THE SHAD FOUNDATION’S

S H A D J O U R N A LA call for an international shad conferenceOne of Earth’s great biological invasions

Elementary school students speak up for American shad

VO L U M E 2 , N U M B E R 1 , F E B RUA RY 1 9 9 7

http://www.cqs.washington.edu/~hinrich/foundation.html

President’s Note:

SHAD ATLA

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A 116-YEAR-OLD AMERICAN SHAD SPECIMEN that ichthyologistDavid Starr Jordan collected in the Columbia River in 1880. To learn howthis East Coast native made its way to the Columbia, please turn to page 4.

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o reach out to the world’s shadcommunity, the Shad Foundationhas established a World Wide

WWW) homepage which contain

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A World Shad Conference 2A Great Shad Invasion 4One Night With Shad 9

The Shad Project 10Shad Bites (News Briefs) 11

TWeb (many links to shad-related organizationand descriptions of various shad specidescriptions and their natal river basinAlthough rudimentary, it presents a framework to aid those interested in shad worldwide to communicate with each other. Ithe future, we will develop a “forum” pageto allow interactive public discussion of issues related to shad and their ecosystem

Please introduce your friends and coleagues to the Foundation by directinthem to this new WWW site at the addresgiven above.

In this second issue of the Shad Jounal, Dr. Karin Limburg calls for a WorldShad Conference, proposing that we covene in 1998 or 1999 to evaluate the globstatus of shads. Four students at WestbroElementary School describe their adventures in returning shad to their traditionaspawning grounds in the Potomac RiveAnd an oceanographer and fisheries biolgist examine how shad took the Pacifi

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coast by storm starting in 1871.

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A World Shad Conference ProposalA proposal to convene an international

meeting to assess the status of alosines worldwide

by Karin E. Limburg

KAwholeUnivefrom nother of Sysat Kar

of habitats worldwide. Many of th

hads (Clupeidae: subfamily Alosi-nae) constitute a cosmopolitangroup of fishes that exploit a wide

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THE SHAD JOURNAL ®

Editor-in-Chief : Richard Hinrichsen

Board of Editors: Curtis Ebbesmeyer, CatherineHinrichsen

The Shad Journalis published quarterly (February,May, August, November) in association with the ShadFoundation, P.O. Box 21748, Seattle, Washington98111-3748. Direct phone inquiries to (206) 616-7449 and e-mail to hinrich@cqs.washington.edu.Copyright © 1997 Shad Foundation. All rightsreserved. Articles published herein reflect the viewsof the contributing authors and are not necessarilythose of the Shad Foundation.

Copyright. Permission to photocopy for internal orpersonal use is granted, but we request that readerssubscribe to The Shad Journal by becoming membersof the Shad Foundation.

Subscriptions. The annual membership/subscriptionrate is $15.00. Make checks or money orders payableto:

THE SHAD FOUNDATIONP.O. Box 21748

Seattle, WA 98111-3748

The Shad Foundation is a Washington State non-profitcorporation that was established in 1996 to promote a

range e30+ species in this subfamily currentlysupport or have historically supported important commercial fisheries.

Now, in the late 20th century, as thmounting pressures of human populatiogrowth and pollution continue to impingeon natural ecosystems, many of thesalosine species are experiencing seriodeclines. Some are locally extinct in largareas of their historic range and are threaened in the remainder. The triumvirate asaults of habitat loss or degradationpollution, and overharvesting could eventually result in global extinction of manyspecies.

This is a proposal to convene an intenational meeting to assess the status alosines worldwide. The purpose would bfour-fold: (1) to bring up to date the systematics of the group, including new information on phylogenies and distribution ospecies; (2) to describe the status (popution estimates, life history characteristicsexploitation, habitat and pollution statusof individual species; (3) to synthesize global trends in shad populations; and (4) develop recommendations for management strategies.

This format is based upon a highly successful conference held in 1994 at thAmerican Museum of Natural History inNew York City to assess the global statu

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SHAD JOURNAL February 1997

The

RIN E. LIMBURG is a fisheries ec-ecosystem influences on fish poprsity) concerned the ecological coatal rivers. She continues studies

estuarine fish questions. For furthetems Ecology, University of Stockhin_L@system.ecology.su.se.

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of sturgeons. Dr. John R. Waldman of thHudson River Foundation, a key organizeof the 1994 sturgeon conference, is inteested in the proposed shad conference acomplement to the sturgeon conferencBut we must first determine what interest shad conference holds for the global scietific community.

As the mounting pres-sures of human popula-

tion growth and pollutioncontinue to impinge on

natural ecosystems, manyalosine species are experiencing serious declines.

Is there sufficient interest among the researchers and managers involved wialosines to warrant such a conferenceThat is why we are placing this proposal ifront of the Shad Journal’s readership—wwish to find out.

If the interest is there, then we wilidentify a venue and means to underwrithe meeting. We plan to schedule the meeing for 1998 or 1999. We will publish theproceedings, most likely as a special issuof a refereed scientific journal. We willalso construct a World Wide Web hom

Author

ologist with interests in life history theoryulation dynamics. Her dissertation (1994,nstraints on juvenile American shad mi on American shad migration and also wr information, contact the author at the Depolm, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden, or via

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page for the conference which will contaiabstracts, papers and data that authomake available, and a directory of shad rsearchers worldwide.

Please send your opinions and proposed shad topics before May 1, 1997 the author, Karin E. Limburg, whose postaand e-mail addresses are listed below, orJohn R. Waldman, Hudson River Foundation, 40 West 20th Street, 9th Floor, NewYork, NY 10011, U.S.A. We welcome in-terest in joining planning/steering committees.

greater understanding of shad for the purpose of res-toration where depleted, or their wise recreational orcommercial use where abundant.

