The state’s Department of Marine Resources has declared a 90-day closure of the smelt fishery from Stonington to the New Hampshire border as populations of the small anadromous fish are in decline statewide.
The Associated Press reported that state surveys showed runs of rainbow smelt have declined by nearly half in the last few decades in the closure area, which will remain closed for the duration of the species’ spring spawning period.
The closure will start March 14 and exempts smelt fishing camps on the Kennebec River and its tributaries.