78 



by the town of Topsfield, but no alewives have entered Priteh- 

 ard's Pond for over fifty years. 



Miles River, a southern branch of Ipswich River, rises in 

 Wenham Lake, and flows northerly for 5| miles. The greater 

 part of the alewives which formerly came up Ipswich River 

 used Wenham Lake as a spawning ground. Since this body of 

 water has been taken as a water supply by Salem, so much 

 water has been withdrawn that the natural outlet has been dry 

 for the last twenty years. 



The main river is tidal as far as the Ipswich Upper Mills, 

 now the property of the Ipswich Mills Company, where a 

 dilapidated fishway which had been installed for over twenty 

 years was entirely destroyed in 1916. 



One and one-half miles up the river the old Norwood Mill 

 dam, now owned by Mr. W. F. Barrett, and farther up stream 

 the Willowdale dam, the property of Mr. C. G. Rice, totally 

 obstruct the passage of fish. At South Middleton is an unused 

 dam with raised gates, which affords an unobstructed passage. 

 At present there is no alewife fishery in the Ipswich River 

 and no alewives have been observed up the river for nearly 

 twenty years. Formerly the town of Ipswich sold the privilege 

 of seining alewives for a nominal fee, and at one time thousands 

 of barrels were taken just above Choate bridge and shipped, 

 salted, to the West Indies. The first law concerning the fishery 

 was passed in 1788, and was followed by voluminous legislation 

 concerning the towns of Ipswich, Hamilton, Topsfield, Reading, 

 Danvers and Middleton. Fishways were required by law in 

 1821, 1825 and 1829, with definite specifications as to construc- 

 tion and size. 



The causes which have brought about the decline of the 

 fishery in order of their importance, are: (1) the utilization of 

 the spawning grounds for water supplies; (2) the obstruction 

 of the stream by dams without fishways; (3) the trade-waste 

 pollution; and (4) the diminution of the quantity of water in 

 the river and its tributaries. 



It is doubtful whether the alewife fishery in Ipswich River 

 can ever assume its former commercial value, since the more 

 important spawning grounds have been taken for water sup- 

 plies. However, opportunity is still offered for the creation of 



