STUEGEON FISHERY OF DELAWARE RIVER AND BAY. 371 



The first person to engage in the business in Pennsylvania waters 

 with gill nets was Mr. Henry Schacht, of Chester, in 1873. He located 

 first on Eidley Creek, whence he removed to Chester Creek. A few 

 years later he purchased Monas Island, opposite Chester. Here, by 

 means of piles, he built a pen in which he could keep the fish alive until 

 the market price was satisfactory. 



SEASON, ABUNDANCE OF FISH, ETC. 



The fishing season usually begins the early part of April and closes 

 about the middle of June, depending on the run of fish — sometimes 

 closing earlier, and again, if fish are plentiful, continuing until the end 

 of the legal season, June 30. The movements of the fish during the 

 season are thus described by Professor Eyder : * 



As the season advances the spawning schools move upward from the salt waters 

 of the Delaware Bay, and in the neighborhood of Fort Delaware and Delaware City, 

 45 miles south of Philadelphia, where they pass into brackish or nearly fresh water. 

 From this point southward 20 miles, and northward as many more, it is probable 

 that a large part of the spawning now occurs. Those that escape the meshes of the 

 hundreds of sturgeon nets which are every day stretched across their spawning- 

 grounds go farther north to get rid of their burdens of ova. 



The upward movements of the school seem to be aiiected to some extent by a rise 

 of the j)revaleut temperature of the water and air, thus making the fishery for the 

 time more profitable. Conversely, a decline in the prevailing temperature is often 

 apparently followed by a diminution jn the numbers of fish on their way up the 

 river, and a cold, late season retards the appearance of the fish from the salt waters 

 farther south. A very rainy season, which has caused an unusually abundant flow 

 of fresh water down the river, also interferes with their early appearance in the 

 waters above Delaware City. This is supposed to be due to the I'act that the 

 water becomes fresh farther south than usual whore the schools then remain to dis- 

 charge their spawn. The fishing season at Delaware City is at its height during 

 the months of May and June, but fish are caught during the summer and autumn 

 and until as late as September and October. 



There has been an almost continuous decrease in the number of 

 sturgeon taken by the fishermen for some years back. One of the best 

 methods of showing this is from the average number of fisli taken in 

 each gill net per season. The following information from the reports 

 of the U. S. Fish Commission and from the statements of leading fish- 

 ermen and dealers will doubtless i)rove instructive : In 1890 the average 

 catch of sturgeon per net was 60; in 1891 it was about 55; in 1892, 43; 

 in 1893, 32; in 1891, 26; in 1895, 32; in 1896, 27; in 1897, 20; in 1898 

 it was only 14, while in 1899 it dropped as low as 8 fish to the net. 



The table following shows the catch of sturgeon for the years 1890, 

 1891, 1892,-and 1897 for all three States and the catch for New Jersey 

 alone in 1898. Pennsylvania and Delaware were not canvassed for 

 1S9S. The weights are for round fish, or just as taken from the water, 

 and the value of the caviar is included. 



* The sturgeon and sturgeon industries of the eastern coast of the United States, 

 with an account of experiments bearing upon sturgeon culture, by John A. Ryder. 

 Bull. U. S. Fish Comm. for lb««, pp. 231-328. 



