Little fish, epic journey: Arkansas biologists track 650-mile migration of Alabama shad 

LITTLE ROCK — Thirty juvenile Alabama shad are striking out on a 650-mile journey from the Ouachita River in southwest Arkansas to the Gulf Coast and beyond, and for the first time in history, biologists with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will be tagging along.

The Alabama shad is ranked as the fourth-rarest fish in Arkansas and is being considered as a candidate for the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Each year Alabama shad spawned in the Ouachita River embark on a quest to reach salt water of the Gulf Coast. The fish is a mere 7-inch juvenile when it begins this trek, which leads it through many dangerous obstacles, including four locks and dams built for barge traffic.

Biologists know shockingly little about their life cycle aside from the endpoints of this amazing journey. Do they make this journey multiple times? Are there critical areas they visit along the way? How do they get past the dams? The questions surrounding this species are as vast as the waters it travels.

According to Jeff Quinn, AGFC River and Stream Program Supervisor, the Alabama shad is the only anadromous fish species in Arkansas — meaning it spawns in The Natural State and travels to salt water in the ocean as a component of its life cycle. One other species, the American eel, makes a similar migration but in reverse, spawning in the salt water of the ocean and traveling to fresh water in Arkansas during its life before returning to the Sargasso Sea.

Unraveling the secrets of this fish’s life cycle has been the largest obstacle in its conservation. Adult shad are extremely elusive and fragile, thwarting many previous tracking studies.

AGFC biologists have turned their attention to the juveniles through a groundbreaking effort. Last fall, they captured 30 young shad and implanted them with transmitters to track their migration. The transmitters, implanted by AGFC veterinarians, will coordinate with a series of hydrophones to “ping” each shad’s location as it passes nearby.

This is the first time such a study has been attempted on juvenile Alabama shad. The species is notoriously fragile and prone to stress from temperature changes and handling trauma.

State Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Jenn Ballard and AGFC Fish Pathologist Kelly Winningham worked in tandem to research and formulate a plan for the implantation procedure. The transmitter, roughly the size and shape of a piece of drinking straw as long as a penny is wide, had to be inserted in the body cavity of these extremely slender fish in a way that would not hinder their movement.

“We came up with some innovative solutions to overcome the fragile nature of the species,” Ballard said. “We even had fresh water flowing over the gills during the procedure through an IV setup instead of a water pump to ensure a constant but gentle flow of oxygenated water to the fish while the surgery was conducted.”

AGFC Wildlife Health Biologist AJ Riggs, AGFC Veterinary Trainee Robert Edwards and AGFC Conservation Program Technician Christina Little assisted with the surgeries, while Jeff Newman, AGFC Hatchery Manager of the Andrew Hulsey State Fish Hatchery, coordinated with Quinn and AGFC Rivers Biologist Chelsea Gilliland to collect, monitor, transport and release the shad.

Thanks to the creative solutions by the capture and implantation teams, all 30 of the shad selected for the study survived the procedure and showed no serious effects from the transmitter’s size during post-surgery observation.

“This project is really cutting-edge science,” Quinn said. “We didn’t even think this project was possible earlier this year. Our success is because we assembled a highly skilled and dedicated team, studied successes with other species, and were willing to take chances and fail.”

The data gleaned from this study will be crucial in understanding the Alabama shad’s migratory patterns, habitat use and the challenges they face. This knowledge is vital for effective conservation management and could be the key to preventing this remarkable species from disappearing altogether.

Quinn recently joined Trey Reid for an episode of the Arkansas Wildlife Podcast to talk about this exciting research project. Watch the show on the AGFC YouTube channel or find the podcast on your favorite platform.

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CUTLINES:

BUCKET FISH
AGFC biologists hope to track 30 transmitter-equipped Alabama shad from their spawning grounds in Arkansas to the Gulf Coast. AGFC photo by Forrest Talley. 

FISH VIDEO
All 30 shad selected for research survived the implantation of tiny transmitters that will record movement as they pass by established recording units. AGFC photo by Forrest Talley.

SURGERY
Biologists employed many creative solutions to successfully implant transmitters in diminutive Alabama shad. The gloves seen in this image produce a light electrical current to immobilize fish for surgery, avoiding chemicals. AGFC photo by Jeff Quinn.