180 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



with 2J-iucli raesh for retaining alewives. The season extends from the 

 first or second week of March to the end of May. The largest catch of 

 shad in any one net was 12,130, obtained in theonter one of five set off 

 Taskmaker Creek; while the smallest catch was 200 shad taken in a 

 net set especially for alewives on the south side of Fleet Point. 



On the eastern side of the Chesapeake 18 large pound nets situated 

 on the shore of Northampton County and 32 on the shore of Accomack 

 County, during the spring of 1896, caught a few shad. The catch by 

 those nets in Northampton County is usually very small, and especially 

 so in 1890, owing to the strong winds causing the fish to avoid that 

 shore more than usual. The nets in Northampton County are set quite 

 late, generally after the first week of April, when most of the shad have 

 passed by. During some seasons shad are taken on this shore in con- 

 siderable abundance. In 1885 2,600 were taken in one lift of a pound 

 net, whereas in 1896 the same net yielded only 780 shad during the 

 whole season. Of the 32 pound nets on the shore of Accomack County, 

 23 were set on Tangier Island and the remaining 9 on the east side of 

 Pocomoke Sound. The season begins about March 20, and the last 

 shad are taken about the end of June, the nets remaining in the waters 

 until the end of September, catching quantities of bluefish, squeteague, 

 Spanish mackerel, etc. 



The following summary shows by counties the location and extent in 

 1896 of tbe pound-net fishery of that portion of the Chesapeake Bay 

 located in Virginia, not including the nets operated in Mobjack Bay or 

 at the mouths of York or Eappahannock rivers : 



Note.— The Gloucester County pound nets located in York River and Mob.jack Bay, and the 

 Mathews County nets in Mobjack Bay, and the Lancaster County nets in Rappahannock Eiver are 

 not included in the foregoing. 



MOBJACK BAY. 



On the western side of the Virginia section of Chesapeake Bay there 

 are 4 large coastal indentations which support important shad fisheries. 

 Of these, 3 are estuaries of rivers, viz, James, York, and Potomac. 

 The fourth, Mobjack Bay, receives the waters of a number of small 

 streams, as Severn, Ware, North, and East rivers, yet it is a side elon- 

 gation of Chesapeake Bay, 12 miles in length and 3 or 4 miles wide, 

 with depth of water ranging from 18 to 25 feet. 



