August 18, 1893. 



SCIENCE. 



tliat this instinct of nativity, should it really exist, is in 

 this case dominated by other influences, which have dis- 

 persed the shad planted in the Sacramento widely beyond 

 the limits which we had assigned to them, and in the 

 most unexpected direction. 



"The cause is probably to be sought in the genial influ- 

 ences of the Japan current, which brings the warmth of 

 equatorial Asia to temper the extremes of Arctic climate 

 on the southern shore of the Alaskan Peninsvila, and 

 thence sweeping to the south, carries tropical heats to the 

 latitude of San Francisco^ Eepelled on the one hand by 

 the low temperature of the great rivers and fringe of coast 

 waters, and solicited on the other by the equable and 

 higher temperattire of the Japan current, the shad have 

 become true nomads, and have broken the bounds of the 

 hydrographic area to which we had supposed they would 

 be restricted. Following the track of the Asiatic cur- 

 rent, and finding more congenial temperatures as they 

 progress, it is not unreasonable to expect that some col- 

 onies will eventually reach the coast of Asia and establish 

 themselves in its great rivers." 



Shad are now found in greatest numbers in the Sacra- 

 mento and Columbia Eivers, where they are of consider- 

 able economic value. Owing to the fact that very little 

 ajjparatus specially adapted to their capture is employed, 

 no correct idea of their actual abundance in a given 

 stream can be formed. Nearly all the shad thus far taken 

 have been obtained in nets operated for salmon or other 

 fish, shad being only an incidental element in the catch. 

 The 25rice received by the fishermen is a good criterion of 

 the abundance of the fish. When first taken, shad 

 brought as much as $1.20 a pound; in 1892 the value in 

 many places was only two cents a pound, and in the 

 Columbia Eiver at one period the catch was so large and 

 the price so low that the fishermen did not go to the 

 trouble of marketing the fish caught. The average price 

 on the coast has declined in the past four years from ten 

 cents per pound in 1889 to four cents in 1892. 



An inquiry conducted by the U. S. Fish Commission in 

 1892 placed that bureau in possession of information 

 showing the extent of the shad fishery in every river of 

 the Pacific States. It was ascertained that in the year 

 named G60,000 pounds of shad were marketed, the value 

 of the same to the fishermen being about 127,000. Ee- 

 j)orts received during the present year indicate a catch of 

 perhaps a million pounds, and it seems reasonable to an- 

 ticipate a steady increase in the production with the im- 

 proved facilities for shipment and the growing demand 

 for fresh fish in the rising towns adjacent to the coast 

 rivers. A careful estimate places the total value of the 

 shad catch on the Pacific coast to date at .ttiSjOOO, repre- 

 senting over 3,000,000 pounds, while the aggregate out- 

 lay for all purposes connected with the introduction of 

 the fry was less than $4,000. This is certainly a satisfac- 

 tory investment of the people's money. 



The absence of a special scientific inquiry precludes the 

 possibility of chronicling the changes which have proba- 

 bly been wrought in the habits of the shad as a result of 

 the changed physical surroundings, thermic conditions, 

 enemies and food supply. It may be noted, however, that 

 the characteristic habit on the east coast of period- 

 ically ascending the rivers for the purpose of si^awning 

 and of returning, after the completion of that process, to 

 the open sea where the principal piart of the life of the 

 fish is spent, appears to be considerably modified, in Cali- 

 fornia, at least, where, in certain bays and estuaries, the 

 shad is found in greater or less abundance during every 

 month in the year. The evidence at hand indicates a 

 condition prevailing in the littoral and fluvial waters of 

 the Pacific coast that is very favorable to the growth of 

 the shad. It is not unusual to take examples consider- 



ably larger than any ever seen in the eastern rivers. The 

 average weight of the shad caught on the Atlantic coast is 

 under four pounds, and the capture of fish weighing- 

 seven, eight or nine poiinds is extremely rare. In Cali- 

 fornia, however, it is not uncommon to secure shad 

 weighing eight or ten pounds and reports have been 

 made that fifteen-pound individuals have occasionally 

 been obtained in salmon nets. 



Of scarcely less consequence than the actual results of 

 shad introduction on the west coast is the important bear- 

 ing which the success of the exjaeriment must have in de- 

 termining the outcome of artificial projjagation in regions 

 in which it is not possible to distinguish with satisfactory 

 accuracy the natural from the artificial conditions. If 

 these far-reaching, and no doubt permanent, results at- 

 tend the planting, on few occasions, of small numbers of 

 frj' in waters to which the fish are not indigenous, is it 

 not permissible to assume that much more striking con- 

 secjuences must follow the planting of enormous quanti- 

 ties of fry, year after year, in native waters ? There is no 

 reasonable doubt that the perpetuation of the extensive 

 shad fisheries in most of the rivers of the Atlantic coast 

 has been accomplished entirely by artificial jii'opagation. 

 On no other supposition can the maintenance and increase 

 of the supply be accounted for. 



The introduction of the striped bass was accomplished 

 in 1879, when about 150 fish a few inches long, taken in 

 Shrewsbury Eiver, N. J., were successfully carried across 

 the continent and deposited at the mouth of the Sacra- 

 mento Eiver by an agent of the U. S. Fish Commission 

 co-operating with the California Commission. Six or 

 seven months later an example eight inches in length was 

 reported from Monterey Eay, one hundred miles south of 

 the locality where planted, and in eleven months another 

 specimen twelve and a half inches long, and weighing one 

 pound, was caught in San Francisco harbor. This very 

 rapid growth indicated the special adaptability of the 

 waters of the region to this fish. In 1882 another plant, 

 consisting of 300 fish, was made in the same region by 

 the California authorities. As a result of these two small 

 deposits, the sptecies soon became distributed along the 

 entire coast of California; its occurrence, however, in the 

 other States of the region has not yet been determined. 



The history of the striped bass is similar to that of the 

 shad. It has attained considerable commercial import- 

 ance, has increased steadily and rapidly, and is generally 

 regarded as one of the best food fishes of the coast. It 

 has not yet attained anything like the abundance of the 

 shad, nor was this to have been expected from the meagre 

 plants, but there seems to be no reason to doubt that it is 

 only a question of time when it will become one of the 

 most prominent economic fishery products of the region 

 as well as a favorite object of cajsture by sportsmen. 



The largest quantities of striped bass are taken for mar- 

 ket in San Francisco Bay with seines and gill nets. The 

 fish are found in greatest numbers between October 1 

 and February 15, but occur in some abundance at all sea- 

 sons. Their average weight is eight or ten pounds, but 

 fish weighing forty pounds are not scarce. The estima- 

 tion in which they are held may be judged from the mar- 

 ket value. In 1888, the ruling price in San Francisco was 

 one dollar a pound; in 1892, owing to an increased pro- 

 duction, it had dropped to twelve and a half cents. The 

 catch in the latter year was about 43,000 pounds, for 

 which the fishermen received !:;5,350. The aggregate 

 yield to date may be estimated at nearly 100,000 pounds, 

 with a vaUie at iirst hands of about §18,000. The trans- 

 portation of striped bass to the Pacific being undertaken 

 conjoiuth* with that of a number of other fishes, it is 

 probable that the proportional cost of introduction was 

 not more than a few hundred dollar's. 



