AUGUSTA – The head of Maine’s Atlantic Salmon Commission received a reprimand from marine patrol officers for violating the rules governing last month’s salmon fishing season on the Penobscot River.

Dick Ruhlin, who is chairman of the commission charged with managing Maine’s Atlantic salmon populations, said Thursday that he was given a written warning for removing one of the prized fish from the water.

But Ruhlin, a longtime salmon angler, said the fish’s head left the water for only a few seconds. He also said he did not believe his actions violated the spirit of the rules.

Maine reopened a stretch of the Penobscot near Bangor to salmon fishing during May. This was the first spring fishery for sea-run salmon in Maine since 1999, and fishermen were required to follow a list of special rules.

Anglers were only allowed to fish using artificial flies with barbless hooks and were required to release all fish immediately after they were landed. Another rule stated that “no salmon shall be removed from the water for any reason.”

During the incident in question, Ruhlin was actually handling a fish caught by a friend. He did not catch any salmon during the season.

Using what he described as a common technique for releasing a hooked salmon, Ruhlin grasped the fish by the tail region. As he attempted to reach the hook, the fish swung its head away.

In order to release the fish quickly, he said, he lifted the salmon’s head out of the water for four to five seconds while he removed the hook. The fish then was released.

“I think anybody in my position with my experience would have done the same thing,” Ruhlin said in an interview.

But the action earned him a written warning from marine patrol officers.

It was unclear Thursday how many witnesses there were to the incident. A Department of Marine Resources staff member said the paperwork was en route through the mail from the regional office to headquarters and was, therefore, unavailable Thursday.

Officials observed or investigated more than a dozen rules violations during the 31-day season.

There were at least three other incidences of fish being removed from the water, including one in which the salmon was brought on shore. There were also three violations of the ban on barbed hooks, with two of those fish turning up in the Veazie trap with hooks still embedded in their mouths.

There were six violations of failure to properly report a caught salmon and one person who caught a salmon without a special license. It was unclear Thursday how many of those violations resulted in the issuance of warnings or citations.

Ruhlin said he would like the commission to clarify the language of the rules before any future salmon seasons.

“To me, taking them out of the water means to remove it from the river [and] to take it to a boat or the shore,” Ruhlin said.

David Farmer, spokesman for Gov. John Baldacci, said the governor’s office is still looking into the matter but that the situation appears to have been handled appropriately.

“Mr. Ruhlin has shown himself to be a committed advocate for the species,” Farmer said. “It sounds like he made a mistake and marine resources took the appropriate action.”

Ruhlin was elected chairman of the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission in March 2005. The two other members are George Lapointe, commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources, and Roland “Danny” Martin, commissioner of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Neither Martin nor Lapointe discussed the violation after Ruhlin brought it up during Thursday’s commission meeting. Patrick Keliher, executive director of the Bureau of Sea-Run Fisheries and Habitat, which administered the spring salmon season, declined to comment on the issue.

kmiller@bangordailynews.net

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