The shad are coming! This morning on WNYC Public Radio, there was a report on the status of shad (or "most delicious herring" in Latin) in the Hudson. Shad in the Hudson? Yes, it's true, and spring is the season, although between PCBs in the river and the resurgence of striped bass, there are fewer and fewer shad to be had.
Long long ago, the arrival of Shad in the Hudson's waters was cause for regional celebration for their cheap and healthy source of food, harvested in nets by hundreds of commercial Shad fisherman. Today, Shad are still roaming the waters north of New York City, with about a dozen fisherman left keeping the tradition alive.
(Listen to Shad Devotees Keep Hudson River Tradition, aired WNYC, April 28)
Alosa sapidissima is the Latin name for Shad, and that is what means "tastiest herring." You're making it sound like "Shad" has that meaning.