Trustees: Richard A. Hinrichsen,University of Wash-ington, Seattle, Washington;Curtis Ebbesmeyer,Evans-Hamilton, Inc., Seattle, Washington; RichardSt. Pierre, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Harrisburg,Pennsylvania.

Submissions.The editors welcome submission ofarticles on any aspect of shad. The Journal publishesletters, commentaries, histories, scientific articles,interviews, reviews, and philosophical and method-ological items related to shad the world over. (Seeinstructions on back cover.)

and Cornellgrationorks onartment e-mail

SHAD JOURNAL February 1997 3

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DATA SOURCE: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome 1985

Tropic of Cancer

Tropic of Capricorn

Arctic Circle

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Common Species Name Scientific Name Approximate Geographical DistributionBlueback shad Alosa aestivalis (Mitchill, 1814) N. America (Atlantic coasts from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia south to St. John’s R., Florida).

Alabama shad Alosa alabamae (Jordan & Evermann, 1896) Gulf of Mexico from Mississippi delta east to Choctawatchee R.; also Iowa, Arkansas to W. Virginia rivers.

Allis shad Alosa alosa (Linnaeus, 1758) European coasts from Bergen, Norway to northern Mauritania, also western Mediterranean. Not in Baltic Sea.

Caspian marine shad Alosa brashnikovi (Borodin, 1904) Caspian Sea, mainly in south.

Caspian shad Alosa caspia (Eichwald, 1838) Caspian Sea, Black Sea, Sea of Azov.

Skipjack shad Alosa chrysochloris (Rafinesque, 1820) Gulf of Mexico (from Corpus Christi, Texas east to Pensacola, Florida). In Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

Twaite shad Alosa fallax (Lacepède, 1803) European coasts from south Iceland coast, British Islands, Baltic, to Morocco; whole of Mediterranean Sea.

Caspian anadromous shad Alosa kessleri (Grimm, 1887) Caspian Sea (in the sea and along both shores of central and northern parts; south and southeast in winter).

Black Sea shad Alosa maeotica (Grimm, 1901) Black Sea and Sea of Azov.

Hickory shad Alosa mediocris (Mitchill, 1814) N. America. Atlantic coasts from Maine to the St. John’s R., Florida.

Pontic shad Alosa pontica (Eichwald, 1838) Black Sea and Sea of Azov (also in Don, Danube and other rivers).

Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus (Wilson, 1811) N. America. Atlantic coasts from Gulf of St. Lawrence to N. Carolina; in streams and rivers. Great Lakes.

American shad Alosa sapidissima (Wilson, 1811) N. America. Spawning from St. John to St. John’s R. on E. Coast, Columbia to Sacramento R. on W. Coast.

Saposhnikovi shad Alosa saposhnikovi(Grimm, 1887) Caspian Sea, including lower parts of Volga R.; more common in north.

Agrakhan shad Alosa sphaerocephala (Berg, 1913) Caspian Sea (more common in northern and central parts).

Brazilian menhaden Brevoortia aurea (Spix & Agassiz, 1829) E. coast of South America from Brazil to Argentina.

Finescale menhaden Brevoortia gunteri(Hildebrand, 1948) Gulf of Mexico. Chandeleur Sound, Louisiana, to Gulf of Campeche, Mexico.

Gulf menhaden Brevoortia patronus(Goode, 1878) Gulf of Mexico. Florida Bay, Gulf of Campeche, Mexico.

Argentine menhaden Brevoortia pectinata (Jenyns, 1842) E. coast of South America. Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina.

Yellowfin menhaden Brevoortia smithi (Hildebrand, 1941) Atlantic coasts (Beaufort N. Carolina to Indian R., Florida). Gulf of Mexico (Biscayne Bay eastward).

Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus (Latrobe, 1802) Atlantic coasts (Nova Scotia south to Indian R., Florida).

Pacific menhaden Ethmidium maculatum (Valenciennes, 1847) W. coast of S. America. Gulf of Guayaquil south to Talcahuano.

Bonga shad Ethmalosa fimbriata (Bowdich, 1825) Eastern central Atlantic (Dakhla, western Sahara, to Lobito, Angola). Dwarf population in Lake Nokoué, Benin.

Kelee shad Hilsa Kelee (Cuvier, 1829) Indo-West Pacific. From Gulf of Oman, south to Durban and Madagascar. Bay of Bengal to Papua New Guinea.

Hilsa shad Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822) Northern Indian Ocean from the Persian Gulf eastward to Burma; also in rivers.

Longtail shad Tenualosa macrura (Bleeker, 1852) Malaysia and Indonesia (Java Sea and Sarawak, also effluent rivers.)

Reeves shad Tenualosa reevesii(Richardson, 1846) China. From about 30 degrees N. latitude southward into South China Sea. Spawns in Yangtze River.

Laotian shad Tenualosa thibaudeaui (Durand, 1940) Mekong R. system. Mool R., Thailand; Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Pakse, Hatsalao, Tha Ngon and Tha Bo, Laos.

Toli shad Tenualosa toli (Valenciennes, 1847) India (eastern and western coasts, also rivers) to Java Sea and South China Sea.

Indian river shad Gadusia chapra (Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822) Rivers of India and Bangladesh affluent to the Bay of Bengal.

Burmese river shad Gadusia variegata (Day, 1869) Rivers of Burma (chiefly the Irrawaddy; perhaps others).

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THE WORLD DISTRIBUTION OF SHADS. Each number shows an approximate species location. Species of the same genusare given the same geometric figure, e.g., represents the genusAlosa. A map key is given below.

