American shad (Alosa sapidissima)

Scientific name: Alosa sapidissima Wilson, 1811

American shad (Alosa sapidissima)

The American shad (Alosa sapidissima) is a freshwater fish of the family Clupeidae.

Biology

Spend most of its life at sea, returning to freshwater streams to breed. Non-spawning adults are found in schools near the surface of continental shelf waters in spring, summer and fall; also found in brackish waters. Newly hatched larvae are found in rivers during the summer; by autumn they enter the sea and remain there until maturity. Juveniles form schools at 20-30 mm TL and gradually move downstream. Feed on plankton, mainly copepods and mysids, occasionally on small fishes. Feeding ceases during upstream spawning migration and resumes during the downstream post-spawning migration. Commercially caught in rivers and estuaries during spawning migration. Utilized fresh, salted, or smoked. The roe is esteemed. Eaten pan-fried, broiled, and baked. Possibly to 375 m dept

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Alosa sapidissima
Family
Clupeidae (Herrings, shads and sardines)
Order
Clupeiformes (Herrings)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
76.0
Common length
50.0
Depth range
0–250 m (0–820 ft)
Environment
Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; anadromous; depth range 0 - 250 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
North America: Newfoundland, the St. Lawrence River, and Nova Scotia southward to central Florida. Due to introductions into the Sacramento and Columbia Rivers, this species is now found from Cook Inlet, Alaska to Baja California in Mexico and the Kamchatka Peninsula.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
Resilience
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.14; tm=4.7)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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