Friends of Merrymeeting Bay’s (FOMB) second presentation of its 26th annual Winter Speaker Series, “Shimmering Shad and Splashing Sturgeon!” features Renske Kirkhofs, an international Bowdoin College student, and John Lichter, Bowdoin College biology and environmental studies emeritus professor.

FOMB’s Winter Speaker Series presentations are again being held via Zoom and are accessible via hyperlink at the top of the FOMB website, fomb.org. This event takes place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9.

Over the past 50 years, Maine rivers have recovered substantially from overfishing and industrialization. The Androscoggin River and Merrymeeting Bay are fast recovering the aquatic vegetation which supports the animal food web, including juvenile anadromous fish and other species, according to a FOMB news release.

However, fish passage over dams remains a challenge. At the Brunswick-Topsham hydroelectric dam, relatively few shad make it up through the fish ladder to reach their spawning grounds.

“With the help of FOMB, we have monitored shad runs moving toward the fish ladder over the past several years to quantify how many shad are trying to migrate upstream to their spawning grounds but cannot navigate the ladder.” said Lichter. “We hope these data will inform the FERC relicensing process coming up in 2029.”

Renske Kerkhofs is an international student from Belgium at Bowdoin College. Currently a junior studying biology and Asian studies, she is participating in Bowdoin’s Marine Science Semester, and in the spring, planning to go abroad to China. Renske is interested in marine ecology and animal rehabilitation, and after her spring stint with shad, on weekends she interns at the Maine Wildlife Park.

Lichter is former director of Bowdoin’s Environmental Studies Program and spent 18 years studying the ecology and environmental history of Merrymeeting Bay with students and collaborators. Now retired, Lichter focusses on native plant gardening and outdoor photography. His work can be seen at johnlichterphotos.net.

FOMB hosts its Winter Speaker Series October through May, the second Wednesday of each month. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the series continues via Zoom.

Speaker Series presentations are free, open to the public. Visit fomb.org to see speaker biographies, full event schedules, video recordings of past presentations, become a member, and learn more about how you can help protect beautiful Merrymeeting Bay and the Gulf of Maine.

For more information, contact FOMB at (207) 666-3372 or edfomb@comcast.net.