Nanticoke River 



The headwaters of the Nanticoke River are 

 in Kent and Sussex Counties, Del., and unite at 

 Seaford, Del., 11 miles upstream from the 

 Maryland- Delaware line. The total river length 

 is 70 miles--30 miles in Delaware and 40 miles 

 in Maryland. In the lower 10 miles, the river 

 expands into a broad estuary. Above this ex- 

 pansion, the river width gradually diminishes 

 and is less than 200 yd. at the Delaware 

 boundary. About 25 miles from its mouth, the 

 river receives Marshyhope Creek, which rises 

 in Kent County and flows about 34 miles to its 

 entrance into the Nanticoke. 



In 1896 the Nanticoke ranked third among 

 Maryland rivers in the shad catch and was 

 surpassed only by the Choptank and Potomac. 

 The fishery extended from the mouth of the 

 river to several miles above Seaford; the 

 estimated catch was 812,417 lb., of which 

 223,257 lb. were taken inDelaware, 140,0001b. 

 in Marshyhope Creek, and 448,760 lb. in the 

 Maryland portion of the main river. 



Drift gill nets, stake gill nets, pound nets, 

 and fyke nets were the only gears used to take 

 shad in the Maryland section of the Nanticoke 

 in 1896. Drift nets, 115 yd. to 175 yd. long, 

 51 to 65 meshes deep, with4 7/8- to 5 l/4-in. 

 mesh, were fished from Quantico Creek to 

 the Delaware line and took 225,852 lb. Stake 

 nets in the extreme lower portion of the 

 river from Roaring Point to Sandy Hill caught 

 an estimated 63,522 lb. Pound nets, concen- 

 trated above Quantico Creek, were not set 

 especially for shad, but 125,811 lb. were taken 

 by 26 nets. The catch of 33,575 lb. in fyke nets 

 in the lower river below Quantico Creek was 

 incidental to the catch of other fish. Consider- 

 ing the size of Marshyhope Creek, its shad 

 fishery was highly productive in 1896. The 

 catch was about 140,400 lb., of which drift 

 gill nets took about 64 percent, seines 18 per- 

 cent, and pound nets 18 percent. Drift nets, 

 100 yd. long, from 49 to 53 meshes deep, and 

 with 5- to 5 l/4-in. mesh, were fished from 

 the mouth of the tributary to Federalsburg. 

 Seines, 40 to 150 yd. long and with 2 l/2-in. 

 mesh, were fished between Brookview, Md., 

 and Federalsburg. Pound nets were set above 

 Brookview. 



Shad ascended the Nanticoke in 1960 atleast 

 51 miles to Seaford and the Marshyhope to 

 Federalsburg, Md., 55 miles from Tangier 

 Sound. The river ranked first in shad pro- 

 duction among Maryland rivers. The fishery 

 extended from the river mouth to Seaford; the 

 yield was 96,792 lb., of which 2,000 lb. were 

 produced in Delaware, 23,698 lb. in Marshy- 

 hope Creek, and 71,094 lb. in the Maryland 

 section of the river. 



In I960 gill and pound nets were the only 

 gears in the fishery, and more than 90 percent 

 of the catch was made by gill nets. In addition, 

 unlicensed gill net fishermen took anestimated 



43,000 lb. Drift gill nets were operated from 

 Vienna to the Delaware boundary in the main 

 river and throughout Marshyhope Creek; they 

 averaged 145 yd. long, 45 meshes deep, and 

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

 65,321 lb., of which drift nets produced 15,024 

 lb. in Marshyhope Creek and 50,297 lb. in the 

 main river. Stake gill nets from the mouth of 

 the river to a few miles above Vienna and in 

 the lower portion of Marshyhope Creek aver- 

 aged 125 yd. long, 35 meshes deep, and 5-in. 

 mesh. The estimated catch was 19,448 lb., of 

 which the main river produced 10,774 lb, and 

 Marshyhope Creek 8,674 lb. Fifteen pounds 

 nets, fished in the lower portion of the Nanti- 

 coke River from the mouth to the vicinity of 

 Vienna--a distance of 20 miles--caught 10,023 

 lb. 



The production of the Nanticoke fishery has 

 declined, but not as much as in other Maryland 

 rivers. The 1960 catch was less than 13 per- 

 cent of the 1896 take. 



Fishing Bay 



Fishing Bay is a broad estuary 1 1 miles long 

 and from 2 to 3 miles wide. It connects the 

 Transquaking and Blackwater Rivers with the 

 northern portion of Tangier Sound. 



The estimated catch of shad in 1896 was 

 131,772 lb., of which the Bay proper yielded 

 27 percent, the Transquaking River 37 percent, 

 and the Blackwater River 36 percent. Of the 

 Bay catch, stake gill nets caught 84 percent 

 and pound nets the remainder. In the Trans- 

 quaking, pound nets caught 75 percent of the 

 catch, weirs 14 percent, and bow nets the re- 

 mainder. Pound nets produced 62 percent of 

 the catch in the Blackwater, drift gill nets 28 

 percent, and weirs 10 percent. Stake gill nets 

 measured 16 to 18 yd. long, averaged 16 

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

 they were set on the flats. Drift gill nets av- 

 eraged 40 yd. long and 7 ft. deep, had 5-in. 

 mesh, and were fished in the channels. 



The 1960 catch in Fishing Bay was 84,0121b. 

 Pound nets produced 56 percent, stake gill nets 

 36 percent, and drift gill nets 8 percent. Pound 

 nets were fished in the channel and near the 

 mouths of both tributaries. Stake gill nets were 

 100 to 150 yd. long and 20 to 35 meshes deep 

 and had 5- to 5 l/2-in. mesh; theywere set on 

 the flats. Drift gill nets were 100 to 125 yd. 

 long and 35 to 45 meshes deep, had 5- to 

 5 l/2-in. mesh, and were fished near the 

 mouths of the tributaries. Unlicensed gill nets 

 were fished in the tributaries, but no informa- 

 tion was obtained on the catch. 



Choptank River 



The Choptank River is the largest river on 

 the Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay. From 

 its mouth to Secretary, Md., a stretch of 25 



60 



