100 
BULLETIN OF THE BUKEAU OF FISHERIES 
occurs during April. At this place pound nets are set only for shad and herring, the runs of these 
fish being over by the end of May, when fishing usually ceases for the year. Two of the best catches 
made by a set of nets in 1922 occurred on April 10, one at Ragged Point, Va., lower Potomac River, 
where 3,650 shad were taken in 2 nets, and the other at Cheapeake Beach, Md., where 4,600 shad 
were taken in 3 nets. 
Shad are always packed and shipped in the fresh state, and facilities are available for bringing 
the fish to the market and the consumer in a remarkably short period of time. Fishing is done early 
in the day, usually at slack tide, and the fish at once are brought ashore to be packed in boxes and 
shipped on the first outgoing boat or train. Some fishermen dispose of their catch to “run boats,” 
which anchor in convenient localities and which are fully equipped for this kind of trade. The 
fish are paid for in spot cash after being counted or weighed, and are packed loosely in the hold 
according to sex, the roe shad and buck shad being separated. Unless the catch is very small a 
run boat seldom waits for a second day’s fishing but makes a rapid run to its home port, where the 
fish are properly packed and forwarded to the various markets. Many fishermen prefer to trade 
with the run-boat buyers as this relieves them of the trouble of packing and shipping their catches 
and brings prompt payments. 
The maximum weight attained by shad on the Atlantic coast is about 12 pounds, but on the 
Pacific the shad is said to average 1 pound heavier, and a maximum weight of 14 pounds has been 
reported. A series of 21 female (roe) and 35 male (buck) shad from the Chesapeake region was 
measured and weighed. The female averaged 576 millimeters (22% inches) in length and 6 pounds 5 
ounces in weight, while the males averaged 500 millimeters (19% inches) and 3 pounds 11 ounces, 
showing that the females of this lot averaged 2 pounds 10 ounces heavier than the males. The 
general run of female shad in the Chesapeake region weigh from 4 to 5% pounds and the males 
from 2% to 4 pounds. 
W eight of various-sized fish, according to sex 
Number of specimens measured 
Length * 
Weight* 
Number of specimens measured 
Length* 
Weight* 
MALE 
Inches 
Pounds 
Ounces 
FEMALE 
Inches 
Pounds 
Ounces 
2 
14 
2 
4 
3 
18 
3 
11 
2 
15 
2 
4 
4 
20 
4 
9 
13 
16 
2 
3 
8 
21 
4 
12 
12 
17 
2 
5 
4 
22 
5 
8 
10 
18 
2 
14 
9 
23 
6 
4 
8 
19 
3 
5 
5 
24 
6 
9 
5_ 
20 
3 
9 
3...- - 
25 
7 
14 
5. - 
23 
5 
> The fish measured have been grouped by inches for convenience; that is, if the specimen was nearer 14 inches in length than 15 
inches, it was considered a 14-inch specimen. 
* The weights given are the average of all fish of any one length group. 
Habitat.— Gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida. (The shad occurring in the Gulf drainage is here 
considered as a separate and distinct species.) 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: From virtually all streams tributary to Chesa- 
peake Bay. (5) The numerous young in the present collection, ranging in length from 21 to 243 
millimeters (% to 9% inches), are from the following localities: Beam-trawl catches, Sandy Point, 
Md., November 18, 1912; Barren Island, Md., to Smith Point, Va., January 19 to March 22, 1914; 
Oxford, Md., November 16, 1921; Hampton Roads, Va., January 15 and March 6, 1916, at depths 
ranging from 9 to 27 fathoms. Taken with seines: Havre de Grace, Md., August 19, 1921; Sassa- 
fras River, May 10, 1922; Potomac River, Bryans Point, Md., to Riverside, October 19 and 20, 
1909; September 13 to November* 11, 1911; June 7 to December 3, 1912. Two fish were caught 
with hook and line, using dough for bait, at Bryans Point, Md., October 21, 1910. 
