April 28, 2013 — A fishway on the Cumberland Mills Dam in Westbrook will lead alewives into a part of the Presumpscot River this week for the first time in more than a century.
The fishway, which the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in 2009 ordered Sappi Fine Paper to build at its dam, was constructed over the past two years and required to be completed by May.
"As a result of significant collaborative efforts and teamwork, Sappi expects to complete the fishway on time, within budget, and most importantly, safely," the company said in a statement. Sappi declined to comment further about the fishway.
The company has two more years to create a fish passage at Saccarappa Falls, a mile upriver, and is considering removing the dam entirely instead of building a fish ladder — possibly because it would be cheaper. The company has said the fish ladder at Cumberland Mills cost $5 million.
Eventually, Sappi will have to create passageways at its four dams farther upriver, the timing of which depends on how quickly the fish come back.
The Maine Department of Marine Resources has been stocking 600 alewives per year above Saccarappa Falls since 2009, so a good number of the fish — which take four years to mature — would return to spawn just in time for the opening of the fishway at Cumberland Mills, said Gail Wipplehauser, a scientist for the department.
Wipplehauser said Friday she expected the run to start in about a week and for about 1,000 alewives to pass through the dam over a three-week period.
Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald