SIZE OF TI1E COD. 221 



I have before me much information concerning the average size of the fish caught at different 

 seasons of the year by the fishermen at different localities along the coast, but it seems at present 

 hardly necessary to discuss this subject at greater length. 



CONCLUSIONS AS TO DECREASE OP COD FISHERIES ON THE NEW ENGLAND COAST. In 

 conclusion, it may not be amiss to quote- the remarks of Professor Baird concerning the decrease 

 of Codfish along our coast, and the probable causes for such decrease: 



"Of all the various fisheries formerly prosecuted directly off the coast of New England, north of 

 Cape Cod, the depreciation in that of the Cod appears to be of the greatest economical importance. 

 Formerly the waters abounded in this fish to such an extent that a large supply could be taken 

 throughout almost the entire year along the banks, especially in the vicinity of the mouths of the 

 larger rivers. At that time the tidal streams were almost choked up with the alewives, shad, and 

 salmon that were struggling for entrance in the spring, and which filled the adjacent waters' 

 throughout a great part of the year. 



As is well known, the erection of impassable dams across the streams, by preventing the 

 ascent of the species just mentioned to their spawning grounds, produced a very great diminution, 

 and almost the extermination, of their numbers; so that whereas in former years a large trade 

 could be carried on during the proper season, now nothing would be gained by the effort. 



"Of late the attention of the legislatures of the New England States has been called to this 

 fact, and to the importance of restoring their fisheries, and a great deal has been already accom- 

 plished toward that end. Unfortunately, however, the lumbering interest in Maine, and the 

 manufacturing in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, are so powerful as to render it extremely 

 difficult to carry out any measures which in any way interfere with their convenience or profits; 

 and notwithstanding the passage of laws requiring the construction of fishways through the 

 dams, these have either been neglected altogether, or arc of such a character as not to answer 

 their purpose. The reform, therefore, however imperatively required, has been very slow in its 

 progress, and many years will probably elapse before efficient measures will be taken to remedy 

 the evils referred to. 



"It would, therefore, appear that while the river fisheries have been depreciated or destroyed 

 by means of dams or by exhaustive fishing, the Codfish have disappeared in equal ratio. This 

 is not, however, for the same reason, as they are taken only with the line, at a rate more than 

 compensated by the natural fecnndity of the fish. I am well satisfied, however, that there is a 

 relation of cause and effect between the present and past condition of the two series of fish ; and 

 in this I am supported by the opinion of Capt. U. S. Treat, of Eastport, by whom, indeed, the 

 idea was first suggested to me. Captain Treat is a successful fisherman and dealer in fish on a 

 very large scale, and at the same time a gentleman of very great intelligence and knowledge of 

 the many details connected with the natural history of our coast fishes, in this respect worthily 

 representing Captain Atwood, of Provincetown. It is to Captain Treat that we owe many experi- 

 ments on the reproduction of alewives in ponds, and the possibility of keeping salmon in fresh 

 waters for a period of years. The general conclusions which have been reached, as the result of 

 repeated conversations with Captain Treat and other fishermen on the coast, incline me to believe 

 that the reduction in the cod and other fisheries, so as to become practically a failure, is due to 

 the decrease off our coast in the quantity, primarily, of alewives; and, secondarily, of shad and 

 salmon, more than to any other cause. 



"It is well known to the old residents of Eastport that from thirty to fifty years ago Cod could 

 be taken in abundance in Passamaquoddy Bay and off Eastport, where only stragglers are now 

 to be caught. The same is the case at the mouth of the Penobscot River and at other points along 



