American Shad
DEC released the final Recovery Plan for Hudson River American Shad (PDF) on March 22, 2023. This plan outlines the efforts undertaken to recover the stock since its collapse and develops a transparent and science-based roadmap for re-opening the shad fisheries.
American shad (Alosa sapidissima) is a migratory species that has a long history in the Hudson River. Native and colonial Americans fished for shad for sustenance often smoking the flesh and consuming the roe (i.e. eggs) as a delicacy. American shad continued to be an important recreational and commercial fishery throughout the 20th century. However, the Hudson stock has declined in recent years, and as a result, all recreational and commercial fisheries for American shad were closed in 2010.
Current Fishery
- Recreational and commercial fishing for American shad is prohibited in the Hudson River and the Marine District of New York and any American shad should be immediately released back into the water if they are caught incidentally
- Consult the freshwater fishing regulations for recreational fishing within inland waters and the Delaware River.
Management
American shad are managed through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Due to significant declines in coastal landings of American shad, ASMFC recommended a closure of all ocean fishing in 2005. Shortly after, the 2007 ASMFC stock assessment indicated the Hudson River American shad population was severely depleted prompting a complete closure of recreational and commercial fishing in the Hudson River in 2010. Since the closure, the Hudson River population remains depleted based on findings from the most recent 2020 ASMFC benchmark stock assessment (PDF, leaves DEC website).
The 2020 ASMFC benchmark stock assessment (PDF, leaves DEC website) found the adult mortality for the Delaware River population to be unsustainable. Commercial and recreational fishing in the Delaware River Basin remains open, but requires an ASMFC approved Sustainable Fishing Plan every five years. The current Delaware River Sustainable Fishing Plan for American Shad (PDF, leaves DEC website) was recently revised by DEC staff and other members of the Delaware Basin Fish and Wildlife Cooperative (Delaware Coop) for 2022-2026.
Hudson River American Shad Recovery Plan
DEC released the final Recovery Plan for Hudson River American Shad (PDF) on March 22, 2023. This plan outlines the efforts undertaken to recover the stock since its collapse and develops a transparent and science-based roadmap for re-opening the shad fisheries.
Since 2010, DEC and other state and federal agencies and stakeholders have taken measures to address the Hudson River American shad stock. These include:
- Continued annual monitoring of young of year (YOY) and spawning stock biomass (SSB) to keep a current understanding of the stock status
- Development of two Delaware Basin American Shad Sustainable Fishing Plans in 2016 and 2022, which added a mixed-stock benchmark for shad harvest in Delaware Bay that limits the number of Hudson River American Shad that can be harvested
- Implementation of improved bycatch monitoring and shad bycatch caps in Mackerel and Atlantic Herring Fisheries in Atlantic Coastal waters, which limits the number of American shad that can be caught as bycatch in some federal fisheries
- Initiation of a NYSDEC and Cornell University research project to determine the proportion of shad bycatch in coastal fisheries and specifically the proportion of bycatch from the Hudson River stock
- Reduction of American shad mortality at over five significant industrial water users on the Hudson River, most notably with the closure of Indian Point Energy Center in 2021 that was permitted 2 billion gallons per day
To understand American shad recovery in the Hudson River, it is imperative that we track the stock status. NYSDEC will continue to monitor the SSB and YOY production of American shad in the Hudson River on an annual basis. From these data, we will track adult female mortality, adult female biomass, and juvenile production.
Our proposed short-term objective is to return all three of the measures that we monitor to the conditions observed in the mid-1980s. We aim to meet this objective by continuing to take actions identified in the plan that reduce mortality and by waiting to re-open fisheries until the stock can handle the additional fishing mortality.
Long-term Monitoring Programs
NYSDEC maintains three long-term monitoring programs for American shad:
Hudson River Spawning Stock Survey
Since 1985, a 500 foot haul seine and an electrofishing boat are used from April though June to catch spawning American shad. Length, weight, and sex information is recorded and scale samples for aging are collected from the fish before being tagged and returned to the river.
Hudson River Young of Year Survey
Since 1980, a 100 foot seine is used from June through October to catch newly hatched young of year American shad. The fish are counted and measured and average catch rates are calculated. View a graph of the Hudson River young of year abundance index.
Non-tidal Delaware River Young of Year Survey
Since 1988, a 200 foot seine is used from August through October to collect newly hatched young of year American shad in the non-tidal portion of the Delaware River. Sampling is managed jointly with the Delaware Coop. View a graph of the non-tidal Delaware River young of year abundance index.
Additional Research
Acoustic Tagging
From 2009-2012, the NYSDEC acoustically tagged 174 adult American shad to better understand in-river movements and the location of spawning sites. The majority of tagged fish exhibited oscillated upstream and downstream movement patterns during the spawning run which may be related to spawning ground selection, batch spawning, foraging, or physiological tolerances.
Genetics
In collaboration with Cornell University, we are sequencing the genome of various Atlantic coast stocks of American shad to identify areas of polymorphism that may be indicative of stock of origin. This research will aid in the develop a genetic baseline for coast wide stocks to help estimate the harvest of Hudson River American shad from various fisheries in federal waters off the Mid-Atlantic and New England Coast.
More about American Shad :
- American Shad Young of Year Abundance Index - View graphs of young of year American shad abundance indices in the Hudson and Delaware rivers.
