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Shad Return to the Schuylkill
By Producer, Kelly Meinhart
istorically, the American shad has traveled throughout Pennsylvania’s
eastern rivers since the days George Washington lead his troops
across the Delaware. In those days, shad served as a main source
of sustenance for the troops during the cold winter months of
March when food was scarce.
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have also been a favorite of the modern fisherman, enjoying
the catch of this beautiful, and said to be extremely tasty
fish. But these days shad are in trouble. The fish that once
flourished in the waters of the Susquehanna, Schuylkill and
Delaware River basins now faces many obstacles, literally. These
obstacles are the hundreds of dams that inhibit the fish from
traveling upriver to spawn.
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shad begins its life in fresh water rivers and streams stretching
from the St. Lawrence River to Florida. From there, it spends
most of its days in the Atlantic Ocean as part of large schools
of shad, all traveling together. It isn’t until it has
reached an age of four to six years that the need to spawn drives
it back inland. From there the shad is destined to return to
the river where it was first born to spawn, and begin a new
generation to continue its legacy.
hat’s
where the problem comes in. In the booming industrial years
of the 1900’s, hundreds of dams were built across Pennsylvania’s
waterways, making it impossible for shad and other fish to make
their run upriver to their ancestral spawning grounds. These
dams were built to run the mills that operated from the riverbanks,
to create hydroelectric power, and also for water supply.
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not only make it impossible for the fish to return upstream,
but they cause serious problems for humans as well. That’s
why many of these old dams are being removed. Dam removal is
not only a benefit to the fish that are being deterred from
traveling upstream, but it’s an economic benefit for people
as well. Abandoned dams are costly to maintain and repair, and
in most cases, the owners of these dams have long since passed
on, so the new landowner or the state is left to bear the burden
of maintenance. So by removing these abandoned dams we are creating
a variety of benefits – both for the fish and for ourselves.
 emoving
these dams, and returning the shad to our waterways takes hard
work – and plenty of partners. The Pennsylvania Fish and
Boat Commission (PAFBC) is determined to return the shad to
Pennsylvania’s waterways, and they’ve got a variety
of partners to help, including the Delaware and Schuylkill RiverKeeper
and the Schuylkill Greenways Association.
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recently visited with the PAFBC and their partners to witness
the release of thousands of tiny shad fry or larvae, into the
Schuylkill River. The group met just outside the Reading Area
Community College campus for the second release of the year.
The effort to return the shad to the Schuylkill river began
in 1999 when the Commission and its partners began stocking
them. Since then, over 1.4 million shad fry have been stocked
into the waterway with the positive hopes that progress, scientific
study, removal of the dams obstructing their path, and many
partners to help in the process will increase the shad populations.
In addition, this year, the partners are not only stocking the
fry into the river, but they’re studying the adults that
have been returning as well, most likely from the original stocking
that took place in 1999. To that, Chari Towne, of the Schuylkill
Office of the Delaware RiverKeeper Network comments:
"Large
numbers of shad have been observed this spring at the base
of Fairmount Dam seeking to enter the fish way there. These
shad are likely from the re-initiated 1999 stocking. Their
return demonstrates that shad can thrive in the Schuylkill
River watershed once again if we only get out of their way.
This year, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission stocked
1 million fry in the Schuylkill River Watershed, along the
Tulpehocken Creek below Blue Marsh Dam, in the Maiden Creek
below Blue Falls dam and at five locations on the Schuylkill,
including Hamburg, the furthest upstream location stocked
to date.
The best fish passage is a free-flowing stream or, rather,
no dam. When considering that, on average, dam removal costs
three to five times less than dam repair, without factoring
in the cost of retro-fitting fish passage, the most economical
fish passage is also no dam. The case for removing breached
or breaching structures on the Schuylkill River, such as Felix,
Vincent and Plymouth dams is clear. With the removal of these
structures and with the fish passage to be constructed at
Norristown and Black Rock dams by Peco Energy, we have the
opportunity to open 100 miles of the Schuylkill River to shad
once again."
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For more information about this issue, check out the following
websites:
Chesapeake
Bay Program
American
Rivers Comments on Shad
PA Fish
and Boat Commission Shad Report Index
Delaware
RiverKeeper
Schuylkill
Greenways Partnership
American
Shad Restoration in the Susquehanna River Watershed
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