Atlantic Salmon Fry Release Program
Over 4.5 million Atlantic Salmon eggs are returned to Maine's Atlantic salmon rivers each year. Some are released as fry by the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery, others by the Maine Department of Marine Resources, and by elementary school students involved in the Salmon in Schools Program. The Friends of Craig Brook often joins these efforts as the fry are released to their home rivers. Atlantic salmon are river specific. The fry resulting from brood stock from the Penobscot River are returned there and a similar process evolves for fry from the East Machias, Machias, Dennys, Pleasant, Narraguagus, and Sheepscot rivers. Some fry are raised to smolt stage (six to eight inches) at the Green Lake National Fish Hatchery, or the state facilities at the Sheepscot River or Atlantic Salmon Federation facilities at East Machias and Columbia Falls. In summary, 80% of all Atlantic Salmon returning to rivers in the United States began their lives as eggs at the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery and left as fry.
