Downeast Fisheries Trail
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Somesville Mill Pond

Main Street (Route 102), Mount Desert

Each spring, alewives (river herring) return from the sea to reproduce in freshwater lakes. At one time, the annual arrival of these fish provided an important food source for early New Englanders because they kept well when smoked or salted.  Today. Many river herring runs have disappeared due to overfishing, pollution, and dams and other barriers to fish passage. In the Mill Pond watershed in Somesville, several dams constructed in the late 1700s to power saw, grist, and woolen mills blocked the alewife migration. Runs did not entirely disappear, because some adult fish were usually caught below and released above the dams by citizens interested in preserving an alewife run.  Fishways were eventually installed in these dams to allow the alewives to continue in their natural migration, but in recent times those fishways had fallen into disrepair and alewife runs nearly disappeared.  Starting in 2005, fishway restoration has enabled the return of this sea-run fish to Somesville. Watch the schools make their way through the historic fishways between early May and early June. Park at the Historical Society Museum, where an interpretive sign adjacent to the Mill Pond explains how it all works.

207.244.4027 | www.somesmeynell.org/ | www.facebook.com/somesmeynellwildlifesanctuary/

Year-round. Parking. Interpretive sign.

Saw Mill 1890
Fishway at Somesville
Somes harbor then and now
Alewife run
Alewives
Kids learning about alewives
Somesville signage
Somesville bridge and sign
Kids searching for alewives
Kids and fish passage
Alewives and gravel bottom
Somesville fishway
Fishway with water running
Fish passage maintenance
Fish passage maintenance
Elver nets
Elver nets
Elver nets

Sources & Links

Elvers underwater at Somesville, Maine (still from video)

Alewives and Elvers in Somesville: is a short educational video created in Spring 2019 by a College of the Atlantic student,Annaleena Vaher, as a final Project for her Fisheries, Fishermen, and Fishing Communities class. The video explores how alewives and elvers migrate from Somes Harbor to Mill Pond, to eventually reach Somes or Long Pond. It looks into how the Somes dam affects the run both on land and underwater. The video also focuses on monitoring work that the Somes-Meynell Sanctuary conducts in order to restore the population of sea-run alewives. It is born out of curiosity and deep respect towards both species.

Somes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary 207.244.4027

Mount Desert Island Historical Society 207.276.9323

Somesville Maine Alewife Run 2011, You Tube Video (3.23 minutes, Alewives visible starting at 47 seconds)

Alewife Runs at Somesville, Maine.  KnowledgeBase (Science and information management for the Gulf of Maine and its watershed)

Alewives, Acadia National Park Resource Brief, June 2009.

Restoring alewives, American eel, and sea lamprey in Somesville on Mount Desert Island, Maine. December 5, 2006.  Us Fish and Wildlife Service, Gulf of Maine Program.

Trail Sites

  • Abbe Museum
  • Bad Little Falls Park
  • Bar Harbor Town Park
  • Bar Harbor Town Pier
  • Beals Heritage Center
  • Bucksport Waterfront
  • Cable Pool Park
  • Carryingplace Cove
  • Cobscook Bay Resource Center
  • Cobscook Bay State Park
  • Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery
  • Deer Isle – Stonington Historical Society
  • Downeast Institute
  • Frazer Point
  • Frenchman Bay Overlook
  • Frenchman Bay Scenic Turnout
  • Gleason Cove Park
  • Gordon’s Wharf
  • Great Harbor Maritime Museum
  • Green Lake National Fish Hatchery
  • Henry Cove
  • Islesford Historical Museum
  • Jonesport Historical Society
  • Long Cove
  • Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries (formerly Penobscot East Resource Center)
  • Maine Coast Sardine History Museum
  • McCurdy’s Smokehouse
  • Milbridge Historical Museum
  • Milbridge Town Marina
  • Morong Cove
  • Mount Desert Oceanarium
  • Naskeag Point
  • Otter Cove
  • Penobscot Marine Museum
  • Penobscot Narrows Bridge Observatory & Fort Knox
  • Peter Gray Hatchery
  • Pleasant River Hatchery
  • Prospect Harbor
  • Quoddy Head State Park
  • Roosevelt-Campobello International Park
  • Shackford Head State Park
  • Somesville Mill Pond
  • Taunton Bay Gateway
  • Tidal Falls
  • Waponahki Museum & Resource Center

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The Downeast Fisheries Trail consists of 45 locations from Penobscot Bay, Maine, to Passamaquoddy Bay, New Brunswick, that showcase active and historic fisheries heritage sites, such as fish hatcheries, aquaculture facilities, fishing harbors, clam flats, processing plants, historical societies, community centers, parks, and other related places. The Trail is an effort to raise awareness among residents and visitors of the importance of the region’s maritime heritage and the role of marine resources to the area’s economy. The Trail builds on these local resources to strengthen community life and the experience of visitors.

For a printed map-brochure of the Trail, please call 207.581.1435.

Download the web version of the map-brochure. (6.8 MB)

For more information about the Downeast Fisheries Trail, email or call 207.288.2944 x5834.

Downeast Fisheries Trail Brochure Map - Web Version

Downeast Fisheries Trail Brochure Map - Web Version

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