What happened in Maine's Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers in the decades before and following Tambora?

While Maine was a province of Massachusetts, Bay State Fisheries Commissioners determined that all fish exports should be inspected, the quantities and qualities of such fish reported, and the reports collected.  Fortunately, these reports from 1805 to 1820 survive in original manuscript form in Maine’s State Archives in Augusta. These returns present questions about anadromous fish harvests in the settlement period.  One question is: Did the year of “1800-and-froze-to-death” have an impact on the anadromous fisheries of Maine’s watersheds? Records of towns on some drainages show an interesting pattern of anadromous catches in 1805-1820, with a general rise in catch until 1817, followed by a precipitous decline through 1820.  Another question is: Why did some rivers export more shad than alewives, while others exported more alewives than shad?  Upon gaining statehood in 1820, Maine did not require fish inspectors to report to Augusta until 1832, when the Secretary of State ordered returns retroactively for 1828. Those returns hint at a possible explanation to the second question.  This paper examines primary data and suggests preliminary answers to these questions.