Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-03-07
! FISH MATCHING.
What Has Been Done for shad in Eastern
Az Shore Rivers.

[. f3... lt0li I'm plIiNhs
What Has Been Done for Shsd in Eastern |
i Shore Rivers.
Fish Commissioner Clarence L. Win. |
cent OF Snow Hill, Md. is receiving
much encouragement and assistance
with his work Ia the Eastern Shore
rivers. 1t Ia evidence, he says. of the
appreciation of the work of the Mary
land Fish mmission, for word Is
coming to him from all parts of the
Eastern Shore Of the good work that
has been dons with shad and perch,
and citizen who has made inquiry
about sturgeon sees the good effects In
these lines and nov wants experiments
made With the larger fish. Mr.. Vim,
cent further said:
Befote going into the discussion OF
sturgeon PROPAGATION let me tell you
what the Maryland Fish Commission
is doing. 1t may seem like startling
statement to you, but the Maryland
Fish Commission, with the aid of the.
United States Fish Commission, is
saving the shad from total destruction
as far as tbs waters Of Maryland are
concerned. The credit for this is yir-
tually accorded to the commission by
Prof. Brooks, If Johns Hopkins Uni.
| versity, who has made a scientific
study of the matter. 1t Is a settled
! fact that the shad returns to the river
| where 1t is hatohed or put out.
| In recent years the mouths of our
rivers and even the sound have become
| such a network of fixes, weirs, pound
| nets and every conceivable device for
\ catching ahad, that according to Prof.
Brooks and our own Judgment very
| few shad now re ich the spaw ming
grounds and the few that do SO are not
enough 10 keep up the supply, when 1t
! is considered that innumerable native
fish devour the eggs of the shad as
1 we'll as the young fish as soon as they
4 are hatched. Therefore, il it we're not
for the artificial propagation of shad
| they would be 80 scarce in our rivers
that there would not be enough for
home consumption instead Of, rs now,
supplying the city market and boing
source Of considerable revenue to the
people Of the State
There are many thousand persons
| quantity caught and sold each year
4 grows larger. The Fish Commission
buys the ripe roe shad from the fisher
men, matches out the fish and libsrates
them as soon as they are able to take
care of themselves in the various rivers
Of the State Thus the supply Of shad
is kept up, but still the hesdwaters
are not teeming with them, AS in the
days when the fish could enter the
rivers unmolested and had some show
to get upto the spawning ground aud
naturally produce its species"
when tbs Maryland Fish Com
mission was established there were
several rivers on the Eastern Shore
where the shad was stranger, had
never been caught or seen IN them.
The Fish Commission planted In these
rivers millions of Young shad and in a
few years, to the surprise OF the natives,
they commenced to catch shad. Along
this line the United States Fish Com,
mission has done wonders.
mot many years ago in the rivers
OF the Pacific Coast the shad was a
stranger, but eggs were secured at the
Havre de Grace hatchery, and while
the car of the commission was speeding
on Ito the Pacific Coast tho fish were
Matched ont and cared for until they
, could be placed In the rivers of CALI
fornia. In few years after that the
first Bhad was caught. Today they are
more plentiful there than here and
lgrow to be much larger, weighing as
, much ae 16 pounds.
II could give you innumerable
instances Of the successful introduction
, of the shad into waters where 1t was
| unknown. j. Wesley English a SUCCESS
full fisherman OF Riverton, on the Nan
] ticoke River, told me the other day
/ that two yeats ago he could catch
} scarcely any black perch. But now he
) can got all he wants, and the catch ie
a most profitable one, all because the
t Fish Communication Matched out and de-
) posItedlin Nanticoke River millions oil
t perch. This is such valuable fish
that considerable attention will be
! given TO its spropsgation this year.
Q Special work III this line will be done
at the Nanticoke station, and at the
new station established for the purpose
of propagating black perch in the st.
{ Martins River. The output of these
y stations will bA distributed in all tn.
8 rivers Of the Eastern Shore.
o AS to the Matching Of sturgeon, II
i can be done by us, but there are diff
t cultiee 10 the way. Where the fish ar,
not very plentiful it is hard to gel
!. them when they are ripe for spawn
l. ing, and the male must be secured
a simultaneously with the female. Ii
j. some casea the one has been penned vi
y to await the capture of the other, blu
It when the stripping process has beer
h completed IL was found the eggs woult
10 not fertilize because Of the fish bavinI
% been bruised In it's capture or in tn
& pen. However great the difficulties
10 the Fish Commission will look into tn
= matter Of Matching sturgeon and will
% do all ii can. with the small appropria
10 tion the State allows for the purpose
d CT carrying on work That Is provin
ID OF 90 great value to the entire State
increasing the wealth of the fisher me
70 and decreasing the cost to the consume
If of food fish.
ID ", II