Case study – an overview of the Connecticut River American shad population's history, restoration, and management

The Connecticut River is the largest river basin in New England, covering an area of 11,250 square miles in four states, and running a distance of 400 miles to Long Island Sound.  American shad historically occurred upstream as far as Bellows Falls, Vermont (rkm 280) and Native American tribes widely utilized this species for thousands of years.  In 1798, colonial settlers had constructed the first main stem dam near Turners Falls, Massachusetts (rkm 194). Eventually American shad would be restricted by a dam in Enfield, Connecticut (rkm 110) until the 1970s, with lost access to many tributaries as well.  In 1955, an innovative fish elevator was installed at the Holyoke Dam (rkm 139).  Since 1967, state and federal agencies, and power companies have worked cooperatively on restoration measures, through formalized organizations.  Shad currently have access to their historic main stem habitat and portions of some tributaries.  Shad passage counts at Holyoke Dam have ranged up to 720,000 (1992), but recent year’s counts have been ~ 150,000.  Passage efficiencies have been cause for concern at many other upstream and downstream facilities.  This presentation will discuss the history of American shad in the basin, its restoration, issues, and current status.