SHAD FISHERIES OP THE ATLANTIC COAST. 213 



of shad in 1896 was nearly one-half of the total product on all the Eastern 

 Shore streams and nearly five times as many as were taken on Sus- 

 quehanua Elver, numbering 276,076 on the main stream and 62,344 

 on Tuckahoe Creek, a total of 338,420, valued locally at $35,810. Of 

 the total yield 183,730, or 54 per cent, were bucks. The forms of appa- 

 ratus used are pound nets, drift nets, seines, and stake nets, with a few 

 shad taken in fyke nets. 



The location of pound nets extends from Nelson Point, near the mouth 

 of the river, to 2 or 3 miles above the entrance of Tuckahoe Creek, but 

 the nets are most numerous between Oxford and Windy Hill, a distance 

 of 25 miles. In 1896 there were 24 strings with 2 pound nets each, 2 

 with 3 nets in a row, one string of 4 nets in a row, and 127 nets set indi- 

 vidually, making a total of 185. Those near the mouth of the river 

 average in value about $120, while the nets in the upper portion cost 

 less than $40 each. The former are set more particularly for striped 

 bass, bluefish, squeteague, perch, catfish, etc., and take comparatively 

 few shad, while the catch by the latter consists largely of shad and ale- 

 wives. The season begins in the lower part of the river during the 

 secoud week of March, in the upper portion about ten days later, and 

 lasts about two months, the bulk of the shad being taken from April 

 10 to May 10. Shad were somewhat scarce last year, and about the 

 middle of April the weather became warm and prices fell so low that 

 they did not even cover the expense of shipment, resulting in many of 

 the nets being taken up. One net set near Oxford yielded 2,260 in one 

 lift in 1895, whereas the yield during the entire season of 1896 did not 

 equal tbat amount. The catch in the 185 nets numbered 52,226 roe and 

 62,532 buck shad, valued locally at $11,811. 



The drift-net fishery is most extensive from the mouth of Tuckahoe 

 Creek to Denton, but this branch of the shad fisheries is prosecuted 

 from Windy Hill to the head of the river. The length of the nets ranges 

 from 60 to 200 yards each and the depth from 40 to 60 meshes, according 

 to the width and depth of the reach in which operated. From 2 to 5 nets 

 are carried by each boat, the latter worth from $6 to $20 and having 

 almost invariably a crew of two men. The season begins about the end 

 of March and continues until nearly the middle of May. In 1896, on 

 account of the low prices of shad, many fishermen ceased fishing earlier 

 than usual, and the total catch by the 118 drift-net boats numbered 

 only 33,281 roe and 47,310 buck shad, valued locally at $8,541. 



The upper limit of the stake-net fishery on the Choptank is in the 

 vicinity of Hunting Creek, near the lower limit of the drift-net fishery, 

 and from this point to Castle Haven, a distance of 18 miles, these nets 

 are quite numerous. They are set on the sides of the channel where 

 the water is from 10 to 16 feet deep. The length of nets ranges from 

 12 to 25 yards each and the depth from 25 to 45 meshes, dependent 

 respectively on the strength of current and the depth of water where 

 they are located. The size of mesh is mostly 5 inches, a few nets of 

 5^-inch mesh being employed also. From 10 to 100 nets are used by 



