More wild Atlantic salmon found in U.S. rivers than any time in the past decade, officials say

By PATRICK WHITTLE
Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The last wild Atlantic salmon that return to U.S. rivers have had their most productive year in more than a decade, raising hopes they may be weathering myriad ecological threats. Maine state data show officials counted more than 1,500 of the salmon in the Penobscot River, which is home to the country’s largest run of Atlantic salmon. That is the most since 2011 when researchers counted about 2,900 of them. The salmon were once abundant in American rivers. But overfishing, loss of habitat and pollution reduced their populations to only a handful of rivers in Maine.