A Need Develops
Atlantic salmon were abundant in the free-flowing coastal rivers
of colonial New England. By the Civil War period, dam building
for water power and navigation to serve the industrialization
of a young
America, combined with many years of commercial overfishing, had
reduced salmon to only a few populations in some Maine rivers.
In 1864, the State of New Hampshire invited
neighboring States to join in creating a Commission to improve
inland fisheries, including
Atlantic
salmon. By 1866, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and several other
States had joined; and one year later, salmon eggs were imported
from Canada to State and private fish hatcheries to re-establish
salmon
in several rivers. The Commission, not wishing to be dependent
on salmon stocks so far removed from the rivers that they were
stocking,
in 1870 asked Charles Atkins, the Commissioner from Maine, to seek
a suitable site for obtaining salmon eggs.
A Hatchery Evolves
The first attempt at capturing wild salmon in the tidal
portion of rivers and holding them in fresh water until spawning
months later was made by Mr. Atkins in 1871. He purchased live
salmon from Penobscot River trap fishermen, and transported them
to Craig's Brook Pond to hold until spawning in the late autumn.
This first attempt ended in failure, as nearly all the captured
adult salmon died before spawning. Mr. Atkins continued experimenting
with different holding ponds and methods of handling the adult
salmon. He developed a floating "salmon car", which consisted
of a boat with holes drilled through the hull, to transport the
adults
safely. New ponds built at the mouth of Craig's Brook on Alamoosook
Lake and at nearby Dead Brook proved suitable for holding captured
adult salmon. In November of 1871, the 18 surviving adults were
spawned and produced 72,300 eggs. The eggs were incubated in the
basement of an old mill at the mouth of Craig's Pond Brook for
about a month, then were packed in moss and taken to State hatcheries
in Massachusetts, Maine and Connecticut. This was the beginning
of the use of native U.S. Atlantic salmon stocks in the restoration
of the species.
It was also in 1871 that the U.S.
Congress established a Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries "to investigate the
decrease in the food-fishes of the coasts and lakes of the United
States
and the best methods to restore and maintain these fisheries."
In 1872, the new U.S. Commissioner joined in the efforts of the
States to "enlarge the hatchery operations of Charles G.
Atkins."
Hatchery operations were moved from Craig's Pond Brook to a small
pond near Bucksport. The Bucksport hatchery was supplied with
trapped adult salmon which were hauled by "salmon boats" up
the Penobscot River to Bucksport. From Bucksport, they were transported
a short distance overland to the hatchery pond in horse-drawn,
90-gallon wooden tank wagons built for the purpose. The Bucksport
hatchery produced and shipped several million eggs over the next
few years.
In 1875, the cooperating States and the U.S. Fish Commissioner
decided to suspend operations until the results of past efforts
could be evaluated, based on returns from salmon produced by
the stocking efforts. The results were positive; and over the
next several years, salmon runs increased significantly. In 1879,
Charles Atkins was instructed to commence salmon egg production
once again.
For a number of reasons, the Bucksport site for holding
salmon was abandoned in favor of the original Dead Brook. The
eggs were incubated two miles away at Craig's Brook Pond, where
many improvements were made by Charles Atkins. The old mill was
equipped with wooden troughs, and a 1,600 foot long wooden aqueduct
was constructed to bring in colder water to the incubating eggs.
The hatchery continued to be operated jointly year-to-year by
various States and the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries
through 1888. Eggs shipped from the hatchery had not only re-established
significant runs in the Merrimack and Connecticut Rivers, but
had created salmon runs where they had never existed in the Susquehanna,
Delaware, and Hudson Rivers.
A Federal Hatchery is Established
On March 2, 1889, the U.S. Congress appropriated funds "for the
purchase of ground, construction of buildings and ponds, and the
purchase of equipment of fish hatchery and rearing stations" that
included Craig Brook. The 135-acre property was acquired by the
United States on September 4, 1889, from Thomas Partridge for $2,000.
Construction started immediately on several utility buildings,
quarters for the superintendent, a timber dam at Craig's Pond,
and a stone dam with aqueduct on Craig's Brook, several ponds,
and 100 outdoor troughs.
That year, 1.9 million Atlantic
salmon eggs were incubated at the new Federal hatchery. A decision
was also made that, starting
in 1890, increased emphasis would be given to raising Atlantic
salmon fry and fingerlings for stocking rather than concentrating
primarily on producing eggs for shipment to other fish hatcheries.
This required producing food for the young fish. One of the new
buildings was a 24 foot x 50 foot structure called the "fly
house."
Its purpose was to produce the great quantities of maggots needed
to provide live food for young fish. Duty in the "fly house" usually
fell to a new employee or one whose recent job performance was
found wanting by the superintendent.
Construction continued over the next few years. In addition
to the water control devices and fish rearing facilities, a blacksmith
shop, wood shed, hatchery building, and ice house were built.
Of these, only the ice house still remains and is now the Friends
of Craig Brook sponsored Atlantic Salmon Museum.
Several Species Raised at Craig Brook
The primary purpose for which Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery
came into existence and still operates today is to restore Atlantic
salmon. However, over the first century of operation, a number of
different species were reared at Craig Brook. Landlocked salmon have
often been produced for inland stocking since the 1880s. The eggs
of local brook trout and western rainbow trout were brought into
Craig Brook hatchery as early as 1888. The following year, eggs of
some exotic species were imported including saibling, Loch Leven
(brown) trout, and Swiss lake trout. Atlantic salmon remained the
dominant species until the 1920s. In the early 1920s, a few million
eggs from the humpback salmon of the Pacific Northwest, along with
landlocked salmon and brook trout, replaced Atlantic salmon. By 1927,
the lack of Atlantic salmon eggs resulted in brook trout being the
primary species produced at Craig Brook. Atlantic salmon production
resumed in 1939. During the 1940s, the relative scarcity of Atlantic
salmon eggs continued to limit production of that species and encouraged
experimentation with other species such as the Pacific silver salmon
or coho.
Today, and for the past few decades,
the mission of the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery is as
it was at its founding
- to restore Atlantic salmon to our rivers. In 1889, Craig Brook
Hatchery produced 1.9 million eggs, of which only 247,000 were
retained for rearing and release in Maine rivers. In 1989, the
hatchery started its second century by producing about 2.3 million
Atlantic salmon eggs, all of which were retained and dedicated
to the restoration of salmon in Maine rivers. In December, 2000
the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric
Administration listed the Atlantic salmon for protection under
the Endangered Species Act.
