Delaware Canal State Park - American Shad

American Shad

The Delaware River is used by American shad during their spawning run. The fish are the largest members of the herring family. They are an anadromous species, which means they are born and spawn in fresh water but spend the majority of their lives in salt water (of the Atlantic Ocean). After spending three to six years at sea, the shad return to the waters of their birth to spawn. Unlike salmon, not all shad die after spawning; some survive and return to the ocean.

The American Shad have long been a vital food resource for the people living along the Delaware River. The Lenape (or Delaware) tribe depended on the migration of the shad as a staple of their diet. They harvested the fish and prepared them in several ways. Some fish were grilled quickly on wooden racks and others were preserved for later use by smoking them or air drying. The Moravians and other early European settlers in the Delaware River Valley also depended on shad for their diets.

The booming population along the Delaware River, especially in Philadelphia, Easton, Camden and Trenton, led to increased levels of pollution in the Delaware River. Sewage and industrial pollution combined with extensive overfishing nearly led to a total collapse of the shad population. The pollution was so bad that in the years following World War II nearly 20 miles (32 km) of the river was a dead zone, free of dissolved oxygen. This dead zone prevented the migration of shad. Dams built during the canal era to provide water for the canals also limited the migration patterns of the shad. The combination of dams and pollution nearly caused the shad to abandon the Delaware River and its tributaries altogether.

Beginning in the 1960s, an effort began to re-establish the population of American Shad in the Delaware River basin. Pollution levels dropped tremendously, and fish ladders were built to allow the shad to bypass the dams that blocked their way and to migrate further up the river. These efforts have led to the restoration of the American Shad in the Delaware River.