A fish not seen in Illinois for 30 years may be added to federal ‘endangered’ list

Federal agencies are considering adding the Alabama shad, a silver-colored fish that used to be abundant in Illinois, to the U.S. endangered species list.

The Alabama shad has no special conservation status in the state yet, Illinois Department of Natural Resources state aquatic ecologist Brian Metzke said in a recent interview with the BND, but it will be considered “endangered” there if the federal government lists the species.

The species’ potential status as endangered is being considered due to widespread population loss. A species is considered “endangered” when it is at risk of becoming extinct and considered “threatened” when it is at risk of becoming endangered.

“It’s lost about 90% of its historic range,” Metzke said of the small fish.

The fish can grow to 1.5 feet long and up to about 3 pounds. They can live up to four years in the wild. It looks similar to the gizzard shad , a species commonly found in Illinois, Metzke said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducted a 90-day review of the species’ status after a petition was filed March 7 and made a preliminary finding there is enough evidence to substantiate the possibility of the species being endangered.

The next step in the listing process is for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct a 12-month status assessment to determine the species’ current status and trajectory. If the assessment finds listing the species as endangered is warranted, it will go into administrative review involving public comments and possibly a hearing.

The administrative review could take as little as a few months or as long as several years, Metzke said.

The Alabama shad 12-month assessment has not yet begun, Metzke said, but is in the queue for the USFWS. Metzke said he personally thinks the species is likely to be listed as endangered, but it’s difficult to predict what the USFWS will find.

How has the Illinois environment been affected?

The Alabama shad’s historic range was from Oklahoma to West Virginia, according to the NOAA petition, and it was found as far north as Iowa and as far south as Florida.

The species has been completely lost from 60 of the 75 rivers it used to be found in, the petition continued, and “all of its remaining populations are in severe decline.”

The fish was once found throughout the Gulf of Mexico, tributaries of the gulf and through much of the Mississippi River basin, as far north as northern Illinois, Metzke said.

The Alabama shad previously occurred at very high densities within its range, Metzke continued, and records from the 1800s into the early 1900s show the species was abundant enough to be commercially harvested by humans.

Along with a marketplace protein for people, the Alabama shad was also an important food source for larger fish, mammals and birds.

“That food source has been lost from our environment,” Metzke said.

The Alabama shad is anadromous, meaning it moves from marine environments to freshwater environments to spawn. The fish would grow and mature in the Gulf of Mexico and travel all the way up the Mississippi River, moving nutrients into the United States’ freshwaters.

What happened to the Alabama Shad and where is it still found?

The most significant contributing factor to the Alabama Shad’s decline and the biggest threat to its viability is the construction of dams on major tributaries, according to NOAA.

“At least 85 dams have been built within the Alabama shad’s historic range in the last century,” the petition said.

Dams impede migration for spawning, feeding and refuge, NOAA reports, and they cause additional issues such as severing contiguous habitats and disturbing thermal patterns.

Pollution, including fallout from oil spills, is another serious concern for the species.

While the Alabama shad has not been found in Illinois in 30 years, the species persists in small numbers in Missouri in the Meramec River and Gasconade River.

“Only about 200 individuals have been recorded in Missouri over the past 30 years,” Metzke said.

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