reported overfishing to be the primary cause 

 for decline in production. This statement may 

 be correct; but from the limited information 

 available, this conclusion does not appear 

 warranted. 



Charleston Harbor and Tributaries 



Streams between the Edisto and Santee 

 Rivers have a common outlet into Charleston 

 Harbor. The most innportant are the Ashley 

 and Cooper. 



Few shad ascended these streams in 1896, 

 and fisheries were limited. The total catch 

 was less than one thousand pounds by bow nets 

 and stake gill nets for local use. 



In I960 these streams had shad runs; how- 

 ever, the fisheries were small. Shad ascended 

 the Ashley River 25 nniles to Summerville, 

 S.C. Local residents caught about 50 shad with 

 small set gill nets in the Live Oak Brook area, 

 4 miles south of Summerville. In the Cooper 

 River shad ascended about 40 miles to the 

 Cooper Dam at the outlet from Lake Moultrie. 

 Observations of the catch indicated that spawn- 

 ing took place near Stony Landing, just below 

 the canal tailrace of the dam. Fish were taken 

 by 40 set gill nets, 15 to 30 yd. long and 25 to 

 35 meshes deep. Nets were operated from 

 the canal tailrace to Cypress Gardens, S.C, 

 a distance of 20 miles; 6,303 lb. of fish were 

 caught, all of which were marked in Moncks 

 Corner, S.C. Rod-and-reel fishernnen took a 

 few shad below the canal tailrace, but no 

 estimate was made of the catch. 



Santee River 



The Santee River extends 130 miles, from 

 the confluence of the Congaree and Wateree 

 Rivers through Lake Marion to the ocean. Shad 

 formerly ascended the Wateree to Great Falls, 

 N.C., 272 miles from the ocean, and the Con- 

 garee to a point 28 miles above the boundary 

 between North Carolina and South Carolina, 

 or 374 nriiles from the ocean (Stevenson, 

 1899). 



In 1896 a dam at Columbia, S.C, 233 miles 

 from the ocean, prevented shad fronn ascend- 

 ing beyond that point. The fishery resources 

 of the Santee River and tributaries were rela- 

 tively undeveloped at that time, however, 

 though shad were taken with stake gill and 

 bow nets for local use. The catch was 33,473 

 lb. 



A dam at the outlet of Lake Marion, 65 

 miles above the mouth of the Santee, prevented 

 further ascent of fish in I960. The presence of 

 ripe fennales in the catch indicated that the 

 major shad spawning ground was between 

 Highway 52 bridge and the dam. 



The commercial shad fishery in I960 ex- 

 tended from Highway 17 bridge to one-quarter 



of a n-iile below the dam. Gill nets were the 

 principal gear. Drift nets, 35 to 100 yd. long 

 and 35 to 45 meshes deep, were fished from 

 Highway 17 bridge to the vicinity of St. Stephens, 

 S.C. Set gill nets, 10 to 60 yd. long and 25 to 

 45 meshes deep, were fished from Jamestown, 

 S.C, to the upper limit of the fishery. A few 

 bow nets were fished below Lake Marion Dam, 

 and only female shad were kept. The esti- 

 mated catch was 54,255 lb., of which 90 set 

 gill nets caught 58 percent, 13 drift gill nets 

 22 percent, and 15 bow nets the remainder. 

 Aggregate length of the set gill nets was 

 3,420 yd. and of drift gill nets 520 yd. Most 

 of the catch was marketed locally in Moncks 

 Corner and Andrews. 



The amount of gear fished and the catch 

 were greater in I960 than in 1896. The number 

 of bow nets was lower in I960 than in 1896, 

 but the catch per net was greater. The dam 

 probably has limited the area for bow net 

 fishing and caused a concentration of fish 

 accessible to this type of gear. Rod-and-reel 

 fishing was employed around the Santee tail- 

 race, but no estimate was made of the shad 

 catch. Shad taken by rod and reel were in- 

 cidental to the catch of striped bass, Roccus 

 saxatilis. 



Winyah Bay and Tributaries 



The fisheries of Winyah Bay and tributaries 

 yielded 447,367 lb. of shad, in 1896, of which 

 drift gill nets caught about 82 percent, bow 

 nets 15 percent, seines 2 percent, and miscel- 

 laneous gear the remainder. 



In i960 Winyah Bay and its tributaries, the 

 Waccamaw, Pee Dee, and Black Rivers, were 

 the principal shad producing regions of South 

 Carolina. The estimated combined catch from 

 these areas was 185,912 lb., of which drift 

 gill nets caught 44 percent, stake, set, and 

 anchor gill nets 48 percent, bow nets 14 per- 

 cent, and seines and miscellaneous gear the 

 remainder (table 18). The I960 catch was less 

 than 42 percent of the 1896 catch. 



Waccamaw River .-- Winyah Bay is about 14 

 miles long and from 3/4 to 4 miles wide. Its 

 largest tributary, the Waccamaw River, origi- 

 nates in Lake Waccamaw, Columbus County, 

 N.C, and flows 149 miles into Winyah Bay 

 near Georgetown. Forty miles above its mouth, 

 the Waccamaw joins the Pee Dee River through 

 Bull Creek. The lower 26 miles has numerous 

 connections between these rivers. 



The shad fisheries on Winyah Bay and lower 

 portions of the Waccamaw River were im- 

 portant in 1896. The seasonbegann-iid- January 

 and continued to the end of March. The shad 

 catch for both areas was 366,692 lb. by 85,344 

 yd. of drift gill net. The nets were 200 to 300 

 yd. long and 16 to 20 ft. deep and had 5 l/4- 

 to 5 l/2-in. mesh. The amount of gear fished 



31 



