COLUMBIA FALLS - There are 50,000 more salmon in the Pleasant River this week after the Downeast Salmon Federation released the tiny fish into the river.

The federation raises salmon fry from fertilized eggs at its Pleasant River Fish Hatchery in Columbia Falls and then stocks the eastern Maine river at various places each year.

Staff members and volunteers released this year's batch last week, with the efforts wrapping up over the weekend with about a dozen adults and children taking part.

The Atlantic salmon population is listed as endangered on eight Maine rivers, including the Pleasant River.

The federation was founded in 1991, but problems with brood stock limited its stocking activities. Since 2001, the hatchery has steadily increased the number of young salmon put into the Pleasant River and its tributaries.