The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-05-29
WHY SHAD
DON'T ENTER
H0USATONIC
ZaImOn GOOdseII Offers True
Explanation of Scarcity in
That River
Building Of Derby Dam and SeIn.
ing Prevented Females from
Reaching Spawning Places
% the Editor of the Farmer:

To the Editor Of the Farmer:
Sir-A communication from STRAIT |
ford in your paper May 81. 1913, with |
a heading of .Fruitless Quest of Flu
sive Shad' is very Interesting reading |
at the present time. Captain Chas.
"A Plumb. one of their prominent cit
liens, a descendant of a long line of
enthusiastic fishermen has been en- |
ployed by the State to make expert !
mental hauls to ascertain Whether
shad did really attempt to enter or
swim or live in the Housatonic River
Captain Plumb was instructed by State |
Authority to draw his seine at the
Derby Dam and also at the mouth OF
the Housatonic River and at other
places along the River as his Judg-
ment might dictate. This conmuni-
cation shows that he succeeded in get
ting seven fish at the Derby Dam IN
1911, and the strange part of this
catch was that they were all males or
buck-shad. This communication fur
Their says incidentally he was arrested
for violating the statute which for
bids eeining at the Dam, and Captain
Plumb was obliged to show his au-
thority before the officers would re-
lease him. This communication fur
Their says that last Spring 6meaning
1922 Captain Plumb continued his
experiments and succeeded in captur-
more at the breakwater, and the
strange part, of this catch also was
that they were all males or buck
shad. Captain Plumb in his investi-
cations noticed that all of these male
or =buck-shad which he had been able
to catch must have been, at least ten
years of age. Captain Plumb also set
his seine at the breakwater near the
mouth of the River. This haul re-
suited in goodly catch of bass, black
| fish and other good eating fish but no
shad.
This communication further says
| that efforts have been made to ascer-
| tain why the shad had deserted the
Housatonic River but still frequent
| ed the Connecticut. River and other
streams in the North. This communi-
cation further says that the State has
| spent large sums of money in attempt
| ing to breed the shad and many thou
sands of fry have been matched arti-
| fcially and set at liberty in the Hou-
satonic River. This communication
further says it is well known that shad
will return year after year to spawn in
| have been Matched. This conmuni-
| cation further says they are trying to
ascertain just why the fish refuse to
| follow this instinct. which has been
/ the object of much experimenting
/ Before the Housatonic Dam was
built shad were caught in Eeod1y guam
titles as far as New Milford, and their
/ spawning grounds were mostly above
/ the location of the present Housa-
/ tonic Dam.l OIdkresidents along the
Housatonio River and at Derby since
/ the building of this Dam have not
/ been able to catch any shad above the
1 Dam. Although a, runway was pro-
vided in the building of the Dam,
which, it was supposed, would allow
/ the fish to swim up the same, in latter
years it has proved of no avail In
| the meantime the shad yearly return
| ing to the Housatonic River for their
! old spawning grounds, and not being
able to reach them on account of the
Dam, congregated in large numbers
in the waters at the base of the Dam,
/ where fishermen with sefnes caught
! large quantities of these shad, and be-
fore the law went into effect forbid
! ding the seining for shad at the base
/ of the Housatonic Dam, the supply of
| female shad with spawn was practi-
4 ca1ly exhausted. Captain Plumb prob
i ably knows of these conditions, but
/ the parties writing this communities
i ton to your paper did not care to
4 speak of them, as it would not fit the
4 object they had in view, and that was
the desire to impress upon your read
ers just one idea-thel pollution of
the Housatonfc River, which does not
exist. That pollution does not exist
is shown when the writer of this com
munication also admits the catching
of a few. aged shad which survived the
slaughter, and these shad naturally re-
/ turned each year to their old breeding
grouonds.
| The shad are being caught in the
Connecticut River this Spring above
Hartford as far as the Windsor Dam,
but if a similar Dam to the Housaton-
ic Dam was built across the Connect
cut River below Hartford, and the
shad's natural spawning grounds
above said Dam were destroyed, the
results would be the same in the Con-
necticut River they have been in
the Housatonic River since the build
ing of the Dam at Derby. And es-
pecialIy so, if before any statute had
been passed to protect the SEEMING of
female shad with spawn at the base
of this supposed dam the future breed
l ing of sfad in the Connecticut River
would have been destroyed.
Il Is it strange any longer why only
a few aged shad are all that were
| caught during the years 1911 and
1912 If 100000 shad were alive to-
day that were natives of the Housa-
back again the same as it has the few
vfved the slaughter.
The trying to rehabitate shad fish
ing in the Housatonic River will be a
loss of money in the future the same
as it has been a loss of money to the
State by experiments made in the past.
Yours truly,