BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 245 



found advisable to select a railroad crossing', which is some twenty-five 

 miles further up the river. We heard all the eveuiuj,^ the shad " splash- 

 ing" around the steamer. Had we been provided with hatching- ai)pa- 

 ratus, no doubt a large number of eggs could have been i^rocured at 

 this time in the immediate vicinity. 



Being satisfied from the interviews had with several of the residents 

 of the neighborhood that good shad-hatching work could be done at 

 this station or further ui^ the river, I determined to proceed with the 

 investigation of the Saint John's River, so got under way at G.30 a, m,, 

 on the 22d, and reached Saint Mary's after one or two stoi)s on the river, 

 at 12 m. Eeached the Saint John's sea-buoy at 3.30 p. m. Taking a 

 pilot we crossed the bar at almost extreme low water, the steamer draw- 

 ing a few inches over o feet. 



Stop])ing at Mayport, which is situated on the right bank of the Saint 

 John's Eiver near its mouth, for the purpose of taking in wood, w^e se- 

 cured some excellent oysters from the waters near by. Leaving May- 

 port, we ran up to Jacksonville, reaching that city at 7 ]). m. Observed 

 on the way up many gill-nets set for shad. The fishermen generally 

 complain of the scarcity of fish. Saw several nets overhauled without 

 capturing a single shad. The most important fisheries of the Saint 

 John's Kiver lie between Jacksonville and Mayport, and gill-nets are ex- 

 clusively used. Yellow Bluff', a small settlement below Jacksonville, is 

 the center of the shad fishing on the river. The fish taken at this point 

 are shiiJi^ed to Jacksonville, and there marketed or reshipped Xorth. 

 As the principal portion of shad taken in this river areca})tiued in salt 

 water, there is no opportunity afforded of securing eggs in large num- 

 bers, the spawn being in an immature condition. 



On the 23d we visited the market at Jacksonville and had an inter- 

 view w'ith Mr. Sullivan, the principal fish-dealer of the town, and learned 

 from him that the fish were generally received about 9 o'clock from the 

 points down the river ; that none came to the market from up the river. 

 On this day, Friday, March 23, 184 shad were received. On overhaul- 

 ing these we found that at least two-thirds were females, and the eggs 

 apparently about a week or ten days from maturity. The fish were of 

 good size. We were informed hy Mr. Sullivan that the fish examined 

 represented the catch of nine nets of 150 fathoms in length. These nets 

 were of 5-inch mesh and 15 feet deep. It was his opinion that shad 

 w^ere getting more and more scarce every year. Up to that date last 

 season he had shipped 35,000 shad ; this year only 10,000. 



He was of the oi)inion that by the last of the month the fish would be 

 found ripe ; but I would exceedingly doubt our ability to find eggs in a 

 sufficiently advanced stage taken anywhere in the neighborhood of the 

 mouth of the river where the water is very salt. The males were sell- 

 ing at about 80 cents per pair, and the roe shad at $1. Mr. Sullivan 

 attributes the falling off in the catch to the closing of the mouth of the 

 river by the jetties recently .constructed by the Engineer Department, 



