en they are lured into the lock.
It takes a little time from the dam operators, but very little money or water.
And the fish are moving.
The average population of shad from 2005 through 2009 was about 10,000, with low water levels likely affecting the spawning run despite conservation locking efforts. In 2010, with more water in the system, the fish populations was estimated at 98,000. Due to low water last year, 25,000 fish were estimated. This year, preliminary analysis estimates the population between 60,000 to 75,000. While numbers may fluctuate, these trends hold promise.
“We should know this year or next what the real potential is,” says Herrington. “Right now, we hypothesize the river could support a run of 500,000 or 600,000 shad, and possibly quite a bit more.”
Initially, some thought that even if shad could get over the dam, they couldn’t negotiate the reservoir and get to suitable spawning habitat.
More Shad, Bigger Bass?
Researchers are still filling in a lot of blanks on what remains a largely unknown fish.
For instance, some fisheries biologists believe that young shad may be an important food source for largemouth bass. In this part of the country, bass fishing is often mentioned—with no tongue in cheek—in the same sentence as religion. There are bass fishing clubs, bass fishing tournaments, bass fishing super-stores.
“Shad are off everybody’s radar. This fish was never a cultural or economic resource,” says Herrington. “But if you mention that shad might be an important food for largemouth bass, and could mean much larger bass, then it gets peoples’ attention. This restoration could have tremendous impacts on the sport fishery.”
Could more attention mean the shad join the salmon as an esteemed and valued migratory fish? That remains to be seen.
In the meantime, it’s PVC pipe conservation that’s shaping a hopeful future for the fish.
“We’ve taken the science we have on this little-known species, and used that to make conservation more successful,” says Herrington. “Right now, it looks like we are improving our fisheries, with little more cost than the gas that it takes to run a small generator.”
[Image: Auburn University research assistant Chase Katechis examines an Alabama shad on the Apalachicola River, Florida. Image source: Matt Miller/TNC]