Common Shad ; American Shad 



jaws toothless; upper jaw with a sharp, deep notch at tip, the premax- 

 illaries meeting at a very acute angle; otherwise as in Pomololnis, to 

 which this genus is closely allied. There are 2 or 3 American species. 



a. Gillrakers very numerous, usually more than 100 on first arch; 



sapidissima, 105 

 aa. Gillrakers less numerous, not more than 70 on first arch; 



alabamce, 108 



Common Shad ; American Shad 



Alosa sapidissima (Wilson) 



The shad is found on our Atlantic coast from Florida to New- 

 foundland, its centre of abundance being from North Carolina to Long 

 Island. The principal shad rivers are the Potomac, Susquehanna, 

 and Delaware. In the early history of the country the abundance of 

 the shad excited unbounded astonishment. Nearly every river on the 

 Atlantic Coast was invaded in the spring by immense schools, which, 

 in their upward course, furnished an ample supply of choice food. 

 But through ever-increasing fishing operations the supply gradually 

 diminished until 30 years ago when the Federal and various State 

 governments began hatching the shad artificially. So successful have 

 these efforts been that, notwithstanding greatly increased fishing 

 operations and the curtailment of the spawning-grounds, the supply 

 in recent years has not only been maintained but largely augmented 

 in many streams. 



One of the satisfactory results of the artificial propagation of useful 

 food-fishes satisfactory because they *are absolutely proved and can- 

 not be questioned has been the introduction of the shad into the 

 waters of our Pacific Coast in which no shad were previously found. 



105 



