SHAD FISHERIES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST. 1G3 



about the 1st of February and remaiu in the water until late in the 

 spring, the bulk of the catch being obtained from February 15 to 

 March 15. In 189G there were 171 pound nets, with an aggregate value 

 of 813,885. Of these, 11 were near Hatteras Inlet and the others in 

 the upper portion of the sound. The yield consisted of 30,812 roe and 

 30,041 buck shad, with a local valuation of 113,478. 



There are several interesting features in connection with the shad 

 resources of this body of water in addition to the fisheries at present 

 operated. It will be seen that the only communication between the sea 

 on one side and Neuse and Pamlico rivers and Albemarle Sound and 

 its numerous tributaries on the other, is through Pamlico Sound, the 

 outlets of which are Ocracoke, Hatteras, New, and Oregon inlets, whose 

 total cross-section does not exceed 1^ miles. Through these narrow 

 inlets the entire yield of shad taken in Pamlico Sound and tributaries, 

 exceeding 2,000,000 annually, must pass. An impression exists that 

 shad winter in these sounds, and in substantiation of this theory it is 

 contended that if they passed into the sound from the sea through any 

 one or all of the four inlets they would be taken in the seines which 

 have at times been operated in those narrow passageways. This result 

 would not necessarily follow, however, for when the shad enter from the 

 sea they are not schooling, but moving as individuals, and avoid the 

 fishing apparatus. In comparatively few of the coast waters are shad 

 taken as easily near the sea as farther inland. It will be observed that 

 the large quantities of fish taken in Albemarle Sound and tributaries 

 must pass through Croatan and Roanoke sounds, and yet only a small 

 percentage are taken in the numerous pound nets and stake nets located 

 in those bodies of water. If the fish remained in the sound during the 

 winter they would doubtless be discovered, even if they kept near the 

 bottom; furthermore, those nets set on the shoals near Hatteras Inlet 

 catch shad several days sooner than those in the upper portion of the 

 sound, indicating that the fish are traveling from the direction of the 

 inlet. 



NEUSB RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES. 



The Neuse, the most important shad stream between the St. Johns 

 and the James rivers, is formed in Durham County, N. C, by the 

 junction of the Eno, Flat, and Little rivers, and from that point to New 

 Berne it measures in its sinuosities a distance of 260 miles. Below 

 New Berne its fluvial characteristics disappear and it becomes a broad 

 arm of Pamlico Sound, 40 miles long. The head of navigation is at 

 Smithtield, 150 miles above New Berne, at an elevation of about 100 

 feet above sea level. In addition to the tributaries forming its source, 

 the Neuse receives the waters of Trent, Contentnea, and Little rivers, 

 and some minor streams. Shad formerly ascended Neuse River to its 

 uppermost limits, and extensive fisheries are said to have existed near 

 Raleigh, 190 miles from New Berne. At present they ascend in small 

 numbers some distance above Raleigh, probably as far as Fishdam, in 

 Durham County, and local fisheries exist above Smithfield. The bulk 



