ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION OF SHAD 475 



Oreg., until the summer of 1920. It was discontinued at that time 

 because, hy action of the proper State authorities, fishing was pro- 

 hibited entirely on the principal spawning areas of the river. The 

 spawning season in this river extends from late May to early June. 



ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION 



In the Potomac Kiver, where it is still possible to conduct shad- 

 cultural operations successfully, the average annual catch for the five- 

 year period, 1919 to 1923, was 543,000 fish. The average take of eggs 

 for this period was 34,756,400 per annum. The egg take on the spawn- 

 ing areas in proportion to the catch of fish in the entire river was 

 64,000,000 eggs per 100,000 fish. At the present time, under exist- 

 ing conditions on the Potomac River, a maximum egg take is secured. 

 Assuming that similar conditions would obtain in other streams, it is 

 ol)vious that there are very few streams on the Atlantic coast with 

 a sufficiently large run of shad to warrant the estaljlishment of prop- 

 agating stations; in such streams the rehabilitation of the fishery 

 must be secured by other means. To this end it is desirable that the 

 shad be unmolested on the spawning areas, that a proper escapement 

 be provided for, and that the commercial fishermen strip the ripe fish 

 caught in their nets, fertilize the eggs, and return them to the water 

 to develop under natural conditions. 



The methods hereafter described are those in use at the Bryans 

 Point (Md.) hatchery, though they do not differ in any material way 

 from those employed elsewhere. 



EGG COLLECTING 



For a number of years it was the custom to employ spawn takers 

 to visit the seines or gill nets employed in the commercial fishery for 

 the purpose of obtaining any mature eggs that might be available in 

 the catch of shad. In recent years, with the advent of the motor 

 boat and the more general use of gill nets, the fishery is no longer con- 

 centrated but is extended over a much wider area than formerly. 

 Under these conditions the employment of a sufficient number to 

 cover the work is impracticable and the method has been entirely 

 abandoned on the Potomac River, though it is still followed to some 

 extent in the work on Albemarle Sound, N. C. 



On the Potomac River the commercial fishermen take shad eggs 

 for artificial propagation, fertilize them, and deliver them on the 

 fishing grounds or to collecting boats sent out for the purpose. In 

 advance of the spawning season all fishermen operating within a 

 reasonable distance of the hatchery are provided with pans, dippers, 

 and other necessary equipment to take and care for the eggs, and 

 each day's collection is promptly delivered by the fishermen. After 

 the eggs have been in the hatchery for 48 hours (at the expiration 

 of which time mortality has practically ceased) all good eggs remain- 

 ing are carefully measured, and each fisherman receives compensa- 

 tion at the rate of $22.50 per million eggs, the measurement being 

 based on 28,000 eggs to a fluid quart. 



