Pontic shad Pontic shad The Pontic shad ("Alosa immaculata", previously "Alosa pontica"), also referred to as the Black Sea shad or Kerch shad, is a species of clupeid fish in the genus "Alosa", native to the Black Sea and Sea of Azov basins. "Alosa immaculata" lives in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, and adults migrate up rivers to spawn. It may also be found in the Marmara Sea in Turkey. It currently migrates up and spawns in six rivers: the Danube, Dnieper, Dniester, Southern Bug, Don and Kuban Rivers. Previously the migrations reached far upstream, up to 1,600 in Danube
Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge have extensive vernal pool habitat that would benefit several Species of Concern. Coastal marshes, bays, tidal creeks, and rivers support diverse shellfish and finfish populations. Sunfish ("Lepomis" species), creek chub ("Semotilus atromaculatus"), cunner ("Tautogolabrus adspersus"), golden shiner ("Notemigonus crysoleucas"), common mummichog ("Fundulus heteroclitus"), American eel ("Anguilla rostrata"), and white sucker ("Catostomus commersoni") abound. Brook trout ("Salvelinus fontinalis") and brown trout ("Salmo trutta") are stocked in rivers and estuaries each year. The Ogunquit River sustains alewife ("Alosa pseudoharengus"), blueback herring ("Alosa aestivalis"), pollock ("Pollachius virens"), bluefish ("Pomatomus saltatrix"), longhorn sculpin ("Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus"), and winter flounder ("Pleuronectes americanus"). The Webhannet River has