SHAD

CAPE HENLOPEN HISTORY

SHAD FISH

The Cape Gazette, Tuesday, March 26, 2019, “Viewpoints” has a photo by George A. Wolf,

from the George and Irene Casey postcard collection, of shad nets drying and mentions

Herring Creek in the south west corner of Rehoboth Bay being named such from the spring

spawning run for centuries of the Shad , known for it's delicate roe. This photo set a

question, “does everyone know what a shad really is” ? I doubt it , so here we go:

Meriam Websters says Shad is a noun, that the word shad. A shad fish is any of several fishes,

of genus Alosa, of the herring family, having a deep (fat) body, which migrates from salt water to fresh water to spawn. Since before the 12^th century it has been a somewhat important food fish.

According to WIKIPEDIA, American Shad, is an anadromous, ( going from salt water to fresh water to lay eggs) clupeid fish ( like herring, sardine, menhaden and shad) of North America in the North Atlantic from Newfoundland to Florida. It's distant cousin is an North

American shad. The American Shad fed the American founders.

A shad can weigh from three to eight pounds and when cooked, boiled, fried or baked, having a delicate flavor without needing sauces, herbs or spices. Shad roe, the eggs of the

female shad, are considered a delicacy

Shad are usually in 'schools' of thousands on the water surface eating plankton or fish eggs

and at times small fish or shrimp. A female will produce more than 30,000 eggs that hatch

in 12 to 15 days depending on the temperature of the water.

Source: Meriam Webster dictionary and Wikpedia, both on the www.