Agencies partner to study shad

By SANDY LONG

UPPER DELAWARE RIVER — A multi-agency research effort is underway in the Upper Delaware River region to assess the health of the American shad population, due to historic lows in spawning stock in most Atlantic coastal rivers.

The National Park Service (NPS)-funded project is studying the age structure of the spawning stock, along with representatives of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC) and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

The components

From May 1 through June 19, NPS biological technician Katherine Szupillo is requesting permission of fishermen at 12 access points along the Upper Delaware River to examine shad in their possession. Szupillo measures the fish, determines their sex and collects a scale sample, which will be evaluated by the PFBC to provide a sampling of the ages of American shad in the Upper Delaware basin.

When possible, Szupillo collects the heads to obtain the otolith bone used to determine the age of the fish. She also poses a series of questions, including asking their opinion of a possible partial closed recreational season that would disallow fishing for American shad at key times to protect spawning fishes.

Meanwhile, FWS staff are performing electro-shocking at several locations to complete a statistically valid creel survey. Data gathered from this project will be coupled with data collected last year to help formulate the age range of the spawning population.

Jerre Mohler, Delaware River Coordinator, USFWS, Northeast Fishery Center in Lamar, PA, said its first study took place in May 2009 in three locations (Sparrowbush and Narrowsburg in NY; Buckingham access in PA) when shad spawning migration was underway. The Phase I report details mortality and age structure of the population, with a total of 91 American shad captured and six age classes represented in the range of three to nine years. The largest was comprised of four-year-olds, followed by decreasing numbers in subsequent age classes. Timing and chance can produce dips and rises, necessitating ongoing studies. For more information call Mohler at 570/726-4247, ext. 116.

PFBC river biologist Daryl Pierce is completing additional studies in the Middle Delaware region to help define the sustainability of shad populations. PFBC is encouraging anglers to use its Delaware River and Estuary Voluntary Angler log to record information that will help the PFBC assess angler use and harvest impacts. Visit fishandboat.com/reports_fisheries.htm and click on “Delaware River Journal.”

“The project has been a great exercise in interagency cooperation,” said NPS biologist Jamie Myers. “A study like this helps to preserve the fishery and to tailor future fishing regulations in the Delaware system. Collecting harvest data and being able to make comparisons from year to year will prove to be very valuable to the NPS for making resource management decisions in the future.” For more information call the NPS at 570/729-7842.