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Oceanography of The Pacific Shad InvasionSeth Green’s bold experiment, transporting shad via the transcontinental

railroad to the U.S. West Coast in 1871, fostered one of earth’s greatbiological invasions

by Curtis Ebbesmeyer and Richard Hinrichsen

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“…instead of migrating up the coafrom south to north in the spring and baagain in the fall, they simply spend theoceanic life in the seas quite adjacent the rivers where born, and return to thein the proper season.”

ing runs of American shad. His rea

o wrote the great biologist SpenceFullerton Baird on April 6, 1871,to explain the ocean habits an

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SPENCER BAIRD, director of theSmithsonian Institution and the firstU.S. Fish Commissioner, once believedthat American shad underwent no long-range oceanic migrations. He wasproven wrong by Seth Green’s boldexperiment.

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spawnsoning, built upon Occam’s Razor (the simplest explanation is best), was flawless, bthere was one problem—his conclusionwere wrong. They were proven so not by scientist, but by a sports enthusiast and poneer fish culturist from Albany, NewYork, named Seth Green.

For eons American shad (Alosa sa-pidissima) migrated at sea only along theeast coast of North America. That changeirreversibly in June 1871 when Seth Greetransported thousands of shad fingerlingto the Sacramento River, California, fromhis hatchery on New York's Hudson Rivevia the then-recently completed transcontnental railroad. Green planted the shad the request of the California FisherieCommission. (Other fish culturists, starting with Livingston Stone in 1873, wouldeventually also make this transcontinentjourney with shad fry, but under the auspices of the U.S. Fish Commission.)

None realized that concurrently withthe shad planting the oceanographic condtions along the Pacific coast became idefor shad's coastal ocean migrations. In pabecause of this environment, North America's largest American shad run, totalinabout 5 million annually, now occurs onthe Columbia, which is the largest river bvolume flowing into the Pacific Oceanfrom North America. Here we considehow temperature anomalies and ocean curents may have fostered one of earth

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great, but poorly understood, biological invasions.

Shad Surprise

At the time Green conducted his bolexperiment, eminent scientists did not supect shad's invasion potential. Before ditant shad colonization became evidenSpencer F. Baird, the first U.S. Fish Commissioner, put forward his simple, yeflawed, theory of the shad’s ocean habits

By the 1880s the establishment of shain the Columbia River 600 miles north oSacramento became apparent to salmfishermen who caught the shad in thenets and threw them onto shore to rot anto scientists who received reports of shaspecimens sent to the National Museum Washington, D.C.

Shad's rapid invasion northward, at rate of 100-200 kilometers per year, gavBaird pause, prompting him to seek morerobust explanation for shad's behavior—one that considered both oceatemperatures and currents.

In 1887 Baird wrote:

“The cause is probably to be sought in thegenial influences of the Japan current,which brings the warmth of equatorialAsia to temper the extremes of the Arcticclimate on the southern shore of the Alas-kan Peninsula, and thence sweeping to thesouth, carries tropical heat to the latitudeof San Francisco. Repelled on the onehand by the low temperature of the greatrivers and fringe of the coastal waters, andsolicited on the other by the equable andhigher temperature of the Japan current,the shad have become true nomads, andhave broken the bounds of the hydro-graphic area [San Francisco Bay] to whichwe had supposed they would be restricted.Following the track of the Asiatic current,and finding more congenial temperaturesas they progress, it is not unreasonable toexpect that some colonies will eventually

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reach the coast of Asia and establish them-selves in its great rivers.”

Baird's theory combined shad's senstivity to water temperature with the meager knowledge of sea currentsoceanographers possessed in the la1800s. Though crude, his theory represents perhaps the first application of fisheies oceanography, now—more than century later—a burgeoning discipline.

Seth Green’s Bold Experiment

SETH GREEN, the father of fish cul-ture in America, successfully trans-ported 10,000 shad fry from hishatching establishment on the Hud-son River to the Sacramento River in1871.

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Seth Green’s account of his journey to California, published in the Report of the New York Fish Commissioners, 1872

he most inter-esting experi-

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mthe transportationof the [shad] fry toCalifornia. This wasundertaken at theexpense o f the[fish] commission-ers of California,but with the permis-s ion of the NewYork [Fish] Com-miss ioners. Theattempt was appar-ently hopeless, andnothing but failurewas predicted, butit turned out to be asuccess…

On the 19 thday of June, 1871,I started at 6 a.m.from my hatchingestablishment tenmi les be low A l -bany, on the Hud-son R iver, w i th

THE HATCHING ESTABLISHMENT on the HudsonRiver where Seth Green hatched the 10,000 American shadfry which he planted in the Sacramento River.

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twelve thousand young shad in four eigThey had been hatched the night before at the establishmentunder charge of the New York [Fish] Commissioners. I arrivedat Rochester at 10 p.m., and changed the water, substitutingthat from the Genesee River, without injury to the fish. I arrivedat Cleveland at 7:45 the next morning; put two hundred shad inLake Erie, and changed the water again. The fish were thenfresh and lively, without any signs of sickness. I again changedthe water at Toledo, and when I arrived at Chicago at 7 p.m. thefish were still in good order. Here I first tried the water from thecity water-works, but found there was too much oil in it; so Iwent to the lake. Having tasted the water and found that itwould answer, I put two hundred fish in Lake Michigan, andJune 21 started with cans newly filled, at 10:45 a.m., for Califor-nia. I carried an extra can of water, for before me was a longstretch of almost arid land; still I was fortunate enough to findsome places between Chicago and Omaha where I could get afew pails of water and make a partial change. The fish were stillin good order when we arrived at Omaha; but there I could notfind any water in which they would live five minutes. The way Itested the water was by filling a tumbler and putting a few fish init; it was easy to tell at once, by the behavior of the fry, whetherthe water agreed with them or not. I did not get a full change un-til I reached Laramie River. From Omaha I did not find any goodwater for four hundred miles, and the only way I kept mycharges alive was by drawing the water out of the cans intopails, and pouring it from one pail into another until purified;this process being assisted by my getting a little ice-water fromthe car-tanks.

