HOLDEN – A small group of anglers urged Maine’s Atlantic Salmon Commission on Thursday evening to reopen the Penobscot River to salmon fishing this spring.

The commission is considering a proposal to hold a limited, catch-and-release fishing season for sea-run Atlantic salmon during May every year beginning this spring. If approved, the fishery would be the first time angling has been allowed for sea-run salmon in Maine waters since 1999.

The season would be fly-fishing only with single-pointed, barbless hooks. The commission would close the fishery if and when 50 fish were caught or if the safety of the salmon population is in question.

About half of the 20-some people who gathered at Holden Elementary School Thursday evening for a public hearing on the issue addressed the commission. Six people spoke in favor of the May season, one urged the commission to reject the proposal, and three offered suggestions without taking a position.

Gary Arsenault, speaking on behalf of the Veazie Salmon Club, said many people in the fishing community are convinced that the Penobscot was closed to salmon fishing in 1999 for political reasons, not scientific ones.

While not perfect, the proposal for a limited May season should be approved, Arsenault said.

Several of the speakers said reopening the river could help revive interest in salmon conservation as well as a proud sport that once drew people from around the world to the banks of the Penobscot. They predicted that the spring season could be held without harming the river’s fragile salmon population.

Steve Glencross said he thoroughly enjoyed the two catch-and-release salmon seasons the state held in the falls of 2006 and 2007, despite not catching anything.

“It’s a Maine tradition,” Glencross said. “Out of the 35 hours I put in, I got zilch. I had more fun just being back on the river.”

The only opposition came from Gayle Zydlewski, a University of Maine fisheries biologist who pointed out the salmon population cannot be sustained by the 1,000 or so adult fish that return to the Penobscot to spawn each year.

Reopening the river now when restoration of the population is far from complete – and when other countries have banned salmon fishing – would send the wrong message, she said.

“It is time to stop playing the odds because the odds are against us,” Zydlewski said.

The proposal has a sizable list of critics, despite the lack of opposition on Thursday.

Patrick Keliher, who heads the Bureau of Sea-Run Fisheries and Habitat with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, said the written comments received so far have been fairly equally divided between supporters, opponents and neutral parties.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Penobscot Nation are among the groups that have expressed strong concerns about the proposal, Keliher said.

Federal officials are weighing whether to add Penobscot salmon to the list of Maine salmon populations protected under the Endangered Species Act. Such a designation would likely prohibit sport fishing for salmon.

The Atlantic Salmon Commission is expected to vote on the spring fishing proposal during a meeting in late February.

The commission will accept comments on the proposal through Feb. 4. Comments should be sent to the Department of Marine Resources, Attn: L. Churchill, P.O. Box 8, West Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575-0008.

kmiller@bangordailynews.net

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