March 2, 2014 — Rainbow smelt were once found as far south as Chesapeake Bay, and were particularly abundant along the Gulf of Maine. Now, the small, tasty fish has disappeared from Connecticut south, in a depopulation so rapid that researchers were too late to pinpoint an exact cause.
A similar trend is occurring in Maine, where the smelt numbers are dropping around Kennebec County and southern Maine. Their decline could be a sign that something is wrong with the water, and the commercial, recreational and ecological impact of their loss would be significant.
The state should continue its work surveying the smelt population, looking for factors in common with those in the areas where the fish are no longer found. And communities throughout the state need to address the changes resulting from development that may be affecting the ecosystem smelt inhabit.
Smelt have a long history along the East Coast, but for the last three centuries, their southern edge has been moving steadily north.
Read the full opinion piece at the Kennebec Journal