The Patuxent has always been a minor 

 contributor to Maryland shad production. The 

 catches were 29,851 lb. in 1920 and 13,180 lb. 

 in 1921, compared with 849 lb. in 1945 and 

 807 lb. in 1960. The decrease of production in 

 this river may have been caused indirectly by 

 the heavy gravel washings and buildup of 

 alluvial deposits over the spawning grounds 

 near Bristol, Md. (Mansueti and Kolb, 1953). 



Susquehanna River 



The Susquehanna is one of the largest rivers 

 on the Atlantic coast, but only 12 miles of its 

 length are within the limits of Maryland. It 

 ranges from 1/2 to 1 mile wide and has an 

 average fall of more than 5 ft. per mile. Since 

 most of the river is in Pennsylvania, its phys- 

 ical characteristics and the shad fishery are 

 described in the section on the fisheries of 

 that State. 



The gears used in the Maryland section of 

 the Susquehanna in 1896 were drift nets and 

 seines near the mouth and fall traps and bow 

 nets in the rapids above Port Deposit, Md. 

 Gill nets averaged 125 to 130 yd. long and had 

 5 l/2-in. mesh; a total of 28,672 yd. was 

 fished. The seines, seven large and five small, 

 were 100 to 800 yd. long and had 2 1/4- to 



4 l/2-in. mesh. The estimated catch was 

 250,142 lb., of which drift nets took 51 percent, 

 seines 44 percent, and fall traps and bow nets 



5 percent. 



In 1960 shad ascended 10 miles above the 

 nnouth, to Conowingo Dam, which completely 

 obstructed the upstream movement of fish. 

 Shad spawned throughout the lower river 

 section and over the Susquehanna Flats at the 

 head of the Bay. Spawning began in April and 

 extended into June. The peak of the run was 

 in the river about mid-May. 



Drift gill nets were the only commercial 

 gear used in 1960 for shad on the Susquehanna. 

 Most nets were fished bet-^een the Baltimore 

 and Ohio Railroad Bridge near Havre de Grace, 

 Md., and Port Deposit, a stretch of 3 miles. 

 Nets ranged from 100 to 150 yd. long and 45 

 to 65 meshes deep and had 5- to 5 l/2-in. 

 mesh; the total yardage was 8,763. The esti- 

 mated catch was 84,258 lb. Rod-and-reel 

 fishermen caught 13,000 lb. --1,936 lb. in the 

 Conowingo Dam tailrace and the remainder 

 near the mouth of the river (Whitney, 1961). 



Pocomoke River 



The Pocomoke River is one of the numerous 

 tributaries entering Chesapeake Bay on the 

 Eastern Shore. These tributaries arise in 

 western Delaware and flow in a general south- 

 westerly direction, expanding in the lower 

 reaches into broad estuaries. Their descentis 

 so gradual that they are tidal nearly to the 

 upper limits. 



The Pocomoke rises on the Maryland- Dela- 

 ware line and flows 45 miles to Pocomoke 

 Sound. The shad fishery of 1896 extended from 

 the mouth to above Snow Hill, Md. The yield 

 was 106,986 lb.; bow nets took 80 percent, 

 drift nets 11 percent, seines 8 percent, and 

 fyke nets 1 percent. Bow nets were 14to 16 ft. 

 in diameter, and the average catch per net 

 (833 lb.) far exceeded that in any shad fishery 

 in the United States; the nearest approach to 

 this catch per net was in the Santee River, 

 S.C. (about 400 lb.). 



The fishery extended to Snow Hill in I960, 

 and the estimated catch by licensed fishermen 

 was 1,674 lb. Of the total catch, two pound nets 

 between the mouth of the river and Pocomoke 

 City, Md.--a stretch of 20 miles- -caught 1,100 

 lb., and 600 yd. of stake gill net fished above 

 Pocomoke City caught 574 lb. Unlicensed gill 

 nets near Snow Hill took an estimated 300 lb. 

 From 1957 to I960, the average annual yield 

 of the Pocomoke River was less than 2 percent 

 of the yield in 1896. 



Wicomico River 



The Wicomico originates near the elevated 

 shore of Great Cypress Swamp, flows 35 miles, 

 and enters the northeast portion of Tangier 

 Sound. 



Stevenson (1899) reported that, considering 

 the Wicomico's small size, the average annual 

 yield of 250,000 lb. of shad was remarkable. 

 The catch in 1896 was 244,577 lb., of which 

 drift gill nets took about 67 percent, pound nets 

 18 percent, stake gill nets 7 percent, seines 

 6 percent, and fyke nets the remainder. Drift 

 nets were 40 to 100 yd. long and 31 to 53 

 meshes deep and had 4 7/8- to 5 l/8-in. mesh. 

 They were fished from White Haven, Md., to 



1 mile below Salisbury, a distance of 12 miles. 

 Stake nets, 20 yd. long and 40 meshes deep 

 with 5- to 5 l/2-in. mesh, were fished near 

 the mouth of the river and pound nets near 

 White Haven. Seines, operated near the head- 

 waters of the river to within 4 miles of Salis- 

 bury, were 145 to 340 yd. long and had 



2 l/4-in. mesh in the bunt. Fyke nets were not 

 set especially for shad, and the catch was in- 

 cidental to that of other species. 



Shad ascended to the headwaters of the 

 Wicomico River in 1960. The catch was 8,250 

 lb., of which stake gill nets took 78 percent, 

 pound nets 20 percent, and drift gill nets 2 

 percent. Pound nets were operated near the 

 mouth of the river and in Monie Bay near 

 Mt. Vernon and Salisbury. Drift nets were 

 100 to 150 yd. lone and 45 to 55 meshes deep 

 and had 5- to 5 1/2-in. mesh, and stake nets 

 ranged from 100 to 125 yd. long and 25 to 35 

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

 addition to the catch by licensed gear, un- 

 licensed gill nets between Salisbury and the 

 head of the river took an estimated 7,0001b. 



59 



