Notes From the Field: Citizen Science Smelt Surveys at Smelt Brook Preserve

A drone’s view of the Smelt Brook and the Smelt Brook Preserve in York, Maine.

True to its name, Smelt Brook Preserve is home to a species of fish called rainbow smelt, one of a dozen migratory fish species native to Maine that spend most of their lives at sea but return to bodies of freshwater each spring to spawn. Measuring up to 9 inches long, they are the smallest of Maine’s sea-run fish and offer sustenance to a variety of wildlife including other fish, seals, and birds — not to mention humans.

The statewide population of rainbow smelt has been declining since the 1980s, depleting this important link in the food web. To track their numbers and identify ways to help smelt rebound, biologists from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the Downeast Salmon Federation, and other conservation agencies and organizations have teamed up to conduct smelt surveys across the 300 streams that flow along Maine’s coast.

This spring, we have welcomed biologists and volunteers from the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve to conduct smelt surveys at Smelt Brook Preserve to help add to this longstanding database. With the assistance of a committed crew of citizen science volunteers, the team has collected weekly water samples in search of traces of smelt DNA, and visual surveys in search of egg masses and active adults.

Collectively, these statewide surveys will assess the status and distribution of smelt populations and identify spawning locations in need of restoration. We are so pleased to be able to support this important study, and grateful to the citizen science volunteers who are helping to make it happen!