What is Shad?

Shad is a type of fish that once was very common in the Philadelphia region. Fishtown relied on this fish for their economic sustenance in the colonial times and up through the first world war. One year over 4 million fish were caught from the Delaware river, but the fish has not always been that plentiful. Like many fish now, shad is over fished, but in 1806 overfishing of shad was so drastic the state of Pennsylvania had to ban the use of gill nets. The fish can still be had, but not from any local rivers, most Shad commercially available is from the West Coast.

In 1686 William Penn described Shad “Shads are excellent fish and of the Bigness of our Carp: They are so plentiful, that Captain Smyth’s Overseer at the Skulkil, drew 600 and odd at one Draught; 300 is no wonder; 100 familiarly. They are excellent Pickled or Smokt’d, as well as boyld fresh; they are caught by nets only.” (from Kenneth Milano’s website http://www.kennethwmilano.com/)

The Fishtown Shad Fest in 2009 will be a celebration of a fish that was so important to our neighborhood and city’s history and economy.