Alewives returned late to smaller Maine rivers this year

Alewives returned late to smaller Maine rivers this year

By June 10 the fish were supposed to have come and gone already, but there they were. At first, they looked like a shadow in the water. On closer inspection, the dark blob resolved into hundreds, maybe thousands, of small silvery fish. They swam against the current of the Damariscotta River, braving a large gathering of gulls looking for dinner. Just ahead, the fish faced an uphill climb through dozens of small stone pools built to facilitate th…