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| Illustration by Duane Raver. |
In February, Alabama Shad (Alosa alabamae) began their migration of over 100 miles, from
the Gulf of Mexico up the Apalachicola River to the Chattahoochee area, where
they will spawn. Shad are an anadromous
species. This means that, like northern
salmon, spawning occurs in freshwater rivers but adults spend most of their
lives in the salt waters of the Gulf.
FNAI scientists monitor research on the status and trends in the Florida
population. Historically, shad spawned
in rivers across the northern Gulf Coast from the Mississippi to the Suwannee
and were abundant enough to support a commercial fishery for them in
Apalachicola. In recent years, spawning
in Florida has been limited to the Apalachicola River system. The Florida population is ranked S2, meaning
that shad are rare and vulnerable to extinction in the state. Scientists believe declines in shad abundance
are mainly due to dams which block the upstream migration of spawning
fish.
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| Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission biologists capture, tag, and release adult Alabama Shad to monitor
movement and aid in the development of accurate population estimates.
Once a portion of the shad population is tagged and released, biologists can
later catch more fish and use the percentage of fish that are caught with tags
to estimate the size of the entire shad population. Photo by Rick Long, FWC. |
The Nature Conservancy has a great
post on efforts to operate the Jim Woodruff dam on the Apalachicola River in a
way that should help to increase spawning success: Conservation Locking at Jim Woodruff Dam.
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