Management of hickory shad should be consistent across Virginia. The DWR 10 per day hickory shad limit for Virginia rivers outside the Chesapeake Bay watershed is a reasonable model for beginning management of the Chesapeake Bay and tributary hickory shad spawning runs in Virginia. All recreational fishing harvest pressure on hickory shad in Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries is in Virginia because of a moratorium on recreational takes of hickory shad in Maryland and DC waters. Weak James and York River hickory shad spawning runs in recent years has focused fishing pressure for takes onto the Rappahannock and Occoquan River hickory shad spawning runs. Unrestricted takes during the spawning runs reduces the potential for successful spawns, risks species depletion below self-sustaining thresholds, and jeopardizes the continued availability of a recreational fishery. Therefore, fisheries management oversight is needed for species conservation, and I support establishing a reasonable creel limit.

I am in favor of creel limits on Hickory shad.

I support the proposed regulations

I support the Hickory Shad conservation proposal. Conserving hickory shad will help protect against overfishing of a species with a currently unknown population and an undetermined abundance needed for a self-sustaining stock. Overfishing of the Hickory Shad risks depletion of the stock and jeopardizes the continued availability of a recreational Hickory Shad fishery.  I very much have enjoyed the spring Hickory Shad fishing every spring on the Occoquan River near my house. I would like for today's youth and future generations to have the same opportunities to enjoy the annual rite of the spring Hickory Shad fishing on the Occoquan and other rivers in Virgina.  Thank you.

I support the petition to regulate the catch of hickory shad with the establishment of a creel limit of 10 in Virginia.  Hickory shad are an important forage fish for striped bass and bluefish and their stocks have been in decline for years.  There is a need to put guard rails on hickory shad recreational fishing via the establishment of creel limits.  I have enjoyed fishing for hickory shad for many years with friends and family and have seen the abuses of people filling up cooler's full of dozens of spawning hickory shad.  I know for a fact people confuse hickory shad with the protected American Shad species and are taking both species out of circulation. Hickory shad need to be protected, particularly during the spawning season, so that they can rebuild their population and having a creel limit regulation is a major step in that effort.

I support the proposal for creel limits on Hickory Shad. It is time that Virginia join with its Atlantic States fisheries neighbors to protect this endangered species. 

I support the hickory shad conservation proposal to protect against overfishing of a species with a currently unknown population and an undetermined abundance needed for a self-sustaining stock. Overfishing of the hickory shad risks depletion of the stock and jeopardizes the continued availability of a recreational hickory shad fishery. 

I live on the Mattaponi River and have seen the populations of White and Hickory Shad drop in recent years. I am in support of a daily limit on Hickory Shad. All of our fish species should have a daily limit. As our population increases and more people are recreational fishing the pressure increases on all of our fish populations.

I support the proposed Harvest Regulations to Conserve Hickory Shad in Virginia Tidal Waters

I support any conversation. However the same rules that the recreational fisherman follow. So should the commercial fisherman. The rules have always been bent in favor of the commercial fisherman. 

I support setting a limit on hickory shad. A limit of ten is an appropriate start until science proves otherwise.  

I JNsupport this change. It makes common sense for the preservation of the stock.

The Hickory shad is a vital resource for Striped Bass, Bluefish, Osprey and other wildlife that  live, spawn or nest in and around the Chesapeake bay. A creel limit should be set on the Shad with a possible closed season during the spawn. If measures aren’t taken now, the wildlife of the bay will suffer.

Hickory Shad needs to be limited. 

From the recreational angler’s perspective, Hickory Shad have value in three uses: As a catch and release fish, for harvest to eat the roe, and for harvest to use for bait. None of those three uses require more than a reasonable amount of fish per angler per day to fulfill that use. Additionally, none of those three uses can happen at all if the hickory shad population gets depleted in the same fashion that American shad have. I think it is in the best interest of the recreational angler to be in support of a limit being put in place and enforced for hickory shad. Any limit at all would be a step in the right direction over the current regulations which allow for unlimited harvest of the species, but even worse do not provide any opportunity for the fish to be counted or studied to ensure sound decision-making in the future. 

I support the recreational limit in this petition.

