SHAD FISHERIES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST. 185 



were taken. The greater proportion of the fish caught by this method 

 are either ripe or have already spawned. 



Ohickahominy River in the vicinity of Lanexa presents favorable 

 conditions for the establishment of an auxiliary shad hatchery. Within 

 a distance of 10 miles on either side of that station over 130,000 shad 

 are taken annually, of which about 45,000 are roes. If 3 per cent of 

 them are suitable for hatching purposes sufficient fertilized eggs would 

 be secured to support an extensive hatchery. Large supplies could 

 also be drawn from the James and the Pamunkey, each about 15 miles 

 distant from Lanexa. The ripe fish could be obtained very cheaply 

 and the shipping facilities are good, the main branch of the Chesapeake 

 and Ohio Railroad passing along the river bank. 



Appomattox River. — This river, the longest affluent of the James, rises 

 in Appomattox County, Va., and after flowing about 140 miles empties 

 into the James at City Point. Shad ascend only 13 miles to Petersburg, 

 their progress above that city being barred by numerous rapids and 

 dams. In a distance of 6^ miles above the city there are 5 dams, each 

 from 2£ to 8 feet high, and numerous falls and rapids, giving a total 

 descent of 110 feet. Shad are taken in the Appomattox by means of 

 drift nets and seines. The former are operated at Broadway, in Prince 

 George County, and at Covington Beach or Cat Hole, in Chesterfield 

 County, the total number of nets in 1896 being 46. These nets are 

 from 100 to 200 yards in length, 45 to 70 meshes deep, with 5-inch mesh, 

 and two men and one boat are required for each. The men live mostly 

 in Petersburg, camping on the shores during the season, paying the 

 owners for the privilege at the rate of one shad per week for each fish- 

 erman. The season begins the second week in March and continues 

 about two months. The catch during 1896 was 3,835 roe shad, 8,110 

 bucks, with a local valuation of $1,087. 



The seines used in Appomattox River were located as follows : One 

 at City Point, one at Gatlin Beach, two at Covington Beach, and one 

 at the mouth of Swift Creek. They measure from 200 to 275 yards each 

 in length, about 80 meshes deep, with 2^-inch mesh. The shore rental 

 paid for the five seines aggregates $225 annually. The season is coin- 

 cident with that of the drift nets in the same locality, and the aggregate 

 catch of shad in 1896 was 8,309, valued locally at $794. 



In the falls of the Appomattox just above Petersburg there are about 

 20 fall or finger traps, in which a few shad are taken with herring and 

 other species. The catch of shad is at present very much less than 

 it was twenty years ago, probably not exceeding 50 in 1896. 



YORK RIVER. 



York River is formed by the junction of Pamunkey and Mattaponi 

 rivers at West Point, and, following a southeasterly course for a dis- 

 tance of 41 miles, it unites with Chesapeake Bay about 16 miles north 

 of Fort Monroe. It is really an arm of Chesapeake Bay, with an 

 average width of about 1£ miles, possessing no fluvial characteristics 



