None
CA
Thousands of fish may have died in Penobscot River dam shutdown
['Staff', 'Piscataquis Observer', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar']
Piscataquis Observer
Photo courtesy of Chris Howe FISH DEATHS — Juvenile fish were found stranded and dead along the West Branch of the Penobscot River after a sudden drop in flows following a turbine shutdown at Brookfield Renewable's McKay Station.
Thousands of fish may have died in Penobscot River dam shutdownBy Susan Bard, Bangor Daily News Outdoors Editor A sudden shutdown at a dam on the West Branch of the Penobscot River may have killed thousands of fish, leaving Maine anglers and guides warning that a nationally recognized cold-water fishery is being put at repeated risk.
It marks at least the second time in three years that an unplanned outage at the dam has drastically cut river flows, following a similar 2023 incident.
One biologist estimated that thousands of fish, including young landlocked salmon, could have died due to the event.
A video posted by Magalloway River Farm in western Maine showed exposed river bottom following a different turbine shutdown on that river near another dam owned by Brookfield.