The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1914-06-19
FISHWAY A FAILURE.
Shad Unable To Get Above Dam
Power Company Must
Make Chances.

Mans imitation of nature in the construc-
tion of the new fishway from the breast of the
| McCalPs Ferry dam, in the SusQuehenna
river, to the rapids below, brought only dis
appointment this spring to fishermen, who
had hoped to see the shad take to It, but N R.
Butler. Pennsylvania State Commissioner OF
Fisheries, is unwilling to give up. He plans to
have the Pennsylvania Water & Power Co.
extend the fishway about $50 or 800 feet fur
ther into the main channel during the coming
summer, erect huge concrete wing walls-
make some alterations to the bed of the chan
mel and provide for regulation of the fiOw of
water. An inspection of the fshway was made
last week by Commissioner Butler and Assem-,
blyman Robert s. spangler, of York, who
fathered the resolutione whereby the power
company was required to build the new
fishway.
The original f1shway. built at the time the
mammoth 65-foot dam was extended across
the river, was of concrete and according to
the approved type of fishways Its series Of
immense concrete basins, rising In steps from
the river below to the dam breast, through
which the water churned, failed, however. to
invite the Susquehanna shad. Rather than
dare the unnatural ascent, they battered
themselves IT, death against the dam below, in
futile endeavor to get to their spawning beds.
Myriads of the tiny migratory black cells per-
ished on the rocks, and there is no record that
any game fish successfully negotiated it.
This fshway was located ON the Lancaster
county side of the river. After opinions had
been obtained from engineering and fish sx-
perts, it was agreed that the best chance of
preserving shad fishing in the SusQuehanna
lay in an Improvement Of the natural rock
slope on the York county side, leadinG in q
gradual decline from the breast Of the dam to
the lower channel. Plans for this new flshway
approved by the State Department of Fish
cries, we're carried out at considerable expense
by the power company last summer and it
wasf with much expectancy that fishermen
above the dam, whose shad-catching industry
had ended when the dam was erected, awaited
the spring run this year. Great was their
disappointment when it was found that not a
shad ventured into the fishway.
A reason given by the shad fishermen for
the failure of the fishway is that it has drop
of five feet from one plane to another. They
say that. il f.lengthened sufficiently, the falls
will not be more than three and half feet
and the shad will get up. Even in its present
shape, the new fishway is demonstrating It's
improvement over the old as it is said that the
The urgency of some action If the shad In
dustry in the Susquehanna is to be preserved
was demonstrated by the light run this spring.
The best hauls of the season with the seine
averaged only 500 OF 600 day, and this was
only for few days. The. profits of the dip
pers with their moon-rakers were scarcely
sufficient to pay them for their labor.
Whereas. some Of the older fishermen have
recollections Of runs in past years when the
shad were so plentiful that they could scarce
ly be given away. and farmers salted barrels
of them for winter consumption, now they
bring as high as so cts. apiece at the river side
and the demand cannot nearly be supplied.
Experienced fishermen predict that next
seasons catch will be even poorer and that
the runs will decrease for three seasons after
that even If the ishway is made success. II
it is not, they will stop altogether after that
time. Their explanation is that the cycle Of B
the shad is three years. That is, after the
shad fry go out the river it is three years be-
fore they return matured fish. Somewhere in
the ocean depths, at spot not yet located, all
shad attain their growth, returning faithfully
to the river from which they are bred. This
is the fourth year since the construction of
the McCall's dam began to interfere with the
runs o! shad, and 1t is the first year that the
decrease in the number of these fish In the
river has been fully demonstrated. Unable
to spawn to any extent in the Sasquehanna in
the last three years the shad have left few
progeny to continue their migration up the
stream.
Due to less polluted water, there is q flavor
to the Susquehanna shad that epicures de-
clare sets them wide apart from any others Of
their kind, SO that their extinction will be
mourned by others than the fisher
men who have been making a living catching
them.