Fishing Articles

American shad, once an important commercial and recreational fishery, declined sharply in the late 20th century; however, this trend may be reversing, thanks to the cooperative efforts of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Since 1998, the two agencies have worked together to restore depleted populations of American shad along the Atlantic Coast by stocking more than 8 million “marked” shad fry in the Roanoke River as part of the Roanoke River American Shad Restoration Program.

So far, Commission biologists have captured more than 50 3- to 4-inch, hatchery-origin juveniles in the lower Roanoke River, as well as three adult fish with hatchery marks upstream on the spawning grounds.

The appearance of these adult fish indicates that the propagation program is working and that some of the fish are surviving four to five years in the ocean and then returning to where they were stocked.

“The marked adult fish that we collected in 2005 and 2006 are the first hatchery-reared fish that have survived to spawning age that we’ve documented.” said Pete Kornegay, coastal region fisheries supervisor with the Commission.

Currently, only four rivers in North Carolina still support adequate stocks of American shad: the Cape Fear, Neuse, Tar, and Chowan rivers. Because of this, these rivers provide the brood fish used for fry production ...