FISHERIES OF LAKE ONTARIO. 
193 
THE SHAD. 
Ia a learned paper on the shad ( Glupea sapidissima) in the Annual Beport of the 
Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries for 1872-73, Prof. Baird considers the question 
of the naturalization of shad in inland waters, and says : 
The problem as to the possibility of naturalizing the shad in the Great Lakes, so that they may 
subsist there the greater part of the year and find a supply of food, is more difficult of solution, and 
one that can only be decided by experiment. We have, however, the interesting fact that the deep 
waters of the Great Lakes abound in certain species of minute crustaceans, precisely similar to those 
occurring on the Atlantic coast, and which, while consumed to a great extent by the whitefish, may 
be presumed to be in sufficient surplus to feed an indefinite number of shad. The experiment of stock- 
ing the lakes with shad has been already made by Seth Green, who planted 15,000 in the Genesee River 
near Rochester, in 1871. A number of these were subsequently taken in nets, and it is thought prob- 
able that the spring of 1874 will witness the movement of mature fish up the Genesee River. 
Concerning the same deposit of shad fry to which Prof. Baird refers, the New 
York fish commissioners say: 
This was purely an experiment to test the question whether these fish, which, according to their 
natural habits, seek the salt water every winter, would live and thrive either in the fresh water of the 
river or by passing from it into a fresh-water lake. It was not considered probable that any of them 
would be able to descend the St. Lawrence to the sea and reascend, escaping all the implements of 
destruction in their route, so as to reappear in this river. But experiments which had been made 
with the salmon on -the northern shore of Lake Ontario had given credence to the impression that it 
is possible for migratory fish to live in streams which connect with any large body of water, whether 
fresh or salt. This impression has been in a measure confirmed by the result ; for, in the month of 
June, 1872, young shad were caught near the mouth of the Genesee, 5 or 6 inches in length. Two 
months later shad weighing a quarter of a pound and 7 inches in length were taken in Lake Ontario, 
within 5 miles of the mouth of the Genesee. As many as 100 of these were caught at a time in a 
small net, so that the conclusion may be regarded as established that shad will live and thrive under 
such circumstances, although whether they will attain the size and the age that they reach in the 
rivers running to the ocean, or whether they will breed, are questions yet to be settled. In order to 
make the experiment more thorough and to give it a better chance of success other rivets were stocked 
in the same way. Sixty thousand additional young shad were turned loose in the Genesee on the 21st 
day of June, 1872. On the 25th 30,000 were placed in Lake Onondaga. (Report of New York fish com- 
mission, 1872.) 
The initial plants of shad fry in 1870 and 1871 were followed in the two succeeding 
years by larger deposits, and, after an interval of three years, by still more numerous 
plants in 1877 and 1878. The total number of shad fry deposited each year in the 
.streams entering Lake Ontario and in the smaller lakes connected therewith is shown 
in the following table. The plants were all made by Mr. Seth Green, under direction 
of the New York fish commission. 
Years. 
Genesee and 
Black rivers. 
Lakes Onon- 
daga, Canan- 
daigua, and 
Cayuga. 
- j 
Total. 
1870 
5, 000 
15, 000 
60, 000 
70, 000 
80, 000 
290, 000 
5, 000 
15, 000 
90, 000 
178. 000 
80, 000 
290, 000 
1871 
1872 
1873 
30, 000 
108, 000 
1877 
1878 
Total 
520, 000 
138, 000 
658, 000 
F. C. B. 1890—13 
