232 
Fishery Bulletin 112(2-3) 
Figure 5 
Relationship between mesentery fat and somatic weight, both mea- 
sured in grams, of (A) female and (B) male Hickory Shad ( Alosa me- 
diocris) collected during February-May 1996 in Albemarle Sound and 
on the Roanoke River spawning grounds near Weldon, North Carolina. 
r 2 =coefficient of determination; f? 2 =coefficient of multiple determination. 
spawn up to 5 times. Hickory Shad appear to be iter- 
oparous south of Cape Hatteras as indicated by repeat 
spawners in the Neuse River (Pate, 1972; Hawkins 8 ), 
Altamaha River (Street, 1970), and St. Johns River 
(Harris et al., 2007). Because of the short life spans 
and limited number of spawning events (i.e., repeat 
spawning) exhibited by Hickory Shad and other Alosa 
species, successive years of poor recruitment could re- 
sult in relatively quick population declines. Therefore, 
our estimate of 0.75 for annual total mortality, sexes 
combined, is possible. State landings data for Hickory 
Shad after 1996 indicate that such a mortality esti- 
mate may have been real (Fig. 1). Landings stabilized 
in the 2000s decade. 
Mean GSI values were similar between fish caught 
in the Albemarle Sound and fish captured in the Roa- 
noke River. The spawning season for Hickory Shad in 
the Albemarle Sound-Roanoke River 
watershed lasts for about 4 weeks in 
March and April; therefore, female 
Hickory Shad will be at differing de- 
grees of gonadal development (i.e., pre- 
spawning, running ripe, partially spent, 
postspawning) for any given week dur- 
ing the spawning season, and this vari- 
ation will result in a large variability 
in GSI values (Fig. 4). Murauskas and 
Rulifson (2011) observed multiple batch 
spawning of Hickory Shad in the Tar- 
Pamlico River watershed over several 
weeks, and these events were related 
to water temperature. This observation 
is supported by our ovary data, which 
revealed significantly different states of 
maturity between anterior and poste- 
rior oocytes in the ovaries. 
Fecundity estimates are important in 
population modeling and also for hatch- 
ery managers who attempt to spawn 
and rear Hickory Shad for the purpose 
of stock restoration. The Maryland De- 
partment of Natural Resources has 
been rearing and stocking larval and 
early juveniles of both Hickory Shad 
and American Shad in at least 6 Chesa- 
peake Bay watersheds and tributaries 
(Richardson et al. 23 ). Although Olney et 
al. (2001) and Murauskas and Rulifson 
(2011) classified both species as batch 
spawners, Maryland hatchery person- 
nel do not mention this aspect in their 
methodology. Both males and females 
received an intramuscular implant of 
leutinizing-hormone-releasing hormone 
analog (LHRHa) in the dorsal muscu- 
lature at the collection site and were 
returned to the hatchery for spawning. 
Very little information exists on fecun- 
dity estimates of Hickory Shad, and es- 
timates include age-2 fish. Pate (1972) reported 44,556 
to 347,610 eggs per female from the Neuse River. 
Hickory Shad in the Altamaha River showed increased 
fecundity with age and size, with estimates ranging 
from 252,693 to 730,213 eggs per female and a mean 
of 500,519 eggs per female (Street, 1970). St. Johns 
River females exhibited low correlation between fe- 
cundity and weight, length, and age. Fecundity ranged 
from 168,000 to 591,000 eggs per female with a mean 
of 363,000 eggs per female (Williams and Bruger 9 ). Our 
study of the Roanoke River population (egg counts from 
23 Richardson, B. M., C. P. Stence, M. W. Baldwin, and C. P. 
Mason. 2009. Hickory shad restoration in three Maryland 
rivers. F-57 Segment 9 Progress Report, 48 p. Maryland 
Department of Natural Resources, Oxford, MD. [Available 
from http://www.dnr.state.md.us/irc/docs/00014544.pdfl 
