354 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
output was nearly twice as large as in 1880, although it should be remembered that 
more apparatus is now being used than formerly. In 1880 the quantity of shad 
taken was 2,255,823 pounds, valued at $172,969. The result of the fishery in 1889 was 
4,053,765 pounds, worth $205,905, and in 1890, 4,348,350 pounds, valued at $231,756. 
In the early days of this fishery much the largest part of the catch was taken 
with seines, but at the present time more than half the fish are caught with gill nets. 
The quantity of fish obtained in pound nets is not commensurate with the large num- 
ber of these nets operated in the region, to which reference has elsewhere been made. 
This is owing to the circumstance that many of the nets are not set for shad, but are 
employed chiefly for alewives. 
The shad fishery of St. Johns River is somewhat more than half as extensive as 
that in the Albemarle region. The increase in the catch of shad in this river since 
1880 has been phenomenal, and the St. Johns now ranks among the three first shad 
streams in the United States. In 1880, 182 shad fishermen took 83,900 shad; in 1890, 
442 fishermen secured 872,074 fish. The number of nets fished has been annually 
increasing, as has the number of shad taken by the individual fishermen. The sup- 
ply is much less variable than in earlier years, and there has been no poor season 
since 1887. The most important form of apparatus is the gill net, by means of which 
about two-thirds of the catch is made. The seine is the only other device generally 
employed, although in 1890 a pound net took a small number of fish. The seine is 
the principal apparatus used in that part of the river between Lake George and Lake 
Harney, to which section it is restricted; prior to 1887 it was not employed in this 
fishery. 
The following condensed table shows the extent of the shad fishery of this river 
in 1889 and 1S90 : 
Shad fishery of the St. Johns Biver. 
Fishery. 
No. of men. 
No. of Dots. 
No. of shad caught. 
Value of shad. 
1889. 
1890. 
1889. 
1890. 
1889. 
1890. 
1889. 
1890. 
331 
382 
166 
191 
493, 161 
223, 000 
581, 764 
289, 570 
1,500 
$72, 764 
22, 675 
$76, 182 
26, 061 
58 
58 
10 
10 
2 
1 
150 
Total 
389 
442 
176 
202 
716, 161 
872, 074 
95, 439 
102, 393 
Considerable new capital went into the shad fishery of this river in 1891, as a 
result of which a substantial increase in the yield was anticipated. 
The shad fishery of Savannah River has declined materially in the past decade. 
This, in the opinion of some of the fishermen, has been partly due to muddy water and 
freshets, which have been present almost constantly during the shad season in recent 
years, freshets often stopping the fishing for days or weeks at a time; others ascribe 
it to obstructions, which are said to prevent the shad from reaching the spawning- 
grounds. In 1880 the shad catch was less than one- third as large as it was eight years 
before, and since 1880 the yield has been reduced one-half. At the present time prac- 
tically the entire catch is made with gill nets, only a few fish being taken with cast 
nets. The shad taken in this river command a very high price, the males bringing 
50 cents each, and the females 75 cents to $1. 
