DISAPPEARANCE OF SHADS 249 



"the poorest in many years," with no prospect of improve- 

 ment five years hence. In the Potomac River, conditions 

 were the worst in forty years. Shad culture is deprived of its 

 life-blood by the capture of fish in salt water, before they could 



THE COMMON SHAD. 



reach their spawning-grounds. 'The remote cause of the 

 present condition is excessive fishing in former years and 

 the lack of even the minimum amount of protection that is 

 demanded by regard for most elementary principles of fishery 

 conservation. Fish entering the Chesapeake Bay have to run 

 through such a maze of nets that the wonder is that any are 

 able to reach their spawning-grounds and deposit their eggs." 



