Landlocked salmon publication updated Biologists Boucher, Warner author book

The landlocked salmon, long a Maine treasure with a storied history, has now been detailed in a 111-page, full-color book titled Maine Landlocked Salmon: Life History, Ecology, and Management.

Authored by veteran fisheries biologists David Boucher and Kendall Warner, the book documents the current status of this important fishery resource in Maine, and updates the understanding of landlocked salmon life history and management since the 1985 publication of the Life History, Ecology and Management of Maine Landlocked Salmon, authored by Maine biologists Kendall Warner and the late Keith Havey.

“Landlocked salmon possess an amazing history, and are an important natural resource throughout the state,” said Roland D. Martin, commissioner of the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. “This book, a culmination of years of research, is a worthy tribute to this valued resource.”

This special fish is one of the state’s most prized natural resources. Landlocked salmon are a freshwater form of the sea-run Atlantic salmon, and were originally found in only four watersheds in Maine.

Today they are found in more than 300 waters throughout the state. The DIF&W has protected and studied this species intensively for decades, and fishery biologists have accumulated a vast amount of data and knowledge about its life history and management, which is published in this book.

Included in the new book are both expanded and original assessments, including comparisons of the performance of hatchery landlocked salmon vs. wild landlocked salmon, and comparisons of the fisheries provided by salmon originating from West Grand Lake and Sebago Lake, the two sources for Maine’s hatchery program.

Landlocked salmon anglers will be interested in the food habits information that has been expanded significantly since 1985. It details the fish’s preference of foods, even basing it on the size of salmon and season of the year. Fishing pressure and success data from river salmon fisheries have also increased dramatically since 1985, and those are summarized as well.

“It is our hope that this document will be useful to professional fishery managers in their continuing work to enhance landlocked salmon populations and the fisheries they support. Students and avid anglers should also find it interesting,” said Boucher, one of the authors of the book.

Boucher has been with the Department since 1981, and serves as the assistant regional fisheries biologist in the Rangeley Lakes region. He is also the department’s species expert on landlocked salmon.

Warner is a retired fishery biologist who still volunteers his services for the department after having served for more than 50 years. Warner co-authored two earlier editions of this document, and has long been considered Maine’s “dean” of landlocked salmon.

You can order the book online at www.mefishwildlife.com or by visiting department headquarters at 284 State Street in Augusta. You can also order books through the mail (cost for Maine residents is $14; $10 for the book, $3.50 postage and $.50 tax. Nonresident cost is $13.50; $10.00 for book and $3.50 postage) by sending a check to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, Attn: Information Center, 284 State St., 41 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0041. Please make checks payable to “Treasurer, State of Maine”.

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