2010 Smelt Transfer

On May 29, 2010 MLFC assisted Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W) Regional Biologist Tim Obrey with transporting smelt from Thistle Pond to Wiggin Brook and North Brook.  MLFC members supplied trucks with barrells and a specially outfitted transport tank refurbished by Steve Cole to assist in the smelt transfer project.

MLFC Crew:
Roger Chouinard
Steve Cole
Donny Dysart
Larry Farrington
John McIver
John McLellan
Tim Obrey, IF&W
Art O'Connor 
Don Shumaker 
Scott Snell
Bruce Thompson

Visit our gallery and click "Smelt Transfer 2010" 

2010 Smelt Hatching and Stocking

MLFC recently purchased 3 million smelt fry from Maine Smelt Hatchery in Canaan.  We took delivery of 200,000 smelt fry on May 20, 2010 and placed them in Moose Brook.  The remainder of the smelt fry were delivered May 24, 2010 with 1.5 million introduced into Moose River and the remaining 1.3 million in Moose Brook.  For photos of smelt fry see photos contributed by John Whalen from Maine Smelt Hatchery visit our gallery click on the album Maine Smelt Hatchery.  For photos of the actual stocking visit our gallery and click on Smelt Stocking 2010

Smelt Research

During the rearing of smelt fry, the smelt are marked by dipping them in a dye that stains the ear bone, odolith, of the smelt.  As the smelt grow, the odolith grows covering the stained layer much like growth rings on a tree.  The smelt are then released during our Smelt Stocking Project.

MLFC collects samples of smelt from the stomachs of lake trout and salmon caught lake wide during ice fishing and open water seasons.

The odoliths are then removed from the sampled smelt and sent to Unity College for testing.  The odoliths are ground down and placed in a powerful microscope to reveal the growth rings.  If the odolith came from a marked smelt the marked growth ring will be visible.