Alewife Interactions Lake productivity can accommodate alewives and freshwater species. There are over 90 lakes and ponds in Maine where sea run alewives coexist with healthy populations of freshwater fish species. Young of the year smelt and pickerel actually grew better in the presence of alewives than when they were absent. Economic Importance of Alewives Adult alewives are the preferred bait for the spring lobster fishery. There are 35 Maine municipalities that have commercial harvesting rights to alewives on 39 coastal streams and rivers.
Alewives provide revenues to the towns that lease the fishing privileges to fishermen.
Many fishways built for alewife restoration were partially funded by these municipalities that recognized the value of this native fish species. Since the early 1970's, over 12 million dollars of state, federal, and private utility funds have been spent on fish passages to restore runs of Atlantic salmon, alewife, and American shad to historical spawning areas. One Bill, LD 365, An Act to Restore the Passage of Alewives to the St. Croix River, will be going to the floor for debate next week. In 1995 legislation was passed to stop the run of native alewives in the St. Croix River. The run dropped from 2.6 million fish to an all time low of just 8,500.