The Midwest Biodiversity Institute received a grant from the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership in 2006 to conduct an assessment of the fish assemblage of the Presumpscot River between the outlet of Sebago Lake and Casco Bay. The overall goal of this project is to assess the current status of the fish assemblages as it is related to both historical and contemporary biological, chemical, and physical characteristics and stressors. With the exception of a prior study focused on anadromous fishes in the lower mainstem in 2003 (Normandeau Associates 2004), comparatively little is known about the relative abundance, distribution, and composition of the fish assemblage beyond species of historical and immediate management interest. Of particular interest is the documentation of introduced species that occur in the same habitats required by fish species that are the focus of these high profile management and restoration interests. The interim Maine Rivers IBI (Yoder et al. 2008) was used herein as one of the key analytical methodologies to assess the present condition of the resident fish assemblages and reveal how it relates to historical and contemporary stressors and prospects for future restoration
