SHAD FISHERIES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST. 260 



spawiiinji-j^nmiuls would be otherwise aviiilablo in tlie Penobscot are 

 covered witli sawdust. During the tew years foUowiug tlie coustructiou 

 of the dams shad were taken in abundance in tlie lower end of the 

 river, then they decreased, and within a few years more they were com- 

 l)aratively scarce. In 18(17 the yiehl of shad in the Penobscot had 

 decreased to 5,000. Mr. IS. B. Rich, of Bucksport, fished witli a drift 

 net about IS.JO, and would sometimes catch 300 sUad in a single night; 

 in 18(>7 he tried it again, but caught no more than 3 shad in any one 

 night, and sometimes 2, 1, or none. Tlie decrease in yield of shad in 

 these waters has continued up to the present time, the entire yield in 

 Penobscot River and Bay in 1800 being only 114 shad, worth $1*7, all of 

 which were caught in weirs set in the vicinity of VVhitmore Island. 



PLEASANT AND HARRINGTON RIVERS. 



On Pleasant River shad have been caught to a greater or less extent 

 during the past thirty years, and for the last ten years from 5,000 to 10,000 

 have been taken annually by drift nets. In 1890 there were 14 boats, 

 worth $178, and manned by 15 men, engaged in drifting nets on this 

 river near the town of Addison. The nets used numbered 31, with an 

 aggregate length of 1,800 yards and value of 8 180, the mesh being 4f 

 inches. The season extends from July 1 to September 15, and the 

 catch of shad numbered 9,000, worth $720. 



In Harrington River there were 6 men who caught shad in 1896, 

 using boats, worth $30, and 9 drift nets, 540 yards in length, with 

 4^ inch mesh, worth $54. The catch approximated 3,000, most of which 

 were salted and sold at $8 per barrel. 



