PITTSTON, Maine — Maine's smelt fishery appears to be bouncing back somewhat from a poor 2014, but experts say the future looks grim.
The Kennebec Journal reports that after 600 measured hours of fishing on the Kennebec River this year, the state has recorded 438 smelts caught, or one per line every 79 minutes. If that holds, it would be the best since 2009.
Last year was the worst smelt season ever in Maine.
The population of the small fish, which swim from saltwater habitats in the winter to mate in freshwater tributaries in the spring, has declined over the past two decades across the Northeast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Mike Baker, operator of Pittston smelt camps, says things may be better than last year, but they're still not good.