264 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



SACO RIVER. 



This river has its sources among the White Mountains, nearly 100 

 miles from its entrance into the ocean near Biddeford Pool. At Bidde- 

 ford, G miles from the sea, there are two falls, each about 10 feet high. 

 From that point to Hiram Falls, 45 miles from the sea, there are no less 

 than 8 dams, each from G to 14 feet high, aud at Hiram Falls the river 

 descends 80 feet in five successive plunges. Formerly shad abounded 

 in the lower end of the river, but it does not appear that they passed 

 above Biddeford Falls, though salmon ascended as far as Hiram Falls. 

 During recent years no shad have been reported from Saco Eiver. 



CASCO BAY. 



Shad have been caught in Casco Bay more or less extensively for the 

 last forty or fifty years, but the yield has fallen off" considerably during 

 recent years. They appear in these waters about May 1, aud are 

 observed to some extent as late as the end of September. These shad 

 are smaller and presumably younger than those running up the rivers, 

 and are commonly known as " sea shad." Of the 04,490 taken during 

 1896, 0,110 were caught with drift nets, 40,325 with seines, and 18,055 

 with trap nets and weirs. 



Gill nets are used mostly in Quahog Bay and the coves of Harpswell 

 Sound, near the northeastern end of Casco Bay. They range in length 

 from 00 to 75 yards each, 35 to 45 meshes deep, with from 4 to 4f inch 

 mesh. Most of the nets are drifted in the current of the long, narrow 

 bays or sounds, but at times they are set near the mouths of the coves. 

 In 1896 there were 04 gill nets in Casco Bay, aggregating 4,228 yards in 

 length and $885 in value, requiring 18 boats, manned by 20 men. From 

 June 20 to August 31 they caught 0,110 shad, valued locally at $355. 

 About one-fourth of these were salted, the remainder being sold fresh. 



The trap nets and weirs in the eastern half of Casco Bay take many 

 small shad each season, the largest catch being obtained in those 

 between Small Point and the mouth of New Meadows River. The nets 

 are set from early in the spring until late in the fall, and their yield of 

 shad is obtained at intervals from the first of May until late in Septem- 

 ber. In 1890 there were 46 pound nets, trap nets, and weirs in those 

 waters, the value approximating $12,840. They required the services 

 of 88 men and $5,347 worth of boats, and yielded 18,055 shad, valued 



