Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1910-07-15
Why SHAD ARB DECREASING
Mccall Ferry Dam And Lack OF
Hatchery Are To Blame.
baltimore Evening sun.l

baltimore Evening Sun.l
Now that the shad has drifted into
the misty past along with the dog
wood and other symbols of spring, and
now that shad roe can be viewed dis
passionately and without any poetic in
fiuences, it must be admitted that the
fishing season just departed was not "a
bowling success.
That is, so far as the waters of the
Chesapeake and more especially the
Susquehanna river are concerned. Up
along the Delaware the men who haul
the nets contemplate their bank ac-
counts and announce that they did very
Well:
Which, to draw upon logic, means
that there were blamed sight more
shAd in the Delaware than in the Sus-
quehanna.
1t was not SO many years ago, possi-
bly, five, that shad fishing below Phila-
delphia was common to ordinary, and
"Cap'n" Wilson, who ran the big
Gloucester fishery, occupied much time
in cussing his luck. Fish Commissioners
from Pennsylvania and New Jersey and
learned men from the Department of
Agriculture consulted together and
disputed.
And there were those who blamed il
on the polluted waters of the Delaware;
others who said there was entirely too
much fishing, and still others who
averred that the demand was exceeding
the supply and that more fish should be
planted if big crops were to be raised.
Raising Small Fish.
In the end the Government ran a fish
Matching boat up the river, purchased
fine, fat, heavy roe shad and began
Matching little shad, which, in turn,
were dumped into the Delaware far to.
ward the New York line.
The process was continued for 8
number Of years; the shad increased
fishing was prohibited from sundowr
Saturday night until sunrise Monday
morning. and now the humble and lowly
of Philadelphia. as well as the proud and
naughty, can eat shad of an April day
Members of fishing crews can tuck away
for rainy day or other inclement sea.
son 81, GOO per man and happiness pre-
walls.
When it comes to clean water, gray
ELY spawning beds and an ideal home
life for the shad, the Susquehanna anc
some other streams tributary to the
Chesapeake are many, many pegs higher
than the Delaware. Wherefore, il
should be apparent that the lovely shaC
fish should thrive and multiply and wa,
fat down this way. Instead of poor
season, all springtimes should show
plenty of shad and the voice of tn.
huckstey should be heard in the land.
| Fish experts agree that shad can b.
raised as easily as early onions, and il
is law of nature that two years aftel
the tiny fellows are dumped into tn,
head waters they will return to tn,
same spot where they received thei
baptism, there to perpetuate the species
and in full maturity. Indeed, on tn.
Pacific Coast, where few years ago tn,
shad was introduced. it was shown tha
they reached manhood and maidenhoo.
in one year.
So that it is possible with the expendi
ture of few thousand dollars annual
to provide the people with plenty o
fish and at moderate cost.
Fish Versus Beef.
And fish experts will also tell you tina
if the fishing industry was given prope
attention, if the inland waters wer
stocked and if the sea fish were pro
tected the Beef Trust would be prett
nearly helpless.
But as for the shad the people Q
r Maryland have not a great deal to say
The chief supply comes from the Sus
quehanna river and up at Mccall Ferr
there is a power dam which checks tn
ambition of the fish. The shad want I
, go up the river to spawn. The dar
stops them. They wait below the dar
until fishermen come along and the net
do the rest. In flash the source @
propagation is cut off.
After several seasons of this sort q
thing only a corporal's guard are LEI
of the shad and that's the conditio
J which existed this wear along the Sos