American shad (Alosa sapidissima) is a saltwater, freshwater, brackish species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of 0–250 m.
Scientific name: Alosa sapidissima · Water: Saltwater, Freshwater, Brackish
Size: up to 76 cm
The American shad is a pelagic alosid that spends most of its adult life at sea and returns to freshwater streams to breed, ascending coastal rivers on its spawning migration. Non-spawning adults form schools near the surface of continental shelf waters, from the surface down to about 250 m, and juveniles school at 20 to 30 mm before moving downstream. Its native range is the Atlantic coast of North America from Labrador to the St. Johns River in Florida, and it was introduced into the Sacramento River in the 1870s and has since spread along the Pacific coast. Adults feed on plankton, mainly copepods and mysids, occasionally on small fishes. Maximum length is about 76 cm total length, commonly about 50 cm standard length, and it can live 13 years. It is a commercial species and a gamefish. Fishing vulnerability is moderate to high at 50 of 100 and resilience low, the price category is low, and climate vulnerability is moderate at 44 of 100. IUCN lists it as least concern.
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