426 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
THE SHAD TRADE OF SAN FRANCISCO. 
San Francisco is the principal shad market of the Pacific States, as it is for all 
other fishery products intended for immediate consumption. All the fish-dealers who 
purchase their supplies directly from the fishermen handle shad, and the amount of 
their trade in this product constitutes a reliable basis for estimating the extent of the 
shad fishery in California. The San Francisco dealers get their shad from San 
Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun bays, Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and 
Monterey Bay. 
In 1894 the writer made a thorough examination of the records of the San 
Francisco dealers, and noted the quantities of shad handled by them in the preceding 
year and in 1894 up to June. For the remaining months of 1894 the California fish 
commission, through Mr. John P. Babcock, the chief deputy, obtained similar data 
and courteously supplied them to the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. 
Mr. Babcock also procured some information for 1893 from several firms. The figures 
thus acquired permit the presentation of a table, showing for each month in 1893 and 
1894 the actual quantities of shad received in San Francisco. 
The aggregate receipts in 1893 were 429,136 pounds and in 1894 were 270,807 
pounds, these amounts being the round or gross weights of the shad. 
There is not a day in the entire year when shad may not be found in the San 
Francisco markets, and during nine months it is one of the commonest and cheapest 
fish exposed for sale in that city. During July, August, and September, when the 
salmon fishing is at a low ebb or totally suspended, the supply of shad is much less 
than at other times. 
In 1893 the largest receipts were in May and November ; in 1894 in J anuary and 
May. The average monthly receipts in the former year were 35,761 pounds and in the 
latter 22,567 pounds. During the three months ending December 31, 1893, more shad 
were handled than in any previous period of similar length; in that time 227,874 
pounds were received, an average of over 75,000 pounds per month. A detailed 
summary of the monthly receipts is given in the following table: 
Statement by months of the number of pounds of shad handled by San Francisco dealers in 1893 and 1894. 
Months. 
January . . 
February . 
March 2 . . 
April 
May 
June 
July 
August... 
September 
October . . . 
November 
December. 
Total . 
1893. 
1894. 
G, 588 
41, 266 
19, 185 
11, 767 
19, 546 
17, 747 
32, 389 
39, 115 
80, 557 
57, 823 
36, 184 
22, 027 
3, 319 
7,941 
2, 796 
2, 029 
698 
475 
53, 652 
24, 229 
96, 340 
38, 110 
77, 882 
8,278 
429, 136 
270, 807 
A condition of the San Francisco shad market, by no means rare, is thus referred 
to by Mr. Babcock, in a letter dated May 9, 1895 : 
The run of prime shad is on again. The markets all show fine fish this morning, and I made a 
canvass of them all for retail figures. Chinatown dealers offered me 6, 7, and 8 pound shad for 10 and 
