By John Graham Jr.
Upstream board member
GARDINER — For the first time in 258 years, migratory fish passage on Cobbossee Stream and its watershed is becoming a reality. Major construction work has begun on the American Tissue Dam — the second dam upstream downtown – to create upstream and downstream fish passage for American eels and downstream passage for alewives.
The work is a result of the federal relicensing process required for hydropower dams and the efforts of Gardiner residents and environmentalists in advocating for the fish passage.
“This is a dream come true after five years of hard work and the very first efforts writing comments for federal relicensing”, said Tina Wood, Upstream president. “This is a big piece of the puzzle of fish passage and watershed health.”
The dam is a fully owned subsidiary of Kruger Energy Inc., an international business headquartered in Montreal. It was relicensed in April 2019 and the 40-year license requires Kruger to complete downstream fish passage improvements for eels and alewives immediately and immediate upstream passage for American eels.
The Maine Department of Marine Resources has been studying American eels in the Cobbossee watershed for some time and collected data at the three downtown dams and at the confluence of the Kennebec River. The health of Maine eel populations has become a hugely lucrative question. Baby eels, called elvers, are harvested so they can be used as seed stock by Asian aquaculture companies and eventually eaten. The baby eels were worth more than $2,300 per pound in Maine in 2018.
ATD’s 40- year federal hydropower license also requires new fish passage construction work when alewives are able to get past the first dam on Cobbossee Stream – the Gardiner Paperboard Dam. Within two years of upstream fish being present at the base of the ATD, Kruger must provide upstream fish passage for 3.1 million alewives.
PHOTO: Courtesy of Upstream
