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Shads (Alosinae) are among the most economically important fishes, and worldwide no other subfamily of fishes is consumed or harvested in larger quantities . American shad (Alosa sapidissima) spawn in Florida’s St. Johns River. Today, the population status of Florida’s anadromous shads is considered low but stable although assessment is hampered by a lack of data for all life history stages. No recent studies of shads have evaluated juvenile relative abundance or migration timing in Florida; this information is important to understanding recent recruitment trends relative to historical records. We evaluated the summer migration of juvenile American
shad during their downstream migration to sea, focusing our sampling near the Palatka area of the St. Johns River. We assessed juvenile shad relative
abundance and timing of migration to the Atlantic Ocean and compared our estimates with the only historical Florida catch data for juvenile American shad. |
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