The projected growth of the human popu- 

 lation both in this country and the world 

 during the coming years makes it desirable 



that conservation authorities take the nec- 

 essary steps to maintain and increase this 

 natural, renewable resource. 



SUAAAAARY 



1. The range of shad on the Atlantic coast 

 is from the St. Johns River in Florida to the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada. The species 

 is anadromous, spending most of its life in 

 the ocean and ascending coastal rivers to 

 spawn. After spawning it returns to the ocean, 

 provided it escapes fishing gear or does not 

 die in the stream. The following years it re- 

 turns to the rivers to spawn again. The young 

 remain in the natal stream until fall and then 

 enter the ocean. They probably spend the 

 winters in the Middle Atlantic area, migrate 

 to the Gulf of Maine each summer along with 

 the adults, and when mature, return to the 

 native streann to spawn. Fish attain sexual 

 maturity at 2 to 6 yr. Those spawning in 

 streams south of Chesapeake Bay, and par- 

 ticularly south of North Carolina, die after 

 spawning. 



2. During the 19th century, important shad 

 fisheries were developed along the entire 

 Atlantic coast of the United States. Every 

 suitable river had a spawning run and fish 

 ascended far upstream. The different kinds 

 of gear introduced and developed by shad 

 fisheries were adapted to their native local- 

 ities. The species was taken both inside and 

 outside the rivers by gill nets, seines, weirs, 

 fyke nets, and bow nets and in the headwaters 

 by traps. The estinnated catch in 1896 was 

 more than 5 million pounds; production in 

 New Jersey ranked first with about 14 million 

 pounds and that in Virginia ranked second 

 with 11 million pounds. Seines were the 

 usual and most efficient method of capturing 

 fish. 



3. The shad fishery had changed in I960 

 little except in size of the catch. The gear has 

 remained relatively unchanged, but nnany im- 

 provements have been made in techniques of 

 fishing, largely in the interest of econonny. 

 The estimated catch by both commercial and 

 sport fisheries in I960 was slightly more than 

 8 million pounds; Maryland ranked first with 



1.5 million pounds, Virginia second with 1.4 

 million pounds, and North Carolina third with 

 1.3 million pounds. Gill nets were the most 

 extensively used gear and the most efficient 

 method of capturing fish. 



4. Many factors have been blamed for the 

 decline in shad. Among them were: Physical 

 changes of the environment which rendered it 

 unsuitable for spawning or which influenced 

 survival of eggs and larvae; dams which pre- 

 vented shad from reaching spawning grounds; 

 pollution which rendered rivers unsuitable for 

 the species; overfishing which did not allow 

 enough fish to spawn and replace those which 

 died or were taken by the fishery; and natural 

 cycles which could cause long-term fluctua- 

 tions in abundance. Recent studies of factual 

 data, where available, have indicated that de- 

 clines in shad abundance have been caused by 

 dams, pollution, and overfishing; if other fac- 

 tors have had an effect on fish abundance their 

 effect could not be demonstrated. 



5. Methods used to rehabilitate and manage 

 shad fisheries have been: Artificial propaga- 

 tion, provisions for fish passage, and fishing 

 regulations. In addition, pollution control can 

 benefit shad abundance. Hatcheries, as op- 

 erated in former years, failed as a conserva- 

 tion measure. Present engineering and biolog- 

 ical knowledge is solving and in some areas 

 has solved the problem of passing shad over 

 artificial obstructions to upstreann spawning 

 areas. Measures to manage the shad fisheries 

 through regulations and licensing measures 

 have included week-end closure on fishing, 

 limiting of seasons, establishment of location 

 of fishing area, creel limits on the sport fish- 

 ery, and limiting of amount and mesh size of 

 fishing gear. 



6. Shad probably cannot be restored to the 

 abundance of the late 19th century, but our 

 present knowledge should permit individual 

 shad runs to be managed scientifically on a 

 sustained-yield basis. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT 



Personnel of the fishery departments of 

 Atlantic Coast States furnished information 

 on the shad fisheries and reviewed the sections 

 of this report pertinent to their State. Fishery 

 Marketing Specialists of the Bureau of Com- 



mercial Fisheries and Statistical Agents of 

 State agencies helped us obtain catch and effort 

 statistics on the fishery. Many fish dealers 

 and fishermen helped in many ways to ensure 

 the success of this study. 



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