Saco River Salmon Restoration Project
University of New England
Alongside decades of successful working relations that includes student volunteering, academic internships, and field studies, the University of New England (UNE) has partnered with the Saco Salmon Restoration Alliance and Hatchery (SSRA&H) for a 10-year project that hopes to see a spawning population of Atlantic Salmon return to the Saco River. The SSRA&H will provide broodstock salmon to UNE each year. The students and staff of UNE will spawn the fish on campus during the fall, and then return the fertilized eggs to the SSRA&H where they will continue to develop until they are ready to be placed in local tributaries along the Saco River. Students engaged in this project will have the opportunity to work in facilities both at UNE and the SSRA&H learning the biology of endangered Atlantic salmon, habitat restoration methods, animal husbandry skills, spawning techniques, system maintenance, and lab and hatchery management to prepare them for careers in biology, fisheries, or the aquaculture industry.