Alabama shad 



Alosa alabamae 

 Adult 



10 cm 



(from Fischer 1978) 



Common Name: Alabama shad 



Scientific Name: Alosa alabamae 



Other Common Names: white shad, gulf shad, Ohio 



shad (Daniell 1872, Hildebrand 1963); alose de 



/'Alabama (French), sabalo de Alabama (Spanish) 



(Fischer 1978). 



Classification (Robins et al. 1991) 



Phylum: Chordata 



Class: Osteichthyes 



Order: Clupeiformes 



Family: Clupeidae 



Value 



Commercial : The Alabama shad is not an important 

 food fish, and no commercial landings have been 

 recorded since 1902 (Hildebrand 1963, Mills 1972). 

 However, it was historically seined from rivers and 

 marketed fresh in some local areas in the 1800's 

 (Fischer 1978, Mettee pers. comm.). 



Recreational : The Alabama shad has potential as a 

 recreational fish, and its taste compares favorably with 

 the more sought-after shad species. Despite this, it is 

 generally considered to be undesirable and too bony 

 for eating, thus receiving little attention from anglers 

 (Laurence and Yerger 1967, Mills 1972). Fish caught 

 are not usually kept, although some anglers fish forthis 

 species to use as bait, or as recreation while waiting for 

 more desirable game fish to bite (Hildebrand 1963, 

 Laurence and Yerger 1967, Mills 1972). 



Indicator of Environmental Stress The Alabama shad 

 is not typically used in studies of environmental stress, 

 but its decline in numbers throughout its range may be 

 at least a partial result of river impoundment, 

 channelization, and siltation (Lee et al. 1980). 



Ecological : All shad species are important forage fish 

 for predators (Eddy and Underhill 1982). Diminished 

 numbers of Alabama shad have led to its listing under 

 state endangered species laws in Kentucky, Missouri, 

 and Tennessee (Johnson 1 987). It is being considered 

 as a candidate species under the federal Endangered 

 Species Act (NMFS 1997). 



Range 



Overall : The Alabama shad originally inhabited most 

 principal stream tributaries and major river drainages 

 of the Gulf coast from the Suwanee River in Florida to 

 Grand Isle, Louisiana (Behre 1 950, Bailey et al. 1 954, 

 Hildebrand 1963, Laurence and Yerger 1967, Moore 

 1968, Mills 1972, Walls 1976). It formerly ascended 

 the Mississippi River and many of its major tributaries, 

 including the Red, Ouachita, Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, 

 and Tennessee Rivers, but has become rare or extir- 

 pated this far inland (Hildebrand 1963, Laurence and 

 Yerger 1967, Mills 1972, Lee et al. 1980). 



Within Study Area : This fish is indigenous to the coastal 

 waters of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico and its 

 drainages. It is found from Grand Isle, Louisiana to the 

 Suwanee River in Florida (Table 5.16) (Behre 1950, 

 Hildebrand 1963, Laurence and Yerger 1967, Moore 

 1968, Swingle 1971, Mills 1972, Millican et al. 1984). 

 Within its current range it is probably most common in 

 the Apalachicola River system (Laurence and Yerger 

 1967, Mills 1972, Mettee pers. comm.). 



Life Mode 



Eggs and larvae are pelagic and planktonic, and have 

 been collected only at night (Mills 1 972). Juveniles are 

 pelagic, nektonic, and schooling (Laurence and Yerger 

 1967, Mills 1972). Adults are pelagic, schooling, and 



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