Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1904-08-25
DISCOVER NEW SHAD
Inhabits the Ohio River and FRS
Caught by Accident.
Given a Scientific Name by the COW
ernment Fish Commission ana
May Become Valuable M
an Article of Food.

covered III tltAS tot'hCi ~
Ohio river, and has been named by the
authorities of the United States hsh
comm :ssion at Washington "ALoSoa
Ohiensis."
From time to time the fish commls-
sion had heard of the catching OF shadln
the Mississippi basin, and as long ago
as 1872 Prof Baird called attention to
the occurrence of shad in the Ouachlta
river in Arkansas. But 1t was not un-
til recently that the members OF the
fish commission procured specimens OF
the fish, which when examined was
found to be new species of shad, dlf-
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. rms
method of fishing was first adopted in
order to get the "spoonbill cat, which,
when running, svims close to the sur
face. When the nets were hauled IN II
was found that the shad had been cap
tured at the same time. The two spe-
cies of fish appear to run together. Inc
principal seining ground has been near
Louisville. below the falls Of the ONO
and between Rock island and the In
diana shore.
All the known facts regarding the
distribution and habits Of the ONO
shad indicate that it has regular runs,
like the common shal.
It appears in the Mississippi on the
borders of Coahoma County, Miss,
about the middle Of March; in the low
er Ohio about month later (April 2O),
at Louisville still little later (Apr1l
% to Nav 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 It's
mouth in the Red river, near the con-
fuence of the latter with the Missis-
sippi, more than 200 miles below Goa
homa, and only about 200 miles from
the Gulf of Mexico. Although it has
not been proved that these shad come
m 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 yet known whether the tsh
is commercially abundant. 1t is con-
sidered not at all improbable that its
apparent scarcity may be due merely
to the fact that the methods of fishing
in vogue in the Mississippi basin have
not been such as would prove effective
in the capture of shad. Gill nets and
tran 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 go long as the present fishing
methods are continued.
Many plants of Atlantic shad have
been made by the United States fish
!
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 identltlca-
ton. and the capture of none has been
| fully authenticated, it does not follow
! by anv means that none has survived.
1t is regarded as by no means improb-
3 &1ay IL baH mr. wv
be abundant in the gulf and its tribu-
tary streams, and that a 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 19 were
far from ripe, and it is regarded az
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 at low price,
the price received by the fisherman
being but two cents q 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 it 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 it would
soon become quite as highly prized as
its near relative in the Atlantic coastal
streams.
Faith.
'T don't believe in paying fancy