from Lanexa to the upper limit of the shad 

 range. Eight haul seines, operated from the 

 river mouth to Lanexa, caught 61,057 lb., and 

 hedge used above Providence Forge caught 

 6,726 lb. 



Shad were taken in the Appomattox River in 

 1896 by drift gill nets and seines. The esti- 

 mated catch was 70,625 lb., of which drift nets 

 caught 59 percent and seines 41 percent. 



In I960 a dam in the James River near 

 Richmond limited the upstream movement of 

 shad to 105 miles; few fish were taken how- 

 ever, above Hopewell, 30 nniles below the dam. 

 Ripe females in the catch indicated that the 

 shad spawning area extended 27 miles, fronn 

 Sandy Point (43 miles from the river mouth) 

 to Hopewell. In the Chickahominy River the 

 major spawning area was near Lanexa, 5 miles 

 below the Walker Dam (Massmann, 1952). In 

 the Appomattox River the section between 

 Hopewell and Petersburg was heavily polluted 

 with industrial and domestic wastes and there- 

 fore was probably of little in-iportance for shad 

 spawning (Massmann, 1952), 



The shad fisheries extended from the river 

 mouth to Hopewell in the James River, up to 

 the dam at Walker in the Chickahominy as far 

 as 4 miles above the river mouth in the Ap- 

 pomattox. The fisheries were divided into two 

 areas: the lower section, downstream from 

 the mouth of the Chickahominy River; and the 

 upper section, which included the James River 

 from the mouth of the Chickahorrjiny to Hope- 

 well, and the Chickahominy and Appomattox 

 Rivers. 



In the lower section, two pound nets, fished 

 near the James River Bridge, caught 740 lb. 

 of shad. A total of 29,400 yd. of stake gill nets 

 (fig. 16), 10 to 25 yd, long, 25 to 45 meshes 

 deep, and with 5- to 5 l/2-in. mesh, caught 

 195,559 lb. In the upper section, 15,500 yd. of 

 drift gill nets, fished from the Chickahominy 



to Hopewell, caught 61 ,835 lb. of shad; 8,400 yd. 

 from the Chickahominy to the dam at Walker 

 caught 39,965 lb.; and 2,200 yd. in the Ap- 

 pomattox caught 3,938 lb. The drift gill nets 

 ranged from 75 to 150 yd. long and 45 to 65 

 meshes deep and had 5- to 5 l/2-in. mesh. 

 Ten haul seines and 43 fyke nets, fished pri- 

 marily for other species, took few shad. A rod- 

 and-reel fishery for hickory shad, Alosa 

 mediocris , at Walkers Dam on the Chicka- 

 hominy took some shad, but no estimate was 

 made of the catch. 



In I960 shad fishing began in the James 

 River and tributaries the last week in February 

 and continued to mid- May. The estimated catch 

 was 302,037 lb., of which the lower section of 

 the river produced 65 percent and the upper 

 section 35 percent. Of the catch in the upper 

 section, the Jan-ies yielded 58 percent, the 

 Chickahominy 38 percent, and the Appomattox 

 4 percent. Most of the catch was sold to 

 dealers in Richmond. 



Fishing methods on the James River andtrib- 

 utaries have changed little over the past half 

 century; however, the catch and amount of 

 gear fished have declined. In I960, 29,400 yd. 

 of stake nets were used as compared to 87,000 

 yd. in 1896. Two pound nets were fished in 

 1960, compared with three in 1896. The amount 

 of drift gill nets fished was 116,309 yd, in 1896 

 and 23,700 yd. in I960. The peak catch of shad 

 in the James River and tributaries was in 

 1896, when more than 1.7 million pounds were 

 reported; production remained high through 

 1931. In 1932, however, the yield decreased to 

 323,736 lb. and continued low until 1943. The 

 catch increased to 904,300 lb. in 1944 and re- 

 mained moderate until 1956. During 1956 to 

 I960, the annual yield averaged slightly more 

 than 400,000 lb. 



York River 



Figure 16. — "Riding-down" polesfor stake gill nets, James 

 River, Va. (Photograph courtesy of Virginia Institute of 

 Marine Science, Gloucester Point, Va.) 



^ Hedge or pocket consisting of a crude dam, 2 or 3 feet 

 high, permitting the passage of fish only through an open- 

 ing. Fishermen took shad by dip net as the fish attempted 

 passage. 



The York River is formed by the union of 

 the Pamunkey and Mattaponi Rivers at West 

 Point and flows southeast 28 miles before 

 entering Chesapeake Bay at Tue Point. The 

 Pamunkey is formed by the junction of the 

 North Anna and South Anna Rivers in central 

 Virginia and flows 100 miles to its union with 

 the Mattaponi, The Mattaponi is formed by 

 the Matta, Po, and Ni Rivers and flows 120 

 miles to unite with the Pamunkey, Tidal in- 

 fluence extends 45 miles up the Pamunkey and 

 30 miles up the Mattaponi. The change from 

 brackish to fresh water occurs 10 miles above 

 West Point in each tributary. 



Shad ascended the York and tributaries in 

 large numbers in 1896, and most were caught 

 in the main river and in the lower 30 miles of 

 each tributary. The estimated catch was 

 1,905,806 lb., of which the York produced 

 635,946 lb., the Pamunkey 642,498 lb., and the 

 Mattaponi 627,362 lb. Pound nets and gill nets 



49 