June 22.—Bad water all day, with the thermometer 100 de-grees Fahrenheit [38 degrees Celsius] in the shade from 9 a.m.

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to 4 p.m. I used ice-water the entire day, a very little at a time, andhad hard work to keep the temperature of the water below 82 de-grees Fahrenheit [28 degrees Celsius]. I began to feel blue, anddoubtful of the result. The fish suffered considerably, but theweather began to be cold toward night, and I got the temperatureof the water down to 75 degrees Fahrenheit [24 degrees Celsius]at 9 p.m., the fish recovering a little.

June 23.—I arrived at Laramie River at 5 p.m. and got a goodchange of water; fish doing well, and I began once more to feelhopeful and encouraged. We had a frost that night, and nextmorning at 7, I changed water at Green River, where it was inproper condition. At 2 p.m. I got another change from a stream inwhich there were trout, and again at Ogden, where I put two hun-dred fish in the river.

June 25.—The water was changed at the Humboldt River;the water was good and continued good all the rest of the way.

June 26.—I arrived at Sacramento and took the fish up theriver two hundred and seventy-five miles from Sacramento, incompany with Messrs. Redding and Smith, the California fisherycommissioners. In their presence I deposited the fish in the Sac-ramento River the same night at 10 p.m.; there was about tenthousand in good order.

On the sixth and seventh days out they began to be verybusy looking for food. Whenever I changed the water they wouldclean up all the food there was in it in five minutes. They did notsuffer for food as long as the sack [yolk sac] lasted on their bel-lies; that is about five days; then they needed sustenance. If Icould get a change of water often enough from running streams Icould carry them a long way, as nearly all streams are filled withsmall insects. With this view I examined the water of the Sacra-mento where I put them in, and found plenty of food for the youngfry. I then went down to the Pacific Ocean and found that therewere plenty of sand-fleas, which are the principal food of the oldshad in the Atlantic. And now I can only say that if they do nothave shad in the Pacific Ocean there will be but one cause, theroily water, caused by washing the mountains down for gold.However, I think the fish will get through all right.

SHAD JOURNAL February 1997 5

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Today few scientists are aware of thNorth American shad invasion, and thufar no theory has been advanced beyoBaird's. Here we revisit Baird's interpretation in light of recent reconstructions olate 19th-century oceanographic condtions in the Pacific Ocean.

El Niño and George Davidson's Current

William C. Leggett's pioneering stud-ies demonstrated that the shad migratealong the U.S. east coast in waters wittemperatures between 13-18 degrees Csius just prior to spawning. Because Greeplanted east coast American shad, we hpothesized a similar temperature prefeence along America's west coasHowever, as the table below demonstratefor much of the year surface waters at thmouth of San Francisco Bay, througwhich the shad must pass as they swiinto the Pacific Ocean, are typically coldethan pre-spawning adult shad prefer. Wtherefore sought a mechanism by whiccoastal temperatures would rise into thshad's range, explaining the explosive invsion from San Francisco Bay. The canddate? El Niño.

Since World War II, numerous oceanographic studies have produced a comprhensive understanding of El Niño eventsRoughly, it consists of a sequence of phyical processes stretching across the Paci

6 SHAD JOURNAL February 1997

A STRONG EL NIÑO would raise waterthe shad’s preferred range. Tabled here tures at San Francisco, California (37°48and at Neah Bay, Washington (48°22'N. LNiño temperatures were estimated by adage. Temperatures in bold lie in America18 degrees Celsius).

Month San Francisco Tem(degrees Cels

Mean With

January 10.4

February 10.9

March 11.6

April 12.4

May 13.1June 13.9July 14.7August 15.2September 15.5October 14.8November 13.0December 11.2

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Ocean, which results in increased tempertures along North America's west coasDuring an event's beginning phase, zonwinds along the equator increase istrength, driving warm waters eastwarthereby piling them against the west coaof South America. Then, some of the warmwater is deflected northward. El Niñovary greatly in duration, some persistinfor several years. They also vary instrength.

“…it is not unreasonableto expect that some colo-nies will eventually reach

the coast of Asia andestablish themselves in its

great rivers.”

During very strong El Niños the warmwater penetrates north to the Gulf oAlaska, but during normal events no further than San Francisco. Studies of coasfauna suggest that El Niños have occurrefrequently. Strong ones have occurreabout once every decade over the past 5years.

When Baird contemplated the shad invasion, the surface waters off the U.S. we

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temperatures off the U. S. west coast intare mean and estimated El Niño tempera'N. Latitude; 51 years of measurements)

atitude; 37 years of measurements). The Eding 3 degrees Celsius to the monthly avn shad’s preferred temperature range (13

peratureius)

Neah Bay Temperature(degrees Celsius)

El Niño Mean With El Niño

13.4 7.3 10.3

13.9 7.4 10.4

14.6 7.9 10.9

15.4 9.1 12.1

16.1 10.6 13.616.9 11.6 14.617.7 11.8 14.818.2 11.6 14.618.5 11.3 14.317.8 10.6 13.616.0 9.4 12.4

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coast were often abnormally warm because an unusual number of El Niños ocurred during the 30-year period 18641894. During these El Niño eventstongues of water possibly as warm as 1degrees Celsius pushed northward alothe coast, sometimes as far as Cape Fltery, Washington, as during the El Niño o1982-83. In the strong El Niño of 1957-58water 3 degrees Celsius warmer than nomal was found in a layer 100 meters deeoff Washington State.

Although Green could not have anticipated it when he planted his shad fry i1871, six to seven years later, when hshad would be mature, a strong El Niñpushed northward, creating ideal condtions for a shad invasion of the Pacificoast.

