SHAD FISHERIES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST. 



107 



appearance. For instance, the Ashepoo and Edisto rivers are many 

 miles north of the Altamaha or the Savannah, and yet the run of shad 

 in tlie former is usually coincident with the run in the two latter. 

 Explanation of this is found in the fact that the Ashepoo and the 

 Edisto rise in the sand hills and swamps, while the two latter streams 

 have their sources in the mountains of northern Georgia and South 

 Carolina; consequently at a given date the waters of the two former 

 are warmer than those of the Altamaha or Savannah. Hence it 

 appears that the season of migration is determined by the temperature 

 of the water rather than by geographical location. 



The following summary shows for the principal water areas of the 

 Atlantic coast the approximate dates at which shad fishing began in 

 1896: 



Waters. 



St. Johns Kiver Dec. 1 



Altamaha River Jan. 10 



Ogeechee River 4 



Savannah Kiver 6 



Edisto River 7 



Santee River 15 



Winyah Bay 11 



Cape Fear River 21 



Pamlico Sound Feb. 3 



Neuse River 5 



Pamlico River 6 



Albemarle Sound I 4 



Roanoke River I Mar. 14 



Chowan River ; 8 



Chesapeake Bay, lower end. Feb. 26 



James River. j Mar. 6 



Chiekahominy River 10 



Date. 



Waters. 



Chesapeake Bay— continued 



Rappahannock River 



Potomac River 



Nanticoke River 



Choptank River 



Susquehanna River 



Delaware Bay 



Delaware River 



New York Bay 



Hudson River 



Long Island Sound 



Connecticut River 



Narragansett Bay 



Casco Bay 



Kennebec River 



Date. 



Mar. 18 



7 



13 



14 



Apr. 14 



Mar. 13 



Apr. 1 



Mar. 30 



Apr. 1 



10 



13 



May 1 



While the principal motive for, or rather the chief result accomplished 

 by, the migration of shad into the rivers is the reproduction of the 

 species, yet it appears that their movements are more immediately 

 governed by the comparative temperature of the waters than by the 

 approaching ripeness of the spawn. For instance, although they enter 

 the St. Johns about December 1, spawning does not take place there 

 until some time in March or April. In the sounds of jSorth Carolina, 

 and in. Chesapeake and Delaware bays, shad enter a month or two 

 before they begin to spawn. But in more northerly streams, as the 

 Connecticut and Kennebec, where the entrance of the fish is delayed 

 by low temperature caused by melting ice flowing down the river, 

 spawning occurs shortly after the shad enter. 



An interesting fact in connection with the migratory movements of 

 shad is the arrival of the males several days before the females. This 

 appears common to all the waters of the coast, the bucks constituting 

 nearly two-thirds of the catch during the first third of the season and 

 the roes being equally predominant during the last third. 



The great bulk of shad appearing in the rivers are mature fish, 

 weighing 2 pounds and upwards, and averaging about 3 pounds for 

 the males and 4| pounds for the females. But in the lower portion of 

 the estuaries and along the coast there are numerous schools of smaller 



