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Alosa pseudoharengus  (Wilson, 1811)

Alewife
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Image of Alosa pseudoharengus (Alewife)
Alosa pseudoharengus
Picture by Scarola, J.F.

country information

Common names: [No common name]
Occurrence:
Salinity:
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments:
National Checklist:
Country Information:
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Clupeiformes (Herrings) > Clupeidae (Herrings, shads, sardines, menhadens) > Alosinae
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Сероспинка (=элевайф), Gaspareau, Pinchagua, ... more

Main reference

Whitehead, P.J.P. 1985. (Ref. 188)
 References | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 40.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); common length : 30.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); max. published weight: 200.00 g (Ref. 7251); max. reported age: 9 years (Ref. 72462)

Length at first maturity
 Lm ?, range 11 - ? cm

Environment

Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; anadromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 5 - 145 m (Ref. 4639), usually 56 - 110 m (Ref. 5951)

Climate / Range

Temperate, preferred 8°C (Ref. 107945); 55°N - 34°N, 93°W - 53°W

Distribution

North America: Atlantic coast from Red Bay, Labrador in Canada to South Carolina in USA. Native to Lake Ontario; introduced into other Great Lakes via Welland Canal (first taken in Lake Erie in 1931). Introduced elsewhere, including New River in West Virginia and Virginia, and upper Tennessee River system in Tennessee, USA.
 Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Moderately compressed, belly with a distinct keel of scutes. Lower jaw rising steeply within mouth; minute teeth present at front of jaws (disappearing with age). Lower gill rakers increasing with age. A dark spot on shoulder. Distinguished from A. aestivalis by its silvery peritoneum; eye larger than snout length; back greyish green on capture.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Movement of schooling adults apparently restricted to coastal areas proximal to natal estuaries (Ref. 4639). They migrate up rivers and even small streams to spawn in lakes and quiet stretches of rivers, then return to sea shortly after spawning (Ref. 4639); landlocked populations also ascend affluent rivers and streams. Larvae remain in vicinity of spawning grounds, forming schools at sizes less than 10 mm TL, within one to two weeks after hatching (Ref. 4639), then descend in summer and autumn or even as late as November or December. Feed on shrimps and small fishes; the young on diatoms, copepods and ostracods while in rivers. Utilized fresh, dried or salted, smoked and frozen; eaten fried (Ref. 9988). Also used for crab and lobster bait and sometimes for pet food (Ref. 9988). Parasites found are Acanthocephala, cestodes, trematodes and copepods. Overfishing, pollution and impassable dams cause the decline of stocks (Ref. 37032).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

  Least Concern (LC) 

Threat to humans

  Harmless



Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; bait: occasionally

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Alien/Invasive Species database | BHL | BOLDSystems | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO(fisheries: production; publication : search) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | Public aquariums | PubMed | Scirus | Sea Around Us | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | uBio RSS | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
 PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
 3.4   ±0.3 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
 Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.2; tm=3.6; Fec=2,180)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
 Low to moderate vulnerability (29 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
 Low