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they reached the river, and in Massachusetts waters on the 

 fishing days, thus destroying too many spawning fish. This 

 circumstance, together with the method of annually selling the 

 privileges to the highest bidder, rendered the decline of the 

 fishery inevitable. The co-operation on the part of Rhode 

 Island by forbidding in 1913 the setting of seines, traps or nets 

 previous to March, between the Massachusetts line and the 

 point where the river empties into Narragansett Bay, augurs 

 well for the future, and there is no reason why, with proper 

 regulation, Palmer's River may not again support a valuable 

 fishery. 



TAUNTON RIVER. 



If it were not for the vast amount of pollution in its waters, 

 the Taunton River with its many branches and ponds would 

 support extensive alewife and shad fisheries. The tributary 

 streams will here be treated as individual units, and the 

 fishery in each considered separately, beginning with the 

 headwaters. 



The Taunton River is used for power, and to a limited 

 extent for navigation. Upon it and its tributaries are situated 

 numerous dams and obstructions, some of which are provided 

 with fishways. It is polluted by wastes from numerous fac- 

 tories and by the sewage of towns and cities along its course. 

 At East Taunton the old Brackett fishway, at the important 

 Connecticut Mills Dam, the lowest in the river, was replaced 

 in 1918 by a new fishway of the David type. 



The fishery has been carried on ever since the settlers first 

 took up their homes along its banks. Thirteen privileges to 

 seine herring were distributed among the towns and cities on 

 the main river. Taunton received three, Raynham two, 

 Dighton two, Somerset two, Berkley two, Freetown one, and 

 Fall River one. Although all the privileges were generally 

 purchased each year, only seven or eight were actually used. 

 The purchaser of a privilege was not restricted to a definite 

 locality, but could seine on any part of the river. It is said 

 that there are only seven or eight sites along the river where 

 seining is practicable, which, to some extent, explains the 