To reconstruct the temperatures thmaturing shad may have encounterealong the Pacific Coast, we added 3 dgrees Celsius to monthly average surfawater temperatures recorded at the souern (Golden Gate, California) and norther(Neah Bay, Washington) ends of the Davidson Current [See table at left].

The reconstructed sea surface tempetures indicate that the nearshore waters othe coast of Washington State might havwarmed to above the maturing shad's lowest preferred temperature (13 degrees Csius) between the Golden Gate and CaFlattery during May through October1877-1878. If so, this would have openethe way for pre-spawning adults to migratto the Columbia River to spawn. Indeedby 1880, ichthyologist David Starr Jordanconfirmed that shad had invaded the Clumbia; he sent two specimens collected Astoria, Oregon to the Smithsonian Institution as proof [Specimen numbers 2552and 27322, Smithsonian InstitutionNMNH, Division of Fishes].

While Baird formulated his theory ofwhy shad invaded the West Coast, GeorDavidson of the U.S. Coast and GeodetSurvey first identified the coastal currenflowing from San Francisco northward toVancouver Island, Canada. It was a trasient river at sea, 50 miles [81 kilometerswide, developing each October and vanising in April of the following year. The cur-rent is named in Davidson’s honobecause, by alerting sea captains to its eistence, he saved countless lives at sea.

When Green's shad migrated to sethrough San Francisco’s Golden Gate duing the fall of 1871 (as they are now knowto do), they essentially entered a swift cu

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Chicago, ILOmaha, NEOgden, UT

Sacramento, CA

Seth Green’s railroad journey

Train stops

First West Coast shad observations

Major ocean currents

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Alaskan Stream

Alaska Coastal

Current

Gulf Stream

Labrador

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Karluk, AK1926

Karluk, AK1926

Kasilfof, AK1904

Kasilfof, AK1904

Stikine River, AK1891

Stikine River, AK1891

Vancouver Island, B.C.1876

Vancouver Island, B.C.1876

Columbia River1876, 1880

Columbia River1876, 1880

Tehama, CASacramento R.June 26, 1871

Tehama, CASacramento R.June 26, 1871

Wilmington, CA1876

Wilmington, CA1876

San Diego, CA1916

San Diego, CA1916

Mull’s Fishery, NY.Hudson R. June 19, 1871

Mull’s Fishery, N.Y.Hudson RiverJune 19, 1871

The Shad Express — An Invasion Aided by Humans, Trains, and Ocean Currents

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GEORGE DAVIDSON, a pioneer WestCoast scientist of the late 19th centuryand a member of the National Academyof Sciences, discovered an inshore eddycurrent which may have propelled shadfry northward from the Golden Gate,helping them take by storm the PacificCoast of North America.

rent winding its way along the west coasof North America. Within the DavidsonCurrent the young shad fry would bepushed along at a rate of 1-2 miles [1.6-3kilometers] per hour northward.

The Davidson Current has apparentlaided plant migrations up the Pacific coasThe “sea rocket,”Cakile edentula, a plant in-digenous to the Atlantic coast of NorthAmerica, first arrived on the Berkeley shorof San Francisco Bay in 1882. By 1891 was commonly found around the Bay anoutside the Golden Gate, 36 kilometersouth to Half Moon Bay. It spread northwarat a rate of 65 kilometers per year, reachinOregon by 1901, Washington by 1907, British Columbia by 1909, and Kodiak Islandoff Alaska by 1931. Amazingly, this rate issimilar to the northward invasion rate oshad—about 100 kilometers per year.

Invasion Routes to Asia

That shad have survived and thrived foa century despite the comings and goingof El Niños, suggests that they have repeaedly found their preferred spawning temperatures along the West Coast shorelinWe cannot disagree with Baird in thasome shad may even have reached AsAmerican shad apparently have been oserved near the Kamchatka Peninsula, btemperatures there would be beyond thepreferred spawning temperature range. Tfind more congenial spawning temperatures, they would be forced southwaralong the west Pacific or they would returto the warm waters of their birth.

For shad to cross the Pacific, themight take two routes: (1) in tropical lati-tudes, swimming with the North Equatorial Current (NEC); or (2) following the

8 SHAD JOURNAL February 1997

The Authors

CURTIS C. EBBESMEYER is a conscializing in drifting objects. He is the fouand Oceanographers International Assothe understanding of things afloat on thecontact the author at 6306 21st Ave. NE,U.S.A.

RICHARD A. HINRICHSEN is a reseversity of Washington in Seattle, Washinof the Shad Foundation.

The authors thank Lisa Palmer of the vision of Fishes, Washington, D.C., for collected in the Columbia River and C. MMuseum and Science Center Library, Rhelp in researching Seth Green’s transco

system of coastal currents (CC) flowincounter-clockwise around the North Pacific Ocean.

The California Current sweeps southward off the shelf of Oregon and California and continues on as the NEC, crossinthe south side of the great gyre to the Phippines. An object drifting in this currentwould typically cross the Pacific in threeyears. However, if taking this route, shacould not sustain themselves in the opeocean’s nutrient-poor waters.

If shad followed the more nutrient-richcoastal route, drifting northward in theDavidson current, they could continueacross the Pacific in a clockwise directionconnecting with the Alaska Coastal Current along Canada and Alaska and with thAlaskan Stream along the Alaskan Peninsula. They would eventually reach Kamchatka where American shad have indeebeen observed.

Thus to reach Asia as Baird suggesteonly an indirect route—northward toAlaska, to Kamchatka and southward tChina—appears feasible because of foolimitations. Conceivably, migrating fromoff the Kamchatka Peninsula south towarChina, shad may have invaded numeroAsiatic rivers.

