Atlantic mackerel
Coastal marshes, bays, tidal creeks, and rivers support diverse shellfish and finfish populations. Sunfish ("Lepomis" species), creek chub ("Semotilus atromaculatus"), cunner ("Tautogolabrus adspersus"), golden shiner ("Notemigonus crysoleucas"), common mummichog ("Fundulus heteroclitus"), American eel ("Anguilla rostrata"), and white sucker ("Catostomus commersoni") abound. Brook trout ("Salvelinus fontinalis") and brown trout ("Salmo trutta") are stocked in rivers and estuaries each year. The Ogunquit River sustains alewife ("Alosa pseudoharengus"), blueback herring ("Alosa aestivalis"), pollock ("Pollachius virens"), bluefish ("Pomatomus saltatrix"), longhorn sculpin ("Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus"), and winter flounder ("Pleuronectes americanus"). The Webhannet River has native species such as winter flounder, northern pipefish ("Syngnathus fuscus"), Atlantic herring ("Clupea harengus"), common mummichog, Atlantic silversides ("Menidia menidia") and Atlantic mackerel. The Merriland River sustains populations of American eel, brown trout, and brook trout. The Mousam River attracts little skate ("Raja erinacea"), American shad ("Alosa sapidissima"), striped bass ("Morone saxatilis"), bluefish, cunner, Atlantic mackerel ("Scomber scombrus"), pollock, and rainbow smelt ("Osmerus mordax"). The Spurwink River supports blueback herring, Atlantic menhaden ("Brevoortia tyrannus"), American shad, pollock, cunner, winter flounder, and little skate. Striped bass and brown trout are popular recreational fishing resources in the area. The National Marine Fisheries Service has designated as "essential fish habitat" areas that provide substrate necessary for fish spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity. Estuaries within the refuge boundaries are part of that essential fish habitat.