bow nets, stake and drift gill nets, and fish 

 wheels. The estinnated catch was 714,437 lb., 

 of which seines caught about 85 percent, bow 

 nets 8 percent, stake gill nets 4 percent, drift 

 gill nets 2 percent, and wheels the rennainder. 

 The fisheries were centered principally at 

 Plymouth, Jamesville, and Williamston, N.C. 



In I960 a dam at Roanoke Rapids, N.C, 137 

 miles from the river mouth, obstructed the 

 stream. Shad ascended only to the vicinity of 

 Spring Hill, N.C, however, about 60 miles 

 above the river mouth. The location of spawn- 

 ing grounds is not known, although spawned- 

 out fish were seen in catches between Palmyra 

 and Williamston, N.C. 



Shad were taken in I960 from the mouth of 

 the river upstream to a short distance above 

 Palmyra. The gears were stake gill nets, fyke 

 nets, and fish wheels (fig. 14). Shad catch from 

 all gears was incidental to the catches of 

 striped bass, Roccus saxatilis , and herrings, 

 Alosa spp. Seines normally were operated 

 from the mouth of the river to Willianaston, 

 but none were fished during I960 because of 

 high water. A few bow nets were fished near 

 Palmyra, but the shad catch was negligible. 

 Each stake gill net was 15 yd. long and 25 

 meshes deep and had 5 l/4-in. mesh. The 

 shad catch was 1,418 lb., of which stake gill 

 nets caught 49 percent, fyke nets 40 percent, 

 and fishwheels 1 1 percent. The catch was con- 

 sunned locally. 



The fishery on the Roanoke River in I960 

 had changed much since 1896. The 1896 yield 

 of 714,437 lb. of shad represented about 8 

 percent of the total North Carolina production, 

 but the i960 catch was only about 0,1 percent. 

 Since 1896 the annount of gear and the size of 

 catch both have decreased enormously. Pulp 

 mill wastes probably were the cause of low 

 survival of anadromous fishes, particularly 

 shad, in the lower Roanoke River (Taylor, 

 C.C 1951). 



Figure 14. — Flshwheel operated on the Roanoke River, N.C. 

 (The wire scoop revolves with the axle and captures fish 

 in the water between the boats as It emerges from the 

 water and dumps them into chutes leading to the boats.) 



Chowan River 



The Chowan River, formed by the junction 

 of the Blackwater and Nottoway Rivers near 

 the North Carolina- Virginia boundary, flows 

 55 miles to northwestern Albemarle Sound. 

 From the mouth of the river to Holiday Island, 

 20 miles away, the river averages 1 1/2 miles 

 wide and 15 to 20 ft. deep. In the upper 35 

 miles, the river narrows to about half the 

 width of the lower section and is shallower. 



In 1896, the difference was remarkable be- 

 tween the fishing gear used for taking shad in 

 the Chowan and the gear in similar areas in 

 North Carolina. Bow nets, stake gill nets, and 

 fish wheels were not used. Ninety-eight percent 

 of the catch was by pound nets and seines. The 

 only other gear was drift gill nets. Most of the 

 total catch of 774,055 lb. was made between 

 the mouth of the river and Harrellsville, N.C. 



In I960 the river was free of obstructions, 

 and shad ascended to the vicinity of Murfrees- 

 boro, N.C, 45 miles above the river mouth. 

 The nnajor spawning grounds were from the 

 vicinity of Highway 13 bridge upstreann to 10 

 miles below Murfreesboro. 



The coastal fishery in I960 extended from 

 the nnouth of the river to the Virginia line; 

 various gears were used. Pound nets and 

 seines were fished from the mouth of the river 

 to Holiday Island; gill nets were illegal in this 

 area. Above Holiday Island stake gill nets and 

 pound nets were fished to Highway 13 bridge. 

 Above the bridge drift gill nets, seines, and 

 anchor gill nets were fished. The stake gill 

 nets and anchor gill nets ranged from 30 to 60 

 yd, long and 40 to 60 meshes deep and had 4- 

 to 5 l/4-in. mesh. Each drift gill net was 30 

 yd. long and 45 meshes deep and had 5 l/4-in. 

 mesh. The seines averaged 150 yd. long and 

 148 meshes deep and had 2 1/4-in. mesh. Pound 

 nets and seines were operated primarily for 

 alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, and blueback 

 herring, A. aestivalis , whereas gill nets were 

 fished almost exclusively for shad. 



The total shad catch in I960 was 19,166 lb., 

 of which pound nets caught about 58 percent; 

 stake and anchor gill nets 34 percent, and 

 seines and drift gill nets the remainder. The 

 pound net catch was marketed in Colerain, 

 N.C; the rest of the catch was consumed 

 locally. 



The shad in the Chowan River decreased 

 drastically from 774,055 lb, in 1896 to 19,146 

 lb. in i960. The largest decrease in catch was 

 by pound nets and haul seines. The catch per 

 pound net was about 1,156 lb. in 1896 and 20 lb. 

 in i960. The catch by haul seines decreased 

 from 254,932 lb. in 1896 to 750 lb. in I960. 



TRENDS IN PRODUCTION 



Few records are available on the shad pro- 

 duction for North Carolina prior to 1880. 

 Stevenson (1899), however, illustrated the 



44 



