Alan Davidson

Shad, American Shad

Alosa sapidissima (Wilson)

Appears in
top 1000North Atlantic Seafood
North Atlantic Seafood

By Alan Davidson

Published 1980

  • About

Family Clupeidae

REMARKS Maximum length 75 cm, usual length 50 cm. The colour is dark blue above, shading to a silvery white below; whence the names white shad and poplarback shad. There is a golden tinge over the fish, especially the head, when it is in fat condition and at sea. Males have a reddish tinge on head and mouth in the spawning season. Note the depth of the body.

This important species has a range from Labrador to Florida; and also occurs on the Pacific coast, where it was introduced in the nineteenth century. Young shad are born in rivers in the summer and move out into the sea by the autumn. They usually remain there until they are five years old, when they re-enter the rivers to spawn. That is when they are caught.