regional biologists it's not enough. Mainers expressed their desire to improve the state's stocked waters last November when they passed a $24 million environmental bond that included $7.5 million to be spent on the state's 50-year-old hatchery system. But whether the state will be able to provide more stocked fish in three years is uncertain, state officials said. Last week Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife officials began visiting the nine hatcheries with the project's contractors, FishPro of Springfield, Ill., and Wright-Pierce of Topsham, said Peter Bourque, the department's director of fisheries program development. At that point, Bourque said, the department began to fashion a timeline for the project. The first step, he said, would likely be the installation of new oxygen systems at Dry Mills in Gray and Governor Hill in Augusta to improve water quality and increase fish production at those hatcheries. Bourque said the next stage of the current upgrade should include adding new oxygen and filtration systems for the discharge of waste - like fish food and feces - at three other hatcheries. And the last step would be the renovation of the Embden Rearing Station, he said. When completed in roughly three years, there should be anywhere from 250,000 to 300,000 more fish available for stocking, according to the department. But the irony in Maine's upcoming hatchery overhaul is that there is no guarantee when it is completed that there will be money at the department to staff the hatchery division at current levels. Lawmakers and state officials have been trying to trim $5.3 million from the department's budget to address a lack of revenue and a loss of General Fund money in the next biennium. In Gov. John Baldacci's first budget, four hatchery positions were slated to be cut and the Phillips Hatchery was listed among the facilities that would be closed. Bourque said federal money that traditionally was used to pay for minor hatchery upgrades will be used in the next two years to avoid cutting hatchery staff. But he said this is only a temporary solution. The department doesn't know if those funds will be available in the next biennium. If the state hatchery staff were downsized - which Bourque said is a real possibility in two years - a boost in production would have to wait. The federal Sport Fish Restoration Program that raises money through the federal marine fuel tax will help pay for hatchery positions in the short term. But the program is currently up for reauthorization in Congress, and Bourque said the boating industry wants more of the money dedicated to boating safety and law enforcement, rather than inland fisheries. If that were to happen, the impact would be in the $300,000 to $400,000 range, Bourque said. "That's a big bite out of our hide," Bourque said. "That would be money we usually use for hatchery work." In that scenario, Bourque said, there would be no funding for the hatchery positions spared in the recent budget cuts. Then there would not be a large enough staff to feed and stock the additional fish that the hatcheries are expected to produce in two years. "(It) would be likely that we'd have to continue production at current levels even after the upgrades," Bourque said. "It's not unrealistic, in light of the current situation with state government." As it is, department officials say it will be difficult for the existing staff to handle the increase in production. Throughout the state, especially in southern Maine, state biologists are reliant upon the help of fishermen to stock the fish and spread them out so that those stocked are not caught and removed right away. Bryant at the Dry Mills Hatchery said the stocking in York County is done with the help of sportsmen 25 percent of the time. Most of the time, the hatchery trucks pull out with two biologists. Dry Mills supervisor John Veader said if he sent a hatchery truck with one person it would be impossible for the driver to stock a body of water alone. The sportsmen in York County and other parts of the state make it possible for trucks to be manned with biologists, and for more stocking trips to be made. With the help of sportsmen, Veader said, hatchery fish are spread out quicker and over a larger area. Were the sportsmen paid for their effort, Veader estimates it would cost the state $17,000. Steve Rand was helping Bryant stock brook trout two weeks ago. The Wells resident spent five hours one day helping to dump buckets of trout in fisheries such as the Little River in Berwick. Rand, who has been the president of the North Berwick Rod and Gun Club off and on since 1965, said sportsmen expect no compensation for such work, other than improved fisheries. "They said the brook trout were 8-to-10 inches in size. They were a lot better than that," Rand said. "They were beautiful. Some young fellow will get one and, I'll tell you, he'll be some happy." Rand said he's often one of six anglers helping to spread hatchery fish over mile-long sections of Maine's rivers. When the hatchery production increases in the next two years, Rand said he and others will have no trouble "mustering up" more help in the stocking effort. Having fished in states like Wyoming and Washington, Rand has seen better, more updated hatchery systems. He wants Maine to maximize its fish production however it can. "I don't think there's any question, especially in southern Maine, that guys would help," Rand said. "They want to make sure it goes as smoothly as it can, and that they get the fish out. It's somewhat unique here in that we've (helped) since the early 1960s." John Miller in Ogunquit first got involved in helping the state stock fish 30 years ago. Now, Veader said, Miller coordinates the volunteer effort in southern Maine. Miller is a dispatcher of sorts, finding available fishermen in the Associated Sportsmen's Clubs of York County who can help biologists stock the fish in April and May. "The biggest advantage we think to having the sportsmen involved is we're able to tell (biologists) when the land becomes posted," Miller said of fisheries that become inaccessible. "The practice used to be to go on the turnpike and just sluice them in the closest hole. Now, we like to think we're spreading them out more." The way fishermen buzzed around the hatchery trucks this spring, it's obvious they have a vested interest in the stocking program and want to see it improve, rather than stagnate. At Lake Auburn, Sheldon Savage came out of his shop, North Auburn Cash Market, to greet the department biologists on a stocking run. He, too, nodded as he admired the sizeable brook trout going into the inlet at the lake. But the older fisherman was more concerned about how long the fish would last, rather than in their size and numbers. "They should put up a sign saying, 'No fishing for the day,' to protect them," Savage said. "We usually don't tell where they're stocked, but word gets around quick. Fishermen seem to be pretty happy the way it's been going. But they like to see them spread out." Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at:
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