200 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FLSIIEPJES. [2] 



ma/de previous to my arrival to remove all obstructioos from the liaiils 

 around the islauil, in order that nothing should interfere Avith the liaul- 

 Ing of the seine wlion the run of shad was on. The rigging of the 

 'seine was completed by April 10, and the first haul of the season was 

 made in the morning of the 11th with one section. Very little was cap- 

 tured in this haul. In the next two or three hauls the seine was badly 

 torn by obstructions in the river bed. This proved conclusively that 

 the hauls had not been thoroughly cleared, so search was made for said 

 obstructions. The fishing of the seine had passed into the hands of 

 Messrs. Benjamin 11. Sheriff & Co. on April 14, and the assistance of 

 his gang was procured in raising the obstructions. 



About this time the gillers had commenced to fish their nets, and re- 

 ports were received that they were catching large quantities of ripe 

 fish. However, owing to the fact that my force was so small and that 

 I had no boats in which to send the men out, it was impossible for me to 

 visit the gillers and procure the eggs. I made requisition for two boats 

 and also suggested to put on a larger force of spawn takers, which 

 would have placed me in a ])osition to secure an unlimited supply of 

 eggs. I would earnestly recommend that next season a sufficient force 

 be put on and a suflicient number of boats ])rocured to remedy Ihis evil. 

 I would suggest that six boats and twelve S2)awntakers would be all 

 tluit is required to meet the wants of this station in this direction. 



I made it a jwint to inquire about the number of gillers that lislied 

 in our haul or immediate vicinity. Of twenty five, eight are known to 

 have captured an aggregate of 8.000 shad, and it is safe to presume 

 that the others were as fortunate, and had boats and men been avail- 

 able the season's work would have infinitely exceeded the present result. 



The season was very backward on account of northwest and north- 

 east winds, and the shad taken in the dail.y hauls of the seine were 

 generally hard. 1 was placed at considerable disadvantage this season 

 by the manner in which the seine was handled. There seemed to be 

 great difficulty in selecting suitable men for this work and the gang 

 was changed three times, causing a loss of several days. It is my 

 opinion that if the seine had been hauled regularly and without losing 

 any tides, the catch of fish and eggs would have been immeasurably 

 increased. It was very unfortunate that these changes took place just 

 at a period when there was a large run of shad 07i and quantities of ripe 

 fish. 



On April 18 the first eggs were secured, 1,000 in number, from a 

 partly ripe shad. As the hatching house was not then in condition to 

 receive them, I placed the number in an ordinary tide-box and set it in 

 the ])Ool. The jars in the liatching house were jdaced in position on 

 April 24, and the eggs taken througliout the rest of the season were 

 transferred to same. The eggs i)laced in the pool did not hatch out 

 very well, as the water was ratiier cold. 



The catches generally had been <juite small, but on the night of April 



