CXXVIII REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Table showing the shad and alewife catch of the United States in 1896 hy apparatus fished 



primarily for these fish. 



Connecticut 



Delaware 



rioriila 



Georgia 



Maine 



Marylaiitl 



Massachusetts... 

 New Hampsliire. 



New Jersey 



New York 



Nortli Carolina . . 



Pennsylvania 



Khode Island 



South Carolina . . 

 Virginia 



Total 12, 940, 395 



Shad. 



Number. 



67, 746 

 467, 744 

 460, 214 

 143, 974 

 348, 757 

 1, 542, 869 

 3,355 



3, 297, 593 

 537, 543 



2, 096, 804 

 621, 239 



9,258 

 146, 627 



3, 196, 672 



Pounds. 



Value. 



251, 810 

 1, 990, 694 

 1, 298, 605 



536, 627 



1, 334, 443 



5, 540, 224 



13,420 



13, 746, 298 

 2,181,724 

 8, 842, 708 

 2, 501, 143 

 36, 534 

 671,513 

 11, 145, 870 



50, 091, 613 



$13, 486 

 69, 160 

 62, 589 

 49, 289 

 29, 553 



166, 464 

 934 



333, 188 

 73, 596 



417, 243 



79, 445 



2,408 



33, 436 



306, 339 



1,637,130 



Alewives. 



Number. 



Pounds. 



2, 257, 798 



2, 057, 390 



40, 000 



4, 670, 581 

 44, 103, 306 



7, 370, 689 

 479, 500 



5, 610, 990 

 2,317,070 



35, 889, 798 



1, 572, 000 



4, 364, 120 



30, 500 



30, 085, 617 



812, 119 



822. 956 



16, 000 



Value. 



140, 849, 359 



2, 598, 527 



17,641,322 



3,970,274 



269, 734 



2, 859, 299 



926, 828 



14, 355, 920 



638, 500 



1, 745, 648 



12, 200 



12, 034, 247 



$10. 498 



7,756 



400 



58, 703, 574 



19,664 



125,870 



35, 050 



2, 795 



14, 157 



11,225 



115, 945 



4, 372 



24, 333 



463 



62, 453 



434, 981 



The incidental catch of shad and alewives is shown by States in the 

 following table. This represents the yield of nearly 800 pound nets, 

 several thousand gill and trammel nets, and about 60 seines, whose 

 individual take was too small to warrant their inclusion in the special 

 statistics. 



state. 



California 



Connecticut 



Maine 



Maryland 



Ma.ssachusetts 



New Hampshire 



New Jersey 



New York 



Oregon and Washington. 



Khode Island 



Virginia 



Shad. 



Number. Pounds. 



Value. 



61,861 

 2,542 



18, 169 

 347 



36, 460 

 100 



40, 887 

 5,271 



31,311 

 3,374 

 6,831 



247, 445 



9,380 



70, 486 



1,275 



100, 712 



300 



163, 528 



18, 822 



125, 246 



12, 912 



24. 649 



$4, 397 

 596 



1, 235 



40 



2, 300 



15 



6,868 



1,237 



1,252 



925 



716 



Total 207, 153 



774,755 19,581 7,008,300 



Alewives. 



Number. Pounds. Value 



472, 625 

 , 567, 258 

 64, 980 

 , 675, 237 

 47, 000 

 733, 050 

 211, 470 



828, 280 

 408, 400 



189, 069 

 789, 799 



25, 993 

 1,386,215 



23, 937 

 368, 775 



84, 588 



331,312 

 163, 360 



3, 363, 048 



$1,533 

 5,672 

 180 

 10, 074 

 250 

 1,408 

 1,378 



3,551 

 571 



24, 617 



The extent of the shad and alewife fishing in 1896 is shown by rivers, 

 bays, etc., in the ai)pended tabulation. The large number of streams 

 into which these fishes regularly run make them tlie leading river fishes 

 of the Atlantic States, considered collectively, and also the principal 

 river fishes in each State with only two or three excejjtions. 



The Delaware is shown by the table to have been the most important 

 shad stream in 189G. Over 2,800,000 fish were taken, having a value to 

 the fishermen of $306,000. More than 1,000,000 additional shad were 

 caught in Delaware Bay, this hydrographic area being credited with a 

 catch of over 1,217,000 shad, valued at $125,000. The second shad 

 stream in 1896 was the Potomac, in which 681,000 fish were obtained. 

 Next in order are the Hudson, with 589,000; the York, with 517,000; the 

 James, with 196,000, and the Rappahannock, with 118,000. In Chesa- 

 peake Bay and its numerous tributaries, which constitute the most impor- 

 tant shad-fishing ground in the United States, about 1,870,000 shad were 

 taken; these were valued at $191,000. The extensive fisheries in the 

 basin of Albemarle Sound yielded 1,130,000 fish, worth $203,000. 



