206 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



109.— RECOKIVAISSAIVCE OF FI.ORIDA RITEBS WITH A VIEW TO 



SHAD HATCHIIVO. 



By WM. HAMLEN. 



In obedience to instructions, I left Washington on the 28th of Feb- 

 ruary, 1884, for Florida, for the purpose of examining the rivers of that 

 State, and to ascertain their yield of shad and the possibilities of es- 

 tablishing shad-hatching stations. 



1 arrived at Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday morning, March 1, and 

 proceeded to the fish market, in which I found 29 shad. From the 

 market I went to the fish dealers and discovered 45 shad, a total of 74, 

 of which number but 5 were roe shad. All the fish were very small 

 and hard. In conversation with a dealer, he informed me that he had 

 not shipped, up to this date during the present season, more than 300 

 fish, whereas five years ago -he shipped ten or twelve thousand by 

 March 1. I also made inquiry about the fishing on the Saint John's 

 Eiver, and was informed that no operations were being conducted on that 

 river this season. 



Saint Mary's Eiver. — On the afternoon of March 1 1 left Jackson- 

 ville for Boulogne Station, which I reached at 5.40 p. m. Spent the 

 night there, and early next morning, March 2, i^rocured a boat and 

 went up the Saint Mary's Eiver to about 8 miles above the railroad 

 bridge. Found no fishermen on the river at all in that location, but 

 saw a large number of shad " washing." Eeturned to Boulogne, where 

 I spent the night. 



On the 3d of March I proceeded down the river as far as Calico Hill, 

 where I found 33 shad, all hard. 



On the morning of the 4th went still further down the river to Orange 

 Bluff. At a point about midway between Calico Hill and Orange Bluff 

 found five men fishing bow-nets for shad. They averaged about 15 

 shad each on a tide. At Orange Bluff there were three bow-nets and 

 one gill-net. The former averaged about 15 shad each to a tide and 

 the latter about 25. 



I hired a man and boat at Orange Blutf, and left about 3 p. m. for 

 King's Ferry, where I arrived at 6 p. m. On the way I overhauled 

 three bow-nets, and examined 33 shad which were all hard. At King's 

 Ferry I found three bow-nets which averaged 15 shad each to a tide. 

 The fish at this point were very fine, the roes and males being about 

 equally divided. 



That same night, March 4, overhauled 7G shad in three gill-nets be- 

 longing to Captain Fisher, between King's Ferry and the Brick Yard. 

 Of this number I stripped 13 ripe females from which 240,000 eggs 

 were obtained, which were deposited in the river. 



In the afternoon of March 5, overhauled 54 shad that had been 

 caught in daylight. Found none ripe. 



