Studying American shad
Unusually cold temperatures during the second weekend in October resulted in migration to warmer waters, with only 51 shad sampled at Milford Beach on October 12, down from 5,800 when the same site was sampled in August. Three nights later, only six shad were retrieved at the seining site near the Zane Grey Museum in Lackawaxen, PA.
So far, the counts look promising. “The low numbers aren’t indicative of a drop in the population, but rather what we would expect to see with the change in weather and water temperatures,” explains Myers. “After the high numbers we had in August and September, the population index was shaping up to be the third best overall index for non-tidal sampling done from 1981 to present, and the September 2012 index was the second best September ever. With the addition of our October hauls and the drop-off that we saw due to colder water temperatures, it dropped the 2012 index to being ninth-highest overall (from 1981 to present).”
For more information contact Myers at email@example.com or 570/729-7842.