Black Sea Shad

Body fairly elongate, more `herring-like' than `shad-like'. Gill rakers rather thin, usually equal to or a little shorter than gill filaments. Teeth well developed in both jaws. Resembles A. caspia, which usually has more Gill rakers (50 to 180, much longer than gill filaments), poorly developed teeth and a deeper, `shad-like' body; A. maeotica has fewer Gill rakers (33 to 36).

Eggs are pelagic (Ref. 59043).

Anadromous. Fish that ascend rivers to spawn, as salmon and hilsa do. Sub-division of diadromous. Migrations should be cyclical and predictable and cover more than 100 km.

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Analspines: 0

Feeds on fish and benthic crustaceans (Ref. 188). Euryhaline, anadromous, moving northward in the Black Sea in spring and early summer. Remains at depths of 40-90 m during winter, moving to shallower waters in spring and near the bottom at water temperatures of 10-15°C in summer and autumn (Ref. 10439). In Kagoul Lake in the Danube Delta, numerous juveniles 2.6-7.0 cm FL were noted in July-August at water temperatures of 15.8-19.5°C, oxygen concentration of 9.9-10.4 ml/l and pH of 8.0-8.1 (Ref. 10440).

Thai species is pelagic at sea, in deep water. It migrates to middle reaches of large rivers, spawning where current is strongest, close to the surface, often at 2-3 m depth in the main channel. Migrates upriver to spawn at 3 years, rarely earlier and only a few individuals spawn two seasons. It appears along the coast in March to April, enters rivers when temperatures reach about 6-9°C, between late March and late April; migration usually peaks in May. Spawning starts when temperature rises above 15°C in April to August; usually between 1 and 8 p.m. Pelagic eggs. Spent individuals return to the sea to feed. Juveniles inhabit floodplain and shallow riverine habitats, migrate to the sea or estuarine habitats during first summer; in autumn return to the sea until maturity. When at sea, it feeds on a wide variety of zooplankton (mainly crustaceans, (Crangon, Upogebia, Idothea, gammarids) and small fish (Engraulis, Clupeonella, Sprattus). Reduction of spawning sites and migration routes are caused by impoundment of main rivers. Heavy over fishing apparently reduced all populations during the first decade of the 20th century (Ref. 59043). Reaches a smaller size (30 cm SL, usually 14-18) in Don River; a smaller form reaches only 21 cm.

fisheries: minor commercial; price category: high; price reliability: reliable: based on ex-vessel price for this species

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.