SHAD FISHERIES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST. 



239 



The following statement shows the annual catch since 1883 at the 

 Taylorsville fishery, a short distance below Titusville: 



Although an interdiction exists against the use of spears in taking 

 shad on Delaware River, yet that form of apparatus was used quite 

 extensively in 1896 at the Lackawaxen dam, 146 miles above Trenton. 

 Some of the spear fishermen operated from rowboats, while others 

 worked from the apron of the dam. Thirty men are reported as taking 

 2,160 roe shad and 3,240 bucks, worth locally about $10 per hundred. 



There are several streams in New Jersey tributary to the Delaware, 

 in most of which some shad are taken each season. Among these are 

 Cohan sey, Salem, Raccoon, Mantua, and Timber creeks, each of which 

 will be described in succession. In other streams along this shore, 

 such as Maurice River, Woodbury, Old Mans, Rancocas, Cooper, etc., 

 there are a few shad taken for local use, but the fisheries are so inti- 

 mately associated with the fisheries of the Delaware, or they are so 

 small and so irregularly prosecuted, that it is not practicable to show 

 the actual quantity taken. 



Cohansey Creek. — Cohansey Creek, which enters Delaware Bay 37 

 miles above Cape May, is tidal as far as Bridgeton, the head of navi- 

 gation, 20 miles from the mouth. At that point there is an earthen 

 dam, 11 or 12 feet high, across the stream for developing water-power. 

 While the fisheries of this creek are not of great extent, yet it ranks 

 third in importance among the shad-producing streams of New Jersey, 

 being surpassed in this particular only by the Delaware and Hudson 

 rivers. The yield in 1896 numbered 21,850 shad, worth $2,592, of which 

 11,850 were taken by drift nets and 10,000 by seines. 



The drift-net fishermen live at Bridgeton and Fairton. The nets used 

 by them average 100 yards in length, with 5^-inch mesh, costing about 

 $25 each. In 1876 the drift nets numbered IS and the catch of shad 

 by them was 4,000. In 1896 25 drift nets were used by 32 fishermen, 

 the catch numbering 7,900 roe shad and 3,950 bucks, worth $1,542. 

 The Bridgeton fishermen operated 10 seines in 1896 at various points 

 on Cohansey Creek, averaging 60 yards in length and requiring 2 

 men each. The size of mesh is from 2^ to 4 inches, and they are hauled 

 for carp, striped bass, alewives, etc., as well as shad. The catch of 

 shad during the year above noted approximated 10,000, about equally 

 divided between roes and bucks. 



Salem River. — Salem River rises in the northeastern part of Salem 

 County and discharges into Delaware River at a point about 4 miles 

 below Fort Delaware. Fishermen from the town of Salem use drift 



