REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. CXLIII 



The following table shows the number of pounds of striped bass 

 handled in San Francisco in 1893, 1894, 1895, and 1896: 



Statement hij months of the pounds of striped bass handled by San Francisco dealers in 



1S93, iS94, 1895, and 1896. 



Months. 



January ... 

 February . . 



March 



April 



,May 



June ... 



July 



August 



September. 



October 



November . 

 December.. 



Total 



1893. 



3,448 

 3,087 

 5,403 

 8,35i 

 7,232 

 4,353 

 2,950 

 2, 6.55 

 8,507 

 6,820 

 10, 473 

 17, 514 



80, 793 



14, 177 



12,572 



9,002 



9,638 



9,413 



4, 820 



7,521 



6,863 



10, 218 



23, 192 



17, 950 



24, 631 



149, 997 



1895. 



28, 328 

 15, 611 



11, 281 

 22, 000 



12, 639 



11, 532 



13, 782 



12, 419 

 21, 063 

 28, 724 

 .50, 245 

 24, 553 



252, 177 



27, 179 

 36. 107 

 38, 340 

 41, 740 

 45, 903 

 15, 047 

 13, 531 

 15, 574 



24, 214 

 40, 704 

 40, 089 



25, 319 



363, 747 



Receipts in 1890, 5, 000 pounds; in 1891, 25,000 pounds; in 1892, 50,000 pounds (estimated). 



The prices received by the fishermen did not average more than 5 

 cents per pound in 1896, and at times were much lower. In April, for 

 instance, only 3 cents a pound could be obtained. 



SHAD ON THE PACIFIC COAST. 



Distrilnition, ahundmice, etc. — Inquiries by the writer in 1896 disclosed 

 the fact that the shad is becoming more evenly distributed aloug the 

 Pacific coast of the United States, although the San Francisco Bay 

 region and the Columbia River are still the centers of greatest abun- 

 dance. The fish seems to range regularly as far south as Los Angeles 

 County, Cal., and as far north as Stikine River, in southeast Alaska. 

 Following are a few special notes regarding the shad's distribution and 

 abundance sui)plemental to the information given in the report* based 

 on an examination of tliis subject in 1894: 



In April, 1895, a 5-pound shad was caught in a seine in San Pedro 

 Bay, Los Angeles County, Cal., and three or four others were taken 

 during the same year at San Pedro. In Monterey Bay this fish is found 

 from August to December. It is taken chiefly in gill nets having a 

 3 to 4 inch mesh set for perch and horse-mackerel ( Trachurus). Shad 

 are very abundant in the bay and are increasing yearly. In that part of 

 the bay adjacent to Santa Cruz and Capitola they are more numerous 

 than at .Monterey. There are some small fresh- water streams near Santa 

 Cruz which may attract them. It is reported that a good many 7 to 9 

 pound fish are taken in that section, while the_ average for the bay is 

 only 5 pounds. 



In the vicinity of Sacramento, shad are taken mostly in April and 

 May, although some are caught in June and a few throughout the 

 summer and fall months. The heaviest run is in May, which is the 



Bull. C. S. F. C. 1895, pp. 379-472. 



