Dorosoma petenense

History of Spread

Dorosoma petenense (Threadfin Shad) is native to the Mississippi and Gulf of Mexico drainges from IN and IL south to Guatemala (Page and Burr 1991). It may have been introduced to Gulf drainages east of the Mississippi River, and to the Florida peninsula in the first half of the 20th century (Fuller et al. 1999). This fish was widely introduced as a forage fish to reservoirs in North America starting in 1950's (Carlander 1969). Tendencies for winter die-offs, 'boom and bust' population fluctuations, and unpredictable invasiveness has led to a decline in introductions in recent years (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993; Fuller et al. 1999).

Dorosoma petenense was introduced to Atlantic drainages from FL to MD by 1981 (Lee et al. 1980; Lee et al. 1981; Fuller et al. 1999). In 1955, a stocking of Lake Havasu AZ led to spread throughout the lower Colorado to the Mexican border. In 1959, it was introduced to reservoirs in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River system and reached the Delta and San Francisco Bay by 1961 (Cohen and Carlton 1995). Dorosoma petenense have been occasionally captured in marine waters of the San FranciscoBay and adjacent coast, as far north as Yaquina Bay OR (by 1973) (Krygier et al. 1973; Lee et al. 1980; Eschmeyer et al. 1983). This species was also introduced to several Hawaiian islands, before 1962 (Carlander 1969). It has been introduced to 24 states, but in some regions it has died out due to cold weather (Fuller et al. 1999).

Dates of Chesapeake Bay introductions and subsequent records are listed below:

Back Bay (Currituck Sound), James River, York River - Dorosoma petenense was stocked in these estuaries between 1953 and 1959 (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993). In 1967-1998 Striped Bass seine surveys, this species was ranked 14th in overall abundance, just below the native D. cepediamum (Gizzard Shad) (Virginia Institute of Marine Science 1998).

Rappahannock River- Dorosoma petenense was not stocked in 1950's and apparently colonized this estuary later (tidal regions only, Jenkins and Burkhead 1993).

Potomac River- Dorosoma petenense was stocked between 1953 and 1959 (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993) and was considered rare by Lippson and Moran (1974). It was collected (juveniles only) in Aquia and Piscataway Creeks and at Maryland Point; (Lippson et al. 1979).

Upper Bay and Drainages- There is one record of D. petenense from the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal (Jones et al. 1978), but this species is not listed by later authors (Raasch and Altemus 1991; Wang and Kernehan 1979).

Eastern Shore Drainages - Dorosoma petenense is listed for MD (Lee et al. 1981); but there are no Eastern Shore VA records (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993). In Coursey Pond DE (1977), it was stocked unsuccessfully, and did not survive the winter (Raasch and Altemus 1991).

The only surviving lake populations in VA are in Back Bay and Lake Anna (York-Pamunkey drainage) (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993).

History References - Carlander 1969; Eschmeyer et al. 1983; Fuller et al. 1999; Jenkins and Burkhead 1993; Jones et al. 1978; Krygier et al. 1973; Lee et al. 1980; Lee et al. 1981; Lippson and Moran 1974; Lippson et al. 1979; Raasch and Altemus 1991; Virginia Institute of Marine Science 1998; Wang and Kernehan 1979

Invasion Comments