﻿REPORT 
  OP 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  CXLV 
  

  

  Shad 
  are 
  numerous 
  in 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  rivers 
  and 
  bays 
  on 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  

   WashiugtoQ. 
  Many 
  have 
  been 
  taken 
  in 
  Chehalis 
  River, 
  in 
  tributaries 
  

   of 
  Willapa 
  Bay, 
  and 
  in 
  Grays 
  Harbor. 
  Mr. 
  A. 
  B. 
  Alexander 
  reports 
  

   that 
  shad 
  have 
  made 
  their 
  appearance 
  in 
  considerable 
  numbers 
  in 
  the 
  

   vicinity 
  of 
  Point 
  Roberts. 
  At 
  almost 
  every 
  lift 
  of 
  the 
  salmon 
  traps 
  

   during 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1896 
  from 
  30 
  to 
  40 
  shad 
  were 
  taken. 
  One 
  trap 
  

   lifted 
  in 
  Mr. 
  Alexander's 
  presence 
  in 
  July 
  contained 
  55; 
  their 
  aver- 
  

   age 
  size 
  was 
  about 
  3i 
  pounds, 
  but 
  several 
  weighed 
  fully 
  5 
  pounds 
  

   apiece. 
  There 
  is 
  little 
  or 
  no 
  demand 
  for 
  them, 
  and 
  those 
  caught 
  are 
  

   returned 
  to 
  the 
  water. 
  At 
  the 
  i)resent 
  rate 
  of 
  increase 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  only 
  a 
  

   short 
  time 
  when 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  Puget 
  Sound 
  will 
  teem 
  with 
  this 
  fish. 
  

  

  In 
  July, 
  1887, 
  Capt. 
  D. 
  Markham, 
  of 
  Ilwaco, 
  Wash., 
  while 
  experi- 
  

   menting 
  with 
  salmon 
  traps 
  just 
  below 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  Stikine 
  Eiver, 
  

   Alaska, 
  caught 
  a 
  dozen 
  shad. 
  

  

  Commercial 
  value 
  of 
  shad. 
  — 
  The 
  prices 
  received 
  for 
  shad 
  by 
  the 
  Cali- 
  

   fornia 
  fishermen 
  in 
  1895 
  and 
  1896 
  rarely 
  reached 
  5 
  cents 
  a 
  pound, 
  and 
  

   were 
  usually 
  much 
  lower. 
  In 
  April, 
  1896, 
  many 
  hundred 
  pounds 
  con- 
  

   signed 
  to 
  the 
  San 
  Francisco 
  market 
  brought 
  only 
  -^\- 
  cent 
  or 
  1 
  cent 
  a 
  

   pound, 
  and 
  even 
  these 
  prices 
  were 
  maintained 
  only 
  by 
  restricting 
  the 
  

   catch. 
  In 
  Monterey 
  Bay 
  about 
  75 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  the 
  catch 
  goes 
  to 
  San 
  

   Francisco. 
  The 
  fish 
  sold 
  locally 
  bring 
  the 
  fishermen 
  3 
  to 
  6 
  cents 
  a 
  pound, 
  

   but 
  sometimes 
  the 
  prices 
  fall 
  very 
  low, 
  and 
  a 
  box 
  of 
  100 
  or 
  125 
  pounds 
  

   of 
  shad 
  will 
  often 
  yield 
  only 
  $1. 
  At 
  Sacramento 
  there 
  is 
  little 
  sale 
  for 
  

   shad. 
  They 
  bring 
  the 
  fishermen 
  only 
  2 
  to 
  2^ 
  cents 
  a 
  pound 
  at 
  the 
  

   height 
  of 
  the 
  season, 
  and 
  retail 
  for 
  4 
  or 
  5 
  cents 
  a 
  pound. 
  

  

  The 
  quantity 
  of 
  shad 
  handled 
  by 
  the 
  San 
  Francisco 
  dealers 
  in 
  1894 
  

   was 
  much 
  less 
  than 
  in 
  1893. 
  The 
  receipts 
  in 
  1895 
  were 
  but 
  little 
  more 
  

   than 
  half 
  those 
  in 
  1894, 
  but 
  1896 
  showed 
  a 
  large 
  gain 
  over 
  both 
  1894 
  

   and 
  1895. 
  Mr. 
  John 
  P. 
  Babcock, 
  the 
  chief 
  deputy 
  of 
  the 
  California 
  

   Fish 
  Commission, 
  thinks 
  that 
  the 
  decline 
  noted 
  between 
  1893 
  and 
  1895 
  

   was 
  more 
  apjiarent 
  than 
  real, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  in 
  recent 
  years 
  the 
  

   practice 
  has 
  been 
  growing 
  among 
  dealers 
  of 
  buying 
  directly 
  from 
  the 
  

   fishermen 
  at 
  the 
  city 
  wharves, 
  of 
  which 
  receipts 
  no 
  full 
  account 
  is 
  kept. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  statement, 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  books 
  of 
  the 
  San 
  Francisco 
  

   dealers 
  who 
  purchased 
  directly 
  from 
  the 
  fishermen, 
  shows 
  by 
  months 
  

   the 
  quantities 
  of 
  shad 
  handled 
  in 
  1893, 
  1894, 
  1895, 
  and 
  1896: 
  

  

  Mouths. 
  

  

  January 
  

  

  February 
  

  

  March 
  

  

  April 
  

  

  May 
  

  

  June 
  

  

  July 
  

  

  August 
  

  

  September 
  

  

  October 
  

  

  November 
  

  

  December 
  

  

  Total 
  

  

  F 
  K 
  97 
  X 
  

  

  1893. 
  

  

  Pound*. 
  

  

  6,588 
  

  

  19, 
  185 
  

  

  19, 
  546 
  

  

  32, 
  389 
  

  

  80, 
  557 
  

  

  36, 
  184 
  

  

  3,319 
  

  

  2,796 
  

  

  698 
  

  

  53, 
  652 
  

  

  96, 
  340 
  

  

  77, 
  882 
  

  

  1894. 
  

  

  Pounds. 
  

   41, 
  266 
  

   11, 
  767 
  

   17,747 
  

   39,115 
  

   57, 
  823 
  

   22, 
  027 
  

   7,941 
  

   2,029 
  

   475 
  

   24, 
  229 
  

   38,110 
  

   8,278 
  

  

  429,136 
  I 
  270,807 
  

  

  Pounds. 
  

  

  369 
  

  

  2,106 
  

  

  14, 
  257 
  

  

  23, 
  960 
  

  

  36, 
  729 
  

  

  25, 
  787 
  

  

  3,213 
  

  

  805 
  

  

  3,317 
  

  

  5,788 
  

  

  23, 
  534 
  

  

  6,534 
  

  

  146,399 
  

  

  Pounds. 
  

  

  4,600 
  

  

  6,000 
  

  

  14, 
  353 
  

  

  65, 
  625 
  

  

  95, 
  392 
  

  

  38, 
  620 
  

  

  18, 
  151 
  

  

  3,527 
  

  

  9,264 
  

  

  5,383 
  

  

  24, 
  926 
  

  

  20, 
  404 
  

  

  306, 
  245 
  

  

  