244 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



TI>e Real Reason. 



If Mr. Conine does not know why shad became scarce in the river — for they are 

 not now, his interview to the contrary notwithstanding — I will tell him. The shad 

 fishermen of the Hudson netted the river for market, taking everything possible out 

 and putting nothing back until a State Fish Commission was created to remedy the 

 injury to the fishing caused by their short sightedness. When the Commission- 

 ers, ex-Gov. Seymour, Hon. Robert B. Roosevelt and Seth Green, made an examina- 

 tion of the river they reported to the Legislature that the entire shad crop of the 

 Hudson was worth $7,000. Then the shad hatcheries began their deadly work, of 

 which Mr. Conine complained, and when, in 1895, a census was made of the shad 

 taken that year in the Hudson, it was found to be worth at the net $184,897.60, and 

 shad had fallen in price from 75 cents to 20 cents for roe shad and 10 cents for bucks. 

 Over 4,000,000 pounds of shad were taken from the Hudson in that year as the result 

 of maintaining shad hatcheries. 



dome Acfctat Pacts. 



Recently I had occasion to obtain from the United States Fish Commission some 

 figures to be used in a paper to be read before a society of natural sciences, and some 

 of those figures fit in here, and I quote from a letter I received from Mr. W. de C. 

 Ravenel : " The only fishery concerning which we have accurate data upon which 

 can be based our estimate of results attributable to fish-culture is the shad fishery. 

 In 1880 the catch of shad was 5,164,152, and its value was $995,790. The following 

 figures show the catch of shad each year, its increase over the catch of 1880, and the 

 annual value of the increase : 



1887 

 1888 

 1889 

 1890 

 1896 

 1898 



No. of shad Increase over Value of 



caught. 1880. increase. 



- 8,252,326 3,108,174 $395,642 

 10,210,453 5,046,301 676,402 



- 12,324,106 7,159,954 782,496 

 12,827,525 7,663,373 823,965 



- 13,124,013 8,OI9,86l 660,050 

 13,927730 8,823,578 466,087 



" The most noticeable feature of this comparison is that the price of shad has 

 decreased to the consumer as the catch has increased (from 19 to 10 cents each) and 

 the returns to' the fishermen even at the reduced price are much greater than in 



