Skipjack shad put into place in the northernmost reaches of its distribution. While the skipjack shad has been attributed to the subgenus "Potomolobius" of the genus "Alosa" along with other North American shad species, it has been found to be phylogenetically the most basal of the "Alosa" species, which are also found in Europe and Western Asia. Skipjack shad The skipjack shad ("Alosa chrysochloris") is a North American, migratory, fresh- and brackish water fish species in the herring family Clupeidae. The name skipjack shad comes from the fact that it is commonly seen leaping out of the water while feeding. Other common
Coonamesset River cranberry bogs that run to the rivers edge. Long ago nearly the entire river may have been bordered by red maple or white cedar swamp when the Wampanoag fished for herring. After European settlers arrived in 1660, the river was initially known as the Five Mile River. Philip Dexter located Falmouth's first grist mill at its mouth around 1700, and by 1795 there were three mills along the river with a corresponding decline in fisheries. A "herring war" began in 1798 with a bylaw giving an elected committee the right to remove any obstructions to allow fish free passage from