Questions Remain

From this brief consideration of theNorth American shad invasion we are lewith many questions which can only be answered with substantial research.

At the top of our list of questions are:(1) If shad are truly a transpacific spe

cies and Asian populations have spawnesince the last ice age, why were shad asent from the west coast of North Americ

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ulting oceanographer spe-nder of the Beachcombersciation, Inc., which fosters

sea. For further information, Seattle, Washington 98115,

arch consultant at the Uni-gton, U.S.A., and president

Smithsonian Institution, Di-locating the shad specimen

arie Hall of the Rochesterochester, New York, for herntinental railroad journey.

A footnoted manu(U.S.) to the Sh98111-3748.

THE MIGRATIONS Otific American, Vo

EL NIÑO OCCURRE

TURIES. W. H. QJournal of Geop14449-14461; 1

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prior to 1871? Since American shad appear to have swum from North America tAsia, why did they not invade the Ameri-cas from Asia long before Green arrived?

(2) Did shad planted in West Coast rivers, after crossing the North Pacific, spawin Asia? Careful identifications of shad inAsian rivers may reveal great surprises.

We challenge our scientific readershito begin the international research and dilog to help answer these fundamental quetions.

Further Reading

script is available on request by sending $5.00ad Foundation, P.O. Box 21748, Seattle, WA

F THE SHAD. William C. Leggett inScien-l. 228, No. 3, pages 92-98; March 1973.

NCES OVER THE PAST FOUR AND A HALF CEN-

uinn, V. T. Neal, and S. E. A. De Mayolo inhysical Research, Vol. 92, No. C13, pages

987.IGIN, LIFE HISTORY, AND CHANCE ON THE

MIGRATION OF AMERICAN SHAD. Michaelry D. Melvin, P. James Williams and Daphneerican Fisheries Society Symposium, Vol. 1,

1987.

One Night with ShadA night of shad research spawns a great adventure

by Nick Richman and Karna Sandler

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The Authors

NICK RICHMAN, 11, attended West-brook Elementary for six years, and is nowattending Anslem Abbey School, Wash-ington, D.C. His favorite pastimes includemodel rocket launching, reading and mak-ing paper airplanes. He can be reached atKrich876@AOL.com.

KARNA SANDLER is now in thesixth grade, attending Westland MiddleSchool. She enjoys tennis, basketball, sail-ing, softball, and ice skating, and attendssummer camp in Maine.

SPAWNING SHAD ON THE POTOMAC, the crew squeeze eggs and sperm into abucket. From left to right are author Karna Sandler, Sandy Burk, Sandi Geddes,Karen Degerberg, and author Nick Richman.

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dler, TSandi Geddes drove to an area of the Pomac River near Mount Vernon. We meSandy Burk from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Jim Cummins from the Potomac River InterstatCommission. We were at the home of MHarley, a commercial waterman, who hamany stories about fishing on the Potoma

We boarded two boats, a flat-bottomework boat and a Key West, then motoreabout four miles to our fishing spot. Wewere fishing for American shad. We puout two 500 foot-long gill nets. It was hardwork casting the nets; they were tangleand arranging the weights on them required quick hands.

Our job was complicated when the batery on our workboat died. We were marooned with only some shovels to use apaddles. The Key West came to our rescand had to tow us for the remainder of ouadventure. We pulled our gill nets in anone by one American shad could be seenthe net. We released each fish from the nand threw them into large containers fillewith water. We threw back many fish thawere not American shad (striped bass anhickory shad). We also threw back somAmerican shad that were not ready witeggs and some females that we did nneed.

We Spawn the Shad

Back on a small, sandy beach, we sup a shad lab. We ran our fingers along thfemales’ abdomens and squeezed out theggs into a bowl. Then we held the mashad so that its abdomen was facing dowand squeezed the sperm into the sambowl. Jim Cummins stirred it together withhis hands. It looked like applesauce. Hadded water to it to activate the sperm. Hlet it sit for five minutes, and then he put in a container in the river. The container le

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the river water through, but didn’t let theeggs out.

We let it sit there for an hour. In themeantime, we measured and weighed tfish we had caught and recorded the daTo pass the time, we tried to guess homuch each shad weighed.

A Windstorm Whips Up Waves

Finally, we packed up the boats anstarted back to the dock. Little did weknow how long the trip back would be anhow big the waves would be! Because wwere being towed and it was so windy, took us more than one hour to get back! seemed like forever!! Those of us who sain the front of the boat (the kids, of coursegot soaked and soon retreated to the bac

When we eventually got back, JimCummins packed the eggs in plastic bagadded oxygen, and packed them in Styrfoam containers. The eggs had grown

the size of pearls and filled nine liter containers. They looked like translucent orange marbles. Mr. Cummins estimated thwe had fertilized 400,000 eggs. He toothem all to a fish hatchery that night. Bthe time we started home, it was almomidnight. Even though it was a late nighit was a great adventure!

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SHAD JOURNAL February 1997 9

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The Shad ProjectStudents strive to restore shad in the Potomac using a full shad system

by Michael Robinson and Trevor W. Swett

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he Aqua Eagles Stream Team habecome involved in the shad restoration project. We will raise and

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releasRiver. We have received a full shad systefrom the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. full shad system is a very complicateaquarium for raising shad. It consists omany assorted pumps, filters, valves, antubes attached to two tanks. The top tankwhere the shad will live. The bottomcleans the upper tank. This happens whbacteria, housed in the lower tank, flowinto the upper tank. Fortunately, these bateria are not germs. They’re good bacterthat help clean the upper tank.

