The American Shad is the best-known of all the shad and herring
that swim in the Chesapeake Bay. The silvery fish – typically
20- 24 inches long -- can be identified by its row of dark spots
along its side and the scutes or sharp saw-like scales along its
belly. A highly migratory species, shad often travel in schools.
They are anadromous -- meaning they live in the sea for the
majority of their lives, and enter freshwater to spawn. River-
specific, they return to their birth river to spawn. In
Maryland, peak spawning time is mid-April through early June.
Young shad eat zooplankton and insects, while the adults choose
plankton, small crustaceans, and small fish to consume; but
while migrating upriver do not feed. The average lifespan of the
fish is 5 years at sea, and during that time it may migrate over
12,000 miles. The oldest American shad recorded in Maryland was
11 years of age. American and Hickory Shad were both closed to
recreational and commercial fishing in 1980. American Shad
commercial fishing off