shad as now handled in retail stores does not 

 meet, and requirement of most present-day 

 families for portions of shad smaller than 

 usually featured in retail stores. 



Sales have improved in some areas by the 

 marketing of fish from which all bones have 

 been removed. Boning shad is considered 

 commercially impractical by some whole- 

 salers and retailers, though in recent years 

 the practice has been adopted in sonne areas. 



especially as more persons have become pro- 

 ficient at the task. When boned fish were fea- 

 tured by several producers on the Connecticut 

 and Hudson Rivers and in Chesapeake Bay, 

 the demand for the product was much greater 

 than the supply. The demand could not be met 

 in i960 because good shad boners were rela- 

 tively scarce. The seasonal nature of the fish- 

 ery tends to discourage fish cutters from 

 learning the method. 



RECOMMENDATIONS 



Shad probably cannot be restored to the 

 abundance that existed at the beginning of the 

 20th century. Changes in spawning and nursery 

 areas by encroachment of civilization have 

 reduced, and in some localities destoryed, the 

 ability of rivers to produce fish as abundantly 

 as in former years. Physical and chemical 

 changes in river environments from defor- 

 estation of watershed, siltation, pollution, and 

 dann construction have combined to reduce 

 the capacity of rivers to produce anadromous 

 fish. 



Annual production of shad on the Atlantic 

 coast of the United States over the past 50 yr. 

 has not exceeded 20 million pounds and gen- 

 erally has averaged less than 12 million 

 pounds. Production can be increased by proper 

 managennent, as was indicated by investiga- 

 tions of the Hudson and Connecticut Rivers 

 populations (Talbot, 1954; Fredin, 1954). 

 Analysis of catch and effort statistics on these 

 fisheries for a series of years, plus compre- 

 hensive biological studies, showed that more 

 than 80 percent of the fluctuations in abundance 

 of these populations was caused by the number 

 of fish allowed to escape the fishery and 

 spawn. In other words, fishing was the single 

 most important factor affecting abundance. 

 As a result of these studies, it was possible 

 to predict abundance of fish a year in advance 

 within desired confidence limits. By controlling 

 fishing effort, the desired number of shad can 

 be allowed to escape the fishery, and the size 

 of future runs can be regulated to produce 

 maximum sustained yields. 



Causes of fluctuations in abundance of other 

 shad fisheries on the Atlantic coast of the 

 United States could not be determined from 

 recent studies because the size of the popu- 

 lation for an extended period was not known. 

 Population size can be determined from catch 

 and effort statistics collected over a period 

 of years and by well-planned tagging and re- 

 covery experiments. When these data become 

 available, possible factors that affect popula- 

 tion size can be studied to determine their 

 relation to population fluctuations. If factors 

 affecting these changes can be deternnined and 

 controlled, the population can be managed on 



an optimum-sustained-yield basis. If the fac- 

 tors cannot be controlled, however, their effect 

 probably could be predicted and the fishery 

 managed accordingly. 



Our recomnnendations are as follows: 



1. States interested in managing their 

 shad fisheries should collect catch and ef- 

 fort statistics on the fishery. This collection 

 could be acconnplished by requiring fisher- 

 men to report their fishing activities as 

 prerequisite to obtaining a future fishing 

 license. Infornnation required on each river, 

 in addition to catch, is amount of each type 

 of gear and number of days fished. After 

 catch and effort statistics have been obtained 

 for a series of years, studies can proceed 

 to determine population sizes and factors 

 responsible for fluctuations in abundance, 

 and management measures can be formu- 

 lated. Fisheries involving two or more States 

 should be studied and managed as a unit 

 without regard to political boundary. An 

 example of cooperative interestate manage- 

 ment of shad is the Hudson River where New 

 Jersey and New York work together to regu- 

 late the fishery. 



2. Ineffective fishways should be replaced 

 by effective fish-passage facilities where 

 practicable, and new dams constructed on 

 shad-producing streams should be provided 

 with workable fishways to ensure that the 

 river above the dam will not be completely 

 lost to fish production. 



3. States should take action to reduce or 

 eliminate pollution of rivers. Toxic indus- 

 trial wastes and low dissolved oxygen de- 

 crease the productive capacity of streams 

 by reducing survival of eggs and larvae; in 

 some rivers populations have been severely 

 reduced or eliminated. 



4. Industry should improve methods of 

 handling and packaging shad to increase 

 public demand for this product. 



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