SHAD FISHERIES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST. 129 



the temperature of the St. Johns River at Jacksonville, it is seen that the temi»ora- 

 ture of the Avater <>ra(lnally descends, reachinj;^ 60° F. at Jacksonville about the last 

 of Noveiiiher. This date is coincident with the first appearance of shad in tlie St. 

 Johns. * * * In all otherstreams on the Atlantic coast the lish appear to wait unti- 

 the temperature of the river has risen above that of the salt-water area into which 

 the river empties before thej- ascend in the spring. The migration of shad into the 

 St. Johns Ixiver is clearly not for the immediate pur))ose of spawning, ns that opera- 

 tion is not performed for months, lint in order that they m;iy keep within the limit of 

 the hydro-isothermal area appropriate to them. W(; must suppose that Ihe tempei'al 

 ture of the ocean waters, on the continental ])lateaii outside the coast line, is higher 

 than 60° F., and although uncongenial to the fish, yet they must necessarily remain 

 in that temperature until the waters of the St. Johns, cooling as the winter advances, 

 have fallen below the temperature of the outside waters. As soon, therefore, as water 

 of a lower temperature than that in which they are commingles with the ocean water 

 it serves as an incentive — as it were, the signal — for their migration into the estuary 

 of the St. Johns. — (Natural History of Aquatic Animals, pp. 599-602.) 



Shad fishing- on the St. Johns is of recent origin. Indeed, it is 

 claimed by some persons that shad have run up this river daring the 

 hist forty years only, but this is doubtless erroneous, the absence of 

 extensive fisheries before the Sixties being due to inadequate shipping 

 facilities and insufficient local enteri)rise. Drift nets were introduced 

 here about 1800, and their use increased quite rapidly, most of them 

 being operated by fishermen from Connecticut and New Jersey. The 

 war interrupted all fishing except for local use, but at the close of hos- 

 tilities the operation of drift nets was renewed and greatly increased. 

 It is reported that, in 1873, 94,000 shad were caught with 30 nets oper- 

 ated from New Berlin, about 10 miles from the mouth of the river, and 

 that in 1876, when shad were unusually abundant, the average catch 

 at New Berlin was 5,000 per net. At Palatka, 100 miles from the month 

 of the river, drift nets were first used in 1872, and 7 nets in 1876 caught 

 66,000 shad, the largest yield in any one net numbering 11,000. 



In a letter from Jacksonville, dated in January, 1874, Dr. Charles 

 Koch says : 



From the bar at the mouth of the St. Johns River up to Palatka 75 to 80 nets are 

 fished during the shad season. These nets are 200 yards long and 10 feet deep and are 

 set in from 10 to 12 feet of water. In 1873 the prodiict of the shad fisheries amounted 

 to 250,000 shipped or consumed. The average price at Jacksonville was 15 cents 

 apiece. 



Mr. R. E. Earll estimated that in 1877-78 there were 80 drift nets on 

 the river and that the average catch was 2,500 each, making a total of 

 200,000 shad for that season. He further states tliat the yield for the 

 previous season approximated 280,000, and for 1875-76 the yield was 

 about 160,000 or less. The Tenth Census reports the yield in 1879-80 

 at 251,700 pounds, but it does not appear what basis has been used in 

 reducing the number to pounds. ISIo mention is made in those esti- 

 mates of the use of seines. 



The yield of shad on the St. Johns in 1890 was the largest for many 

 years, numberiug 872.074. During the four years following the catch 

 gradually decreased; but in 1895 it was somewhat better, and this 

 F. R. 98 9 



