BRUNSWICK — Androscoggin River advocates will host a rally at the Brunswick Dam on Friday, Sept. 10, to urge the dam’s owners to install a new fishway system for American shad.

American Shad are among the largest species of herring and are anadromous, which means they spend their lives at sea but spawn in the fresh waters of rivers and streams, much like an Atlantic salmon.

“The Androscoggin River basin once had annual shad runs of 250,000 fish, which migrated as far upstream as the Great Falls at Lewiston,” said Neil Ward, program director for the Androscoggin River Alliance in a statement issued Friday. “The Brunswick Dam now blocks the spring migration, but using new fish-lift technology we can restore this fantastic natural legacy to our communities.”

According ARA’s statement, American shad have lost 95 percent of their historic habitat in Maine, and shad populations along the eastern seaboard are at an all-time low.

“The Androscoggin River is rated among the best river habitats in Maine for shad restoration, and fish lifts are already in place at the two upper dams on the river,” the release stated. “But the shad cannot get past the NextEra Energy hydroelectric dam at Brunswick.”

Ward said his organization and the state have 25 years of data showing the fish ladder at the dam in Brunswick is “broken.”

“Between 1982 and 2009 a total of just 259 shad made it up the ladder, and many of them were bleeding and de-scaled,” Ward said.  “Yet there is underwater video showing large numbers of shad pooling at the tailrace each spring, seeking to return to the Androscoggin.”

Steve Hinchman, an attorney working with the ARA, said NextEra Energy’s federal hydropower license requires a working fish passage.

After the rally a reception will be held for participants at the Frontier Cafe in Brunswick.

Rally participants will gather at the Brunswick Commons Gazebo and then will march down Maine Street to the Thompson Bridge.