462 U. S. BUEEAU OF FISHERIES 



River were liberated in the Sacramento River by the California Fish 

 Commission, and in 1873 the United States Fish Commission made 

 a second deposit of 35,000. Subsequent plants in the Sacramento, 

 aggregating 609,000, were made by the United States Fish Commis- 

 sion from 1S76 to 1S80. From these small colonies the shad have 

 multiplied and distributed themselves along nearly 3,000 miles of the 

 coast from southern California to southeastern Alaska. They reached 

 Rogue River, Oreg., in 1882, and were taken in the Columbia as early 

 as 1876 or 1877. About 1881 or 1882 they appeared on the coast of 

 Washington, reaching Puget Sound in 1882. They were taken in the 

 Fraser River, British Columbia, in 1891; in the Stikine River, near 

 Wrangell Island, Alaska, the same year; and are now found along 

 the entire coast from Los Angeles County, Calif., to Chilkat, Alaska, 

 covering 22° of latitude. Their distribution from the standpoint of 

 commercial importance is from Monterey Bay to the Columbia River. 



On the northern part of the ooast shad fry were first introduced in 

 1885, the number being 60,000. Of these, 50,000 were deposited in 

 the Willamette River and 10,000 in the Snake River. The following 

 year 850,000 were introduced into the Columbia River. 



The first run of shad in California waters, after the young fry were 

 liberated in 1871, appeared during the spring of 1877, and several 

 thousand were sold in San Francisco. In 1 88G it was estimated that 

 1,000,000 mature shad were taken from the waters of the vState and 

 sold in local markets. By 1912 shad had become so plentiful as to 

 be almost a nuisance. In 1915, 33 carloads of fresh shad were shipped 

 to eastern markets, and in addition to the number shipped it is es- 

 timated that the local markets absorbed 4,000,000 pounds, while 

 700,000 pounds of shad roe were sold fresh or put up in i^-pound 

 cans. 



Owing to heavy fishing, signs of depletion were already in evi- 

 dence. The number of shad entering the Sacramento River in 1915 

 was estimated at 60 per cent of the run of the previous year, and 

 the run in 1916 was estimated at 40 per cent of the run for 1915. 

 This depletion was apparently due to extreme overfishing. The use 

 of large meshed gill nets permitted the escape of large numbers of 

 male fish but few females. In 1915 the males outnumbered the fe- 

 males 20 to 1 in the San Joaquin River, and in 1916 nearly 40 to 1. 

 At the present time the annual catch of shad in California is con- 

 siderably less than 1,500,000 pounds. 



The shad is now one of the a])undant fishes in the rivers of Cali- 

 fornia. As a result of the liberation of tlie first two consignments 

 adult shad were caught in 1874, and by 1876 this fish had become 

 numerous. In 1880 specimens of all sizes were taken in the Sacra- 

 mento River and Monterey Bay, and it was evident that the shad 

 had begun to multiply, its increase up to 1883 being very great. 

 On the west coast it is most numerous in San Francisco Bay and its 

 tributaries, where, contrary to its habits in Atlantic waters, it is 

 found throughout the year. In the Columbia it is regularly found 

 as far upstream as the Cascades, about 150 miles above the mouth 

 of the river. 



The principal shad fisheries of California are in upper San Fran- 

 cisco Bay and in the delta regions of the Sacramento and San 

 Joaquin Rivers. The vast delta basin of the San Joaquua has proved 



