Several characters of shad from the Shubenacadie River, Nova Scotia, from Delaware Bay, and from Chesapeake Bay were studied in order to establish the racial nature of shad populations along the Atlantic Coast. For this purpose nearly 350 fish were secured. Counts of vertebrae, pectoral fin rays, and ventral scutes were established to be the best characters. Variation in the number of gill rakers from the different habitats is overshadowed by stronger influences of size or age, and for this reason the number of gill rakers is unsuitable for racial distinction.