Biology and management of river herring and shad in Virginia : Annual report, Anadromous Fish Project 1975

The number of pound nets and the catch of· alosines per net continued to decline in 1975. Effort by sta.ke gill nets.· increased but catch estimates declined. The James River · yielded an estimated 853,847 pounds of American shad (down 47% from 1974) with the peak of the run at the end of March. Stake gill nets landed 246,036. pounds of American shad in the York River, a decrease from 1974. Estimates of Hickory shad landings declined 83% in the York River. Pound nets in the Rappahannock River had a 75% reduction in American shad catch and stake gill net catch was down 13% from 1974. River herring catch estimates were down 13% in the Rappahannock River. Pound net catches of American shad declined 47% while landings from stake gill nets increased by 44% from 1974 in the Potomac River. River herring landings increased 34% in the Potomac River. More ...

The Effects of Tropical Storm Agnes on Fishes in the James, York, and Rappahannock Rivers of Virginia

Intensive trawl surveys during and after Tropical Storm Agnes were mounted on the James, York, and Rappahannock Rivers to measure the effects of the floodwaters on the distribution and abundance of fish. The direct effect of Agnes on the fish populations was minor and temporary. The normal zone was extended downriver. A substantial portion of the lower-river (marine) species was also displaced downstream and into Chesapeake Bay, but had returned by the follow-up surveys. No adult mortalities due to Agnes were detected. Although we know vast quantities of fish larvae and other plankton were swept into Chesapeake Bay, the overall impact on all fish appears to have been slight.https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsbooks/1073/thumbnail.jp

The displacement and loss of larval fishes from the Rappahannock and James rivers, Virginia, following a major tropical storm

Two days after Tropical Storm Agnes, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) established an anchor station at Mile 15 in the Rappahannock and Mile 10 in the James River. Both stations were in mainstream, manned constantly for 10 days, and took continuous current data from meters placed at 0, 6, 8, and 15 min the Rappahannock and 0, 4, 5, 8, and 14 min the James. Concurrently, 0.85 m diameter plankton nets of No. 1 nylon mesh were hung in the flowing surface water for 10 minutes hourly. A small collection of midwater (4 m) plankton samples was obtained from the James station. The shoal areas were not sampled for larval fish. The ichthyoplankton and zooplankton captured were preserved and later identified to species.https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsbooks/1078/thumbnail.jp

Biology and management of river herring and shad in Virginia : Annual report, Anadromous Fish Project 1974

This annual report covers the period October, .1973 through September, 1974. It is the seventh report generated by\u27 the project, with 3-year completion reports prepared in 1970 and 1973. The project· is continuing at VIMS and each year allows stronger conclusions to be made concerning trends in the basic population parameters studied. The 1970-1973 completion report was widely distributed in Virginia, libraries at fishery science institutes, and throughout the National Marine Fisheries Service. The completion report analyzed data from the entire history of the project. In many cases the entire summarized data core for a particular segment was presented, e.g. mortality rates and age composition of the run since 1966. Some jobs were presented in final. analysis form, because they were made inactive after 1973. The history of the foreign fleet activities was presented with an analysis of their effect on the anadromous alosids. \u2

Biology and management of river herring and shad in Virginia : Completion report, 1970-73

This report represents the final report for the 3-year segment 1970-1973 and the annual report for the contract period 1 October 1972 to 15 October 197 3. The projec.t has been active since 1965, thus relevant data has been carried forward, added to, and analyzed in this report. The analysis, however, remains subject to later refinement and possible reinterpretation, because many of the jobs and objectives will require several additional years of study before definitive conclusions can be generalized. The data presented here supercedes similar tables presented in previous annual reports because we have now standardized methods and solidified our attempts at presenting various yearly indices, The changes in any method of analysis are stated within each subsection. This report, therefore, contains earlier data adjusted with derived correction factors so all units have the same base and assumptions

Biology and Utilization of Anadromous Alosids: Annual progress report (October 1, 1971 - September 30, 1972)

Fishing effort for herring and shad has been stable for the past three years in the lower Chesapeake Bay and tributaries. River herring catch in 1972 was slightly above the 1971 landings but continued to be very low. River herring landings in U.S. waters have declined as the c.atch has been increased by non-nationals. The catch per unit of effort has decreased from 122.5 in 1965 to 30.3 in 1972 in Virginia waters. Total mortality rates for river herring were without significant trend from 1965-1971. Twice as much towing effort was expended in 1972 as in other years. The abundance of juvenile alosids was much lower in 1972 than former years. The James once again led all rivers in alosid production