The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1902-11-04
DISCOVER NEW SHAD
Inhabits the Ohio River and FRS
Caught by Accident.
Given . seieAtaAc Name ~ the 0ev-
ernnsat Fish Commission and
Ny Become Valuable -
an Article of Food.


A new species of shad has been dis.
covered in this country. 1t inhabits the
Ohio river, and has been named by the
authorities of the United States fish
comm ission at Washington "Alosoa
Ohiensis."
From time to time the fish commits
sion had heard of the catching of shad in
the Mississippi basin, and as long ago
as 1872 Prof Baird called attention to
the occurrence of shad in the Ouachita
river in Arkansas. But it was not I'M
til recently that the members OF the
fish commission procured specimens of
the fish, which when examined was
found to be a new species. of shad. diff
fering in many important particulars
from shad as taken from the North
river and from other waters on the
Atlantic seaboard, says Washington
report.
These new shad have been caught by
means of seines light-leaded so that
they would fish the upper few feet of
water rather than the bottom. This
method of fishing was first adopted in
order to get the ''spoonbill cat which.
when running. swims close to the sur
face When the nets were hauled in it
was found that the shad had been cap
tured at the same time. The two spe-
cies of fish appear to run together. The
principal SEEMING ground has been near
Louisville, below the falls of the Ohio
and between Rock island and the In
diana shore.
All the known facts regar riding the
distribution and habits of the OHIO
| shad indicate that it has regular runs,
| like the common shall.
It appears in the Mississippi on the
borders Of Ccahoma County, Miss,
chout the middle of March: in the low
err Ohio about month later april 20),
at Louisville still little later april
pc to May 2O). and in the Kanawha river
at Montgomery, West Va, in the lat
ter part Of May.
The Ouachita. river, Arkansas, from
which shad have been reported. has its
mouth in the Red river. near the con-
fuence of the latter with the Missis-
| sippi, more than 200 miles below Goa
bona, and only about poo miles. from
| the Cult of Mexico. Although it has
not been proved that these shad come
up from the Gulf of Mexico, it is re-
garded as certain that they do. and
| that they are as truly anadromous as
is the Atlantic shad.
Whether important fisheries for the
Ohio shad can be established remains
! to be determined. In the first place,
it is not vet known whether the fish
is commercially abundant. 1t is con-
sidered not at all improbable that its
apparent scarcity may be due merely
! 10 the fact that tie methods Of feNirg
| in vogue in the MississipDi basin have
| not been such as would prove effective
| in the capture of shad. Gill nets and
trap nets are scarcely known. and
where seines are used they are usually
| loaded so as to fish the bottom and are
hauled mostly during the daytime.
Shad might very well be present in
abundance and remain forever I'M
known so long as the present fishing
methods are continued
Many plants of Atlantic shad have
been made by the United States fish
commission in the waters of the Missis-
sippi basin-the first in 1874 and the
last in 1s93-and although none Of the
planted shad has since been received
by the fish commission for identified
tion, and the capture of none has been
fully authenticated. it does not follow
by any means that none has survived.
| 1t is regarded as by no means improb-
able that the Atlantic shad may now
be abundant in the gulf and its tribu-
tary streams, and that thorough
| investigation may establish the fact.
The spawning time of the shad in
the Ohio river is not earlier than the
10th of June. The numerous examples
seen at Louisville May 16 to 10 were
far from ripe, and it is regarded as
doubtful if any of them would have
spawned much before the middle of
| June.
AS an article of food the Ohio shad
does not yet seem to have appealed to
the citizens of the Mississippi valley.
At Louisville they sold ut low price,
the price received by the fisherman
being but two cents a pound. the same
that was paid for carp, buffalo" and
toothed herring. Those who are ia
miliar with the delicious Atlantic shad
and who know how to prepare 1t find
the Ohio species not at all inferior.
| If the shad should be found to be
present in the mississippi and its
tributaries in sufficient numbers to
Justify the establishment of permanent
fisheries each spring, there is, it is be
lieved, little doubt but that ii would
soon become quite as highly priced as
| its near relative in the Atlantic Goa stal