68 REPORT OP THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



were taken. Two days afterward vigorous collecting efforts l)egan, 

 and wore sustained to the close with average collections for the last 

 12 days of April closely approximating 4,000,000 ego;s, the month's 

 aggregate bein^ 47,196,000. Despite the fact tliat high northwest 

 winds prevailed during May and the water temperatures were rather 

 low for successful work, the daily average of egg collections for the 

 month was 1,225,000, and the total for the season amounted to 

 77,580,000, exceeding last year's total by nearly 15,000,000. Of this 

 product, 1,899,000 eggs were transferred to the Washington aquarium 

 of the Bureau for an exliibit, and from the remainder 68,665,000 fry 

 of good quality were hatched and liberated on the Potomac River 

 spawning grounds. The relatively large fry production was made 

 possible by delaying the measurement of the eggs until the second 

 day after their installation in the hatchery, thereby ehminating at 

 the outset virtually all that were infertile, injured, or otherwise defec- 

 tive. The egg-coUecting period ended on May 25, and the work of 

 planting the fry, dismantling and storing equipment, and closing the 

 hatchery was completed by May 31. 



During the early part of the fishing season in Albemarle Sound, the 

 prospects were favorable for one of the best runs in many years, but 

 as it turned out very few fish reached their spawning grounds in its 

 upper reaches and the Edenton station experienced one of the poorest 

 years in its history. The sound was monopolized throughout the 

 shad-spawning season by pound-net fishermen, practically none of 

 whom were willing to cooperate with the Bureau in its efforts to 

 save eggs. It is customary for these men to fish their pounds during 

 the morning hours, and as the bulk of their catch is herring, it is 

 necessary tiiat the nets be hauled at frequent intervals and the fish 

 prepared for salting. When requested to fish during the hours from 

 4 p. m.. to midnight they objected on the ground that no labor would 

 be available during those hours for dressing their herring. Only 

 7,625,000 eggs were taken and 6,060,000 fry hatched. 



While satisfactory cooperation of the fishermen was lacking, the 

 second year of white-perch propagation at Edenton station was an 

 improvement over the first attempt, the egg collections aggregating 

 41,925,000 and the fry production 32,625,000. 



There was increased cooperation on the part of the fishermen at 

 the striped-bass auxiliary of the Edenton station, at Weldon on the 

 Roanoke River, and the operations were highly successfid as compared 

 with results of former seasons. The first eggs were gathered April 23. 

 Rising water, in conjunction with cold weather on May 5, arrested 

 collections from that time until May 17, after which some eggs were 

 taken daily until May 24, when the river had become so low and clear 

 that the fish departed for deep water and the work had to be dis- 

 continued. 



A feature of the work in this field was the holding of male fish in 

 boxes at a midway river point for use when eggs were found and only 

 females caught. Over a third of the eggs collected were saved through 

 this arrangement. The egg collections for the season numbered 

 19,049,000, which yielded an output of 16,137,000 fry for return to 

 the spawning grounds in the Roanoke River. 



The second year's effort to hatch shad at auxiliaries of the Orange- 

 burg (S. C.) station on the Edisto River was a failure so far as actual 

 numbers were concerned. While there was no scarcity of adult fish. 



