Biologist, CT DEP, Inland Fisheries Division
Steve is in charge of the DEP Inland Fisheries Division's Diadromous Fish Program and has over 28 years of experience with diadromous fish species, which migrate between fresh and salt water to spawn. He has served as an adjunct professor at Trinity College (Hartford, CT), assisted in the teaching of courses of fish passage for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Bioengineering Section of the American Fisheries Society, and the University of Wisconsin; and co-authored a booklet entitled "A Fishway For Your Stream". Steve is presently the chairman of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's American Eel Technical Committee. Other assignments include the North East Stream Barrier Task Force, Connecticut's representative to the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission's Technical Committee, chair of the Committee's Genetics Subcommittee and Smolt Advisory Subcommittee, member of the U.S. Atlantic Salmon Assessment Committee, and a presidential appointment as a U.S. Commissioner to the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization, an international treaty commission dedicated to conservation of salmon in international waters. Steve was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Northeast Division of the American Fisheries Society in 2002.
Restoring Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) to New England 38:04 min.
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Atlantic salmon is an anadromous salmonid that was native to nearly 30 river systems in New England upon the time of European Contact. The construction of dams and other activities resulted in the extirpation of all native runs south of Portland, Maine and the decimation of runs north of Portland. The species is highly valued and beginning in the 1960s, federal-state cooperative restoration programs have attempted to restore runs to selected rivers systems. These programs have benefited from the abatement of pollution following the Clean Water Act but have focused on stocking of hatchery-reared juveniles, provision of fish passage at dams, closing of fisheries, and habitat improvement initiatives. Progress toward restoration goals during the 1970s and 1980s was reversed in the 1990s when runs declined precipitously. Remnant runs of native Atlantic salmon in Maine were listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2000. The species is declining throughout its range in the North Atlantic Ocean and in 1983 the nations that support Atlantic salmon runs signed an international treaty that created the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) that manages salmon in international waters. Over the years, NASCO has terminated most commercial fisheries at sea that intercept salmon from the U.S. yet the decline continues. There is international consensus that the factors influencing the decline are marine in origin yet little is known about Atlantic salmon in the ocean. A new research initiative endorsed by NASCO intends to launch intensive marine research of the species in the coming years. Atlantic salmon is an interesting case study that shows the need to work at local, national, and international levels when conserving migratory species. Actions have been developed to benefit Atlantic salmon but experience shows that such actions often provide benefit to other species and at an ecosystem level. Written Summaries of Presentation |
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Goodwin-Niering Center for Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies
