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Hickory shad

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Species of fish

Alosa mediocris
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Clupeiformes
Family: Alosidae
Genus: Alosa
Species: A. mediocris
Binomial name
Alosa mediocris
(Mitchill, 1814)
Synonyms

Clupea mediocris (Mitchill, 1814)
Pomolobus mediocris (Mitchill, 1814)
Clupea mattowaca (Mitchill, 1815)
Clupea viridescens (DeKay, 1842)

The hickory shad (Alosa mediocris), fall herring, mattowacca, freshwater taylor or bonejack is a member of the family Alosidae, ranging along the East Coast of the United States from Florida to the Gulf of Maine. It is an anadromous fish species, meaning that it spawns in freshwater portions of rivers, but spends most of its life at sea. It is subject to fishing, both historic and current, but it is often confused with or simply grouped together with American shad (A. sapidissima) in catch statistics.

Description

Hickory shad are elongate, laterally compressed fish with a tapering cross section. The scales on the belly are serrated. The fish is green-gray on its upper surface, becoming iridescent silver on the sides and white below. The scales bear small dark markings. A humeral spot is present and is frequently followed by a short series of fainter spots. The hickory shad can be distinguished from American shad by its lower jaw, which will project beyond the snout in the hickory shad.

Distribution, habitat, and life history

A female hickory shad

Hickory shad range from northern Florida to the Gulf of Maine. The largest populations occur in Chesapeake Bay and coastal North Carolina. It is a schooling anadromous species that inhabits marine waters, probably never far from land. Adults enter estuaries and freshwater tributaries from the St. John's River, Florida, to the Patuxent River, Maryland, to spawn during the spring. Their oceanic movements are poorly documented.

Spawning occurs from December to June, earliest in Florida and later with increasing latitude. The slightly adhesive and demersal eggs, about 1 mm in diameter, appear to be dispersed at random over gravel bars in moderate current. After water hardening, the eggs become semibuoyant and develop as they drift along the bottom. Fecundity ranges from 43,000 – 475,000 eggs per female, and although the developmental stages of eggs, larvae, and juveniles have been described, little is known concerning the distribution, ecology, and growth rates of these early life stages.

Hickory shad live to seven years. Both sexes mature starting at 2 years of age and can repeat spawn. Females are larger than males; in Florida, the average female is 37 centimetres (15 in) fork length and the average male is 34 centimetres (13 in) fork length.

Hickory shad are piscivorous, feeding primarily on small fishes, although crustaceans and squid contribute to their diet. One study from Florida showed that their diet on the spawning grounds was almost exclusively fish (97% by weight), but feeding is limited during the freshwater migration and mesenteric fat reserves developed prior to migration are metabolized en route.

Relationship with humans

Recreational fishery

See also: Shad fishing

Hickory shad have a relatively low commercial value, but an increasingly popular recreational fishery exists throughout the mid-Atlantic states. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, hickory shad articles appeared in sport-fishing magazines. Headlines such as "the tough fighting hickory shad swarm near the rock-studded fall line…" and "feast on Rappahannock River hickory shad action" brought attention to the fishery. Subsequently, specialty magazines and sports sections in national newspapers began proclaiming the excitement of hickory shad fishing ("HICKORY SHAD ARE RUNNING!") and the recovery of the fishery. In the two most recent years of a North Carolina creel survey (2004–2005), hickory shad – a fish only present for two months of the year – moved from sixth- to the fourth-most targeted fish by coastal anglers. They are also taken by recreational fishing for use as bait to catch larger fish.

Literature

Most information about this species is contained in federal and state documents and management plans or theses from universities. Federal publications include reports from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River Herring. Prominent publications by state agencies include reports based on fishery monitoring programs in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. A few publications address coast-wide and/or genus-level stock status and management issues. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a useful series that includes egg, larvae, and juvenile development descriptions of hickory shad. A recent review of hickory shad in Chesapeake Bay places management of this species in an ecosystem context. Three master of science theses also studied them.

Although hickory shad research has been limited, other clupeids, especially Alosa species in the United States, have received more attention. American shad (A. sapidissima), which overlaps in distribution with hickory shad, has been frequently studied.

Notes

  1. Also matowacca or mattowaca, from an unknown, but possibly southeastern Algonquian language

References

  1. NatureServe (2013). "Alosa mediocris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T201947A2731015. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T201947A2731015.en. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  2. dsantos (5 August 2014). "Synonyms of Alosa mediocris (Mitchill, 1814)". FishBase. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  3. ^ "mattowacca". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  4. Cuvier, B.; Valenciennes, A. (1847). Histoire Naturelle des Poissons (in French). Vol. 20. Paris: P. Bertrand. pp. 371–374. Retrieved 31 December 2022 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  5. "Alosa mediocris". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Virginia Fishes: Hickory Shad". Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Hickory Shad". Chesapeake Bay Program. 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
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    • "Hickory Shad (Alosa mediocris) - Native". Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
    • Adapted from Jacobs, Robert P.; O'Donnell, Eileen B. (2009). A Pictorial Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Connecticut. Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. ISBN 978-0942085150.
  9. McCrickard, Alex (14 April 2022). "American or Hickory? ID your Shad Catch". Notes from the Field Blog. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  10. ^ Munroe, T.A. (2002) Herrings. Family Clupeidae. In: Bigelow and Schroeder's Fishes of the Gulf of Maine. B. B. Collette and G. Klein-MacPhee (Eds.). Smithsonian Institution Press.
  11. "Discover Fishes: Hickory Shad". Florida Museum. 19 August 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  12. ^ Jones, P.W., Martin, F.D. and Hardy Jr., J.D. 1978. Development of fishes of the Mid-Atlantic bight: An atlas of egg, larval and juvenile stages; Acipenseridae through Ictaluridae. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Volume 1:84-88. LCCN 77--86193.
  13. ^ Cooper, E.L. 1983. Fishes of Pennsylvania and the Northeastern United States. Penn State University Press, University Park and London. pp. 47–50. ISBN 0271003375.
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  15. ^ Harris, Julianne E., R. S. McBride, and R. O. Williams. 2007. Life history of hickory shad in the St. Johns River, Florida. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 136(6): 1463–1471. doi:10.1577/T06-187.1.
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  18. Sports Afield. March 1988. Rappahannock shad. 199(3):70.
  19. Field & Stream. April 1992. Feast on Rappahannock River hickory shad action. 96(12):70A.
  20. Fly Fisherman. September 2002. Shad restoration continues. 33(6):27.
  21. The Washington Post. April 3, 1988. Hickory Shad are Running! Sports section, pp. c. 16.; May 11, 2000. Md. Welcomes back the shad; biologists touting victory for rivers’ spawning program. pg. b. 01.
  22. Murauskas, J.G. and D.G. Mumford. 2006. North Carolina cooperative striped bass creel survey in the central and southern management area (CSMA). Grant F-79, Seg. 2. N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Marine Fisheries, Morehead City, North Carolina.
  23. Daniello, Capt. Vincent (13 May 2019). "A Guide to Saltwater Live Baits". sportfishingmag.com. Sport Fishing Magazine. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  24. ASMFC. 1999. Fisheries Management Report No. 35. Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River Herring. 1444 Eye St. NW, Washington, DC.
  25. ASMFC. 2001. Review of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River Herring (Alosa sp.). 1444 Eye St. NW, Washington, DC.
  26. Gephard, S. and J. McMenemy. 2004. An overview of the program to restore Atlantic salmon and other diadromous fishes to the Connecticut River with notes on the current status of these species in the river. American Fisheries Society monograph No. 9, pp. 287–317.
  27. Chesapeake Bay Agreement. 2000. The Renewed Bay Agreement. Retrieved May 26, 2006. http://dnrweb.dnr.state.md.us/bay/res_protect/c2k/index.asp Archived 2004-02-18 at the Wayback Machine[
  28. NCDMF and NCWRC. 2004. Shad and River Herring Fisheries and Monitoring Programs in North Carolina – 2003: Report to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Shad and River Herring Technical Committee. Raleigh, North Carolina.
  29. Street, M.W. and J.G. Adams. 1969. Aging of hickory shad and blueback herring in Georgia by the scale method. Contribution Series No. 18. Georgia Game and Fish Commission, Marine Fisheries Division.
  30. Street, M.W. 1969. Fecundity of the hickory shad in the Altamaha River, Georgia. Contribution Series No. 14. Georgia Game and Fish Commission, Marine Fisheries Division.
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  33. Harris, J., and R. McBride. 2004. A review of the potential effects of water level fluctuation on diadromous fish populations for MFL determinations. St. John's River Water Management District, Contract No. SG346AA. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
  34. McBride, Richard S., and Jay C. Holder (2008). A Review and Updated Assessment of Florida's Anadromous Shads: American Shad and Hickory Shad. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 28(6): 1668–1686. doi:10.1577/M07-066.1.
  35. McBride, Richard S., and Richard E. Matheson. (2011). Florida's diadromous fishes: biology, ecology, conservation, and management. Florida Scientist. 74(3): 187–213.
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  38. Pate, P.P. 1972. Life history aspects of the hickory shad, Alosa mediocris (Mitchell), in the Neuse River, North Carolina. M.S. Thesis, North Carolina State University. Raleigh, North Carolina.
  39. Batsavage, C.F. 1997. Life history aspects of the hickory shad (Alosa mediocris) in the Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River Watershed, North Carolina. M.S. Thesis, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.
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  45. Quinn, T.P. and D.J. Adams. 1996. Environmental changes affecting the migratory timing of American shad and sockeye salmon. Ecology 77(4):1151-1162
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  47. Leonard, J.B.K, and S.D. McCormick. 1999a. Effects of migration distance on whole-body and tissue-specific energy use in American shad (Alosa sapidissima). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 56(7):1159-71.
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  49. Waters, J.M., J.M. Epifanio, T. Gunter, and B.L. Brown. 2000. Homing behavior facilitates subtle genetic differentiation among river populations of Alosa sapidissima: microsatellites and mtDNA. Journal of Fish Biology 56:622-636.
  50. McBride, Richard S., and Richard E. Matheson. (2011). Florida's diadromous fishes: biology, ecology, conservation, and management. Florida Scientist. 74(3): 187–213

External links

Taxon identifiers
Alosa mediocris
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