The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-05-16
THE MYSTERY OF THE SHAD.
Nothing Known OF the Fish After IL
Leaves Our Rivers.


Delaware shad have always been looked
upon. by Philndelphians particularly, as
the finest favored fish OF the Kind taken
from any river In the Union. Therefore
epicures will welcome the announcement
that the shAd is now beginning its an
nual entity into the Delaware and that a
few made their appearance last week In the
city mark Ihe movements OF the shad
are OF Inuch interest and more mystry 10
ichthy yoloaists and fish culturists Beyond
the period when the fish Is In the river OIL
most absolutely nothing Is known OF its
habits. IL belongs to class known as
anadromous lshes-that IL. these
whose home Is In the sea. but who come
In TO fresh water to spawn. from tne
time the egg Is deposited to the time the
Dish reaches maturity and becomes
spawnsr there Is period OF three years.
and the first i've or six months OF shis
only are spent In fresh water.
When the water OF the Delaware In the
spring reaches temperature OF % de-
Rrees or over the shad enters from the sea
In great shoals. the males first and the
females about two weeks later. It was
supposed for some years that the males
enrersd first In order 10 find suitable nest
Ing places, but this assumption Is now
known TO be false from the discovery that
the shBd does not make nest, rs many
other species of fish DO, ara the real rea-
son for their appearing trst must remain
Tor the presoDt 1T least. as one OF tne
mysteries which surround the movements
OF this fins food fish.
1he spawning grounds Of the shad are
the large pools In the Delaware aoove
Trenton to the headwaters, and it Is for
this reason that the ereotion OF dams In
tho river would destroy the bsheries Ia
very fsw years. 1t 10 true that there are
n
Timber Creek and q few other streams
below Trenton tributary TO the Delaware,
but they are OF very small extent and
could not hegin to accommodate the
mum her OF flsh which come In from the
sea every year. The average female shad
deposits about 80 600 eggs. although very
large one may deposit anywhere from
10 600 to 80. 600 eggs VI these it Is esti-
mated that not more than I'D per cent
are Matched, the remainder either not be-
ing fsrtilized or else are destroyed by the
many other FISH In the river. or those
left IL II estimated that so per cent are
devoured. Thus out of 80. 900 eggs laid,
only about 20 or 30 young fish reach the
sea In safety. 1t IA In the Matching OF
shad that man outdoes nature, for out OF
every 10000 eggs man. by artificial meth
ods. can cause 10 per cent. TO be hatched,
against the 10 PER cent Of nature. The
young artificially hatched must be placed
almost Immediately In the natural
breeding grounds. and assuming that 90
per cent. OF these litte creatures will be
devoured by larger fish. there will still
remain 270 to reaoh the sea, against 20 or
by natural Matching. 1t may be stated
hore that In conse queDcs OF the greatly
decreased demand within the last few
years II 1t were not for the artificial hatoh-
Ing. ths shad woulu by this time have al.
most disappeared from the Delaware and
from all other streams for that matter,
After hatching. tho oung shai grow
very rapidly, feeding on small flies and
water animalculae. by September they
are from three to four inches long, and
then ~ the water grows colder they begin
making their way In vast shoals to the
sea As soon ns they reach deep water
all traco Of them is lost