Saving the salmon

While recent efforts to sustain salmon have primarily focused on Pacific populations, a recent federal decision is aimed at buoying Maine’s fish.

Federal officials declared protections for the state’s Atlantic population, extending protections for the species in several rivers and their tributaries, reported the Boston Globe.

The decision adds protections to the Penobscot, Kennebec and Androscoggin rivers. Federal officials conducted genetic tests on the waterways’ fish and determined they are part of the same population that the agency extended protections to nearly a decade ago on eight rivers in Down East Maine.

John Baldacci, Maine’s governor, said he is looking into challenging the listing.

Meanwhile, for anglers, the listing makes it illegal to intentionally catch the fish. Industries along the rivers will also need to comply with the mandate by protecting the creatures or their habitat.