The only sturgeons found in Maine are the Atlantic sturgeon and the shortnose 

 sturgeon. Neither are very numerous, and the shortnose sturgeon is listed by 

 the Federal Government as an endangered species (see "Shortnose Sturgeon" 

 section in this chapter). Both sturgeons are sluggish, slow swimming, bottom 

 fishes that are hampered by dams and obstructions in streams. These sturgeons 

 once supported a commercial market. Their roe is well known commercially as 

 caviar. 



The American eel, the only catadromous fish in Maine, spends its early life 

 upstream in fresh water and migrates down to the sea to spawn. Young eel 

 (elvers) swim upstream in spring of the following year. The eel is an 

 important commercial resource for food and bait. The extensive migrations of 

 eels and the locations of their spawning areas are not well documented. It is 

 known they spawn in the Sargasso Sea area rather than the Gulf of Maine. 



The striped bass is one of the most popular marine sport fishes in Maine and 

 New England. It is a summer migrant to waters north of Cape Cod, appearing 

 regularly in bays and estuaries, but evidence of its spawning in Maine has not 

 been found in many years (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953) . 



The major freshwater fishes have sport or ecological importance. The brook 

 trout, brown trout, lake trout, rainbow trout, landlocked Atlantic salmon, 

 chain pickerel, white perch, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and largemouth bass 

 are the major freshwater sport fishes. Minnows are small freshwater fish in 

 the family Cyprinidae. They are usually abundant because they occupy a 

 variety of habitats and utilize many food types, and a large number can occupy 

 a small area (Everhart 1958). The golden shiner and fallfish are the most 

 widely distributed minnows in the coastal zone. Minnows are important because 

 of their position in the food chain. They serve as forage for many desirable 

 food and sport fishes. One minnow (carp) has posed a problem in many states. 

 The carp was introduced into the United States as a potential commercial fish. 

 Through improper handling, this large fish has spread and proliferated in all 

 types of fresh waters, competing with more desirable fishes for food and 

 space. In addition, carp feeding behavior disturbs habitats by stirring up 

 mud and sediments and uprooting aquatic plants while feeding. Carp control is 

 of great concern to fishery managers. 



The white sucker is the most abundant and most common of the larger fishes in 

 the lakes and tributary streams. They are bottom fish and serve as forage for 

 many game fishes until they become too large for the game fishes to swallow. 

 Large suckers may then compete with more commercially and recreationally 

 desirable fishes. The brown bullhead, or hornpout, is the only member of the 

 catfish family found in Maine and is widely distributed in the coastal zone. 



DISTRIBUTION 



Cape Cod represents a major biological and physical barrier separating 

 populations of Atlantic fishes in the Gulf of Maine from those of the mid- 

 Atlantic Bight (Colton et al. 1979). Coastal Maine waters are characterized 

 by stable, resident populations of mostly boreal (northern) fish species, with 

 some migratory populations of temperate species from the south and 

 occasionally some subarctic species from the northeast. Reflective of the 

 area's physiography, coastal fish populations are dominated by demersal marine 

 and estuarine species. Data from nearshore and estuarine surveys indicate 



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