University of New England

Important research into the migratory habits of striped bass - Maine's premier saltwater sports fish - will continue at the University of New England thanks to financial support from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund and L.L. Bean.

The research project, headed up by Jacque Carter, Ph.D., marine scientist and interim vice president for academic affairs, was initiated in 2003 and has gained valuable data about the heretofore unknown migratory behavior of this important fish species. Major funding for this project came from the Maine Marine Research Fund through the Maine Technology Institute.

Kennebec River Expansion
Recently the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund has awarded the research project $10,000 to expand the study of striped bass in the Kennebec River, particularly their migration habits, stock structure and spawning habitats. Additionally L.L. Bean has provided a grant for $5,000 to continue this research in the Saco river as well as support for additional fish tagging and tracking in the Kennebec river.

Striped bass fishing is part of the heritage of coastal southern Maine. The sport is one of the key attractions for tourists visiting our coastal communities. But striped bass may also be ecologically important in regulating the abundance of other species and may serve as links between the ecosystems of Maine's rivers, estuaries and the ocean
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Project Design
Dr. Carter has designed a research project that applies telemetry technology to determine migration dynamics of striped bass in the Saco and Kennebec rivers and adjacent coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine. First, hydrophones are suspended underwater. Then, with the help of local recreational fisherman, striped bass specimens are captured and transported to the Marine Science Center where they are surgically fitted with acoustic tags. Finally, the fish are released back into the rivers and their movements monitored.

To date, tagged fish signals have been picked up as far away as New Jersey and Virginia, from where they return to Maine in the spring.

This information will also provide policy makers with better information to make certain that this important fish species continues to thrive in a manner that both preserves the economics of Maine's fisheries and the health of the coastal ecosystem.

(Press release issued May 22, 2005)