18 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
of 1909 and 1915 for the shad and herrings) covering the vicinity of the bay are 
available for comparison from 1908 to 1920. In comparing the Bureau of Fisheries 
statistics for 1908, 1909, 1915, 1920, and 1921, published in Appendix IX of the report 
of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries for 1922 (p. 85), for the shad and 
herrings, with those compiled from the records of the Buchanan brothers’ fishery, it 
is seen that (disregarding changes in the gear used or in the number of men and boats 
employed in the fishery for the entire bay) the general downward trend for both 
shad and herrings is reflected in each group of statistics. For individual years, 
however, the statistics do not always agree; as, for example, the bureau’s records 
show a larger catch for 1908 than for 1909. The records of the fishery under considera- 
tion, on the other hand, show that the larger catch there was made in 1909. Both 
sets of statistics, however, show that a very small catch was taken in 1915 and that 
better catches were made in 1920 and 1921. Nevertheless, the banner year (1921) 
at the Buchanan brothers’ fishery is not reflected for the rest of the bay, as the 
bureau’s report shows a larger catch for 1920 than for 1921. 
Fig. 6. — Graphic representation of the number of pounds of 
herrings (Pomolobus pseudoharengus and P. sestivalis) taken 
from 1908 to 1922 at the Buchanan Bros, fishery, arranged 
by years. The straight, heavy line shows the general trend 
in the quantities caught 
1908 09 10 II 12 13 14 '15 16 'll 18 19 '20 21 '22 23 
Fig. 7. — Graphic representation of the number of pounds 
of shad (AZosa sapidissima) taken from 1908 to 1923 at 
Buchanan Bros, fishery, arranged by years. The straight, 
heavy line shows the general trend in the quantities 
caught 
For the herrings, as for the shad, when individual years are compared the banner 
years at the fishery do not always correspond with the better years for the bay 
generally; as, for example, the catch at the fishery in 1909 was larger than that for 
1908. The bureau’s statistics for those years, nevertheless, show a larger catch in 
1908 than in 1909. A small catch in 1915 and a still smaller one in 1920 are indicated 
by both sets of statistics, and, similarly, both records show a larger catch for 1921 
than for the preceding year. A further analysis of the records for the catches of 
shad and herrings at the fishery under discussion will be given in a succeeding 
paragraph. 
It has been shown in the preceding paragraph that the general trend in the abun- 
dance of the shad and herrings for Chesapeake Bay appears to be reflected by the 
catches made at the Buchanan brothers’ fishery, when statistics for a series of years 
are compared. No reason is evident to the writers why the same apparent fact 
should not hold for the other species, for which unfortunately insufficient records 
