Sampling smoked alewives at Alewife Day

ALEWIFE DAY

Saturday, May 18th, 2024 from 10am to 3pm
$10 for adults; $5 for kids 3 to 17
. Members FREE!

Come and see the fish returning to Chemo Pond!  Stay for the mills running, activities for kids, Lombards running, blacksmithing.  NOAA staff will be on hand with information about the alewives and the restoration efforts.  Volunteers will be smoking alewives and offering samples.   State foresters will be giving tips on tree identification.  Hirundo naturalists will share their wildlife trunk.  Maine operation Game Thief will be on hand with their BBQ trailer.

Catching alewives.

Alewife Day is traditionally our first event of the season. We welcome spring as we celebrate the alewives returning to Chemo Pond. To learn more about alewives and why their run is significant, please check out “All About Maine Alewives”, a fact sheet produced by Maine Department of Marine Resources, Maine Rivers, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Facts about alewives:

  • They are related to shad and blueback herring.
  • They grow to 10″ to 11″.
  • They weigh about 1/2 pound.
  • They are grayish green on their backs with silver sides.
  • They have a single black spot behind their eye.
  • They have a forked tail.
Spring flowers.