Determining the current primary spawning river for American shad in the Albemarle Sound would help inform research efforts and resource management decisions to improve stocks.
For example, fish entering the Albemarle Sound to spawn primarily swim upstream on the Roanoke River or the Chowan River.
It is believed the fish generally return to their birthplace to spawn. In 2005, fishery managers closed commercial ocean fishing for this species, yet the most recent coastwide stock assessment found that most American shad stocks remain at all-time lows and do not appear to be recovering. Dams and other man-made impediments that block spawning habitat in rivers, combined with habitat degradation and overfishing, severely depleted American shad populations. Research NeedĪmerican shad once supported one of the largest commercial fisheries along the Atlantic Coast. This fish population, hit hard by historical overharvests and a large commercial fishery, is making a comeback - due to activities like state stocking of recently hatched shad - but not to the extent managers hoped. From late February through early April each year, American shad, often called “white shad,” return to North Carolina coastal waterways headed for obscure backwaters where they complete their mating rituals and lay eggs before returning to sea. Spring is officially here, and the shad are running. When these fish return to the Albemarle Sound to reproduce, they prefer one river basin - by far.
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