Alosa sapidissima
shad, common shad, river shad
The American shad has slender and silvery colored with a blue-green metallic hue on the back and has a black spot located on the side just behind the head, on the shad this spot is followed by several smaller dark spots. There is no lateral line on the shad.
At sea the American Shad eat zooplankton, small bottom crustaceans, and occasionally small fish.
American shad are anadromous fish (moving from the sea to spawn in freshwater) found along the Atlantic coast of North America from Newfoundland to Florida. Large spawning runs used to occur in the Shubenacadie and Annapolis rivers (also Saint John, Petitcodiac and Miramichi), but they are found in many Maritime coastal rivers. They have been introduced along the Pacific coast and now range from Alaska to California.
The American Shad are river specific and spend much of their life in the open sea, but come into the rivers to spawn.
Most catches are 2 to 3 pounds but many are caught at 5 pounds in size.
11 pounds, 2 ounces