ing all but stopped 2 weeks before the closure 

 date because of poor catches . 



The jurisdiction of the Coastal Fisheries 

 Division of the Georgia State Game and Fish 

 Commission extends from the mouth of the 

 river to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad bridge, 

 1 mile below Kings Ferry. Fishing from this 

 point upriver comes under the authority of the 

 Inland Division of the Commission. The two 

 areas have been designated as coastal and in- 

 land fishing areas and are referred to as such 

 in this report. 



The only commercial gear fished in the 

 coastal area are drift gill nets, averaging 100 

 yards in length and 18 feet in depth. Most 

 drifting is done on flood tide, and the average 

 length of time per drift is 30 minutes. There 

 were 15 drift nets used in this area in 1954. 

 When the fishing season was at its peak, these 

 fishermen made as many as 13 drifts each day. 

 Shad taken by these nets are sold to dealers in 

 Savannah . 



The inland fishing area can be divided into 

 two sectors based on the type of gear fished. 

 The lower inland sector, known as the Kings 

 Ferry set -net fishery, extends from Kings 

 Ferry upriver for a distance of approximately 

 7 miles. Only set nets are fished in this sec- 

 tor, while in the upi.er inland sector there is 

 an interspersion of set and drift nets . These 

 will be referred to as upper set nets and upper 

 drift nets . 



Set nets are of the same design as drift 

 nets, but instead of drifting with the current 

 one end of the net is secured to a stake near 

 the river bank while the other end is held by a 

 heavy anchor in the river. In the Kings Ferry 

 set -net fishery there were 40 licensed nets in 

 1954. They averaged 60 yards in length and 

 18 feet in depth . They were usually fished 

 during flood tide for about 4 hours each legal 

 fishing night . No daytime set net fishing was 

 done because, according to the fishermen, 

 clarity of the water enables shad to see the 

 nets and avoid them. 



Besides full-time fishermen engaged in the 

 Kings Ferry fishery, residents of Savannah 



and vicinity who fish part time for shad set 

 their nets here . The remainder of the inland 

 fishery, extending upriver to Midville, is made 

 up of part-time fishermen who derive their 

 livelihood from other means. A few of these 

 men sell to dealers in Savannah, but since 

 catches are small, most of the shad are con- 

 sumed locally. This fishery consisted of 182 

 set nets ranging in length from 5 to 60 yards 

 and 21 drift nets ranging in length from 30 to 

 80 yards. The ranges in days fished by the 

 several types of gear were 6 to 33 days for 

 coastal drift nets, 2 to 24 days for upper drift 

 nets, and 7 to 51 days for inland (Kings Ferry 

 and upper) set nets. Table 1 lists the number 

 of licensed nets in the coastal and inland areas 

 of the river and the catches by each type of 

 gear. 



Population study 



Population parameters were estimated by 

 means of a tagging and recovery program . To 

 obtain shad for tagging. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service biologists fished a drift gill net near 

 the mouth of the river below all commercial - 

 fishing areas, beginning February 1. Peter- 

 sen-type tags were used, consisting of two 

 red plastic disks and a 4-inch nickel pin. 

 Mail -return instructions were printed on one 

 disk . A disk was secured to each side of the 

 fish by the pin which was passed through the 

 back below the dorsal fin. Each shad upon re- 

 moval from the net was weighed and measured. 

 Sex was determined by observation of size and 

 body depth and size and shape of the vent . The 

 body depth in females is greater in proportion 

 to length than in males and the vent is more 

 pronounced in females . Scale samples were 

 taken, and each fish was tagged before being 

 returned to the water. 



All buyers of commercial shad fishing 

 licenses were interviewed and given logbooKs 

 so that type and size of gear used, location 

 fished, number of days fished, and catch 

 could be recorded. Data were copied out of 

 the logbooks once each week, and at the same 

 time tags were redeemed for 50 cents each . 

 Some tags were returned through the mail, 

 partially as a result of local newspaper ac- 

 counts of the research program. 



