Migratory Patterns and Exploitation of American Shad in the Nearshore Ocean Waters of Southeastern North Carolina

Abstract

A tagging study of American shad Alosa sapidissima was conducted in the nearshore ocean waters of southeastern North Carolina from January through April 1989 and from December 1989 through May 1990. The purpose was to determine migratory patterns of spawning anadromous American shad in those waters and to ascertain whether southeastern North Carolina's developing nearshore fishery is intercepting the stocks of American shad spawning in more southerly states. In total, 301 fish were tagged with Floy FT-1 dart tags. Fifty-seven tags were returned, and all but three of the recaptured fish were found south of the tagging site, There were 42 (74%) recaptured fish from North Carolina, 14 (24%) from South Carolina, and 1 (2%) from Georgia. Bottom temperatures where American shad were captured ranged from 8.0 to 19.9°C, and the maximum number offish were captured where bottom temperature was 13.0°C. This study shows that American shad captured in the nearshore ocean waters off southeastern North Carolina exhibited a pronounced southerly migration pattern. The results also support the hypothesis that South Atlantic American shad migrate within a narrow coastal corridor between the coast and the Gulf Stream to reach southern rivers. I estimated an exploitation rate of 18.94% and confirmed that the southeastern North Carolina ocean fishery for American shad is intercepting the spawning stocks of more southerly states. Findings support the need for regulatory restrictions on gill-net fishing for American shad in the oceanic waters of southeastern North Carolina.