Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-11-02
No. of shad taken.
Per cent Per cent
of inc'se. of de'cse
1880. / 1855.


Aggregate 1870, 1876 4.l4o.2so per cent incr Sc.
The table gives catch from Cape Henry to
Cape Cod. Increase of $50 over 1880, in guam
tity. 965, 229 lbs, in value S67,5SO.
While the commercial value of the increase,
S61 $50 was not large compared with the
whole, that sum was ten times as great as the
yearly sum spent by the fish commission upon
the work of propagation
CONDITIONS WHICH WERE ExTERMINATING
sHAD.
1t was physiological necessity, he said. that
shad should enter fresh water to spawn. Shad
eggs might be impregnatcd in salt water, but
would not develop up to the point of Matching.
The shad must reach fresh water in numbers
sufficient to supply by proPagation the annual tn
waters of the country. Then man began TO
reduce the spawning area; dams were extended
the river by means of natural propagation was
not one-haf as great as it had been. Then fac
tories have been erected on the rivers, the
spawning beds have been destroyed by Sedl-
nent or GeleieriOus matter, and the water rem
dered unsuitable tor propagation. Last of all,
man had come with improved appliances, ana
pushed his fisheries of fresh water into the
salt water So now sixty-three per cent OF the
siIad caught are caught in salt water.
c"anng then the sh fresh the
was doubtful whether one per cent-certalnly
not five per cent-survived to reproduce the
species. Upon that small percentage they de-
rivers. Under such conditions the spawning
area, being limited and the shad excluded from
fresh water, without artificial propagation, they
would not only not be able to keep up the sup,
ply, but the shad would soon be eXterminated
I or there would be such a reduction as TO render
the fisheries Improbable. They were IaSt APP
preaching such a crisis i'll 1879, when the fish
commission began the work of shad propaga-
| ton. The work of artificial propagation had
not only held the balance even, but resulted In
slight increase.
THE USE OF POUND NETS.
COL Mcdonald deprecated the methods en-
ployed in shad fishing, especially in the use of
pound nets In the Connecticut river, where
hound nets are used, a larger part of the catch
| Is taken in salt water. In the Hudson, the
| laws of New York do not permit fishing with
| pound nets, the river is not obstructed to the
aware, where an increase was snoWn there
| were no pound nets. In the case 0Gthe Ches;,-
| peake and its tributaries, showing decrease
of ~ per cent, 713, 900 OF the shad canght this
| year, more than One-half of the whole catch,
| were caught in the salt water OF the bay. The
! pound nets began at the capes and extended to
| the mouth of the Potomac. Prior to 1871 the
| shad were taken entirely in fresh water, but
now over one-half were caught in salt water.
the catch in that river is made in water where the
fish cannot spawn. In the Rappahannock one
half the catch is on the oyster grounds, or IN
| practically below Gloucester point. In the
| James river there are no pound nets and in that
river we find an increase in the catch. While
| the fisheries in the Che sapeake bay and its
| tributaries, as a whole, have fallen off p per
cent, the decrease in the catch in certain rivers
| is much greater. The catch in tine Susquehanil;i
in 1880 was Ga, 900, against ? 900 in 1855;
and in the Potomac, 552,So1 IN 1880 against
l3I,691 in 1852 The e reason OF ms, n Coz,
were no pound nets in Chesapeake bay, and no
shad were taken until they entered fresh water.
river as now In 1850 he found in Chesapeake
| bay $50 pound nets set in the track 1ol
| lowed by the shad along the western shore
| bod had mt
| let up to the mouths of the rivers. Now there
| were ], 900 pound nets occupying the western
shores Of the bay and excluding the mSh IRON,
| catch is to diminish the natural reproduction
| and invoke artificial propagation as nee
essary aid to the fisheries. II all shad were ex
! Guided from our rivers for three or four years
without artificial propagation, the species would
be exterminated. Taking all the facts into con
| sideratOn, and the inadequacy OF natural re
production to supply the annual loss, we must
| credit artificial reproduction with having main
tanned the fisheries where they were, but more
than with an increase which would pay ten
times the cost of the work of shad propagation
! WHY THE WORK SHOULD BE NATIONAL.
! The paper was discussed by several members
OF the society. Mr.. Smiley suggested that II
brought up an interesting point in political
economy, and that was whether 1t was adVisa
BILE for any state to stock its own rivers since
the fish did not necessarily return to the river
| where it was spawned. He thought the facts
shown presented strong argument for having
the whole work of shad propagation done by
| the national government.
Col Mcdonald said that the tn results OF t the
| the Hudson and Delaware enjoyed the increase
this year, it did not follow that 1t would be the
same next year. It was remarkable that when
there is a large catch in the Delaware there is &
diminished catch in the Chesapeake, and ric.
versa. When the spring is cold the shad avoiC
| the long rivers coming from the mountains anG
seek the warmer waters OF the small rivers
draining tidal areas. He thought It was more
profitable and economical TO nave the 1, work Q
| would suit the people as whole, much less
the work were all done under the direction o
| the general government.
| MI. Goode. the president of the society, re
marked that this paper was without exception
the most importsnt paper on the fish question
fish question has been largely theoretical. ant
the papers have been largely prophetlc. liner
were no periods of statistical records. Az las
they were getting where II was possible TO max
comparative statements OF facts ana coulo Sc
where they stood. The facts presented were no
only important in their economic az aspect b Du
were getting q knowledge of what was passing
beneath the sea. America was taking the lea
the world was looking with amazeinent upol
what we are accomplishing. The whole matte
was coming to be better understood. Inc Dfoa'
| policy upon which Prof. Baird established tn
fish commission fifteen years ago, that IN orde
to understand the practical bearings OF the MS
question it was necessary nrst 70 enoerstah J,
| all the conditions Of marine ltfe ~ was In
legitimate fruit Of such policy, that at Las
fish culture and the knowledge OF marine III
pe mere .hae
deep sea moliusks, comprising notes OF ms Gee
e sea researches on board the coast survey yess.
? Blake, and PROT Otis T. Mason exhibited piastt
OF paris casts, showing method ne had
| upon for projecting the legends carved upo
. cylindrical or conicai sticks, nose flutes, ~
| adorned by savage artists upon nat surface
Navieatton ceased In section 8 of the Chan