126 



FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



called "shad" by some fishermen, the shad has in some localities acquired the 

 unneccessary name of "white shad". The wide difference in market value of 

 the sexes has resulted in their being kept as distinct in the fishing records as if 

 they were entirely different species; and the males are always called "bucks" 

 and the females "roes". Under the name "May shad" the fishermen of North 

 Carolina recognize a shad which comes after the regular run, mostly in May, and 

 is distinguished by its greater fatness, relatively deeper body, and thicker caudal 

 peduncle, as compared with the ordinary fish, and, in addition, by its rich golden 

 or brassy color. Dr. W. R. Capehart states that the names "short-tailed shad" 

 and "golden-backed shad" also are sometimes applied to this form. 



The female shad is larger than the male, the average difference being upward 

 of a pound. The average weight of males is about 3 pounds and of females about 

 4.75 pounds. In the early years of the shad fishery, examples weighing 11, 12, 

 and even 14 pounds were reported; but of late shad weighing more than 9 

 13.5 pounds have been very rare. There are certain seasons, however, when large 



Fig. 43. Shad. Alosa sapidissima. 



shad (7 to 9 pounds) are unusually numerous in some streams. One weighing 

 13.5 pounds was caught in a gill net in Roanoke Sound in 1899. On the Pacific 

 coast, the shad averages at least a pound heavier than on the Atlantic coast, and 

 occasionally attains a weight of 14 (perhaps more) pounds, while 9 to 12 pound 

 fish have not infrequently been reported. 



The shad passes most of its life in the ocean, and practically nothing is 

 known of its habits before it enters bays and rivers in spring or after it has with 

 drawn therefrom in fall. The movement of the shad from the ocean to the 

 fresh waters is exclusively for reproduction purposes, and the time of the migra- 

 tion bears a close relation to the latitude, or, in other words, to the water tem- 

 perature. Thus, in St. John's River, Florida, the southernmost shad stream, 

 shad appear early in November, while in Miramichi River, New Brunswick, the 

 run begins late in May, the intervening streams being entered in more or less 

 regular order. This difference in the time of arrival of the shad in different 

 sections does not imply that each year a great body of shad starts up the coast 

 from Florida and sends detachments into the various streams as the main body 



