SHAD FISHERIES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST. 



233 



Table showing by States the yield of the shad fisheries of Delaivare Bay in 1896. 



The drift nets in Delaware Bay are used principally in the channel 

 and on the edge thereof. They average over 1,100 yards each, the 

 aggregate length of the 259 nets used in 1S96 being 290,740 yards, 

 or 105 miles, the usual size of mesh being 5^ inches. Many fishermen 

 operating these nets live up the river, locating temporarily near the 

 mouth of Stow and Cohansey creeks, and shipping their tish from Bay 

 Side. 



The fishing season begins about the second week of March and con- 

 tinues until the 1st of May, when the sturgeon fishery proves more 

 remunerative, and many of the fishermen are attracted to that indus- 

 try. Those who do not engage in the sturgeon fishery usually shorten 

 their nets and fish for shad in the upper reaches of the river in the 

 vicinity of Philadelphia. In the early part of the season, when the 

 water is usually turbid, the nets may be operated during the day, but 

 as the water becomes clearer night fishing is more profitable. Of 

 the drift-net catch, 1,037,001 were obtained by ISTew Jersey fishermen, 

 43,220 by Delawareans, and 18,000 by residents of Pennsylvania; a 

 total of 1,098,821, valued at $103,990. The great excess of roes over 

 bu(;ks is noticeable, the former being 91 per cent greater than the lat- 

 ter, due mainly to the large mesh used in the drift nets. 



The stake-net fishery in Delaware Bay is confined to the use of 7 rows 

 on the flats on the Delaware side of the bay immediately above the 

 mouth of Misi)illion Creek, in from G to 10 feet of water. These strings 

 or rows are nearly 400 yards in length, and are worth about $35 each. 

 The catch in the 7 rows in 1896 numbered 2,520 roe shad and 1,680 

 bucks, valued locally at 8672. Two seines, each 425 yards in length, 

 were used on the New Jersey side of the Delaware Bay in 1896 for 

 taking striped bass, perch, etc. These caught a few shad, the total 

 numbering 700, about equally divided between roes and bucks. 



