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REPORT OF THE FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 30 
Shad. 
Ag stated in our last biennial report, the propagation of shad was 
undertaken during the spring of 1916, an egg-collecting station being 
established at Yuba City. Fishing began on June 3, and continued 
until about the middle of July. A total of 872,000 shad fry were 
planted in the Feather River as a result of the season’s operations. 
SALMON DISTRIBUTION. 
The total output of salmon fry for the last biennial period from the 
California hatcheries was 25,701,000. This is several million fry less 
than the average hatch of former years. 
Since improving our pond system for rearing of salmon fry, we have 
arranged with the Bureau of Fisheries for a smaller number of eggs to 
be shipped to our Mount Shasta Station. It is considered that better 
results are obtained from hatching and rearing a less number of fry if 
they are held in the rearing ponds until the following fall than to 
release a larger number during the winter and spring, after they are 
hatched. The success of our pond work is very gratifying. Ever since 
the season of 1914 the pond system of rearing salmon fry at our Mount 
Shasta Station has been a success in every particular. While fairly 
good results were obtained previously in rearing salmon in ponds, 
nothing to equal the work of the last few years was attained. The fry 
are placed in the ponds during March and April and are held and fed 
until the first rains in the fall cause the temperature to drop in the 
ereeks and rivers and the water to get in the proper condition for the 
migration of the salmon fry. They are then from three to four and 
one-half inches in length and in perfect condition. The large ponds at 
Mount Shasta Station, with the abundance of good water, are ideal for 
salmon culture. 
We received from the Bureau of Fisheries 18,383,000 salmon eggs in 
1915 and 6,853,000 in 1916. The drought that prevailed over the entire 
watershed of the Sacramento River and over the greater portion of the 
state during 1916, caused the salmon to spawn on the ripples or shallows 
in the main river and consequently the take of eggs at the Bureau of 
Fisheries’ stations was greatly reduced. 
During the fall of 1917 we received from the Bureau of Fisheries 
13,000,000 quinnat salmon eggs. Ten million were planted in the 
upper reaches of the Sacramento and Klamath rivers and 3,000,000 of 
the choicest fry were retained in the three large salmon rearing ponds 
and will be ready for distribution this fall. 
Eel River Salmon Station. 
It was decided to collect the eggs of the chinook salmon in Eel River 
during the fall of 1917. Accordingly, arrangements were made to 
