was 42, and 261 tagged fish were available to 

 the Neuse River shad fishery. One hundred 

 and seventy-four tagged shad were recaptured 

 in the river, 170 in the commercial sector and 

 4 in the inland sector. Because of the large dif- 

 ference in the tag recovery - catch ratio of the 

 two sectors, the tagging data could not be used 

 to estimate the size of the Neuse River shad 

 run. Three possible explanations why so few 

 tags were taken in the inland sector are (1) the 

 commercial section fishing gear was selective 

 for the tagged fish, (2) recaptured tags were 

 not recovered, or (3) a large run of shad enter- 

 ed the river after fishing ceased in the commer- 

 cial section. 



We can determine whether tag selectivity 

 was a factor. If tagged shad were more liable 

 to capture by certain gears than were untagged 

 shad, we should expect a disproportionate tag 

 recovery - catch ratio among the gears fished 

 in the lower fishery. To determine whether 

 this occurred, the following data were subjected 

 to a chi- square test: 



On the basis of this test, tag selectivity 

 was not significant in the commercial section. 

 We have no definite information that recaptured 

 tags were not recovered or that a late run of 

 shad actually occurred. 



An estimate of the number of shad avail- 

 able to the commercial section can be made, 

 using the catch and tag recovery data for this 

 area. Of the 261 tagged shad available, 170 

 were recaptured in this section. Therefore, the 

 fishing rate was 170/261 or 65 percent. The 

 shad catch in this area was 98,000 fish. With a 

 fishing rate of 65 percent the estimated number 

 of shad available to the commercial section was 

 approximately 151,000. Subtracting catch from 

 total number of shad available, It was estimated 



that 53,000 shad escaped the commercial section. 

 Since the estimated catch in the inland sector 

 was 78,000 shad, it appears that either our es- 

 timated inland sector catch was grossly in error 

 or that a late run of shad did enter the Neuse 

 River after the close of fishing in the commercial 

 section . 



SCALE STUDY 



Scale samples were taken from 742 shad 

 during the course of the study. Scales from 709 

 specimens were read, and they ranged in age 

 from 3 to 8 years (table 3). Males first enter 

 the commercial catch at 3 years of age, while 

 females usually first enter at 4 years of age. 

 Most male shad enter the fishery at 4 years of 

 age, most females at 5 years of age. Of the 

 males, 71 percent were 4 years of age or younger; 

 only 26 percent of the females were in this group. 



Less than 3 percent (20) of the specimens 

 were repeaters (fish that had spawned the pre- 

 vious year). This indicates that the size of the 

 shad run is dependent almost entirely upon 4-, 

 5-, and 6-year-old fish which have not spawned 

 before. After spawning, all but a small percent- 

 age of Neuse River shad die either in the river 

 or after their return to the sea. 



GOLDSBORO DAM AND FISHWAY 



The Carolina Power and Light Company 

 has recently completed a steam -electric plant 

 adjacent to the Neuse River near Goldsboro. To 

 ensure an ample supply of "cooling water" the 

 Power Company built a low -head dam, complete 

 with fishway, on the Neuse River (fig. 3). The 

 fishway is a pool type with submerged orifices. 

 The dam is 6.67 feet high and during periods of 

 high water (gage height 9.0 feet or more) pre- 

 sents no obstacle to fish migration, but during 

 periods of low flow (gage height less than 9.0 

 feet) migrating fish must use the fishway. Water 

 levels of 9.0 feet or more are an exception in 

 May and June (table 4) and therefore the majority 

 of migrating shad must use the fishway to gain 

 access to the river above the dam . 



To determine the number of shad passed 

 by the fishway, a trap net was attached to the 

 exit during the period May 5 to June 26, 1953, 

 and all fish using the fishway were subsequently 



