The Lincoln Coirnty catch fluctuates in a general way with that of the 

 main river as indicated by the Sagadahoc-Kennebec county landings V7hich„ in 

 turn, represents largely the catch from Merrj'meeting Bay itself (r - GjaSUj 

 df lb, P ii%) = OeIi82)» There is sufficient deviation in the pattern of 

 fluctuations, however, to conclude that the Eastern river represents a set of 

 condiuxons unliice that of the Merrymeeting Bay district. These conditions ndght 

 be of several kinds, such as independent runs of fish, natural environmental 

 conditions, or artificial environmental conditions varying from the main river. 



A tremendous reduction in the catch occurred in I906, Table 2 and Figure 

 1 show that the decrease in the Eastern river was proportionately smaller than 

 in the main river (i.e., the Merrymeeting Baby district). In 1907, the catch 

 in the Eastern river was back to a normal level while that in the main river 

 continued to decline. By 19lh, the catch in both the Eastern river and in 

 Merrymeeting Bay had regained former levels, 



A former shad fisherman stated that I9I8 was the last good shad year in 

 Merrymeeting Bay, after which there were no shad at all (p, 10). There are 

 no statistics of landings for I9I8, but those for 1919 bear out his statement. 

 The Sagadahoc County landings show only 14.6,330 pounds of shad for an area which 

 normally produced 500,000 pounds or more annually. The Lincoln County landings 

 (Eastern river) for the same year, while low, are not outside the range of 

 earlier variations in catch. 



Following 1919, statistical information is fragmentary. The occasional 

 reports show that the shad fishery had become of negligible importance. One is 

 unable to account for the Lincoln County landings of 138,000 pounds for 1933, 

 or those for later years. Interviews with fishermen in the Merrjoneeting Bay 

 area have not revealed any information of fishing activity in the area for the 

 years these catches are shown. 



The statistics of landings in Sagadahoc and Lincoln Counties lead one to 

 conclude that detrimental conditions existed in the Kennebec River and es- 

 pecially in Merrymeeting Bay which did not immediately affect the Eastern River 

 because this river was isolated from these conditions. While at the present 

 time it is impossible to state exactly what these conditions were, it appears 

 probably that pollution of various kinds was affecting the survival of shad in 

 the Merrymeeting Bay areas 



In Merrymeeting Bay, including the Cathance and the Abagadasset rivers, 

 the area is subject to the direct influence of the Androscoggin river which is 

 known to be heavily polluted. The fishery in the Androscoggin below Brunswick 

 had disappeared by l88Us "Poisonous matter from the Brunswick factories de- 

 stroyed ihe spawning grounds of the shad and drove them away," (Report' of the 

 Commissioners of Fish and Game of the State of Maine for the year l881i., p, 10) o 



Sawdust from mills at Augusta undoubtedly contributed to the destruction 

 of spawning grounds in the river and may have been a principal factor in the 

 disappearance of shad in the Augusta area at an early date, as well as in the 



2U 



