110 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
The salmon. — This, the most highly esteemed of the food fishes of Maine, is chiefly 
abundant in the Penobscot River, in which more than seven-eighths of the yield is 
taken. Practically, the entire Catch is obtained in weirs and trap nets. The preserva. 
tion of the salmon in the State is largely dependent on the artificial stocking of the 
streams by the introduction of fry hatched at the Government stations on the Penob- 
scot. The catch varies considerably from year to year, and in 1889 was less than in 
the two preceding years, being 152,740 pounds, against 185,637 pounds in 1887 and 
205,149 pounds in 1888. The yield in 1889 was worth $34,118, giving the fish an aver- 
age value of 29 cents a pound. 
The shad . — The catch of shad in Maine waters is now greater than in any other 
New England State, although in 1880 the output of the Connecticut fishery was more 
than double that of Maine. The fishery has undergone a considerable advance since 
1880 and is no doubt still capable of great development. Almost the entire yield is 
taken west of the Penobscot River in trap nets and gill nets. Occasionally large 
schools of shad are seen in the open sea off the Maine coast, and mackerel vessels 
have at times made good catches in purse seines, although this fishery is necessarily 
uncertain. The quantity of shad taken in this State in 1889 is shown in the following 
table, to which the years 1880, 1887, and 1888 are added for comparison. The pro- 
ductiveness of each form of apparatus is given for the three more recent years. The 
fish credited to purse seines were of course caught by vessels and are added to make 
the subject complete and to afford a basis for comparison with 1880, for which year no 
separate figures for the shore and vessel fisheries are available. 
Apparatus. 
1889. 
1888. 
1887. 
1880. 
Pounds. 
Value. 
Pounds. 
Value. 
Pounds. 
Value. | 
Pounds. I Value. 
Brush weirs 
Pound nets 
Trap nets 
Gill nets 
Purse seines 
Total 
6,360 
9, 000 
553, 640 
300, 800 
18, 000 
$286 
250 
10, 368 
7, 108 
675 
5,800 
15, 000 
508, 184 
*32! 000 
$273 
550 
14,585 
7,460 
1,500 
5, 700 
10, 000 
544, 000 
1 528, 020 
*8, 000 
$270 
250 
13,514 I 
12,976 
320 
$11,876 j 
887, 800 
18, 687 
839, 256 
24,368 
1, 095, 720 
27,330 
580, 319 
* Salted. 
The following table gives, by counties and species, the quantity and value of fish 
taken in each form of apparatus; the invertebrates, secondary products, etc., are also 
added to make the presentation complete for each county. It appears that while of 
the fish proper the pound nets, weirs, and trap nets take by far the larger quantity, 
the hand lines and trawl lines yield a greater revenue. The catch in pots surpasses in 
value that of the lines, pound nets, weirs, etc., combined, although the quantity of fish 
so taken is insignificant. Examination of the table will give a comprehensive idea of 
the actual and relative importance of the different devices in each county. 
