Middletown transcript., 1871-04-15


length"
Of tho runs Of shn nd II is .nid:
The successive runs Of shad continue
from about the middle Of March TO the
last Of June or the early part Of July,
they having been spld during tho pas,
year in Bucks county. Pennsylvania. on
July 4,h They arc few in number until
the middle Of April. from this time to the
middle Of May comes what is known a.
moug fishermen rs The great run. after
that their number rapidly dimnishes.
The Same phenomenal are observable in
the downward course Of the fry to the sea.
Those early spawned. few in number, arc
descending, while adults ARE still ascend
ing the stream. Young shad two and
half inches long, we're observed June 8,
1859. a, llowelrs N sherry by one Of your
commissioners.
The shad are curr mt fish They enter
our rivers in the spring and take their de-
parture in the fall when they are swollen
BY rains. They ste m the current with
great facility, aud ASCEND the stream until
some obstruction pre- vents them going up
farther. There is difference of opinion
as TO what becomes df them in the winter
after they descend ,ha rivers Some be-
licvc they skirt dowr our Southern coast
in great drovcs. md when winter is over
they turn round and come back. leaving
squad at the mouth 81 each river, Others
think they resort To The gulf stream where
they spend the winter in the warm waters
OF that great currcn Of the ocean. Of
course what becomes with the shad in win
ter is mere surpositipn at best, but inns-
much as the cod take long journeys to
within the Arctic circle to find spawning
ground, why may nNt the shad journey
lar likewise 10 spend an agreeable winter.
The shad and othq qr fish are caught by
what are known as Eiling or drift nets,
and sweeping or sho Fe seincs. The form
cr have been in use only since ls22.2S,
While tao after have been in use from the
earliest settlement Of the S,ntes. These
shore fisheries were much more numerous
than a, prcsen, --there being now only A.
bout thirty from the head OF the Delaware
Bay 10 Trenton, aat about eighty from
the latter place 10 ie New York State
line, In ordinary 81 fasons operations CON
menee at these ishciies about the tenth of
April, aud should II ermina,e, according II
law, below Trenton Falls, june 10. aud
above, june la-,ui t....,ffartunately for
ta. hsl the law is DOT al8a Observed.
There about 100 men employed in III.
shore fisheries below Trenton, and in the
upper Delaware the number employed Is
ahou, SUI They are paid by the month,
with board. The OF erat1ns Of the fish
cries are much Interrupted hy storms, and
below Philadelphia y sessels running n
ground, or anchorink or passing oyer the
fishing grounds ut the particular time
When the tide suit for laying of the
seines Before the owner .. shore fish
cry enters upon i, be is obliged, hy law,
to file in the pfo,hohe,arys Office des-
eription, in Writing. Of his fishery, the
length OF shore used Ne and to give se-
cnrl,y in Slooo for the payment Of all
lines aud penalties, &c, The number Of
shad fisheries on the Delaware from below
Trenton Falls to the mouth, is thirty.twp,
Of which ten ARE Dn the pennsy yiyauia
Shore and the rcmaindcr in New Jersey.
Tho aggregate nnnl er of men employed
is six hundred, and the length Of seine
used. in faihoms almost seven thousand,
4 bore the Falls ihetn is large number
j. small fisheries " lth an average OF sertn
hands 10 each. aud length of seine used
abou lit,y-iiyc fathoms. The number Of
siling seines in nse between Trenton and
Guhansey, ubou, loN miles. is estimated NJ
from aUo 10 1000. When first introduced
fifty years ago, their use was restricted,
but Of late the law is disregardcd. The
length of seine used i'll these lUj miles
will reach, it it thou ght 3uD, 900 yards.
1t Is the practice below Trenton. and
where the water il dccp enough above. to
stretch the net ncraks the channel, aud
there stake or anchor il for u considerable
time, aud ntterwura loose it and let il
float This very Objectionable practice
The gillng seines u aFe supposed 10 have
driven the shad away from the Delaware,
as they have fallen oa in quantity very
greatly since these nets were used. aud
the shore fisheries catch much fewer.
Down TO ls2o, when there were no gill
nets. and which was the most productive
year ever known, there was no diminntion
in number or size Of shad !; and in that
year the great haul Of ten thousand eight
hundred shad was made Mt Fancy Hill
They have fallen oil in sizo and weight.
shad Of eight. nine. or ten pound were
formerly quite conn on. the average being
about seven. but few are caught that weigh
six or seven pounds This elimination is
attributed To the gilling nets. Besides
tho great numbers Q, ,ught by these nets.
many arc so injured that they die. The
commissioners state that 1t is n notorious
fact that the majority of the gill net pro.
prietnrs fish no. only on Saturday nights
and Sundays, but daring the entire month
of june, aud some even into to July. On
tho upper Delaware. during the past few
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