Right now, the full shad system is running, but we have not gotten the shad yeBefore we put shad in the system, we havto run tests to see if the tank is workinproperly. Shad are extremely sensitivcreatures. If you so much as touch thewith a net in their aquarium, they will die.We are testing for ammonia, nitrite, nitrateand pH levels in the water. Temperaturalso makes a difference. We may have move the aquarium to a new area if the spwe have selected is too warm for the sha

Shad have been called poor man

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SHAD JOURNAL February 1997

Westbrook Elementaestbrook was chosen to be part of a pi school and release them as part of aac River. We are the only elementary

he Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the m Teams, and the Harrison Lake Hatceveral members of Westbrook's Streae Bay Trust to request funding for the nts helped to set up our “full shad sy

eleased May 1996. Aqua Eagle Streamocal watermen on the Potomac River ae just found out that we will be able to this year. Westbrook Stream Team won Saturday, April 19, 1997.

andi Geddes, Westbrook Elementary

or further information see the Westwww.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/westbr

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s-salmon because of their scrumptious roand delicious meat. They used to be scommon that people thought they couljust pick them out of the water.

Shad Perils

Over-fishing and dams have taken thetoll on the shad. Since 1963 the shad poplation has declined 94 percent in Marylanand 82 percent in Virginia.

If we do our part, the shadwill once again be abun-

dant in the Potomac.

To help you understand how dams anoverfishing are endangering the shawe’ll tell you a bit about the shad’s lifecy-cle. After the shad are born in the PotomaRiver, they migrate to the Atlantic OceanThere they stay for three to five yearsThen they return to their spawninggrounds to lay their eggs. Unfortunatelyblockages like dams sometimes stop the

ry’s Aquaculture Projectlot aquaculture project to raise shad larvaen extensive shad restoration project in the school that was part of this adventure!Montgomery and Prince George's Countyhery were project sponsors.m Team wrote a mini-grant to the Chesa-large aquarium system that was required.stem” on April 11, 1996. Shad were raised Team representatives collected shad datafter sunset on April 26, 1996. participate in the Shad Release Programill host the kick-off and education forum on

teacher, Bethesda, Maryland

brook Elementary School homepage atookes/shadstory.html.

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from getting there. This is a major problem; if the shad die before they spawnsoon there will be no more shad. Alsoshad refuse to spawn unless there is a larpopulation of shad around them. Thimeans that overfishing can destroy thshad population too. Our shad will bemarked with a chemical so that they can bidentified later.

Recently, people have been makinhatcheries to try to reintroduce shad to thPotomac. But there are not enough of thefacilities. This is where we come in.

We are the only elementary school iMaryland that is a part of this pilot pro-gram. A middle school and a high schooare also involved. A few of our memberhelped release shad last year.

A Tribute To the Project

As a tribute to the shad project weplanted five shadbushes next to our streaShadbushes were given their name bcause they bloom at the same time the shmigrate. [Shadbush, or serviceberry, is thcommon name for about 25 species oshrubs or small trees, genusAmelanchier,belonging to the rose family,Rosaceae.]

We cannot save the shad alone. Wneed your help. If we do our part, the shawill once again be abundant in the Potomac.

The Authors

MICHAEL ROBINSON is a sixthgrader at Pyle Middle School in Bethesda,Maryland. While at Westbrook Elemen-tary School, he was actively involved inthe Stream Team and the Shad Release Pro-gram. His family is a member of the Sierraand the Potomac Appalachian Trail clubs.He can be reached at Sjrobins@erols.com.

TREVOR W. SWETT, 11, also aformer Westbrook Elementary studentnow attends Saint Albans School in Wash-ington, D.C. He wants to be a writer or ascientist.

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Shad Bites

Shads Make a Splash in Iceland

Two scientists won high honors in lateSeptember 1996 for their research oalosines (members of the shad familywhich they presented at the 84th AnnuaScience Conference of the InternationaCouncil for the Exploration of the Sea(ICES) in Reykjavik, Iceland. Scientistsaround the world gathered at the confeence to present papers and posters in theme sessions and attend committee me

JOby su

__________________________NAME

_______________________________BUSINESS OR AGENCY (if applicable)__________________________ADDRESS ❑ HOME ❑ BUS

__________________________CITY

__________________________E-MAIL ADDRESS

__________________________AFFILIATION (S) (exampl

__________________________SHAD(S) OF INTEREST

__________________________INTEREST(S) IN SHAD (exam

Make your check or money order fo

2/97

Jim Norris, Port Townsend, Washington, UMizanur Rahman, Bergen, NorwayMichael Dadswell, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Judith D. Shardo, Mobile, Alabama, USAU.S.G.S. Research and Development

Pennsylvania, USAUpper Delaware Council, Inc., NarrowsburMelissa Grader, Turners Falls, MassachusMatthew J. O’Donnell, Turners Falls, MassClemon W. Fay, Indian Island, Maine, USAChristian S. Hinrichsen, Seattle, WashingtoBoyd Pfeiffer, Phoenix, Maryland, USAGreg Garman, Richmond, Virginia, USA

NEW CHARTThe Shad Foundation welcomes its new

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ings, mostly concerning North Atlanticfishery issues. Few papers dealt with thalosines, but two of these gained confeence honors. Overall best paper waawarded to Delphine Martin of Cemagreat Bordeaux, France for “Global model othe dynamics and ecology of the population of allis shad (Alosa alosa) in the Gi-ronde-Garonne-Dordogne watershed.” Ithe Anadromous/Catadromous theme sesion, Richard St. Pierre of the U.S. Fisand Wildlife Service in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was awarded best paper for hpresentation on American shad (A. sapidis-sima), “A recipe for success: Anadromous

