Fishes of the JVestern North Atlantic 491 



The northernmost Salmon rivers on the Atlantic coast of America are "just north 

 of Hopedale, about 350 miles north of the Strait of Belle Isle; the Adlok near Hopedale 

 has a run of salmon which will average well over ten pounds" {148: 216). 



Southward there are regular spawning runs in all the larger rivers of Newfound- 

 land, including outer Labrador, Quebec as far into the Gulf of St. Lawrence as Bay 

 St. Paul and Kamouraska (132), Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova 

 Scotia. The northern limit of intensive commercial exploitation for it is Indian Harbor 

 on the north shore of Hamilton Inlet, about 54° N (18). 



In New England during colonial days the Atlantic Salmon occurred in every suit- 

 able stream southward to Connecticut, but after the early part of the past century, dam 

 construction (p. 485) was responsible for the elimination of the Atlantic Salmon from 

 many of the rivers. In the decade 1850— 1860 it still entered the St. Croix, Dennys, 

 East Machias and Machias, Penobscot, Sheepscot, Kennebec, and Androscoggin. At 

 present the St. Croix, Dennys, Machias and East Machias, Narraquagus, and Pleasant 

 rivers alone have regular runs large enough to attract some anglers, and a few still 

 enter the lower reaches of the Penobscot, where a Federal hatchery is in operation. 

 Southward, enough Atlantic Salmon to yield a supply of eggs for artificial hatching con- 

 tinued to enter the lower reaches of the Merrimack until 1896 at least (doubtless 

 wanderers from the north), and while none has been reported for the Merrimack since 

 1 90 1, it is not unusual for some, straying from the north, to be reported off Massa- 

 chusetts. Thus in 1928, 1,600 or so fish (16,050 pounds) were taken offshore there 

 (on long lines and in otter trawls), while in 1937 the floating traps along the north 

 shore of Massachusetts Bay picked up 4,400 pounds. A few are taken in Cape Cod 

 Bay in most years; there are records for the Woods Hole region, as well as for New 

 Jersey; and in April 1893, °"^ of 16 pounds was taken with a school of mackerel off 

 Delaware, where it is said to have been introduced (48). However, it no longer runs 

 in any river south of Maine. 



Freshwater Populations. In addition to anadromous populations, there are in both 

 Europe and North America populations consisting of fish that spend their entire life 

 in fresh water; the counterpart of the anadromous Salmon's sea phase is passed in some 

 lake. They are sometimes referred to as "landlocked," but this term is not accurately 

 descriptive, for they could all go to sea, but many of them could not return to their natal 

 rivers because of impassible falls. However, the Shubenacadie Lake population (Nova 

 Scotia) can freely pass to and from salt water. Lake Salmon is a more appropriate name 

 than landlocked Salmon for these nonmigratory populations {68: 289). 



There is no agreement as to whether their habit of remaining in fresh water is 

 hereditary or not. Rounsefell has found that various species of salmonid fishes are 

 characterized by different degrees of anadromy (liy)- Several species besides the At- 

 lantic Salmon, notably Salmo gairdneri and Salvelinus alpinus, have given rise to lake 

 populations. In experiments with marked young of both native Lake and Atlantic Salmon 

 planted in Lake Shubenacadie, Huntsman observed no differences in their migratory 

 behavior; however, the fish used were too few to provide final conclusions. Wilder 



