128 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



The salmon fishery. — The taking of salmon is one of the most inter- 

 esting of the New England river fisheries, although its economic impor- 

 tance is slight as compared with many other fisheries of that region. 

 While straggling salmon are found in a number of the rivers, it is only 

 in the Penobscot that the yield is sufficiently large to warrant notice, 

 less than one-tenth the total annual output coming from other streams. 

 Special fishing for salmon is prosecuted only in the St. Croix, Denny, and 

 Penobscot rivers, the fish obtained in other waters being only an inciden- 

 tal element in the catch of nets set for shad, alewives, and other fish. 



In 1892, the number of persons fishing specially for salmon in the 

 Maine rivers was 198, of whom 174 were in the Penobscot. Of these, 

 29 used gill nets, 159 pound nets or weirs, and 10 lines. There were 20 

 gill nets employed, valued at $015; the pound nets and weirs were 211 

 in number, worth $11,150. The boats and shore and other property 

 connected with the fishery had a value of $5,339. The aggregate catch 

 was 98,322 pounds, for which the fishermen received $20,332. The 

 quantity taken in the Penobscot Eiver was 92,282 pounds (equivalent 

 to 6,789 fish), valued at $19,121. The output of the St. Croix, Denny, 

 and Kennebec rivers, respectively, was 2,500 pounds, with a value of 

 $512; 1,200 pounds, $210; and 2,080 pounds, $100. In addition to the 

 salmon catch shown, a few fish were taken in the Merrimac River and 

 at several points on the Massachusetts coast. These, however, were 

 generally released, in conformity with law. The gill-net catch amounted 

 to only 3,050 pounds, valued at $715; that of lines was 500 pounds, 

 with a value of $112, while the yield in pound nets was 91,112 pounds, 

 worth $i9,175. In Connecticut less than 200 pounds of salmon were 

 taken in pound and gill nets set for shad, alewives, and other fish. 



A small decrease (12,910 pounds, valued at $1,685) occurred in the 

 New England salmon catch in 1892, as compared with 1880, although a 

 comparison with intermediate years for which statistics are available 

 shows a more pronounced decline. Thus, in 1887, the total yield was 

 186,007 pounds, valued at $30,730; in 1888, 205,079 pounds, valued at 

 $11,635; and in 1889, 153,159 pounds, valued at $34,100, these figures 

 being obtained in the official investigations of this division. 



The principal decline in the New England salmon fishery considerably 

 antedated 1880, however, and was coincident with the erection of dams 

 or other barriers to the passage of fish. As early as the beginning of 

 the century the rivers of Maine began to experience a decline, and one 

 by one the numerous streams to which the salmon had been accustomed 

 to resort ceased to support the fish, until only the Penobscot remains. 

 Prior to 1798, salmon were very abundant in the Connecticut River; in 

 that year a 10-foot dam was placed entirely across the river about 100 

 miles above its mouth, and from that time the fish began to decrease. 

 By 1810 the salmon had almost disappeared, and during the succeeding 

 sixty years the fish was practically unknown in this river. 



There seems little reason to doubt that the preservation of the salmon 

 run in the Penobscot Eiver has been due entirely to artificial propaga- 

 tion, which began about 1871 and has continued to the present time. 



