Figure 14 — Lures used to take American shad in the sport 

 fishery. Lead weight is added to make spoon fish 

 deep. 



RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 



In the late 1800's shad hatcheries were 

 built along the Atlantic Coast with the hope 

 of maintaining and increasing production 

 (fig, 15). The hatching and stocking of young 

 shad, as practiced from 1880 until 1950, 

 did not, however, significantly increase shad 

 abundance. 



Over the last 2 decades the Bureau of 

 Commerical Fisheries and several States 

 have jointly and independently investigated 

 the shad resource along the Atlantic Coast. 

 These studies were made to acquire basic 

 knowledge of the species and its fisheries and, 

 through scientific management, to increase 

 the size of the shad runs and the annual 

 yield. Through the knowledge gained from 

 these studies, the shad populations in several 

 rivers are being effectively managed. 



Primary problems of the shad resource 

 are pollution, dams, and overfishing; thus, 

 the most effective management procedures 



Figure 15. — Taking eggs from an American shad for 

 incubation in a hatchery. 



have been abatement of pollution (fig. 18), 

 construction of fish-passage facilities (figs. 

 16 and 17), and regulation of fishing. Fishing 

 regulations are set by each State and vary 

 from State to State. 



If annual production of shad could be restored 

 to 19th century levels, the commercial catch 

 would be worth more than $6.5 million and 

 the sport fishery would provide many addi- 

 tional man-days of fishing. 



10 



