SHAD FISHERIES OF DELAWARE 



The shad fisheries of Delaware are confined 

 to the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, and the 

 Nanticoke River (fig. 15). At the turn of the 

 century, the fisheries of the Delaware River, 

 Delaware Bay, and their tributaries were the 

 most productive in the United States. Their 

 annual yield was 12 to 18 million pounds, sev- 

 eral times greater than on any other river or 

 coast (Stevenson, 1899). 



The total 1896 catch of shad in the Delaware 

 River and Delaware Bay and their tributaries 

 was 16,699,741 lb.; 1,770,037 lb. were taken 

 by residents of Delaware, 2,217,900 lb. by 

 residents of Pennsylvania, and 12,711,804 1b. 

 by residents of New Jersey. In addition, Dela- 

 ware fishermen caught 223,257 lb. in the 

 Delaware section of the Nanticoke River to 

 make the Delaware production 1,993,294 lb. 

 (table 34). Principal gears in the fisheries 

 were drift gill nets and haul seines; stake 

 gill nets, pound nets, and bow nets also con- 

 tributed to the catch. 



In 1960 only residents of Delaware and New 

 Jersey fished for shad in the Delaware River 

 and Bay. The estimated catch was 148,200 lb., 

 of which Delaware fishermen caught 40,2001b. 

 or 27 percent (table 35). In addition, Delaware 

 fishermen caught an estimated 2,000 lb. in the 

 Nanticoke River. Gill nets took more than 99 

 percent of the total of 42,200 lb., and mis- 

 cellaneous gears the remainder. 



FISHERIES BY WATER AREA 



Discussion of the shad fisheries of the Dela- 

 ware River and Bay includes that portion of 

 the fishery prosecuted by residents of Dela- 

 ware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. 



Nanticoke River 



The Nanticoke River is the only tributary of 

 Chesapeake Bay which originates in Delaware 

 and supports a shad fishery (fig. 15). The por- 

 tion located in Delaware is small; the distance 

 from Maryland to the headwaters in Sussex 

 County is 30 miles. A more detailed descrip- 

 tion of the river and its shad fishery is given 

 in the discussion of the shad fisheries of 

 Maryland. 



The 1896 catch of shad in the Delaware sec- 

 tion of the Nanticoke was 182,250 lb., of which 

 drift gill nets caught about 53 percent, seines 

 46 percent, and pound nets 1 percent (table 34). 

 Drift nets were 70 to 90 yd. long and 49 to 55 

 meshes deep and had 5 1/8- to 5 3/4-in. mesh. 

 These nets were fished fronn the Delaware line 

 to Seaford, Del., a distance of 8 miles. Seines 

 near Seaford and Woodland, Del., were 125 to 

 200 yd. long and 20 to 30 ft. deep and had 

 2 1/4- or 2 l/2-in. mesh. In addition to the 



river catch, drift nets and seines in Broad 

 Creek, a tributary which enters the Nanticoke 

 a short distance above the Maryland line, 

 caught 41,007 lb. 



The Delaware section of the Nanticoke River 

 yielded an estimated 2,000 lb. in I960, of 

 which 900 yd. of drift gill nets took 65 percent 

 and 300 yd. of stake gill nets the remainder. 

 Drift nets fished near Seaford were 50 to 90 

 yd. long and 45 to 55 meshes deep and had 

 5- to 5 l/2-in. mesh. Stake nets in the lower 

 area of the Delaware section of the river and 

 in the mouth of Broad Creek averaged 30 yd. 

 long and 45 nneshes deep and had 5-in. nnesh. 



Delaware Bay 



Near Bombay Hook, the Delaware River in- 

 creases in width and merges into Delaware 

 Bay, forming an estuary 45 nniles long and 4 

 to 30 miles wide. A line from BombayHook on 

 the Delaware shore to the mouth of Stow Creek 

 on the New Jersey shore forms the head of 

 the Bay. 



The 1896 shad fishery in Delaware Bay and 

 tributaries was prosecuted by fishermen of 

 Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The 

 estimated yield was 4,600,736 lb., of which 

 residents of Delaware took 202,255 lb., resi- 

 dents of New Jersey 4,323,595 lb., and resi- 

 dents of Pennsylvania 74,886 lb. Gill nets were 

 the principal gear of Delaware fishermen. 

 Drift nets were fished in the channel and along 

 the edges of the channel, and stake nets on the 

 flats innmediately above the mouth of the Mis- 

 pillion River, in 6 to 10 ft. ofwater. The prin- 

 cipal fishing centers were at Bombay Hook 

 and Bowers Beach, Del. Fishing began about 

 the second week of March and continued until 

 May 1. During this period, 13,540 yd. of drift 

 gill net caught 183,944 lb., and 2,700 yd. of 

 stake net caught 17,885 lb. (table 34). Two 

 pound nets took 426 lb. incidental to the catch 

 of other species. 



Seines and drift gill nets were the only gears 

 used for shad in 1896 onthe New Jersey shore. 

 The total catch was more than 4 million 

 pounds, of which drift nets caught 99 percent. 

 These nets averaged more than 1, 100 yd. each; 

 the aggregate length of the 230 nets of New 

 Jersey fishermen was 271,200 yd.; the usual 

 mesh size was 5 l/8 in. Two seines used on 

 the New Jersey side of the Bay in 1896 were 

 each 425 yd. long; they caught 2,916 lb. of 

 shad incidental to the catch of other species. 



Pennsylvania fishermenoperated 6,000 yd. of 

 drift gill nets in 1896, principally in the head 

 of the Bay, and caught an estimated 74,886 lb. 

 of shad. 



In 1896 shad were caught in a number of 

 short Delaware Bay tributaries (The longest 

 barely exceeded 25 miles.) situated entirely 



63 



