BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 18, 2024
The Downeast Salmon Federation is waiting for new equipment that should prevent an infection like the one last fall that made it necessary to kill all 170,000 fish in its Peter Gray Hatchery in East Machias. The fish had tested positive for infectious pancreatic virus in late September during a routine hatchery disease screening. The virus occurs naturally in Maine water from other species of fish or birds, Dwayne Shaw, executive director of Downeast Salmon, said in. The new equipment includes water filters to take out silt and sediment before it enters the hatchery, and an ultraviolet light system to kill anything that sneaks through the filtration. Downeast Salmon has been working for more than 30 years to help restore Maine’s wild salmon population in Washington County waterways.