The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Shad Management Board is seeking input on a range of alternatives that could alter both coastal and river fishing for the migratory fish. The commission is responsible for managing migratory species along the coast.
Shad spend most of their lives in the ocean, but return to their native rivers to spawn.
Historically, most of the fishing effort toward shad took place within their spawning rivers, though in recent decades an ocean-based shad fishery has emerged. Critics of the ocean fishery have long argued that it is indiscriminate, potentially taking fish from rivers with healthy and unhealthy populations alike. Such a harvest, they say, hinders restoration efforts. Critics argue that any shad fishing should be done within rivers, to allow for appropriate regulation and protection of troubled stocks. That view was advanced by a technical committee to the shad board.