Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-09-27

The New York Sun OF Sunday week
contained the following. When Mayor
Shortlidge of Wilmington, Del, who is
fisherman and friend to fish culture,
applied some weeks since to the United
States Fish Commission for shad eggs
for distribution in Delaware waters, the
reply was that none were to be had.
The mayors application was made soon
after the close Of the shad- fishing season,
and the reason given for the shortage
was the failure of the shad catch in the
Susquehanna and the dearth of eggs at
the main hatchery of the commission
on that river.
1t has been the custom of the commits
sion to keep the steamer Fish Hawk off
Gloucester, In the Delaware, during the
shad fishing season, and to propagate
on board that admirably appointed YES
sci young shad for distribution in the
Delaware and its tributaries. This year,
however, the Fish Commission learned
that the State of Pennsylvania would
undertake the propagation of shad for
the Delaware and its tributaries, and
accordingly the Fish Hawk did not
undertake her usual task off Gloucester.
The United States Fish Commission
determined to concentrate its efforts on
tue Potomac and Susquehanna, where
there was carly promise of an unusu.
ally abundant shad season, whence
young fish could be supplied to the
tributaries of the Delaware, if neces-
sary, as well as to other rivers of the
North. Heavy freshets in May, how.
ever, shortened the Susquehanna shad
season, and the Pennsylvania Fish Com
mission failed TO operate its hatchery on
the Delaware. The United States Com
mission did the best it could in the cir
cumstances, and planted nearly 0,700,0G0
shad fry in the Delaware and its tribu-
taries. Some streams, however, had to
be neglected, and the planting was
smaller and less wide than usual
Nobody has been able to determine
just how great is the influence of gov.
ernmental shad culture upon the shad
supply, but Acting United States Com
missioner Herbert A. Gill believes that
the shortage of artlficially propagated
fry in single season is not likely to be
permanently felt in the future shad
catch. He believes, however, that
series of such seasons would have serious
results. The best gauge of the relation
of artificial propagation to the shad sup
ply is found in the records of the
Federal Fish Commissions work and in
the statistics of the shad catch. These
records and statistics touching the
Pacific coast are especially significant.
Shad fry were first introduced on that
coast by Seth Green in 1871, when shad
were not caught there. He planted in
that year $4,000 shad fry In the Sacra-
mento river, under tho auspices of ;he
California Fish Commission. The
United States Fish Commission has
since planted in the Sacramento, Will
iamette and Columbia rivers about
100000 shad fry. The catch of shad
on the Pacific has steadily increased
since 1877 until this year, when it is
estimated to have been over 100000
pounds. The catch of shad for the
entire country increased more than 1872
per cent, and during that decade the
United States Fish Commission planted
100000, 900 shad fry in various streams.
Acting Commissioner Gill says that
there is no indisputable evidence to show
the exact age at which the shad fry
reached an edible size. 1t is held, how
ever, On apparently good grounds that
large numbers of shal return to the
rivers in the second year after being
Matched, and that shad becomes fully
matured and goes through with the
spawning process when three or four
years old. From the fact that shad are
planted in open waters it is impossible
to guess what percentage of the fry
artitically propagated reaches maturity,
but from results obtained by the fish
CO mission it is believed that the per-
centage is large.
This conclusion is especially drawn
from the statistics of the decade 1890
1890, and from the facts thus indicated
acting Commissioner Gill bases his be-
lief that series of seasons in which the
commissioners paintings should be
short must have an injurious effect upon
the future Of the shad catch.