areas was 4,098 lb. In 1960 a floating trap 

 fished near Point Judith caught 400 lb. 



Narragansett Bay 



A few shad were taken by pound nets formerly 

 on the southern shore of Rhode Island, in 

 Western Channel, and between Sakonnet and 

 Tiverton, R.I., in the Sakonnet River, but 

 rarely in sufficient numbers to receive special 

 attention from fishermen. The largest catch 

 in a single net, 577 lb., was taken in 1896 off 

 Runnstick Neck at the northern end of Nar- 

 ragansett Bay near the mouth of the Providence 

 River. Total poundage of shad caught in the 

 Bay in 1896 was 8,433. In 1960 two floating 

 traps off Sakonnet Point and one off Newport 

 Island, together caught 2,763 lb. 



Warren River 



This stream, a tidal arm of Narragansett 

 Bay near its northern limit, was the only river 

 in Rhode Island with a substantial shad run in 

 1896. It is a few hundred feet wide, about 10 

 miles long, and in 1896 contained no obstruc- 

 tions to fish passage. In that year, several 

 pound nets fished in the river near the Massa- 

 chusetts State line caught 36,097 lb. 



No commercial landings have been reported 

 in the Warren River in recent years. This 

 river has a snnall shad run, however. Accord- 

 ing to Frederick C. Wilbour, Jr., Director, Di- 

 vision of Marine Fisheries, Department of 

 Natural Resources (personal communication 

 dated June 20, 1960), fish are taken by hook 

 and line in Massachusetts, where this stream 

 is known as the Palmer River; no estimate of 

 the catch was made. 



Pawcatuck River 



The Pawcatuck formerly yielded many shad, 

 but by 1896 it was obstructed by nunnerous 

 dams which completely blocked passage of 

 fish. A few, however, were taken each year 

 in the lower portion of the river as well as in 

 Old Warwick Cove and Patowomut River. The 

 1896 catch in this area was 1,560 lb. taken by 

 seines, dip nets, and other gears. According 

 to Warren J. Murphy, Fishery Marketing Spe- 

 cialist, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, 

 Warren, R.I., (personal interview), no shad 

 were caught in this area in 1960. 



Providence-Blackstone River 



Numerous dams, and sewage fronn the city 

 of Providence, had almost exterminated the 

 shad in this river by 1896, but a few fish were 

 taken by seines, dip nets, and other gears. The 



estimated catch was 1,950 lb. Two seines 

 caught 623 lb. in 1896 in Greenwich Bay. No 

 shad were reported from these areas in 1960 

 nor have any been reported in recent years. 



TRENDS IN PRODUCTION 



The industrial development of tidewater 

 Rhode Island in the late 1800's resulted in the 

 location of textile and metal-product industries 

 on the fresh-water streams flowing into Nar- 

 ragansett Bay. Increased pollution and dam 

 construction since that time have eliminated 

 shad populations. The exception was the War- 

 ren (Palmer) River, which continued to main- 

 tain a small run. 



Shad landed in this State are caught during 

 their coastal migration. Fluctuations in pro- 

 duction in recent years probably resulted from 

 changes in the size of runs migrating past 

 Rhode Island, amount and type of fishing gears 

 used, and weather which affected inshore- 

 offshore movement of shad during their north- 

 ward migration. 



Statistics available on the Rhode Island 

 catches from 1887 to 1960 show that annual 

 production fluctuated between 1,000 and 54,000 

 lb. The average annual catch for the 20 yr, 

 between 1887 to 1940 for which landing figures 

 are available was 18,000 lb. (table 50). Since 

 1940, the annual catch has ranged from 1,000 



Table 50. --Shad catch for certain years, 

 Rhode Island, 1887-1960l 



[In thouaands of pounds] 



1938. 

 1939. 

 1940. 



10 

 28 

 54 



1959. 

 1960. 



^ Statl«tlcB 1887-1959, U. S. Fish Conimlssion, 

 U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, and U. S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service. 



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