Rory Hannon

My name is Rory Hannon. I am a recent transfer student from Southern Maine Community College, where I studied Marine Science. I am now studying wildlife ecology and fisheries science at the University of Maine, class of 2024. I am a nontraditional student with a background in construction, business administration, and project management. Throughout my life, I have been passionate about Maine’s natural resources, with a particular interest in conservation of Atlantic salmon, and other sea run fish. This has led me to pursue a career change to become a fisheries biologist. Upon graduation I hope to obtain a masters degree and become involved with restoration of wild fish populations. I have an interest in both marine and fresh water fisheries, as well as the intersection between the two. In my free time I enjoy fly fishing and tying, hiking, gardening, and cooking.

This year I am working with Maine Department of Marine Resources under the mentorship of Jason Valliere at the Milford Dam. This entails daily operation of the fishway to pass and enumerate multiple species of sea run fish, such as Atlantic salmon, American shad, alewife, blueback herring, sea lamprey, and striped bass. We are also taking genetic and scale samples from Atlantic salmon that pass through the fishway for aging and analysis, as well as implanting PIT tags for future identification. Data collected will be used to inform a management strategy for the restoration

Rory is a 2023 Undergraduate Intern in Sea-run Fish Research.