62 REPORT OF THE FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. , 



of shad as well as to make experiments to determine whether shad 

 cnltiire could be carried on successfully in California, and to determine 

 whether the process of fertilizing the eggs and propagating the fry 

 could he improved upon. 



Consequently, the commi.ssion decided to operate a shad hatchery on 

 a small scale during 1916 to carry out the experiments and to gather 

 data in preparation for more extensive operations next season. When 

 operations were begun in ^lay, it was thought that all the eggs necessary 

 for the shipments East, as well as for our experiments, could be col- 

 lected by the latter part of ]\fay or early in June, but the season proved 

 to be unfavorable and the work dragged along into July without 

 sufficient eggs being obtained at one time to make a shipment East. 



Fishing began on June 3d with our crews at Yuba City. The run 

 was poor all through the season in the upper reaches of the rivers ; 

 nowhere near its size in former years. The light run of shad in the 

 upper river was due to the very cold spring, cold water, and later to 

 the high, roily water caused by the melting snow in the higher alti- 

 tudes. During the season 1,421.000 shad eggs were collected and 

 872,000 fry hatched and succe.s.sfully released in the Feather River. 

 This work was under the immediate supervision of Superintendent G. H. 

 Lambson of the Si.sson Hatchery. Data regarding the movements of 

 the shad that will be valuable in future shad work have been compiled 

 as well as the results of the experiments in hatching the shad fry. 

 The eggs were successfully hatched and the fry kept free from bacteria 

 and fungus. 



This coming season the shad work should be taken up in earnest and 

 several million shad as well as striped bass should be hatched and 

 distributed in the Sacramento Eiver to keep up the supph' of these 

 valuable fish. Shorter seasons for catching these fish should be estab- 

 lished by the legislature. 



Sisson Hatchery. 



Sisson Hatchery has been operated on the same general plan as in 

 former years. The fry are held until they are from three to eight 

 months old and are then shipped to all points in California where the 

 local hatcheries can not supply the number and variety of fish desired. 



As the result of a cooperative arrangement Avith the United States 

 Bureau of Fisheries the commission received 34,300.000 cpiinnat aild 

 1.900,000 silver salmon eggs in 1914-15 and 18,400,000 quinnat salmon 

 eggs in 1915-16. These eggs were hatched and the fry carefully reared 

 and fed until the majority of them were two to three months old ; then 

 they were distributed in the upper reaches of the Sacramento River and 

 tributary streams near Sisson. and in tlio Kbimnth River. The.se fry 



