For many decades, shad was the most valuable fish harvested in Maryland and Virginia. But catches declined dramatically in the 1970s. Overfishing, pollution and the construction of dams that blocked historic spawning habitat have all been blamed for playing a role in the shad decline. To help the populations recover, Maryland closed the Bay to shad fishing in 1980, and Virginia closed its portion of the Bay in 1993. In addition, efforts have been made to improve water quality in spawning areas, build fish passages and bolster the stock with millions of hatchery-reared fish.
Efforts are under way in all the Bay states to reopen rivers to spawning shad.
A fish passage at Bosher's Dam in Richmond, the last major blockage to fish migration on the James River, is to be completed this fall. When it opens, more than 130 miles of additional spawning habitat will be available, allowing fish to migrate all the way to Lynchburg. On the Potomac River, plans developed by the Army Corps of Engineers call for the completion of a fish passage at the Little Falls Dam, located just upstream from Washington, D.C., by 1997. That will open 10 miles of spawning habitat between the dam, constructed in 1959, and the Great Falls - a stretch of river that historically was an important nursery area for young shad. Great Falls is the natural boundary to fish migration on the Potomac.