New England Salmon Hatcheries and Salmon Fisheries in the Late 19th Century — John Shaqi
New England Salmon Hatcheries and Salmon Fisheries in the Late 19th CenturyVarious
History
New England Salmon Hatcheries and Salmon Fisheries in the Late 19th Century
Various
Fish hatcheries -- New England; Fisheries -- New England; Salmon -- New England
It is still found most convenient to obtain the stock of breeding
salmon, as in the early years of the enterprise, from about a dozen
weirs in the Penobscot River along the shores of the island of Verona.
The fishermen are provided with dip-nets or bags with which to capture
the fish in their weirs, with tanks or cars in which to transport them
to the collecting headquarters, whither they are brought immediately
after capturing, about low water.
The collection is in the hands of a fisherman of experience, who
receives the salmon as they are brought in, counts and examines them,
adjudges their weight, and dispatches them in cars to the inclosure at
Dead Brook. The cars are made out of the common fishing boats of the
district, called dories, by providing them with grated openings, to
allow of a free circulation of water in transit, and covering them with
netting above to prevent the fish from escaping over the sides. The car
is ballasted so that it will be mostly submerged. Ten to fifteen salmon
are placed in a single car, and from one to four cars are taken in tow
by a boat with two to four oarsmen.
From the collecting headquarters to Orland village, a distance of about
5 miles, the route is in brackish water, and the tow is favored by the
flood tide. At Orland is a dam which is surmounted by means of a lock,
and thence, two miles further to Dead Brook, the route is through the
tide less fresh water of Narramissic River. The sudden change from salt
to fresh water does not appear to trouble the fish except when the
weather is very hot and the fresh water is much the warmest. The cars
are towed directly into the inclosure, where the fish are at once
liberated.
The inclosure is formed by placing two substantial barriers of woodwork
across the stream 2,200 feet apart. The lower barrier is provided with
gates which swing open to admit boats. Within the inclosure the water
is from 3 to 8 feet deep, the current very gentle, the bottom partly
muddy, partly gravelly, supporting a dense growth of aquatic
vegetation. The brook has two clean lakes at its source, and its water
is purer than that of ordinary brooks.
The collection of salmon usually continues from the first ten days of
June until the beginning of July. During the early weeks of their
imprisonment the salmon are extremely active, swimming about and
leaping often into the air. After that they become very quiet, lying in
the deepest holes and rarely showing themselves. Early in October they
begin to renew their activity, evidently excited by the reproductive
functions. Preparations are now made for catching them by constructing
traps at the upper barrier. If the brook is in ordinary volume, these
means suffice to take nearly all, but a few linger in the deeper pools
and must be swept out with seines. About October 25 the taking of spawn
begins. After that date the fish are almost always ripe when they first
come to hand, and in three weeks the work of spawning is substantially
finished.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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