Stevenson (1899) stated: "While some shad 

 doubtless enter Long Island Sound through 

 East River, the great bulk passes through the 

 Race at the eastern end. They appear usually 

 about the second week of April and are taken 

 first in the pound nets set immediately west of 

 the mouth of Connecticut River. Most of them 

 pass up the Connecticut, but a large number 

 proceed westward, a few being caught in the 

 pound nets set along the shore, while others 

 enter the Housatonic and some of the smaller 

 streams of Connecticut and Long Island. The 

 run into these waters during recent years ap- 

 pears to be much smaller than formerly " 



[p. 251]. 



No fishery in the Sound operated exclusively 

 for shad in 1896; catches were incidental to 

 other species. Shad were caught in pound nets 

 at: the southeastern end of the Sound along the 

 Long Island shore, from Orient Point to Horton 

 Point, along the Connecticut shore of Long 

 Island Sound east of the Connecticut River, and 

 between the Connecticut River and New Haven 

 Harbor. Three pound nets fished near the 

 mouth of the Connecticut River caught more 

 shad than all the others. Formerly the fishery 

 from the mouth of the Connecticut west to 

 Kelsey Point, a distance of 8 miles, was one 

 of the most profitable on the coast. Stevenson 

 reported that a single pound net fished between 

 1856 and 1885 at Money Point, 6 miles west of 

 the nnouth of the Connecticut River, caught 

 from 11,100 to 74,400 lb. of shad annually. By 

 1896, however, this fishery had declined be- 

 cause of the scarcity of fish, and less than 

 20,000 lb. were landed. Only a few were taken 

 in pound nets and seines between Hammon- 

 asset Point and New Haven Harbor. West of 

 New Haven, Conn., small fisheries were lo- 

 cated at Welch Point near Milford, Conn. Total 

 catch in the Sound was 26,150 lb. 



In recent years only an occasional shad has 

 been taken in the Sound by commercial nets 

 fished for other species. William J. Murphy, 

 Fishery Marketing Specialist, Bureau of Com- 

 mercial Fisheries, Warren, R.I. (personal 

 interview), estimated that about 800 lb. were 

 caught in I960. 



Thames River 



This river is an estuary of Long Island Sound 

 extending 15 miles northward to Norwich, 

 Conn., where it receives the waters of the 

 Shetucket, Quinebaug, and Yantic Rivers. Prior 

 to 1880 considerable numbers of shad were 

 caught in the Thames, but by 1896 numerous 

 dams on these rivers blocked the ascent of 

 fish and none was taken. 



According to the Connecticut State Board of 

 Fisheries and Game, an occasional shad is 

 caught in the Thames, and in 1960 about a 

 dozen were caught below Greenville Dam above 

 Norwich in a fishery for other species. 



Connecticut River 



The Connecticut River originates in northern 

 New Hampshire near the Canadian border and 

 flows south 400 miles, forming the boundary 

 between New Hampshire and Vermont and 

 traversing Massachusetts and Connecticut be- 

 fore entering Long Island Sound. Above Hart- 

 ford, Conn., are numerous falls. Those which 

 concern shad are at Enfield, Conn., Holyoke, 

 Mass., Turners Falls, Mass., and Bellows 

 Falls, Vt.; dams have been constructed at all 

 of them. 



Shad formerly ascended the Connecticut as 

 far as Bellows Falls, 170 miles above its 

 mouth (Stevenson, 1899). In 1798, however, 

 a dam was built at Turners Falls, 35 miles 

 above Holyoke and 115 miles from the river 

 mouth. This dam prevented shad from passing 

 above this point but apparently had no injurious 

 effect on the fishery, since adequate spawning 

 area remained between Holyoke and Turners 

 Falls. 



About 1880 a 5-ft.-high dam was built at 

 Enfield, 66 miles above the river mouth 

 (Stevenson, 1899). Shad were unable to ascend 

 this barrier at low water; the dam irritated 

 the fishermen greatly above that point. The 

 State of Massachusetts adopted a resolution 

 in 1886 suggesting mutualmeasures by Massa- 

 chusetts and Connecticut toward overcoming 

 the obstruction, but no satisfactory result was 

 accomplished. 



In 1849 the Hadley Falls Dam at Holyoke, 

 18 miles upstream from Enfield, was com- 

 pleted. This 30-ft. obstruction cut off 36 miles 

 from the upper limit of the shad run, including 

 important spawning grounds. Although it was 

 provided with a fishway in 1873, fish were 

 unable to ascend the barrier. 



The 1896 fishery in the Connecticut River 

 extended 40 miles from Long Island Sound to 

 Wethersfield, Conn. Most fishing was from 

 Essex to Haddam, Conn. The yield was 192,080 

 lb., of which 170,382 lb. were taken by 13,858 

 yd. of drift gill net, and 21,698 lb. by 1,883 yd. 

 of seine. Gill nets averaged 150 yd. long, and 

 several were used only for catching river 

 herring ( Alosa sp.). The fishing season in the 

 Connecticut depended on movement of ice in 

 the river, but it usually began by the second 

 week in April and continued to the third week 

 of June. The legal season in 1896 was from 

 March 1 to June 20; fishing was prohibited 

 from sunset Saturday until sunset Sunday. 



The Farmington River is one of several 

 tributaries to the Connecticut River. It rises 

 in Berkshire County, Mass., and flows 75 

 miles before entering the Connecticut 3 miles 

 above Hartford. At Poquonock, Conn., 5 miles 

 above the mouth, a 55-ft. dam crosses the 

 river, blocking ascent of fish. The fishery in 

 the Farmington formerly was locally impor- 

 tant, and in 1896, 1,800 lb. of shad were taken 

 for use in hatcheries. 



79 



