A comparison of the St. Marys River fishery 

 in 1896 and I960 indicates that the amount of 

 each type of gear fished has changed consid- 

 erably. The amount of drift gill net fished has 

 decreased from 5,600 to 1,302 yd., and set 

 gill net has increased from 1,Z75 to 2,540 yd. 

 Catch has decreased from Z8,76l lb. in 1896 

 to 24,016 lb. in I960. 



TRENDS IN PRODUCTION 



The shad fisheries of Florida were not as 

 productive in I960 as in earlier years. On the 

 basis of incomplete statistics, the commercial 

 catch during the early period of fishing in- 

 creased from about 1,299,000 lb. in 1896 to 

 over 2,800,000 lb. in 1908. After that time the 

 catch decreased rapidly, and since 1918 it has 

 fluctuated between 964,000 and 124,000 lb. 

 (table 12). The average catch for the 14 yr. for 

 which data were available between 1880 and 

 1930 was 1,247,000 lb. The average catch for 

 the next 14-yr. period (1931-46) was 506,000 

 lb., and for the final 14 yr. (1947-60), 396,000 

 lb. It is evident that the average annual pro- 

 duction of the fishery has continued to decline. 

 In 1953, 124,000 lb. of fish were landed, the 

 lowest connmercial catch on record. Since that 

 time the catch generally has increased. In 

 I960, 511,000 lb. were caught, which was less 

 than 40 percent of the 1896 take. 



Table 12. --Shad catch for certain years, 

 Florida, 1896-19601 



[In thousands of pounds] 



Year 



Catch 



1896 1,299 



1897 1,011 



1902 1,819 



1908 2,833 



1918 964 



1923 503 



1927 348 



1928 691 



1929 701 



1930 880 



1931 621 



1932 546 



1934 782 



1936 282 



1937 288 



1938 229 



1939 254 



1940 344 



1941 256 



Year 



Catch 



1942 323 



1943 666 



1944 811 



1945 842 



1946 837 



1947 625 



1948 515 



1949 284 



1950 298 



1951 336 



1952 203 



1953 124 



1954 281 



1955 508 



1956 376 



1957 361 



1958 589 



1959 540 



1960 511 



^ Statistics for 1896-1940, 1945, and 1950-60 

 from U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (1958-61), 

 and for 1941-44 and 1946-49 from Florida State 

 Board of Conservation. 



^ Does not include catch by sport fishery. 



SHAD FISHERIES OF GEORGIA 



In 1896 the shad fisheries of Georgia were 

 not as extensive as those of Florida in terms 

 of quantity and value of the catch. The species 

 was abundant in rivers of Georgia, butinsonne 

 areas shipping facilities were so unsatisfactory 

 that fish were taken only for local use. The 

 catch was 536,627 lb., of which drift gill nets 

 took about 91 percent, set gill nets 7 percent, 

 and bow nets and fall traps the remainder. 



In I960 the estimated catch was 759,378 lb., 

 of which drift gill nets took about 68 percent, 

 set gill nets 29 percent, and bow nets the re- 

 mainder. Of this catch, an estimated 534,000 

 lb. were shipped to markets and 225,378 lb. 

 were consumed locally. In addition, sport fish- 

 ermen caught an estimated 8,206 lb. with rod 

 and reel and set lines. 



Shad were taken in the same river systems 

 in 1896 and I960, but changes have occurred 

 in the amount of gear fished and size of catch. 

 The extent of the fisheries is given for these 

 years in tables 13 and 14. Almost all fish were 

 caught by drift gill nets in 1896 but, in I960 

 substantial numbers were taken in set gill 

 nets and bow nets. Linear yardage of drift 

 gill nets decreased about 29 percent from 

 1896 to 1960, whereas linear yardage of set 

 gill nets increased more than fivefold. The 

 number of bow nets fished remained nearly 



Table 14. — Shad catch, by water area and gear, Georgij 

 [In pounds] 



1896 and 1960 



22 



