American Shad

<body> <p align="center"><img src="../images/amshad3.jpg" width="304" height="133" alt="American Shad - Duane Raver / USFWS"></p> <p>The American shad or white shad, <em>Alosa sapidissima</em>, is the best-known of the six species of shad and herring that swim in the Chesapeake Bay. This shad is a handsome fish, with a metallic blue-green back that lightens to silver along the sides and has a black spot at the shoulder, with several smaller spots trailing behind. The American shad can reach a length of 30 inches, and is the largest—and considered the most delicious to eat–of all the shads. </p> <h4>Background </h4> <p>The anadromous American shad is indigenous to the Atlantic coast from the St. Lawrence River to Florida, and spends most of its life at sea in large schools. It only enters the freshwater river in which it was born to spawn. </p> <p>Shad undertake extensive ocean migrations, spending the summer and fall in the Gulf of Maine and overwintering in deeper offshore waters. As the shad migrates from salt water to fresh, its cloak of large, easily-shed scales dulls from blue-green to brown. </p> <p>During an average life span of five years at sea, the American shad may migrate more than 12,000 miles. It enters the Chesapeake Bay from January to June between the ages of four and six to spawn in the fresh water to low-salinity tributaries as far north as the Susquehanna River. </p> <p>Life Cycle: </p> <ul> <li> Spawning occurs in both tidal and nontidal freshwater tributaries, and spawning migrations correspond to favorable river water temperatures (55 to 61 degrees F).</li> <li> Shad spawning runs in the Bay usually extend from the middle of February until early June, although in Virginia, spawning generally begins in mid to late March.</li> <li> Spawning usually takes place between sunset and midnight. A female lays up to 600,000 eggs, while several hovering males fertilize them.</li> <li> Shad usually migrate without feeding and move far enough upstream for the eggs to drift downstream and hatch before reaching saltwater. After spawning, adults either die or return to the sea.</li> <li> Female American shad may live as long as 10 years, but repeat spawners are rare in Chesapeake Bay waters. Historically, American shad probably spawned in virtually every accessible river and tributary along the Atlantic coast. Blockage of spawning rivers by dams and other impediments and degradation of water quality, however, has severely depleted suitable American shad spawning habitat.</li> <li> The eggs mature rapidly and transform into young fish in three to four weeks. The young of the year remain in fresh to brackish water, feeding on copepods and insect larvae until early fall before entering the sea.</li> <li> Some juveniles do not enter the sea and instead overwinter in deep holes near the mouth of the Bay. The first months of life are the most hazardous; about 70 percent die before reaching the sea.</li> <li> While at sea young shad join other young shad schools and begin an impressive three to five years of coastal migration. While at sea they feed on plankton, small crustaceans and small fishes.</li> <li> After four to six years they reach sexual maturity and begin to return to their natal rivers to spawn. </li> </ul> <h4>The Fishery </h4> <p>Since colonial times American shad have been valued both for their delicious meat and roe. From the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, the American shad fishery was the largest fishery in the Chesapeake Bay, with annual catches that exceeded 22,000 metric tons. The fishery has been in decline over the past 75 years, and the catch was only 700 metric tons in 1992 and 1993. The long decline seems primarily the result of overfishing and habitat degradation in spawning areas. </p> <ul> <li> The largest local American shad commercial fishery lies along the Atlantic coast of Virginia.</li> <li> The fishery employs a variety of gear, but the bulk of the commercial catch is taken with gill nets. There are no reliable data on the recreational catch, but it is believed to be sizable. For the recreational fishery, American shad are commonly fished with dip nets or by angling with artificial lures and flies when the fish are migrating to their spawning grounds.</li> </ul> <h4>Shad Moratorium </h4> <p>Shad stocks were in such poor condition that in 1980 Maryland imposed a moratorium on shad fishing except in Potomac River and coastal waters. Measures to boost the American shad population include releasing hatchery; reared fishes and fitting dams and blockages on rivers with fish passages to allow American shad to reach historical spawning areas. The <a href="http://www.asmfc.org/" target="_top">Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission</a> adopted a Fisheries Management Plan for American shad in 1985, and in 1989 Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia agreed to conserve existing stocks under a baywide shad management plan. Even with these measures, however, it could take years for the shad population to rebuild. </p> <table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#C6C68C" width="100%"> <tr> <td height="131"><strong>Other Sites of Interest:</strong> <ul> <li><a href="http://noaa.chesapeakebay.net/Encyclopedia.aspx?subject=fish" target="_top">American shad - NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office</a></li> <li><a target="_top" href="http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/WWW/macsis/lists/M010040.htm">American shad - Coastal Species Information System - Virginia Tech</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.fws.gov/r5cbfo/SHAD.HTM" target="_top">American shad</a> - Chesapeake Bay Field Office - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</li> <li><a href="http://www.amrivers.org/damremovaltoolkit/shad.htm" target="_top">American shad</a> - American Rivers</li> <li><a href="http://www.dgif.state.va.us/fishing/shad/" target="_top">Shad Cam</a> - Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries</li> <li>Commercial and recreational fishing regulations for <a href="http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/regulations/regindex.html" target="_top">Maryland</a> and <a href="http://www.state.va.us/mrc/page4.htm" target="_top">Virginia</a>.</li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> <hr noshade> <p align="center"><font size="2"><strong>Image courtesy:</strong> Duane Raver / USFWS</font></p> <p align="center"><font face="Times New Roman" size="2">To bookmark this page, please use this URL: <a href="http://www.chesapeakebay.net/american_shad.htm" target="_top">http://www.chesapeakebay.net/american_shad.htm</a></font></p> <p align="center"><font size="2">For more information, contact the Chesapeake Bay Program Office:<br> 410 Severn Avenue, Suite 109, Annapolis, MD 21403 / Tel: (800) YOUR-BAY / Fax: (410) 267-5777</font><font size="2">.</font></p> <p align="center"><font size="2"><a href="../termsofuse.htm" target="_top">Terms of Use</a> | <a href="../privacypolicy.htm" target="_top">Privacy Policy</a> | <a href="../comments.htm" target="_top">Contact Us<br> </a></font><font size="2"><a href="http://www.chesapeakebay.net/directions.htm" target="_top"> Directions to the Bay Program Office</a></font><br> <a href="http://www.chesapeakebay.net/cims" target="_top"><img src="../images/cims1.gif" height="19" width="51" border="0" align="left" vspace="10" alt="Chesapeake Information Management System (CIMS) "></a><a href="javascript:print()"><img src="../images/print.gif" width="31" height="38" border="0" alt="Print Current Page" align="right"></a><br> <font size="2">Last modified: 12/11/03</font></p> <p align="center">  </p> </td> <td align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="#E7E7D6">   </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="#E7E7D6"><img src="../images/endc3.gif" alt="endc3.gif (827 bytes)" WIDTH="8" HEIGHT="14"></td> <td align="right" valign="top" bgcolor="#E7E7D6" colspan="2"><img src="../images/endd3.gif" alt="endd3.gif (827 bytes)" WIDTH="8" HEIGHT="14"></td> </tr> </table> </div> </body>