An unlimited Hickory Shad catch in  Virginia waters unnecessarily puts at risk this historic run of the species.  Washington D.C. Potomac waters is catch and release only to preserve this great sport fish.  Please put a reasonable limit on Hickory Shad for recreational catch that preserves and grows the Hickory Shad population and migration for generations to come.

Ensure the poor man's Tarpon catch thrill is preserved for all to experience.

• Management of hickory shad should be consistent across Virginia. The DWR 10 per day hickory shad limit for Virginia rivers outside the Chesapeake Bay watershed is a reasonable model for beginning management of the Chesapeake Bay and tributary hickory shad spawning runs.
• Conserving hickory shad will help protect against overfishing a species with an unknown population and undetermined abundance needed for a self-sustaining stock.
• Unrestricted takes during hickory shad spawning runs reduces the potential for successful spawns.
• Overfishing hickory shad risks depletion of the stock and jeopardizes the continued availability of a recreational fishery.
• Unrecognized bycatch of American shad during unrestricted bulk takes of hickory shad undermines restoration efforts for this species.
• A daily creel limit facilitates adjustment of allowed takes as conditions change.
• Creel limits provide a practical measure for field inspection of hickory shad takes.
• Hickory shad availability as a forage species for striped bass is diminished by unrestricted takes.

Overfishing hickory shad risks depletion of the stock and jeopardizes the continued availability of a recreational fishery.

When fish or any living thing becomes endangered because of the careless fishing and hunting, there should be a proposal in place to protect them!

Agree with this proposal. We need conservation of shad and the bay area. 

There should be NO harvesting of hickory shad  during their annual spawn run.

We’ve got to begin to limit the catch of hickory shad. There are too many dependencies with by catch and predator species to take a risk by not doing so. 

I support a reasonable creek limit for hickory shad. Don’t wait until it becomes a bigger problem. 

The hickory Shad are a very important resource for our rivers and their ecosystem. These fish should be protected against over fishing so they can continue to full fill their role. I am an avid recreational fisher and want to ensure this resource is available for future generations

thanks 

I support the proposed limits to shad harvesting. 

I support the proposed Hickory Shad Regulations for VA.

I support the petition to place limits on Shad harvesting

Shad fishing is a spring- time right of passage, and a great introductory fishery for kids to get hooked!  We need to protect the shad population for future generations before this becomes a bigger problem.

Every Spring I hit the Occoquan River for some amazing Hickory Shad fishing. I have always practiced catch and release with this fishery and it never occured to me that there currently are no limits imposed. I support the very generous proposal...even think the limits are too big. That said, without some level of protection, we could lose an important recreational fishery...this is at least a start.

I support limits!

I support the petition to regulate the Hickory Shad population in the Commonwealth

I support this measure and I also support restriction on commercial elwy fishing. It is sad when I am fishing in a river off of the Chesapeake Bay with abundant fish on fish finder and then have a long liner come in  completely wipe out all the fish as far up the river that they can go.....

Management of hickory shad should be consistent across Virginia. The DWR 10 per day
hickory shad limit for Virginia rivers outside the Chesapeake Bay watershed is a
reasonable model for beginning management of the Chesapeake Bay and tributary
hickory shad spawning runs.

The 10 per day hickory shad limit - on the rivers outside the Chesapeake Bay - seems like a reasonable conservation effort to manage and protect the tributary hickory shad spawning runs.  

Daily limits, as suggested by the DWR biologists, should be adopted to protect the fishery and preserve its availability in the future.   

I support creel limits for Hickory shad.   

Hickory Shad are not a well understood species that is especially vulnerable during their spring spawning run.  Since there is not good information as to their true numbers and spawning success it seem to me that the first and easiest step is to set a reasonable  creel limit so that there is at least some idea of actual numbers of fish, not just educated guesses.

I support creel limits on our shad fishery

Shad Limits need Powerful Support - crooks should loose their VA license for at least 10 years

I have lived on the upper Bay ( Nanticoke) for 29 years and am very concerned about the reduction of all fisheries in the Bay.    As the "mouth" of the Bay I would encourage Virginia to take steps to reduce menhaden fisheries ( for fertilizer) and to stop winter dredging of female crabs during their winter stay at the mouth of the Bay.

Unfortunately, over the years I am disappointed with Virginia's conservation efforts, and am very concerned about the introduction of the blue catfish. 

