26 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
marizing the results of the shad studies in 1988 and 1939 and making 
recommendations as follows: 
For the restoration of the shad fishery of Maryland, Virginia, and North 
Carolina, then, the Bureau recognizes the following fundamental facts and prin- 
ciples: (1) The decline in shad production in Maryland, Virginia, and North 
Carolina is the result of overfishing. (2) To correct overfishing of shad the 
annual toll taken by the fishery should be reduced to 60 percent of the present 
rate. (3) This should be accomplished by restricting the amount of gear operated 
so that the fishermen will be spared the uneconomic practice of purchasing and 
operating more gear than is required to take the annual harvest. 
In accordance with these principles it is specifically recommended: (1) That 
appropriate steps be taken by the States to secure necessary additional detailed 
information as to the amount, the location, the period of operation, and the 
catch of existing gear in order to accomplish equitably this reduction in 
fishing gear; (2) that when sufficient detailed information is available appro- 
priate legislation be enacted to accomplish the reduction in gear on a trial basis 
and to modify such regulations as experience accumulates; and (38) that no 
expenditures be made for enlarging permanent hatchery facilities and that 
existing hatcheries be operated strictly on a salvage basis until natural repro- 
duction has been restored. 
Investigations of the early life history of the shad were made at 
the Charleston (S. ©.) Office by Louella E. Cable. Because the 
survival of eggs and young of shad will determine the number of 
spawning fish required to maintain or build up any given population, 
studies were designed to determine the survival rates. A survey of 
the Edisto River, and preliminary plankton collections in 1938, re- 
vealed the best spawning areas of the river and provided material 
from which it was learned that large numbers, of eggs are not fertil- 
ized and that the survival rate may be as low as 1 percent. 
Two stations, one at the upper limit of the spawning area and the 
other near its center, were sampled intensively: during the 1939 shad 
season for evidence of a possible differential in survival rate, but 
none was noted. With slight variations, findings of the previous 
year were substantiated. In 1940 the same central station will be 
sampled as in 1939 and two lower stations will be added, one to be 
located in brackish water. 
The shad population of the Hudson River, N. Y., has shown, within 
the past few years, a phenomenal increase as reflected in the com- 
mercial catch, Does this indicate a higher survival rate of the eggs 
and young in the Hudson than has been found in the Edisto River, 
or is the increase entirely due to a larger escapement of spawners? 
To better understand the change, it is planned to work on the Hudson 
in the near future. 
Racial studies based on meristic characters, made by Miss Cable, 
indicate the existence of several populations of shad along the At- 
lantic coast. These studies will go far in corroborating evidence 
obtained from tagging experiments and scale readings. 
FISHERIES OF SOUTH CAROLINA 
Fishery research at the Charleston office, which is in charge of 
John C. Pearson, concentrated upon fundamental studies of the 
distribution and abundance of the eggs and young of the shad in 
Southern coastal rivers, particularly the Edisto River. Several 
secondary fields of research also present themselves to the trained 
fishery observer as worthy of investigation. Such research may 
properly be conducted with the present facilities at Charleston. 
