When people see thousands of dead fish washed up on a beach, the natural inclination is to think something must be wrong with the water.
When so many smelt washed up on the shores of Long Lake this past weekend, it was actually a good thing, according to Frank Frost a regional fisheries biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
“It’s a testament to how large the smelt population is in Long Lake,” Frost said on Wednesday. “What you are seeing is completely normal and expected when the smelt population is at a high level.”
St. Agatha Town Manager Aubrey Michaud said that as of Tuesday morning, multiple residents had contacted her with concerns about the beached smelt, which by that time had covered a large portion of the Long Lake perimeter.
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