NOAA Awards More Than $1.1 Million To The Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission

NOAA AWARDS MORE THAN $1.1 MILLION TO THE
MAINE ATLANTIC SALMON COMMISSION

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded a grant of $1,146,000 to the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission to conduct freshwater assessments and research of Atlantic salmon in collaboration with NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Commission and NOAA Fisheries will perform counts of salmon smolts in Maine rivers, assess their migration and monitor adult Atlantic salmon returns and spawning in rivers where the distinct population of Atlantic salmon is found. The team will evaluate salmon production while in-river, as well as marine, survival in order to learn more about survival mechanisms at distinct life history stages. The Commission will also monitor adult returns and in-river movements of sea-run salmon in the Penobscot River.

“This NOAA grant will allow the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission and NOAA Fisheries to learn more about the lifecycles of Atlantic salmon in order to help with the recovery of the species,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “NOAA and the Bush Administration are working to improve our marine resources through local and regional initiatives like that of the Commission’s Atlantic salmon fishery development program.”

The Commission will also use the funding to initiate cooperative projects with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Maine. These projects include: investigating whether climate trends may be affecting spring river flows and winter ice conditions; monitoring and evaluation of acid-precipitation effects on Atlantic salmon; studying the dynamics of smolt production from fry stocking in Maine Rivers; and assessing alternatives to electrofishing for some juvenile salmon population assessments.

Each year NOAA awards approximately $900 million in grants to members of the academic, scientific and business communities to assist the agency in fulfilling its mission to study the Earth’s natural systems in order to predict environmental change, manage ocean resources, protect life and property, and provide decision makers with reliable scientific information. NOAA’s goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for the past 34 years.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit http://www.noaa.gov.

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