5 -OBSERVATIONS ON THE SPAWNING HABITS OE THE SHAD. 
BY S. G. WORTH. 
The object of this paper is to direct attention to the fact that shad ( Clupea sapi- 
dissima), in certain river basins at least, exhibit a choice of localities in which to lay 
their eggs; and to point ont that the areas preferred are well defined in their situation 
below creeks, being in the track of the currents therefrom. 
The spawning-grounds of the shad are so well known that anything additional on 
the subject would possess little value as indicating the more remunerative localities 
for gathering their eggs. Discoveries in this direction would rather be of service in 
disclosing the spawning habits of other species less known, as, for example, the striped 
bass, striped mullet, and sturgeon. They might also serve a somewhat different 
though equally useful purpose in pointing out those areas in which necessary prohib- 
itory measures would effect the greatest advantage. 
While the claim is made that the greatest percentage of ripe shad are to be found 
immediately below and in the currents of creeks, it is not intended to create the 
impression that greater relative numbers of fish are caught at these points. 
The spawning region of the shad is of large proportions, extending from the limit 
of the brackish water inland 50 to 100 miles or more. The fish captured anywhere in 
this region are liable to be ripe, and, indeed, it may be said that on one or perhaps 
two days in any given season ripe shad are common to all parts of the spawning region. 
This occurrence, however rare, has been very misleading to seine proprietors, who, 
hastily adopting the belief that their fisheries were valuable for the amount of eggs 
they would afford, were instrumental in causing many fruitless visits from spawn- 
takers. When we consider critically the fisheries as to their profitableness as contrib- 
utors to the hatcheries, we find that the greater number are of no practical value and 
that many of the largest in catch are the poorest in egg-production. 
The cost of shad ova on the Potomac Eiver (including all items, as the amount 
paid in purchase money, salaries of experts and laborers, fuel, and transportation) is 
about $85 per million, which is, I believe, about the average price at the several sta- 
tions of the U. S. Fish Commission. I therefore take this cost as the standard or 
commercial rate, and all allusions to the scarcity or abundance of eggs will be with 
reference to such a basis. The number of eggs obtained on the Potomac has never 
exceeded 81,000,000 in any one season, and the number in the two next best seasons 
was about 60,000,000 each (in nine years’ operations). The Fort Washington seine, 
201 
