Alosa aestivalis, Blueback shad : fisheries

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Alosa aestivalis (Mitchill, 1814)

Blueback shad
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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.

Common names from other countries

Alose d'été du Canada, Sábalo del Canadá, Blueback herring, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > 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 Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; anadromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 5 - 55 m (Ref. 5951). Subtropical; 47°N - 27°N, 84°W - 60°W (Ref. 117456)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | 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).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 40.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); common length : 27.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 188); max. published weight: 200.00 g (Ref. 7251); max. reported age: 8 years (Ref. 12193)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15 - 20; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 15 - 21; Vertebrae: 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).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. 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 Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

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

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

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)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2b); Date assessed: 13 October 2011

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
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Length-weight rel.
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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OceanAdapt | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 11.5 - 24.7, mean 23.7 °C (based on 86 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00708 (0.00410 - 0.01222), b=3.11 (2.96 - 3.26), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.8   ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.18; tm=4; Fec=45,800).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (39 of 100). 🛈
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate to high vulnerability (50 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Low.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 28.1 [13.7, 137.6] mg/100g; Iron = 1.47 [0.63, 3.85] mg/100g; Protein = 19.8 [17.4, 22.6] %; Omega3 = 0.744 [0.386, 1.503] g/100g; Selenium = 18 [9, 36] μg/100g; VitaminA = 18.7 [4.7, 78.7] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.505 [0.325, 0.920] mg/100g (wet weight);