DIR: Matteo Moretti
As it has been for centuries, harvesting alewives is an integral part of spring in Damariscotta Mills. Harvesting takes place twice a day — at 5am and again at 4pm from roughly the middle of May through the first week of June. The “dippers” and trough, are the same gear that was designed and built in the late 1950s. Alewives in Maine rivers are a critical food source for many valuable fish species and their recent population resurgence as a result of restoration efforts has had immeasurable impacts on the health of the ecosystem.