About the Species
The Alabama shad is an anadromous species, carrying out life stages in both marine and freshwater environments. Alabama shad are found in the Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico), although there is very little information about their marine habitat use. As part of their anadromous life cycle, adult Alabama shad leave the Gulf, sometimes migrating several hundred kilometers, and move into freshwater rivers in the spring to spawn. Spawning typically occurs in moderate current near sandbars, limestone outcrops, or over sand substrate with water temperatures ranging from 19 to 23°C. Alabama shad have been collected in large Gulf of America drainages from the Mississippi River and several of its larger tributaries eastward to Suwannee River in Northeastern Florida.
Population Status
Alabama shad historically occurred in the Mobile Basin ( i.e., Tombigbee, Black Warrior, Cahaba, Coosa, and Alabama rivers) and the Conecuh-Escambia, Yellow, and Choctawhatchee Rivers. Notably, the second largest Alabama shad population was known to occur in the Choctawhatchee River. However, recent survey efforts indicate that Alabama shad likely have been extirpated from the Mobile River Basin (i.e., Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers), with the Conecuh and Choctawhatchee River populations have declined. It is thought that the River systems in Georgia and Florida (i.e., Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint) are important to the viability of the species and that these populations may also be of concern according to the petition and 90-day finding.
Appearance
Alabama shad are silvery fish with a laterally compressed, fusiform body. They may be easily confused with other shad or herring. They are generalist insect feeders.
Threats
Threats to this species may include modification of habitat and curtailment of its range, overexploitation, disease, pollution, long-term changes in ocean conditions, and inadequacy of existing regulatory measures.
Scientific Classification
| Animalia |
Chordata |
Actinopterygii |
Clupeiformes |
Alosidae |
Alosa |
alabamae |
Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 11/13/2025
