Alosa aestivalis, Blueback shad : fisheries

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Alosa aestivalis (Mitchill, 1814)

Blueback shad
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Alosa aestivalis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Alosa aestivalis (Blueback shad)
Alosa aestivalis
Picture by Flescher, D.

Classification / Names Noms communs | Synonymes | Catalog of Fishes(Genre, Espèce) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Clupeiformes (Herrings) > Alosidae (Shads and Sardines)
Etymology: Alosa: Latin, alausa = a fish cited by Ausonius and Latin, halec = pickle, dealing with the Greek word hals = salt; it is also the old Saxon name for shad = "alli" ; 1591 (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Mitchill.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Écologie

marin; eau douce; saumâtre; anadrome (Ref. 51243); profondeur 5 - 55 m (Ref. 5951). Subtropical; 47°N - 27°N, 84°W - 60°W (Ref. 117456)

Distribution Pays | Zones FAO | Écosystèmes | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia south to the St. John's River, Florida; also in lower parts of rivers (Ref. 188). Introduced in reservoirs in several states, and in the upper Tennessee River system in Tennessee, USA (Ref. 117456, 86798).

Taille / Poids / Âge

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 40.0 cm SL mâle / non sexé; (Ref. 7251); common length : 27.5 cm SL mâle / non sexé; (Ref. 188); poids max. publié: 200.00 g (Ref. 7251); âge max. reporté: 8 années (Ref. 12193)

Description synthétique Morphologie | Morphométrie

Épines dorsales (Total): 0; Rayons mous dorsaux (Total): 15-20; Épines anales 0; Rayons mous anaux: 15 - 21; Vertèbres: 47 - 53. Moderately compressed, belly with distinct keel of scutes. Upper jaw with a distinct notch; lower jaw rising steeply within mouth; minute teeth present at front of jaws (disappearing with age). Lower gill rakers 41 to 52 (fewer in fishes under 10 cm standard length), slender. Back dark blue, sometimes bluish-grey; a dark spot on shoulder (Ref. 188). Peritoneum black (Ref. 7251). Branchiostegal rays 7 (Ref. 4639).

Biologie     Glossaire (ex. epibenthic)

Inhabits rivers, estuaries, coastal waters, lakes and reservoirs (Ref. 117456). Adults are found in saltwater except during the spawning season and occur up to at least 200 km offshore (Ref. 117456). Forms schools and possibly wintering near the bottom and out from the coast, approaching the shore in the late spring. Feeds on small fishes, copepods and small shrimps. Spawns in brackish- or freshwaters of rivers, arriving in coastal waters a month or so later than A. pseudoharengus (in April at Chesapeake Bay, apparently when the water is above 7.0° C and later further north). Eggs are essentially pelagic, demersal in still water (Ref. 4639). Larvae are found in fresh and brackish rivers (Ref. 4639). Juveniles leave fresh and brackish nursery grounds at about 5 cm, migrating downstream (Ref. 4639). In freshwater habitat, this species usually occurs in current over rocky bottom (Ref. 86798). Marketed mostly fresh and salted (Ref. 188). Parasites found are acanthocephalan and nematodes (Ref. 37032).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturité | Reproduction | Frai | Œufs | Fécondité | Larves

Upriver movement to spawning areas occur in late afternoon or at night (Ref. 4639).

Référence principale Upload your references | Références | Coordinateur | Collaborateurs

Whitehead, P.J.P., 1985. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 7. Clupeoid fishes of the world (suborder Clupeoidei). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the herrings, sardines, pilchards, sprats, shads, anchovies and wolf-herrings. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(7/1):1-303. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 188)

Statut dans la liste rouge de l'IUCN (Ref. 130435)


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