The Salmon Fishery of Penobscot Bay and River in 1895-96

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The Salmon Fishery of Penobscot
Bay and River in 1895-96



The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Salmon Fishery of Penobscot Bay
and River
in 1895-96, by Hugh M. Smith
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Title: The Salmon Fishery of Penobscot Bay and River in 1895-96
Author: Hugh M. Smith

Release Date: November 10, 2005 [eBook #17039]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
SALMON FISHERY OF PENOBSCOT BAY AND RIVER IN
1895-96***
E-text prepared by Ronald Calvin Huber while serving as Penobscot
Bay Watch, Rockland, Maine, with technical assistance from Joseph E.
Loewenstein, M.D.

THE SALMON FISHERY OF PENOBSCOT BAY AND RIVER IN
1895-96
by
HUGH M. SMITH
Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission, 1898 Pages 113-124

Contents
Introduction
Extent and condition of the fishery in 1895 and 1896
Detailed statistics for 1895 and 1896
Comparative data relative to the salmon fishery
Apparatus and methods of the fishery
Salmon at Matinicus and Ragged islands
Salmon at the Cranberry Isles
Salmon caught with hook off Maine coast
Destruction of salmon by seals

Evidences of results of propagation
Extension of salmon-hatching operations on the Penobscot
Planting of quinnat salmon and steelhead trout in Maine streams

During the months of August and September, 1896, the writer visited
the shores of Penobscot River and Bay in the interests of the United
States Fish Commission, for the purpose of securing data regarding the
condition and extent of the salmon, shad, and alewife fisheries. Special
attention was given to the salmon fishery, as the Penobscot is now the
only important salmon stream on the Atlantic coast of the United States
and has been the field for very extensive fish-cultural operations on the
part of the Fish Commission. A large majority of the owners of the
salmon weirs and nets along both sides of the bay and river were
interviewed and accurate accounts of their fishing obtained, together
with their observations as to the effect of artificial propagation on the
supply.
The history and methods of the salmon fishery of this basin have been
well presented in papers by Mr. Charles G. Atkins, superintendent of
the Government hatchery at Craig Brook, Maine. [1,2] The present
paper is primarily intended to show the extent and condition of the
salmon fishery of Penobscot Bay and River in 1895 and 1896 and the
influence of artificial propagation on the supply. The methods and
apparatus of the fishery are briefly considered. A chart of the Penobscot
region, giving the location of salmon weirs and traps in use in 1896, is
appended, and illustrations of some of the types of salmon apparatus
are shown.
[Footnote 1: On the Salmon of Eastern North America, and its artificial
culture. In Report of Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries 1872-3, pp.
226-337, 9 plates of apparatus and methods, and map showing location
of salmon weirs in Penobscot region.]
[Footnote 2: The River Fisheries of Maine. In The Fisheries and

Fishery Industries of the United States, section V, vol. I, pp. 673-728.]

Extent and condition of the fishery in 1895 and 1896.
While the number of nets operated in these two years was practically
the same, the catch in 1896 was much greater than in 1895, and was
one of the largest in the recent history of the fishery. A comparatively
large number of fishermen reported that they took more salmon than in
any previous year. The salmon, however, were smaller than usual, and
their market value was but little more in 1896 than in 1895.
The traps set especially for salmon, or in which salmon were taken,
numbered 193 in 1895 and 184 in 1896. These, with the accessories,
had a value of $12,474 and $13,146, respectively. The boats and scows
required in the construction and operation of the nets numbered 188 in
1895, the same in 1896, and were valued at $3,576 and $3,599,
respectively. The number of men engaged in the fishery was 127 in
1895 and 126 in 1896. In the comparatively unimportant branch of the
fishery carried on with gill nets in the vicinity of Bangor, 10 nets,
valued at $189, were used in 1895, and 11 nets, worth $199, in 1896;
these were set by 6 men in the first year and 7 in the next. The boats
numbered 4 in 1895 and 5 in 1896, and were valued at $29 and $37,
respectively.
The total number of salmon caught in 1895 was 4,395; these weighed