PUBLIC DOCUMENT - No. 25. 31 



We believe that early attempts to stock our lakes with these 

 fish failed because the fish which were planted as fry were 

 largely devoured by other fish, and what few remained were 

 allowed to run to the ocean. 



SHAD. 



One of the principal objects of the visit of Commissioner 

 Graham, to the Pacific coast in the fall of 1915, to attend the 

 convention of the American Fisheries Society and the National 

 Association of Game and Fish Commissioners, was to investi- 

 gate the possibility of obtaining an annual supply of shad eggs 

 through the California Fish and Game Commission. In this 

 connection it is worthy to be noted as one of the most remark- 

 able feats of propagation that the small number of shad fry 

 which were transplanted from the Connecticut River in the 

 early 70's had established themselves in the streams of Cali- 

 fornia, and at the time of Commissioner Graham's visit had 

 become so prolific that the buck shad were being sold for $10 

 a ton, and the roe shad for $25 a ton, at the canneries, and 

 that 100,000 pounds of shad roe had been canned during 1915. 

 Why should it not be possible to reverse the process, and bring 

 the shad back to Massachusetts? We believe that with modern 

 methods of fish culture, and with improved transportation 

 facilities, we would be able to transport large numbers of shad 

 eggs across the continent and again stock our depleted rivers. 



In conjunction with the Connecticut Commission we asked 

 the California commissioners to help us, and at their suggestion 

 had Mr. W. H. Shelby, superintendent of hatcheries for Cali- 

 fornia, erect a temporary egg-taking station at Yuba City on 

 the Farther River, which is a tributary of the Sacramento 

 River. Arrangements were made with the express companies 

 to transport the cases of eggs to Massachusetts in a refrigerator 

 car which provided a uniform temperature en route. 



After this station was finished and ready for use the weather 

 conditions proved such that it was not possible to secure 

 enough ripe eggs within the necessary period to make up a 

 shipment of any considerable size. The cold rainy weather 

 prevented the ripe shad from running up to their regular 

 spawning beds. However, enough eggs were taken by the 



