catches formerly had ranged up to 5,000 shad, 

 but with the general decrease of this species, 

 they caught less than a dozen in 1948 and con- 

 sequently stopped fishing (Sykes and Lehman, 

 1957). Seining was tried again in May 1950, 

 but only eight fish were taken. Other seining 

 clubs, located in Hancock, Pa., also ceased 

 fishing because of the lack of fish. 



A detailed discussion of the fisheries in the 

 Delaware River and Bay is given in the de- 

 scription of the shad fisheries of Delaware. 



TRENDS IN PRODUCTION 



Information is available on the shad catch 

 by water area in Pennsylvania for certain 

 years in 1880-1960 (table 38). Production was 

 high from 1887 through 1901, when the aver- 

 age annual yield was 2,289,000 lb. The year 

 of peak production was 1901, when about 3 

 million pounds were taken. After 1901 produc- 

 tion decreased until 1921, when the catch was 

 only 19,000 lb. By 1921 no shad were taken in 

 Pennsylvania waters of the Susquehanna River, 

 and the yield was from the Delaware River and 

 Bay only. From 1921 to 1942 production 

 ranged from 22,000 lb. in 1929 to 2,000 lb. in 

 1932 and 1933. By 1943 the run in the Delaware 

 River was so depleted that commercial fishing 

 was abandoned in the Pennsylvania portion. 

 There has been no commercial production of 

 shad in Pennsylvania waters since 1943. 



Table 38. — Shad catch for certain years, Pennsylvania, 1880-1960^ 

 [In thousands of pounds] 



"■ Total catch, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (1958-61); catch by 

 water area, Mansueti and Kolb (1953). 



Pollution and overfishing were cited as re- 

 sponsible for the decline of the Delaware 

 River shad population, but construction of 

 dams that prevent fish from reaching original 

 spawning and nursery areas was the dominant 

 factor in eliminating shad from Pennsylvania 

 waters of the Susquehanna River. Factors af- 

 fecting abundance of shad in the Pennsylvania 

 portion of the Delaware River are discussed 

 in the section on the shad fisheries of 

 Delaware. 



SHAD FISHERIES OF NEW JERSEY 



The shad fisheries of New Jersey are sup- 

 ported by Delaware Bay, Atlantic Ocean shore. 

 Lower New York Bay, and the Hudson River 

 (fig. 23). In 1896 New Jersey ranked first 

 among the States in pounds of shad caught. 

 It ranked fifth in 1960. 



The fisheries produced 13,909,826 lb. in 

 1896, of which Delaware Bay yielded about 31 

 percent, Delaware River 60 percent, Hudson 

 River 5 percent. Lower New York Bay 3 per- 

 cent, and the ocean shore the remainder. Drift 

 gill nets took about 77 percent of the catch, 

 seines 14 percent, stake gill nets 6 percent, 

 and fyke and pound nets the remainder. 



The 1960 yield was 693,636 lb. The Hudson 

 River produced about 65 percent, Delaware 

 Bay 16 percent. Lower New York Bay 13 per- 

 cent, and the ocean shore 6 percent. Stake gill 

 nets took slightly less than 82 percent of the 

 catch, pound nets less than 17 percent, drift 

 gill nets 1 percent, and otter trawls and seines 

 the remainder. The gear fished and the catch 

 by gear and water area in New Jersey in 1896 

 and 1960 are given in tables 39 and 40. 



FISHERIES BY WATER AREA 



New Jersey fishermen formerly caught shad 

 in both Delaware Bay and Delaware River, but 

 in 1960 only Delaware Bay produced fish. 



(A description of the fisheries in both areas 

 is given in the section on the fisheries of 

 Delaware.) New Jersey fishermen caught 

 109,000 lb. on the Jersey side of the Bay in 

 1960, of which 99,000 lb. were taken by stake 

 gill nets, 8,000 lb. by drift gill nets, and 1,000 

 lb. by seines operated for other species. 



In 1896 several New Jersey streams tribu- 

 tary to Delaware Bay and Delaware River, 

 such as the Maurice, Oldmans, Rancocas, 

 Woodbury, and Cooper Rivers, produced a 

 few shad for local use. In I960, however, only 

 the Maurice yielded shad, but the catch was 

 small, and no estimate was made of the quan- 

 tity taken. 



Ocean Shore an(3 Bays 



A few shad were caught in 1896 in several 

 of the small sounds and bays along the ocean 

 shore of New Jersey. These fish were taken 

 by seines, stake gill nets, and fyke nets used 

 for other fishes. The estimated catch was 

 10,687 lb. (table 40). In addition, numerous 

 pound nets along the coast from Barnegat Bay 

 to Sandy Hook took about 56,977 lb. incidental 

 to the catch of other species. This point was 

 the southernmost on the Atlantic coast where 

 shad were taken in considerable numbers 

 beyond the coastline. 



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