 As part of the Housatonic River watershed, the Naugatuck River historically hosted the southernmost Atlantic salmon ("Salmo salar") migrations.Historical runs of anadromous fish also included native American shad ("Alosa sapidissima", Connecticut's state fish), alewife ("Alosa pseudoharengus") and blueback herring ("Alosa aestivalis").Dam construction for hydropower, cooling and rinse water, and boiler water for industry began circa 1763 and continued during the industrial revolution of the 1800s.