46 



REPORT OP THE FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



The falling off in the supply of shad in the Sacramento and San 

 Joaquin rivers has necessitated investigations leading towards the 

 institution of shad propagation. Shad were originally introduced into 

 California by the Fish Commission in 1871. The fish for stocking were 

 procured from eastern states. Within a few years shad became very 

 abundant and they have continued so until recently. On the other 

 hand, shad in the eastern states from which they were obtained have 

 greatly decreased in numbers and requests have been received from the 

 Massachusetts and Connecticut commissions for shad eggs for use in 

 their hatcheries. In order to determine whether shad culture is feasible 

 in California an experimental station was erected on the Sacramento 



Fig. 31. Architectural drawing of the new Inyo Hatchery, situated on Oak Creek, Inyo 

 County. This hatchery, located near the state highway, will, when completed, 

 be the most modern hatchery in the United States. 



River at Yuba City. Experiments proved that shad eggs can be success- 

 fully hatched and the fry kept free from bacteria and fungus. It is 

 planned to hatch several million shad and striped bass this coming year. 

 For further details of the fisli cultural Avork see pages 54^79. 



Although the supply of fish in our streams does not appear to be 

 decreasing, yet new conditions may endanger the supply. The number 

 of anglers is increasing each year. Furthermore, each angler is 

 increasing his annual catch. Streams Avhich were formerly inaccessible 

 are no\v reached with ease by means of automobiles. Consequently, 

 greater and greater demands are made upon our hatcheries. To meet 

 this demand new stations must be established and old ones enlarged. 

 It also may be that some limitation upon the number of fishing days 

 per week or the making of a shorter open season will alone counteract 

 the effect of the ever increasing catch. 



