REPORT OF BOARD OF FISH AND GAME COMMISSIONERS. 39 
our striped bass, and tend to reduce the constantly rising price paid by 
our own people in this State. We again earnestly recommend that this 
matter be brought to the attention of the legislature at the forthcoming 
session. 
A brief history of the shad, we believe, is worthy of repetition. The 
first plant aggregating 50,000 fry was brought from the state of New 
York from the state hatching works on the Hudson River at Castleton 
by Seth Green, recognized as one of the pioneer fish culturists of this 
country. They were planted in the Sacramento River at Tehama on 
June 27, 1871, which was followed by other plants in 1873, and the last 
one in 1881. A bonus of $50.00 was offered for the first shad to be 
taken in the waters of our State, and that was paid in 1873. In 1874 
sixteen full grown fish were taken at Vallejo. Since that time they 
have become so firmly established and are in such abundance that we 
believe that the declining shad industry of the Eastern States can be 
renewed and replenished by obtaining a supply of shad eggs or fry 
from California. 
CATFISH. 
The catfish is another important food fish that has shown remarkable 
development in this State. The first plants introduced here came from 
the Schuylkill River, Pa., and from the Missouri River at Omaha, 
Nebr. This gave us two varieties of catfish. Both were planted in the 
San Joaquin River near Lathrop. They have been transplanted into 
ether sections of the State until there is scarcely a stream or slough in 
the Sacramento or San Joaquin valley that does not contain them in 
great abundance. The sale for them, however, in the San Francisco 
markets is somewhat limited, and they are purchased principally by 
the Chinese. On account of their excellent food and shipping qualities, 
tons of them are sent out of the State every week, principally from 
Sacramento, from which point they are shipped south to Arizona, north¬ 
ward to Oregon, and eastward as far as Kansas City. Previous to the 
last session of the legislature there had been no restrictions upon their 
capture, but owing to the increasing markets outside of California and 
the excellent price this drain was greater than the natural increase 
would warrant, and the fishermen began to take the smaller ones by 
reducing the size of the mesh of their fyke nets, by which they are 
principally caught. At the request of the principal fish dealers of Sac¬ 
ramento, a recommendation was made that the minimum size at which 
catfish could be sold was eight inches, applying to dressed catfish. This 
became the law, and with a slight amendment in its phraseology will, 
in our opinion, be all the restrictions required. Market fishermen 
operating around Bouldin Island in the San Joaquin River claim 
that through the workings of this law it has reduced the sales from one 
