be used for fish sampling and fish census studies. Of the four principles gear types only the shad “flag” or “ring” gill net continues on the lower Connecticut River. Chances are the shad for the annual Essex Rotary Shad Bake were captured by a gill net.
Seasons were Weather Dependent -
During the continued period of warmth the coves sometimes were ice free enabled fyke net fishers to continue fishing and get higher fish prices in winter. The 1922 Biennial Report mentions the hazards of spring runoff which would interfere with the hauling and setting of the fykes.
From pg 48 Report of State Board of Fisheries and Game 1921-22
The Pound and Fyke Net Fishery of the Connecticut River
“Under Section 3134, any person who desires to fish on the Connecticut River with a pound or fyke net must first submit to the Commissioners a description of the net, the place where it is to be set, etc., and having done so it is a compulsory duty of the Commissioners to furnish a number for the net. In actual operation there is no restriction as to the number of nets which any individual may use, nor is there any restriction as to the period of the year when they are in operation.
The fishermen make application for assignment of numbers for a stated number of nets, giving a general description of the location, upon the receipt of which the Commissioners fill out a blank form assigning the numbers – a purely perfunctory operation.
The maximum of numbers issued to one applicant is for 40 nets and the average number of nets used by each fisherman is around 10.
There is perhaps no time of the year when some of the fyke nets are not in use, although during extreme freshet periods the fishing is limited to certain inshore or overflowed areas to which the fish may have resorted for the spawning function.
During the winter months only a limited number of nets are used because the fishermen are hampered by the ice. The principal catch of the nets which are operated in the Winter consists of carp and suckers.”
High Heat Ruins Shad Habitats
As the 1890s came to a close smaller runs of shad diminished and after unprecedented heat the shad runs in the Thames and Housatonic became “extinct during or shortly after 1898” (Moss 1965), 1898 was a key habitat year, for Connecticut it was the year the lobsters in New England also died off but the cooler (deeper) Connecticut River Shad run held up the longest. The State of Connecticut tried to reverse the decline of shad runs – releasing millions of shad fry raised in fish hatcheries between 1885 to 1910. The Great Heat (1880 to 1920) was damaging to these cooler preferring fish but a climate change and habitat reversal was set to bring shad fisheries back from these low points in the 1950s and 1960s, during a much cooler period (the period is now mentioned as a negative NAO cycle). The 1950s and 1960s a period of cold and powerful storms was the best United States shad landings as catches soared to over 11 million pounds in 1958*.( It is long been recognized that barriers to returning shad (such as dams) need our help or “restoration.” Connecticut has become a national leader in restoring fish passage – and installing “fish ways” over dams. The initial interest in fish restoration can be traced to 1967 legislation under the direction of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Connecticut DEEP continues fish restoration projects with partnerships between local groups, environmental organizations and coastal land trusts.) Previous researchers did mention this heat / habitat and the strength of the “year class” or run. Writing in 1976 William Leggett, then of the Essex Marine Laboratory, one attribute of temperature studies of four rivers found that temperature with peak returns were all “remarkably consistent” on page 173 (Merriam and Thorpe, 1976).
“On the basis of this analysis it seems reasonable to conclude that a significant elevation of temperature in northern rivers could alter the migratory behavior of the shad, perhaps causing the fish to enter the rivers earlier than normal, providing that they were in the are