Please encourage your conservationist to help the upper Bay

I support the establishment of a creel limit for hickory shad in Virginia as petitioned. 

Hickory Shad are a true historic east coast sportsman’s fish.  Anything less than a tight creel limit in Virginia threatens the continuation of the species for generations.  It is now our generation’s turn to learn from the past lessons of overfishing to protect the Hickory Shad.  It is far better to keep a low creel limit and expand it then to start high, or no limit, and try to lower the limit.  Keep the limit low, matching that of trout, to protect the fish and the opportunity to fish for them. 

I support the proposed hickory shad regulations.  A limit of 10 fish is allows consumers of the fish an ample one harvest and it helps shield remaining spawning populations from over fishing. 

I am a member of Fly Fisher’s International, The Falmouth Flats Fly Fishers Club, and own a lifetime Virginia fishing License. The annual Shad migration on the Rappahannock each spring is an extraordinary event many in our community look forward to, plan for, and spend money in the local economy to enjoy. The only way the local resource flourishes is with consistent management statewide.

Management of hickory shad should be consistent across the state of Virginia. The current approach used by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) for rivers outside the Chesapeake Bay watershed could serve as a reasonable model for managing hickory shad spawning runs within the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

**Recommended Daily Limit**
The DWR currently enforces a 10 per day limit for hickory shad in Virginia rivers outside the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This daily limit could be a suitable starting point for managing hickory shad populations within the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary systems.

Adopting a consistent, science-based approach to hickory shad management across Virginia's waterways would help ensure the long-term sustainability of this important anadromous fish species.

Thanks & Tight Lines!

Dave DiEugenio 

Virginia has five tributaries that support Hickory shad spawning.  Currently Hickory Shad Catch Per Unit of Effort (CPUE) from DWR Electroshocking data in 2020 only the Rappahannock River of the five tributaries is currently slightly above average CPUE.  The other tributaries are well below average CPUE and two tributaries have zero CPUE.  One tributary has no CPUE data or was not Electroshocked.  The Hickory Shad biomass in Virginia tributaries has not been determined.

Observation:  I generally fished the entire Hickory shad spring spawning run every year and on multiple times each week and on multiple occasions observed huge coolers of Hickory shad removed from the Rappahannock river.  I am concerned that Hickory shad are being over harvested.

No game fish should have no creel limits.  If VMRC does not know how many Hickory shad are being removed from the fishery it is urgent to set Hickory shad creel limits.

As you know over harvesting Hickory shad creel combined with bad spawns can deplete a fishery.

Recommendation:  Establish Hickory shad creel limits. 

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am generally an advocate of treating hickory shad as a gamefish with very limited or no take allowed.  The sporting species supports a vibrant springtime ritual of pursuit for thousands of Chesapeake Bay area fishermen, as well as forage for our larger and more valuable predator species, like striped bass, cobia, and redfish.  If a creel limit is established, I support consistency across the Commonwealth.  

Given the difficulties many anglers face in identification of shad and herring species, particularly between American Shad and Hickory Shad, I do worry that any allowable take will result in the killing of species whose low populations should be protected, like American Shad and Blueback Herring.

Conserving hickory shad will help protect against overfishing a species with an unknown population and undetermined abundance needed for a self-sustaining stock, and will undoubtedly contribute to the overall Chesapeake Bat forage base in support of tremendously valuable recreational and commercial fishing.  

Overfishing hickory shad risks depletion of the stock and jeopardizes the continued availability of a recreational fishery for the shad and predator species that feed on the shad.  Thank you for considering my input, and I do hope management efforts are successful in sustaining and increasing Hickory Shad numbers in Virginia.

Sincerely,

John Kuriawa

The shad are important.  I support the proposal.

I support the effort to impose a limit on recreational catches of Hickory Shad. While many of the recreational Shad fishermen keep few Hickory Shad  there are exceptions and it makes no sense to wait until the Hickory Shad are in the same dire situation as their cousins the American Shad and the herring.

I support a 10 per day harvest limit on hickory shad. I have fished the mid-Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries for 50 years.  IMO, the VMRC has done a poor job the past 10 years managing fishery resources. We must regulate fish populations for future generations.