Evening journal., 1907-04-10
.SHAD INDUSTRY
ON THE WANE
Old Fishing Days Are Gone,
Said Captain Bennett, a
Veteran Of the SeineS

GLOUCESTER. ~ j.. April H.
No, no; the old shad fishing days are
gona The Industry is waning fast.
and il looks as if this beach. cannot
long maintain its prestige as being the
greatest shad fishery In, the United
States"
There was suspicion OF pathos IN
Captain Joe" Benefits voice as he
spoke yesterday while "bossing" a lot
OF men who were busily engaged on the
strand at Washington Park IN making
preparations for the hauls TO be made
this season. The captain. a veteran
az the business Of shad seiuing. shook
his head and turned his weather EVE
in the direction of Phiadelphia as he
replied 10 a question concerning the
prospects OF a catch when he begins
work next week: Il tell YOU. It's no
use looking for big catches with All
the refuse and oil that comes from the
big city up yonder Last season we
lost money andI don't look for much
this year; but fishing is fishing YOU
know" And the undeterred fisherman
went to his task Of experimenting the
erection OF windlass which will be used
in hauling In the great net
IT too frequently happens that there
are more spectators than we have fish
in our net related Captain Bennett,
tbut it's a great sight for them, / sup
pose. an the same"
$4,000 the Greatest Haul
The greatest haul ever made on
Gloucester was on May %, 1881 when
there were counted $4,000 fish after the
net had been beached Fine results
rewarded the Efforts OF the fishermen
m. 1900 and 1901 IL was common in
those two seasons 10 make hauls OF
this town.
Talking about the quality OF shad."
said Captain Jacob Rice who will ''hsh"
the net FOR Captain Bennett. whose in
terests in Philadelphia prevent him
from attending 10 this part OF the work,
Il don't mind telling you that there's
a great lot Of 'guff' about shad that has
no meSing / mean that the fellows
who say that Southern shad IS no good
and Delaware shad Is the only thing
don't know what they're talking about.
I'm an old Delaware shad fisherman
and I know something about shad all
over the coast. Shad is the most deli
cate Of all our fish. II will lose it's nav-
or quicker than any other fish. You've
got to eat it right out Of the water,
as Il were, 20 get all Il has to offer you.
Now, when you take a shad from the
South, what can you expect but that IL
is favorless. But do you for a moment
suppose that a Delaware shad is any
different when it's eaten in the South 4?
-what-I-mean?
ITO tell II in q word-shad is best
In its native water and when eaten
fresh. It's simply the difference be-
tween Western and a'arby eggs"
This no doubt viii be in the nature OF
shock to Phlladelphians who have for
years boasted that Delaware shad sur
/ pass all other shad in quality, but Cap
tain Rice has the reputation OF beinE
as fine a shad connoisseur as he is 8
shad fisherman. besides which he Is
something Of a philosopher and he Is
willing to prove his assertions by the
discovery of any one who will make
the tests upon which he bases his con-
clusions
Expect Dull Season.
Captain Benefits declaration that
the shad fishery industry is waning is
heard on every hand among fishermen
"Shad is not running well any more
they say. and they entertain the same
pessimistic view in reference TO the
future that Captain Bennett does. u
don't look for anything but a dull sea-
son." the captain said at the -conclu-
sion Of the interview. Should his pro-
phecy prove true, picked roe shad viii
sell on the beach for from 81 to S1.50
each. while buck shad viii bring only
| 25 to 40 cents each. In the city mar
kets the fish will naturally bring much
higher prices. Jnould the catches be
plentiful. the "roes" will sell at the
fishery at from so to rs cents.
Last year when at no time did a
catch yield more than 500, the prices
were naturally stiff.
TT costs 800 a day to run this fish,
cry" Captain Bennett had said when
talking about the present extent of the
fisheries on the Delaware" and we've
got to catch fish or lose money. ! hope
we won't strike il as we struck Il last
year. That was agonizing to a fisher
man and to financier as well
Probably 1900 men are engaged In
Delaware shad fishing. There are now
only fve shore fisheries Of any import
ance. that at Washington Park taking
tho lead.
II is dihicult TO arrive at an estimate
of the capital invested in the shad fish
cries Captain Benefits big seine Is
valued al $4,000. His small seine Is
probably worth $500. Those who use
the gig seines which are not hauled
upon shore but are usually drifted and
then hauled into boats. have individ-
lually less money invested. Their nets
run in length from 100 to 200 fathoms
the longest being used by the fishermen
who seine about New Castle and Della
ware c:it ity and the smaller ones by thos'
who ~try their luck above Philadel-