The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-05-19
SHAD FISHHRHEN At War
Strife Over Set Nets in the Waters
of tie ChOptank.
Scarcity Of the Fish in the Upper
Part Of the River Attributed 10
the Presence OF Pound Nets Nearer
the Mouth of the Stream-AIIeged
Danger to the supply of the Future

EASTON, Nd. May I9.-The Upper Chop
tank shad fishermen, who have had such
an Improbable season, attribute the scar
city Of fish in local waters 10 the use Of
the numerous pound nets staked out in
the lower part Of the ChOptank water on
both sides, from its mouth to Jamaica
Point. Theg allege that these pounds and
hedges, witch are set for fishing from the
beginning to the end of the season. day
and night, Sundays as well as week days,
intercept the shad on the way to their
spawning grounds in the fresh waters OF
the Upper Choptank and the Tuckahoe, so
that not only is the business Of the fresh
water fishermen damaged, but the future
supply is in danger OF being seriously i'm
paired, and but few shad live to reach the
spawning grounds.
Before the days OF pound nets, when
fishing for shad was done with float seines
and staked gill nets. Dover Bridge was
shad headquarters and the chief point OF
distribution. Now it is Oxford, and there
the pound nets empty their thousands and
tens OF thousands OF shad daily during the
season. Al every session Of the Legisla-
ture an attempt is made to suppress or
restrict pOund-net fishing in the Choptank,
but il is never successful
The pound fishermen deny that their
catchings spoil the up-river fshermen's
business, and say they must look else
where for the cause when they have bad
season All the pound nets in the river,
hey claim, do lot catch more than one In
a Do @
river The shad can't get up the river
because Of the pounds, EN-" said one of
them Why, Two or three steamboats,
go up 70 Denton and up the Tuckahoe ev-
cry day and night without mOlesting the
pounds, and certainly where steamboats,
can go shad can GO Besides. there was
a great giut of herring up the river this
season. II the pounds down the river
catch all the shad, why do they not catch
all the hei ring tOO2"
The snad fishermen on the Delaware
nave done a curious thing. They want the
Fish Commission 10 stop propagating xhad
for While, because there is such an enor-
nous quantity in the Delaware every SEA
son new, and prices are 50 low fishing is
unprohiable-iust the opposite OF the con-
dition II the Upper ChOptank. but bringing
about the same result. Some years ago
shad had become 50 scarce in the Della
ware that the Delaware and New Jersey
Legislatures. at The solicitation Of those
most interested in the shad fisheries. es-
tabiished artificial propagation. The prac-
teal fishermen laughed at the idea Of
Matching shad by hand and planting them
IN the water Artificial propagation has
been so successful that the river Is over
stocked ald prices are below the profit
mark, so taey want Matching suspended for
Few years, tha; the FISH may "thin out"
The Increase in the size Of shad. both
IN the Chesapeake and the Delaware, In
the last twenty-five years is very notice
able Twenty-Five years ago six pound
shad from the Delaware and a four-pound
shad from the ChOptank were top weight
Gradually they have been getting larger.
until an eightpOund shad from the Chop
tank or ten-pound one from the Della
ware eTCites no wonder