Toli Shad

Body moderately deep, compressed, belly with 28 to 30 scutes. Head length 25 to 27% of standard length; a distinct median notch in upper jaw. Gillrakers fine but not numerous, 60 to 100 on lower part of arch (barely increasing after 10 cm standard length). Caudal fin short, 31 to 34% standard length. At most, a dark diffuse mark behind gill opening, but no other spots on flank. Resembles T. ilisha, which has a longer head (28 to 32% standard length), shorter caudal fin (25 to 31% standard length), more gillrakers (100 to 250, increasing in larger fishes) and spots along the flank, also scutes 30 to 33. Other Tenualosa species also have more than 100 gillrakers in fishes over about 10 cm standard length. The notched upper jaw distinguishes ifrom other similar clupeids, except Hilsa kelee, which has numerous longitudinal striae on top of head and spots along flank.

India (eastern and western Coasts, also rivers) to Java Sea and South China Sea (Java, Thailand, thus overlapping range of T. macrura).

To 50 cm standard length.

Marine, pelagic and schooling in coastal waters,euryhaline. Perhaps anadromous, ascending rivers to breed (but in some areas fishery workers claim that it does not). Presumably its biology is similar to that of T. ilisha, but the fewer gillrakers suggest that it takes larger food organisms.More data needed, especially since it is not always distinguished from T. ilisha, especially at juvenile stages.

Catch trends for Tenualosa toli can be considered only since 1984, when the main country fishing this species (Bangladesh) changed its way of reporting statistics data to FAO. In the recent years, the total catch has been ranging between 140 000 and 230 000 t including catches from area 51 (Western Indian Ocean), area 04 (Asia-Inland waters) and area 71(Eastern Central Pacific). In the distribution area (India and Bangladesh) where this species is overlapping with that of Tenualosa ilisha, often the catches are not distinguished. The fishes are mainly caught with traps, fishing weirs and drifted or fixed gillnets in estuaries and rivers during the upstream spawning migration; fishermen also use seine nets, bag nets, clasp nets and cast nets. The total catch reported for this species to FAO for 1999 was 3 900 t. The countries with the largest catches were Indonesia (3 900 t).