128 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



Of the 3,471 nets operated, New Jersey is credited with 1,666, operated at eleven 

 stations, and taking 417,829 shad ; New York is credited with 1,805 nets, operated at 

 sixty-seven stations, and taking 737,781 shad. The greatest number of nets operated 

 from a single station is 703 at Alpine, New Jersey, and taking 94,100 shad; Fort Lee, 

 New Jersey, operated 337 nets, taking 114,300 shad. The greatest number of nets 

 operated from New York stations was 306 at Sing Sing, taking 16,400 shad, and 313 

 at Nyack, taking 3,853 shad. The nets grow less in number towards the source of the 

 river until Castleton is reached, nine miles below Albany, where one net is credited 

 with 500 shad. 



The shad work of this Commission is carried on at Catskill, where six nets were 

 operated, taking 5,000 shad. To compute the weight and value of the shad taken 

 during the season I asked ex-Commissioner Blackford to give me statistics from Fulton 

 Market. He wrote me as follows : "Regarding the Hudson River shad I would say 

 that 100 bucks will weigh 308 pounds, and 100 roe shad will weigh 412 pounds, which 

 will make the average a little over 3^ pounds. The proportion of bucks to roe shad 

 this season has been 60 per cent, roe shad to 40 per cent, buck shad. The average 

 price for the entire season has been twenty cents for roe shad and ten cents for bucks. 

 The lowest price they have sold for on any one day was ten cents for roe and five 

 cents for buck shad. For quality and size the Hudson River shad have been good, 

 rather better than for the last two or three years." 



With these figures as a basis I find that the catch of shad in the Hudson for 

 1895 weighed 4,044,635 pounds, and that 693,366 roe shad brought at wholesale 

 $138,673.20, and 462,244 buck shad brought $46,224.40, or a total for the entire catch 

 of $184,897.60. 



It is extremely doubtful, under the present law, and present manner of fishing the 

 river, if the Hudson can be considered a self-sustaining shad river. The demand upon 

 it grows with increase of population and improved facilities for shipping shad to a 

 distance. It is not alone among the people living along the river that the shad 

 find a market, but hundreds of miles of railways act as distributing agents and take 

 shad where formerly they were unknown. 



Since 1882 the United States Fish Commission has made large contributions of 

 shad fry and eggs to the Hudson, and these contributions have been important factors 

 in keeping the supply up to the present figures ; in fact the fry supplied from the 

 Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers have done more, probably, than to assist in keeping 

 up the supply, for there is little doubt that the fresh blood has invigorated and improved 

 the stock. The contributions from the United States Fish Commission have been as 

 follows : 



