In the 1840s, fishermen along the East Coast caught 80 million pounds of shad each year. By 1980, that number dropped to 3.8 million. Today, a single commercial fishery operates in New Jersey.
The stark decline in shad populations was due to several factors, all of them human-driven. First, the construction of mill dams interrupted their migration, which affected their spawning and reproduction. Then, chemical plants in the 20th century began dumping hazardous waste directly into the water, contaminating the environment and killing many of the fish that remained.
Now, the Raritan River Fish Passage Initiative is gradually restoring shad populations by removing the dams that have been hindering their movements for centuries…