'Trap and truck' — Meet the aquatic Uber helping to restore Maine's Atlantic salmon

MAINE PUBLIC • September 18, 2026

For the last two decades, Maine has tried to restore salmon on the Kennebec by trapping fish at the Waterville dam and carrying them by vehicle almost 60 miles away to lay eggs in the rich spawning grounds of the Sandy River. It's called "trap and truck." A Maine Department of Marine Resources team is on call 14 hours a day, almost 6 months a year, to collect fish almost as soon as they get to the dam. Timing is important. If the salmon linger too long in the warm water below the dam after an exhausting migration they could drain their energy reserves or even compromise their fertility. A driver will show up every time there's a call, even if there's just one salmon. Advocates acknowledge that trap and truck is inefficient, time consuming and expensive. But unless and until the Kennebec River dams are removed, it's the only way to ensure this run of endangered Atlantic salmon doesn't disappear forever.