American shad across North Carolina

“Native to Atlantic slope basins, American Shad are an anadromous species, meaning that they spend the majority of their adult life in the ocean and only enter freshwater in the spring to spawn. Each spring, American shad ascend the Roanoke, Chowan, Neuse, Tar and Cape Fear rivers in North Carolina. The American Shad, commonly known as white shad in North Carolina, is a member of the Clupeidae, or herring family. Members of the herring family are thin fishes with silvery scales and bluish backs. They have a saw-toothed ridge along the belly and a row of one or more spots along both sides immediately behind the operculum.”

“The American Shad is often confused with the Hickory Shad as they are relatively similar in size and both have a row of 4 to 6 dark spots along both sides. However, the lower jaw of the Hickory Shad protrudes beyond the upper jaw, whereas the upper and lower jaws of the American Shad, are relatively equal and meet terminally. The American Shad also has a silvery patch on its cheek that is deeper than it is long, just the opposite of the hickory shad. When juvenile American Shad live in fresh water, their diet consists primarily of small aquatic insects and crustaceans such as copepods and dipterans (flies, midges and mosquitoes). Adult shad feed primarily on the larger zooplankton (copepods) but also consume fish eggs and small fish. During the spawning run, adult American Shad typically do not feed yet they do strike at artificial lures (darts and small shiny spoons).”