422 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
firm salted about 2 tons. Shad are taken either in the fish traps or drag nets. The gill-netters do not 
get them. The shad run 5 or 6 pounds in weight, but the greater majority are of about 21 or 3 pounds 
weight. Frank M. Warren & Co. have canneries at Cathlamet, Wash., and at The Cascades, 
Oregon. Mr. Warren informs me that the shad are very numerous at both places. At The Cascades 
of the Columbia the fish wheels take great numbers of very fine shad, and all information at hand 
indicates that the shad of the Columbia are in a very prosperous condition. 
Mr. A. B. Alexander, who in 1893 was detailed to make inquiries regarding the 
shad in the Columbia River, reported as follows on the shad fishery : 
The shad fishery of the Columbia has little or no history, for as yet it can hardly be called an 
industry. All shad brought to market are taken incidentally. They are caught by thousands in traps 
and turned away, there being very little demand for them. The total amount sold at all points on 
the river in 1893, as near as can be estimated, was 85,000 pounds. This does not include the amount 
given away by fishermen. It is very probable that nearly as many of these fish are given away as 
sold. A fisherman who brings in a hundred or more shad disposes of what he can ; the rest being left 
on his hands, he either gives them away or throws them overboard. I am told that it often happens 
that a large portion of the catch is disposed of in the last-mentioned manner. Nobody buys shad at 
the small towns on the river, for all desired can be obtained from fishermen by merely asking for them. 
Nearly all shad of the Columbia are taken in traps or drag seines, principally by the former 
method; a few are also caught in salmon gill nets, but the number is so small that it is hardly worth 
mentioning. Occasionally a shad weighing 8 or 10 pounds is caught in a large-mesh chinook gill net, 
but the majority of those taken in this manner are caught in nets set for the blueback and other 
small salmon. 
Fishermen make no regular business of sending shad to market; it is only when it is thought that 
the last supply is sold that another shipment is made. The dealers never send orders to fishermen, as 
at nearly all times the shipments they voluntarily make are amply sufficient to supply the demand. A 
large portion of shad is taken in traps, and it is a very easy matter for a fisherman to bail out one or 
two thousand pounds, or as many more as are wanted, take them to the nearest steamboat landing, 
and send them to Portland. If he gets a fair return, he is encouraged to repeat the experiment. It 
sometimes happens that a good day’s work is made with little or no exertion ; at other times word 
comes back that the fish have only brought enough to pay freight charges. This, of course, is 
discouraging, and he has little desire to make further shipments until he is quite sure that some 
returns will be made to him. 
No such fabulous prices have been paid for shad on the Columbia River as have been received at 
different times in the market of San Francisco and elsewhere in the State. The early run of shad sells 
for 12 and 15 cents a pound ; as soon as they commence to appear in any considerable number the price 
immediately falls until it reaches 5 or 6 cents, which is the average price. The fishermen are paid for 
early shad 4 and 5 cents a pound; this price does not last long, for it falls in proportion to the number 
taken, and very soon l i and 2 cents are all that can be realized. Frequently fishermen can not get even 
a cent a pound ; when shad reach this figure few are brought to market. The demand for shad is as yet 
too small to hold forth any inducements to fishermen to engage in the industry. Owing to the 
limited demand, the price from year to year undergoes little change. The fish shipped from San 
Francisco are sold at from 4 to 5 cents more a pound than those caught in the Columbia; not because 
they are superior, but on account of the time of year they are shipped. 
Portland is the only market of importance on the river, and during the season of 1893 handled 
70,000 pounds of shad; of this amount 17,500 pounds were shipped from San Francisco. About 15,000 
pounds were sold at Kalama and 1,500 pounds were consumed in Astoria. At Kalama one firm has 
paid some attention to shipping shad to neighboring States and Territories; in 1893, 10,000 pounds 
were shipped from this place. All the shad consumed in Oregon and Washington during the winter 
and early spring months come from San Francisco. The retail value of shad shipped from San 
Francisco is 10 cents a pound; average value of those caught in the Columbia, 5 cents. There is no 
regular demand for shad from any locality, and in consequence dealers buy only a limited amount at 
a time. Montana, Nevada, and Utah are as far east as Portland dealers ship shad. Occasional 
shipments are made to cities and towns on Puget Sound, but the amount which goes north is small. It 
is evident that the reason why shad are not more in demand in interior towns and cities is on account 
of their not reaching the consumers in good condition. While the fish may, and probably do leave 
