The American shad, Alosa sapidissima, is a special fish in this country, with a cultural and historical importance matched by few other species. While the eagle may be the official bird of the United States, I would argue that the American shad should be the country’s official fish.

When I began my former position as a fishery biologist aide at the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC), one of my first tasks was to read the management plan for shad. Over the years, I had read countless management plans, so I did not expect many surprises. What I found, however, genuinely shocked me.

One line that stood out to me stated that “American shad abundance is unknown. Between 2005 and 2017, no clear trends were observed in juvenile abundance. Adult abundance data were conflicting.” Another concluded bluntly that “Taken in total, American shad stocks do not appear to be recovering.” 

Elsewhere, managers acknowledged that “current restoration actions need to be reviewed and new efforts need to be identified and applied.”

Beneath the academic language was something unmistakable: uncertainty, frustration, the reality that our current efforts are failing short, and that one of America’s most important fish remains far less understood than most anglers would ever imagine.

This uncertainty is not abstract. In the Delaware River itself, managers have written that “Characterization of the spatial distribution of spawning and nursery habitats for American shad within the non-tidal Delaware River is poorly understood.”

It is important to understand that this is not a criticism of the agencies managing shad, or of the biologists gathering data. After working firsthand with the biologists in Area 5, I have seen the obstacles standing in the way of effectively managing a species like American shad. Standard fishery-management tools, such as reducing removals, lose much of their power in a fishery where removals are already low and commercial harvest is nearly nonexistent.

Some of the challenges managers face are inherent to the highly mobile nature of anadromous fish. Others are more specific to shad themselves. One major problem is that managers are often trying to rebuild a specific river stock even though some of that stock’s mortality occurs outside the river, during a mixed-stock marine phase, in ways that are difficult to trace back to Delaware-origin fish.

Still, managers have a real opportunity to improve their understanding of the fishery in the coming years—but only with your help.

Presently, angler diaries are the only resource fisheries managers have to characterize angler use and harvest on the American shad population.

Despite their importance, recent diary returns have been dismal. In 2023, PFBC received 18 diaries representing 28 unique anglers. In 2024, it received only 6 diaries representing 8 unique anglers. The PFBC has stated that the minimum target is 30 unique diaries, and that 100 to 200 would be optimal.

Any interested angler is welcome to voluntarily report catch data through this program. Details for participation and logbooks are available from the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission through Cooper Barshinger at 570/832-1845 or cbarshinge@pa.gov.

If you care about American shad, this is one of the simplest and most meaningful ways to help. A fish this important should not be managed in partial darkness simply because too few of us bothered to write things down.

Paul Kameen is a former employee of the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission.