Abstract

Reference	Richardson, B. M. and S. P. Minikkinen. 1995. American shad handling, rearing and marking trials. American Fisheries Society Symposium 15:557-559.
Abstract	During the 1960s, the American shad Alosa sapidissima in Chesapeake Bay declined drastically. Since that time, there has been some increase in the upper bay population due to larval stocking efforts, fish passage facilities, and a complete harvest moratorium. However, American shad runs in other rivers are still severely depressed. We began a program, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Susquehanna River Anadromous Fish Restoration Committee, to restore viable American shad runs in the Patuxent River. This Chesapeake Bay tributary historically had viable American shad runs but no juvenile American shad have been captured in the Patuxent River since 1960. An experimental pilot study was initiated in 1993 to assess the potential for rearing, handling, and marking American shad in a hatchery setting. The study has three components: (1) incubate strip-spawned fertilized eggs and grow larvae to juvenile size for stocking; (2) transport, handle, and naturally spawn American shad adults colleted at Conowingo Dam fish lift; and (3) investigate different methods of marking juvenile American shad.
Tag	Coded Wire Tag (CWT)
Objective	Evaluate tags