NMFS Northeast Regional Office N E W S Final Recovery Plan Issued Gloucester, MA -- NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that the final recovery plan for endangered Atlantic salmon in Gulf of Maine rivers is available. NOAA Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Services) developed the recovery plan with the assistance of the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission. A draft recovery plan was published in June 2004. The final plan incorporates numerous changes made in response to comments received on the draft plan from the public and from peer reviewers. "We look forward to working with public and private groups and local citizens to implement the actions needed to recover this species," said Mary Colligan, NOAA Fisheries Service protected species chief in the Northeast Region. "To be successful, we'll need everyone's help and cooperation," she said. The recovery plan identifies 13 major threats to naturally reproducing Atlantic salmon populations in Maine and 9 primary recovery actions designed to stop and reverse downward population trends, beginning with better protection and restoration of freshwater and estuarine habitat. The plan lays out an initial recovery strategy, recovery goals and criteria, and the cost and time table for recovery. The discussion of threats to Atlantic salmon has been significantly expanded in comparison to the draft plan, with more information on current habitat conditions, elevated water temperature, and pesticides. Fish covered by the plan comprise the Gulf of Maine distinct population segment, and include all naturally reproducing remnant populations of Atlantic salmon from the Kennebec River downstream of the former Edwards dam site, northward to the mouth of the St. Croix. The Services listed these salmon as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in December 2000. The ESA requires that recovery plans be developed for listed species unless such a plan would not promote the species' recovery. A recovery team has been appointed by the Services to implement the final plan. Recovery team members include experts drawn from government, academia, and the private sector. NOAA Fisheries Service is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation's living marine resources and their habitats through scientific research, management and enforcement. NOAA Fisheries Service provides effective stewardship of these resources for the benefit of the nation, supporting coastal communities that depend upon them, and helping to provide safe and healthy seafood to consumers and recreational opportunities for the American public. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners and nearly 60 countries to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes. ### On the Web: |
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NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service * One Blackburn Drive* Gloucester, MA * 01930 |
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