Connecticut River American Shad Monitoring

American Shad

Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recently completed a third year of cooperatively monitoring juvenile American shad in the Connecticut River.

Biologists collect data on abundance, length, and weight to assess the growth, survival, and productivity of the population.

This study is designed to help determine the impacts of dams on juvenile American shad. 19th century dams prevent adults from migrating upriver to find spawning habitat, contributing to the decline of the iconic species.

Young shad are a food source for smallmouth and largemouth bass, walleye, perch, and northern pike. Shad also provide food for birds and terrestrial mammals, as well as marine fish including striped bass.

While surveying the river, biologists captured an array of fish species. In addition to American shad, they captured a 25'' walleye, 35'' carp, and 19'' smallmouth bass.

source: Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife

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