ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE 



Commercial Fishery 



In colonial times, the American shad was 

 very abundant on the Atlantic Coast. As the 

 hunr\an population increased, so did the harvest 

 of shad. The peak was in 1896, when more 

 than 50 million pounds were landed. Production 

 declined to about 25 million pounds by 1908, 

 when shad still ranked third in value among 

 U.S. fishery products. Since 1908, the yield 

 has decreased even more, and today the shad 

 ranks 40th in weight and 28th in value among 

 the species in the total U.S. catch. The annual 

 catch of shad along the Atlantic Coast now is 

 about 10 million pounds (fig. 4). 



On the Pacific Coast, the commercial fishery 

 began in 1890, and its catch increased to 7 

 million pounds in 191 5, but today it has declined 

 to about 1.5 million pounds annually. This 

 decline in catch is probably due to the lack 

 of market for shad and does not necessarily 

 represent a decrease in abundance. 



During the last 20 years, shad have become 

 an important sport fish during their spawning 

 runs in the rivers. The St. Johns, Ogeechee, 

 Edisto, Pamlico- Tar, Susquehanna, Delaware, 

 and Connecticut Rivers on the Atlantic Coast 

 and Sacramento and American Rivers on the 

 Pacific Coast are the main rivers with sport 

 fisheries (fig. 5). Of these, the St. Johns and 

 Connecticut Rivers are the most important. 

 The sport catch is substantial but unrecorded 

 in several other rivers. The annual catch 

 by sport fishermen is estimated to be about 

 one-half million shad (1.5 million pounds). 



Figure 4. — Commercial catch of American shad on the 

 Atlantic Coast of the United States, 1880-1965. 



American Indians used shad for food before 

 the white man arrived. The Indians took the 

 shad with bush nets (seines), weirs, spears, 

 and bows and arrows. Early in the fishery 

 of the white man, haul seines, weirs, drift 

 gill nets, and dip nets were used for shad, 

 but the haul seine was the n-iost efficient and 

 most often used (fig. 6 and 7). Over the 

 years, the gear has remained essentially 

 the same but fishing techniques and net ma- 

 terials have changed. Principal gears are 

 pound nets (fig. 8) and stake gill nets (fig. 9) 

 in broad estuaries and bays; drift gill nets 

 (figs. 10 and 11) in lower reaches of rivers; 

 and seines, traps, gill nets, and bow nets 

 (fig. 12) in narrow headwater streams. 

 "Fishing machines" (fig. 13) are still being 

 used to a limited extent in some North Caro- 

 lina streams. 



Some of the shad caught commercially on 

 the Atlantic Coast are sold locally, but most 

 are shipped to markets in Baltimore, Phila- 

 delphia, and New York each spring during 

 the annual spawning runs. The female shad 

 is more important commercially because of 

 the demand for roe (eggs). 



The appearance on the market of frozen 

 fish and fish products that can easily and 

 quickly be prepared by the housewife has 

 caused a decrease in the demand for shad, 

 which are usually marketed whole and fresh. 

 The roe is sold separately, and a limited 

 amount of shad is being marketed as fillets. 

 These products have been popular, but account 

 for only a small part of the catch; therefore, 

 future use of the shad as a food fish is 

 dependent on the development of still other 

 products in a form more acceptable to the 

 modern housewife. 



Sport Fishery 



During the last 20 years the American 

 shad has become a highly prized game fish. 

 Shad are taken by trolling or casting various 

 types of small spinners, spoons, and weighted 

 jigs (fig. 14). Many fishermen use two of 

 the lures in an arrangement called a "shad- 

 rig." Shad strike hard and put up a game 

 fight, jumping out of the water frequently. 

 Their mouths are tender, and the hooks 

 will tear out if pulled too hard, so light 

 tackle is best. 



