Figure 12. — Drift gill net fishing, Neuse River, N.C. 



Total catch by gear and amount of gear 

 fished for shad in the Neuse River and tribu- 

 taries during I960 are given in table 23. The 

 coastal catch was 145,272 lb., of which the 

 Trent River contributed about 20 percent. The 

 catch was sold to dealers in New Bern. The 

 inland catch was 242,994 lb., of which bow 

 nets accounted for about 76 percent. Shad from 

 fish wheels were incidental to catches of other 

 species. The catch was taken primarily for 

 local consumption. 



The amount of drift gill nets fished in I960 

 was larger than in 1896, but the catch was 

 smaller. The stake gill net fishery has re- 

 mained relatively stable; and the catch and 

 annount of gear have decreased only slightly. 

 Catch and nunnber of pound nets and haul 

 seines have decreased since 1896. Both catch 

 and number of bow nets have increased. The 

 Neuse River catch accounted for less than 

 10 percent of the total North Carolina 

 yield in 1896, but more than 30 percent in 

 I960, 



Pamlico-Tar River 



The Pamlico-Tar River is composed of the 

 Pamlico River, which extends from a point 

 immediately above Washington, N.C., to the 

 mouth, and the Tar River, which is upstreann 

 from Washington. The Pamlico section is 37 

 miles long, and the Tar section is 180 nniles 

 long. 



The shad fishery on the Pamlico-Tar in 

 1896 extended from the river mouth to a short 



distance below Rocky Mount, where a natural 

 falls blocked further upstream movement. The 

 gears were seines, stake gill nets, drift gill 

 nets, pound nets, and bow nets. Seines were 

 operated from Core Point, 16 miles below 

 Washington, to Pillsboro Landing, 33 nniles 

 above the town. The length of the seines was 

 450 to 1,000 yd. in the Pamlico River and 50 

 to 200 yd. in the Tar River. The estimated 

 catch was 282,900 lb. Seines caught about 

 135,437 lb, in the Pamlico and 27,740 lb, in 

 the Tar. Stake gill nets in the Pamlico River 

 caught an estimated 34,219 lb. These nets 

 averaged 20 yd, long and 10 to 12 ft. deep and 

 had 5-3/8- to 5 l/2-in. mesh. Drift gill nets 

 fished near Washington averaged 100 yd. long 

 and caught about 30,765 lb. Pound nets near 

 the mouth of the river caught an estimated 

 32,721 lb. 



The coastal fishing area extended from the 

 nnouth of the Pamlico River to the Highway 17 

 bridge at Washington. Gears fished were 56 

 pound nets and 53,580 yd. of stake gill nets 

 (greatest concentration near Pamlico and Core 

 Beaches). Pound net leads averaged 120 yd, 

 long; the gill nets averaged 30 yd. long and 35 

 nneshes deep and had 5 l/2-in, mesh. The catch 

 in the coastal area was 67,641 lb., of which 

 stake gill nets took 74 percent and pound nets 26 

 percent; the catch was marketed in Washing- 

 ton, N.C. 



The inland fishing area was confined to the 

 Tar River and extended from Washington to 

 the dam at Rocky Mount. The dam, about 122 

 miles from the river mouth blocked further 

 upstream movement of the fish. The fishing 



41 



