A bill awaiting the governor’s signature will require two of the state’s departments that deal with fisheries to be responsible for a plan to keep invasive species from taking over waters important to native fish.
The Legislature gave final approval this week to LD 1049, a bill that was amended to a memorandum of understanding between the departments of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Marine Resources. The governor had not signed it by Friday afternoon.
The legislation directs the two departments to devise a plan for preventing invasive fish from entering native species waters, and to keep the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife informed of their progress.
With some dams already removed and discussions in play about others, there is an increased danger of invasive species getting into waters where the state’s native fish live, according to the original bill introduced by Sen. Russell Black of Franklin. Opening up the dams or installing passageways makes it easier for Atlantic salmon and other fish to get to their traditional spawning grounds, but it also increases the chances that invasive species like pike will spread.
An Act to Protect Maine’s Inland Fisheries from Invasive Fish, the original bill introduced in March 2023 by Sen. Black, specified that fish passages could not be installed at the dams on Sebec Lake in Sebec, Sebec River in Milo, Schoodic Lake in Lake View Plantation, Seboeis Lake in Township 4, Range 9, or the Penobscot River in Medway to prevent 15 invasive fish species from migrating upriver in the Piscataquis and Penobscot river drainages.
It also would have required a 4-foot vertical barrier on the Piscataquis River dam at Brown’s Mill in Dover-Foxcroft.
Several people testified during public hearings on both sides of the issue, but the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee did not act in 2023 and held the bill until this spring.
The committee then amended the bill into a more general resolve, and put the problem of aquatic invasive species clearly in the laps of the two departments that manage fisheries for the state.
The departments are supposed to come up with a plan to control and prevent the spread of invasive species as improvements are made to fish passages and other barriers to native fish are removed.
The memorandum of understanding between the two departments must be updated at least every five years and the oversight committee informed of any changes in the agreement, according to the stipulations of the bill the Legislature passed.
The legislation also specifies that any changes planned at the dams in Medway or Brown’s Mill in Dover-Foxcroft that might affect the ability to prevent invasives be sent to the committee in writing before any work is done.
Sen. Black could not be reached for comment, and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife communications director Mark Latti said Friday the department would not make a statement until the bill is signed into law to avoid influencing the outcome.
