SHAD FISHERIES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST. 



123 



COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUS YEARS. 



In considering" the comparative abundance of sliad it is not safe to 

 be guided by the results of the fisheries in a single locality or even in 

 an individual river basin. The catch in each locality fluctuates under 

 local conditions, and it is only by comparing- the returns for a large area 

 of the coast that it can be determined whether there has been an actual 

 increase or decrease. 



The season of 1880 is the earliest one for which we have accurate or 

 even fairly reliable data relative to the yield of shad aloug the entire 

 Atlantic coast or even a considerable portion of that coast. The 

 adverse agencies tending to deplete the species had then reduced the 

 yield to a very low point and the effect of artificial propagation had not 

 become generally apparent. During that year the total yield of shad 

 on the Atlantic coast approximated 5,102,315 in number,,worth -$995,405. 

 The use of improved apparatus of c;apture and the more vigorous jjrose- 

 cution of the fisheries has resulted in a considerable increase in the 

 aggregate yield since that season. The yield in 1888 was reported at 

 10,181,005, for which the fishermen received $1,005,170; in 1892 it was 

 11,091,505, valued at $1,879,088, and in 1890 it numbered 13,053,429, 

 worth $1,051,443 at first hands. 



Wliile the yield in 1890 was by far the largest of any of the four years 

 above noted, yet that season was scarcely representative of the last 

 three or four years. Not only were shad less abundant than usual, but 

 the prices were so low that many fisheries were abandoned before the 

 season was at an end. However, in the rivers of Florida and Georgia, 

 in Delaware River, and Connecticut River the catch in 1890 was the 

 largest for many years. From Savannah River to the Chesapeake Bay, 

 inclusive, the yield in 1895 and in 1897 was far in excess of that in 1890. 



The following summary shows by States the yield of shad in 1880, 

 1888, and 1890. The returns for 1880 and 1888 were published in pounds, 

 and in reducing them to number the average weight has been assumed 

 to be 3^ pounds each. 



Florida t 71, 914 



Georgia ' 72, 000 



Soutu Carolina ' 59, 314 



ISTorth Carol iua > 920, 360 



Virginia | 906, 272 



Maryland i 1, 074, 121 



Delaware i 300, 000 



Pennsylvania I 159, 885 



New Jersey 214, 285 



New York 781,028 



Connecticut 376, 581 



Rhode Island 13, 743 



Massachusetts 47, 007 



Mai-ne 165, 805 



Total I 5, 162, 315 



$20, 136 

 17, 941 

 12, 432 

 329, 569 

 134, 496 

 140, 326 

 52, 500 

 27, 980 

 35, 000 

 136, 680 

 65, 902 

 2,405 

 8,226 

 11.876 



935, 465 



Number. Value. 



413, 714 



75, 200 



123, 657 



1, 608, 774 



2,316,235 



1, 598, 781 



396,919 



396, 340 



1, 863, 842 



984, 468 



104, 553 



4,971 



51,316 



242, 835 



19, 000 

 27, 050 

 292, 409 

 376, 944 

 218, 230 

 51, 999 

 76, 942 

 307, 411 

 150, 882 

 23. 786 

 1,213 

 5,312 

 24, 368 



10, 181, 605 



460, 214 



143, 974 



146, 627 



2, 096, 804 



3, 203, 503 



1,541,050 



468, 344 



621,239 



3, 338, 480 



542, 814 



70, 288 



13, 532 



• 39, 822 



$62, 589 

 49, 289 

 33, 436 

 417, 243 

 307, 055 

 166, 551 

 69, 260 

 79,445 

 340, 056 

 74, 833 

 14, 082 

 3,590 

 3, 236 

 30, 778 



, 651, 443 



