The American shad's smaller cousin, the hickory shad, was so rare 10 years ago that some scientists feared it would disappear from the James. But in the last decade, its numbers have jumped at least tenfold. A great blue heron scouts for small fish at Bosher Dam on the James River. A fish ladder at the north end of the dam allows migrating fish to swim upriver to spawn. Something good is happening in the James River.
Scientists know some of the reasons.
Others are a mystery. . . . The American shad, the hickory shad, and their two smaller cousins, the blueback herring and the alewife, were fished heavily until their numbers plummeted about 30 years ago. In addition to their economic value, the fish were ecologically important, providing meals for striped bass, tuna, small-mouth bass and other fish. Their carcasses fed scavengers such as blue crabs. Among these four fish, the American shad was king.