Fisherman nets record catch in Delaware

[Top Shot]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Fi..._Delaware.html

[bulletbob]

massive Sheepshead!... wish we had them in good numbers around here in NY/NJ.. I find it very interesting they were once very abundant in what is now called Sheepshead Bay, and thus the name.. They are warm water semi tropical fish, but were here before Global Warming in the colder NY bay waters... whatever.. In any case, thats a pretty big "porgy". bob

[Dino]

Waldman, whose book, Heartbeats in the Muck, traces the history of the New York Harbor, said historical documents indicate that sheepshead were incredibly common in Sheepshead Bay in the early nineteenth century. So plentiful were the fish, farmers surrounding the bay supplemented their incomes by becoming commercial sheepshead fishermen while waiting to harvest their crops.

But somewhere around the late 1800s, the sheepshead started to disappear. Marine biology experts note the disappearance of oyster reefs — either smothered by sewage dumped in the harbor or wiped out by overfishing — around the same time, a connection that is more than coincidental. With one of its main sources of sustenance on the road to extinction, the sheepshead may have gone looking elsewhere for food.

[Gerry Zagorski]

One of the largest Oyster beds in the country was located right by the South Amboy lighthouse which is also know as the the Great Beds Light House.
http://www.mels-place.com/mmm/Lights...reat-beds.html

Sadly all the of the Oysters are gone and I guess so are the Sheepshead.

I think there was a project a few years back to try and transplant Oysters back in the bay but for some reason it failed.

Would be great to have them around. They filter a lot of water and would be nice to have their assistance cleaning up the water.