S

IN THE SHAD FOUNDATIONbscribing to the Shad Journal

____________________________(PLEASE PRINT)

_________________________________

____________________________INESS

____________________________STATE ZIP

____________________________WORLD WIDE WEB ADDRESS

____________________________es: Hudson River Foundation, Delaware River S

____________________________

____________________________ples: biology, sports fishing, commercial fishing

r $15 U.S. payable to THE SHAD FOUNDATION, P.O

SA

Canada

Laboratory, Wellsboro,

g, New York, USAetts, USAachusetts, USA

n, USA

Pennsylvania Fish avania, USA

Jill Leonard, TurnersPhillip Bettoli, CookeLenox Dick, VancouvRichard St. Pierre, HaConnecticut Departm

necticut, USAConnecticut River CKarin E. Limburg, StoNewsdata Corp., SeaJorgen Skjeveland, AnCharles Paulsen, Lak

ER MEMBERS OF THE SHAD FOindividual and corporate members and inv

*Charter membership is open through 199

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fish restoration in the Susquehanna RiverFor further information contact Richard

St. Pierre at R5FFA_SRC@mail.fws.gov oDelphine Martin at Martin@Bor-deaux.Cemagref.fr.❐

First Rappahannock ShadFest

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation anthe Friends of the Rappahannock wisponsor their first ShadFest on April 191997 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. This outdoor family event of food and fun will becentered around the theme of restoring fi

(continued on back cover)

HAD JOURNAL February 1997 11

for $15

________________________________TITLE

_______________________________________

________________________________APT

________________________________COUNTRY

________________________________DAY PHONE

________________________________had Fishermen’s Association, etc.)

________________________________

________________________________, history, etc.)

Your annual subscription of $15includes an annual membership inthe Foundation and four issues of

the Shad Journal

. Box 21748, Seattle, WA 98111-3748 USA

nd Boat Commission, State College, Pennsyl-

Falls, Massachusetts, USAville, Tennessee, USAer, Washington, USArrisburg, Pennsylvania, USAent of Fisheries Division, Old Lyme, Con-

oordinator, Sunderland, Massachusettsckholm, Sweden

ttle, Washington, USAnapolis, Maryland, USA

e Oswego, Oregon, USA

UNDATIONites you to become a charter member*.

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Submissions

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Bites (continued)

passage on the Rappahannock River. Ov100 miles of shad and herring spawninhabitat are blocked by the Embrey Dam. bucket brigade “fish-lift” will be con-ducted if weather and the shad run coopeate. The festivities will include a traditionalVirginia shad planking (roasting shad onfruitwood boards over an open fire).

For further information contact theFriends of the Rappahannock at 540-3733448. ❐

Shad Fishing Tournament OffersLarge Prizes

The 15th Annual Forks of the Dela-ware Shad Fishing Tournament will beheld April 25-May 3, 1997 on the Dela-ware River near Easton, PennsylvaniGrand prizes are $1,500 for 1st place$1,000 for 2nd, and $850 for 3rd place, decreasing by $100 for subsequent places $150 for 10th place. There are also prizegiven daily and for the Women's Challenge. Participants can enjoy a fishing seminar and tackle swap, a kid's castincontest, a 4.5-mile shad run, and a shcook out. Last year's first-place winnewas John W. O’Hara of Quakertown, Pennsylvania, who landed a 7.03-pound, 25 5/8inch-long shad. For conservation, the organizers discourage fishing in the vicinity othe newly constructed shad ladders and the entire Lehigh River.

For further information, contact thetournament headquarters by phone a(610) 250-7136, or by mail at P.O. Box907, Easton, Pennsylvania, 18044-0907.❐

THE SHAD FOUNDATIONP.O. BOX 21748SEATTLE, WA 98111-3748USA

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

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New Book on Shad Fishing

A new book out on shad sports fishing“Experience the World of Shad Fishing,”by Lenox Dick has landed on the shelveand is piquing the interest of Northwesfishers. Dick’s book contains informationon history, biology, fishing equipment

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,

stream fishing, bank fishing, boats and achoring for shad, where to catch shad the U.S. and a chapter on boning shad. Tbook treats in detail sports fishing foAmerican shad in the Northwest. It is avaiable for $7.95 (U.S.) through Frank AmatPublications, P.O. Box 82112, PortlandOregon. (503) 653-8108.

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ALL contributions must be DOUBLE-SPACED. Submissions via e-mail or ondisk (Mac or DOS) are strongly encouraged. If e-mailing the contribution, youmay need to split it up and send it as seeral messages. No message should exce1.7 megabytes. Scanned photograpshould be e-mailed individually. Directyour contributions to Richard HinrichsenEditor-In-Chief, The Shad Journal, P.OBox 21748, Seattle, WA 98111-3748 or tthe e-mail address: hinrich@cqs.washington.edu.

Letters to the Editor and Articles. TheJournal publishes letters, commentariehistories, scientific articles, interviews, reviews, and philosophical and methodologcal items related to shad the world oveThere are no page limits but authors aasked to edit their submissions for claritand precision. Previously published itemfrom other sources can be republished the Journal if the contributor obtains permission of the author and the copyrighholder, and clearly identifies the originapublication. Articles translated into En-glish sare also welcome.

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Please do not include footnotes or refeences in the text. Choose 4-5 of the morelevant references for inclusion at the enof the article. References may include World Wide Web address. Write a short description of the site and its location fol-lowed by its address (URL). Write a briebiographical statement which includeyour interest in shad, and current workPlease include your e-mail address, fanumber, phone number, and postal addres

News Briefings (Shad Bites).Submit briefnews articles on developments relating shad in your area. For upcoming meetingsubmit a brief description, including title, ashort paragraph on objectives and contedates, location, registration requirementand the meeting contact person’s namstreet address, and phone/FAX/e-mail adress.

Obituaries.The Foundation will honor thememory of members and friends througobituaries. The obituary should describthe person’s history (date and place obirth, professional address and title) anhis/her involvement with shad.

BULK RATEU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDSEATTLE WA

PERMIT NO. 454