clipped from: www.thestate.com   

Shad shocked, chauffeured

Crews help fish bypass dam, continue journey upstream

Gerry Melendez/gmelendez@thestate.com<br />S.C. Department of Natural Resource officials catch shad in front of the Augusta Canal dam Tuesday. The fish ladder that usually allows shad to slip around the dam and go upstream on the Savannah River is broken, so Natural Resources officials from South Carolina and Georgia are giving the fish a hand. Officials gave the water in front of the dam a series of electrical shocks, which stun the fish and make them easier to catch. The fish were then scooped
S.C. Department of Natural Resource officials catch shad in front of the Augusta Canal dam Tuesday. The fish ladder that usually allows shad to slip around the dam and go upstream on the Savannah River is broken, so Natural Resources officials from South Carolina and Georgia are giving the fish a hand. Officials gave the water in front of the dam a series of electrical shocks, which stun the fish and make them easier to catch. The fish were then scooped up and released around the dam so they can swim upstream to spawn.

It was the most unusual mile among thousands of miles of travel and the most unusual day in a four-year journey for 362 shad.

The American shad’s life cycle begins in the shoals of coastal rivers, builds with a trip to Canada’s Bay of Fundy and ends back at the same river shoals. For the thousands that returned to the Savannah River this year, the trip ended about 15 miles short.