In 1896 shad were taken in the Black River 

 as far upstream as Mouzon, S.C., 130 miles 

 from Georgetown, Sixty-five bow nets, the 

 only gear fished, caught an estimated 26,677 

 lb. 



In I960 the river contained no obstruction 

 and shad ascended to the vicinity of Kingstree, 

 S.C., 100 miles from Winyah Bay. Ripe females 

 in the catch indicated that shad spawned from 

 near Andrews to Kingstree, S.C. 



Set gill nets and bow nets caught an esti- 

 mated 11,393 lb. of shad in I960. The set gill 

 nets were used from Highway 701 bridge up- 

 stream to Kingstree, and bow nets from 

 Andrews to the upper limit of the run. They 

 ranged from 20 to 60 yd. long and 25 to 55 

 meshes deep; the catch was 9,863 lb. The 18 

 bow nets caught 1,530 lb. Most fishermen were 

 residents along the river, and the catch was 

 consumed locally. 



TRENDS IN PRODUCTION 



The early shad fisheries in South Carolina 

 were localized because of the small human 

 population and the lack of transportation fa- 

 cilities (McDonald, 1887a). Productive fish- 

 eries could have been undertaken at the mouths 

 of some rivers had markets not been so in- 

 accessible. 



In 1896 the fishery of Winyah Bay and trib- 

 utaries was of comparatively recent origin, 

 and its development was that characteristic 

 of most South Atlantic streams. In the upper 

 reaches of the rivers, increased dann con- 

 struction reduced spawning areas, and fish 

 populations decreased. Because fishing was 

 concentrated near the river mouths, 85 per- 

 cent of the fish caught, practically none of 

 which had spawned, were taken within 30 miles 

 of the ocean. Stevenson (1899) reported that 

 natural reproduction was no longer sufficient 

 to replenish the supply of fish and that arti- 

 ficial propagation was essential to the pros- 

 perity of the fishery. The seasonal catch per 

 drift gill net near Georgetown was 1,417 lb. 



Cable (1944) reported that in 1869 it was 

 generally recognized that too nnuch gear was 

 being fished and that the shad run in some 

 areas of South Carolina was in danger of 

 depletion even though production continued to 

 rise. From 1875 to 1938 millions of shad eggs 

 and fry, obtained from Federal hatcheries, 

 were liberated in South Carolina streams. 

 This attempt to rehabilitate the run was aug- 

 mented when a State hatchery was erected in 

 1880 at Orangeburg, S.C., and operated until 

 the early 1900's. 



Annual shad production increased from 1880 

 through the 1890' s and remained at more than 

 400,000 lb, until 1908 (table 19), Some believed 

 that the increased yield was the result of 

 stocking, but a decline in production after 

 1908 indicated that high catches could not be 

 maintained by this means. Shad ranked second 

 in value and third in pounds of fish landed in 

 South Carolina in 1908 (Bureau of the Census, 

 1911), After that year production declined 

 steadily, although irregularly. 



Table 19. — Shad catch for certain years, South 

 Carolina, 1880-1960^ 



[in thousands of pounds] 



1 statistics 1880-1959, U.S, 

 life Service (1958-61), 



Fish and Wild- 



34 



