For the past several months, avid anglers and conservationists have been paying close attention to the Penobscot River, where adult Atlantic salmon returned in numbers not seen in years.

After early May’s freshet finally flowed into the ocean, the fish trap at the Veazie Dam was activated. Staffers from the Maine Department of Marine Resources’ Bureau of Sea-Run Fisheries and Habitat began monitoring the trap, taking several hundred salmon to Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery in Orland and moving others upriver.

Along the banks of the Penobscot (and via the Internet in living rooms and offices across the state) folks counted along as the trap total rose … and rose … and rose.

Today, I’m happy to be able to report the final tally. Oliver Cox of the DMR’s Bureau of Sea-Run Fisheries and Habitat checked in late last week with his final report of the year.

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