Figure 5.— Trolling for shad at Lemon Bluff on the St. Johns River, Fla. 



St. Marys River. In that year the river had 

 110 shad fishermen--40 from Florida and 

 70 fronn Georgia. Eighty fishermen used drift 

 nets, and 30 fished set gill nets. Aggregate 

 length of drift nets was 5,600 yd.; lengths of 

 the nets in this narrow river ranged from 40 

 to 90 yd.; mesh size was 5 in., and depth was 

 14 ft. Catch by this gear was 21,470 lb. 

 Aggregate length of set gill nets was 1,275 

 yd., and the catch was 7,291 lb. Total catch 

 on the St. Marys River was 28,761 lb. 



In I960 the legal commercial shad fishing 

 season was from December 15 to April 15. 

 The river was free of obstructions to the pas- 

 sage of fish, and shad ascended 80 miles to 

 the vicinity of Toledo, Ga. Ripe females in 

 the catch indicated that shad spawn near 

 Traders Hill and Folkston, Ga. 



In I960, 60 fishermen fished for shad in the 

 St. Marys River-- 13 from Florida and 47 from 

 Georgia. Most of the fishermen in the upper 

 river fished occasionally, whereas most in 

 the lower river fished full-time. Fishing began 

 in mid-January and continued until the first 

 week in April. The fishery extended from the 

 mouth of the river to 10 miles upstream from 

 Folkston, Ga., or 65 miles. In Georgia, by 

 State regulation, the coastal commercial fish- 

 ing area extends from the river mouth to the 

 Camden-Charlton County line, and the inland 



commercial fishing area comprises the re- 

 mainder of the river. Both drift and set gill 

 nets were fished in the coastal area, and set 

 gill nets in the inland area. Drift gill nets 

 (55 to 65 yd. long, 35 to 45 meshes deep, and 

 4 1/2- to 5 l/2-in. mesh) were used from 

 St. Marys to 5 miles west of Kingsland, Ga. 

 Aggregate length of the nets was 1,302 yd., 

 and the shad catch was 7,866 lb. Set gill nets 

 (20 to 80 yd. long, 35 to 55 meshes deep, and 

 4 1/2- to 5 l/4-in. mesh) were fished fronn 3 

 miles upstream from Kingsland to the upper 

 limit of the inland fishery. Aggregate length 

 of the nets was 2,510 yd., and the catch was 

 16,150 lb. 



Most of the coastal catch in 1960 was landed 

 at Kings Ferry, Fla., and Kingsland, Ga. 

 Florida landings were marketed locally, and 

 Georgia landings were trucked to dealers in 

 Brunswick and Darien, Ga. Most shad landed 

 in the area between Folkston and Traders 

 Hill were taken by occasional fishermen for 

 home use; some were marketed locally in 

 Folkston. 



We estimated from sannples of the catch that 

 average weights of males and females were 

 2 and 3 lb., respectively. All dealers reported 

 that fish from the St. Marys River were 

 smaller than those from other Georgia and 

 Florida waters. 



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