Hickory shad

Alosa mediocris
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Clupeiformes
Family: Clupeidae
Genus: Alosa
Species: A. mediocris
Binomial name
Alosa mediocris
(Mitchill, 1814)

Hickory shad (Alosa mediocris) is a migratory clupeid fish species native to the East Coast of the United States.

Contents

Distribution, habitat, and life history

Hickory shad range from Florida to Maine, with largest populations occurring in Chesapeake Bay and coastal North Carolina. It is a schooling anadromous species that inhabits marine waters, probably never far from land. Adults enter estuaries and freshwater tributaries to spawn during the spring. The oceanic movements of this species are unknown, and little is known concerning their migration (Hardy 1978; Cooper 1983; Rulifson 1994). Spawning occurs in February through June, earlier with decreasing latitude (Hardy 1978). The slightly adhesive and demersal eggs, approximately 1 mm in diameter, appear to be dispersed at random over gravel bars in moderate current. After water hardening, the eggs become semi-buoyant and develop as they drift along the bottom (Mansueti 1962; Hardy 1978; Cooper 1983). Fecundity ranges from 43,000 – 475,000 eggs per female, and, although there are data on the developmental stages of eggs, larvae, and juveniles, little is known concerning the distribution, ecology, and growth rates of juvenile hickory shad (Mansueti 1962; Hardy 1978).

Males and females mature at 2-4 years and often exhibit traits of repeat spawning. Adults average about 380 mm in the Chesapeake Bay, and 342 mm FL (males) and 366 mm FL (females) in North Carolina (Murauskas, unpublished data; Collette and Klein-MacPhee 2002). Hickory shad are among the most piscivorous clupeids, feeding primarily on small fishes, although crustaceans and squid contribute to their diet (Cooper 1983; Collette and Klein-MacPhee 2002). Hickory shad have a relatively low commercial value; however, there is an increasingly popular recreational fishery throughout the mid-Atlantic states.

Recreational fishery

See also: Shad fishing

Recreational shad fishing has become increasingly popular in recent years. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, hickory shad articles appeared in sport fishing magazines. Headlines such as “the tough fighting hickory shad swarm near the rock-studded fall line…” (Sports Afield 1988), and “feast on Rappahannock River hickory shad action” (Field & Stream 1992) brought attention to the fishery. Subsequently, specialty magazines (Fly Fisherman 2002) and sports sections in national newspapers (i.e., The Washington Post, 1988, 2000) began proclaiming the excitement of hickory shad fishing (“HICKORY SHAD ARE RUNNING!”) and the recovery of the fishery. In the two most recent years of a North Carolina creel survey (2004-2005), hickory shad – a fish only present for two months of the year – moved from sixth to the fourth most targeted fish by coastal anglers (Murauskas and Mumford 2006).

Literature

Among the reputable publications that exist include federal and state documents and management plans, and degree program theses from few universities. Federal publications include reports from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River Herring (ASMFC 1999; ASMFC 2001). Some state-level publications exist for shad and herring management efforts, such as North Carolina’s Shad and River Herring Fisheries and Monitoring Programs (NCDMF and NCWRC 2004). Connecticut (Gephard and McMenemy 2004), Pennsylvania, Maryland (Chesapeake Bay Agreement 2000), South Carolina, Georgia (Ulrich et al. 1979), and Florida (McBride 2000) also have implemented fishery management and monitoring programs for Alosa species. Georgia produced reports in the 1960s and 1970s regarding life history aspects of hickory shad (Street and Adams 1969) and Altamaha River shads (Street 1969). Florida has river-specific management efforts for diadromous fishes in the St. John’s River (Harris and McBride 2004). A few publications address coast-wide and/or genus-level stock status and management issues (Rulifson 1994; Yako et al. 2002). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a useful series that includes egg, larvae, and juvenile development descriptions of hickory shad (Hardy 1978). Only three Master of Science theses were located. Pate (North Carolina State University, 1972) characterized life history aspects of hickory shad, as did Batsavage (East Carolina University, 1997) and Watkinson (Virginia Commonwealth University, 2004).

Although hickory shad research has been limited, other clupeids, especially Alosa species in the United States, have received comparatively substantial attention (e.g., Limburg and Waldman 2003). A similar alosine the region, American shad (A. sapidissima), has been frequently studied (Atkinson 1951; Dodson and Dohse 1984; Melvin et al. 1986; Quinn and Adams 1996; Leonard and McCormick 1999a, 1999b; Leonard et al. 1999; Waters et al. 2000; Limburg and Waldman 2003). Further, an overwhelming amount of related information exists on fish migration, bioenergetics, reproduction, physiology, and other related topics.

References