Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

Salmon On Northeastern USA Rivers

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American shad in fishlift in Holyoke Dam on Connecticut River in Holyoke, MA. Courtesy of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

 We have had the chance to learn plenty about fisheries that suffered over the centuries, and even something about the current condition of salmon, but the details of Atlantic salmon’s demise in the rivers of New England escaped our attention until now (thanks to Cool Green Science for this article):

Of all North America’s Atlantic salmon rivers none compared in size or productivity with the 407-mile-long Connecticut River that drains Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. But early in the 19th century all strains of salmon uniquely adapted to this sprawling system (at least 25) had been rendered extinct by dams. Continue reading →