Alewife,  Alosa pseudoharengus

 
Physical Description: 
	Large eye 
	Mouth angled upward 

	Eye diameter greater than snout length  

Moderately deep and compressed body 
 
	Tongue has teeth  

	Dorsal fin is small and its back edge is concave  

Tail fin is forked with asymmetrical lobes  

	Anal fin is a little longer than the dorsal fin  

Pelvic fin is small 

	Back color is typically gray-green in color  

	Usually a dark spot on the shoulder in line with the eye 


Similar species: 
	Blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) 


Mean body size:
	Adults are 200-300 mm total length 


Habitat:
	School in fresh and salt water  

	Found in the ocean, medium to large rivers, reservoirs and lakes  

Like cooler waters and tend to stay in deep water in the open water column  

 
Distribution in VA:
	All the major Chesapeake Bay tributaries in Virginia and reservoirs where it has been stocked 


Food Habits:  
	Make daily vertical migrations to feed on the zooplankton 
 
	Young feed on diatoms, copepods, and ostracods  

	Larger fish also feed on shrimp and fish, squid, fish eggs, and their own larvae 


Reproductive Habits: 
	In anadromous populations, females mature a year later than males  

	Mature between ages 3 and 5 

	Fecundity of oceanic female is 48,000 - 360,000 eggs 

	Landlocked fish mature between 1 and 3 years of age 

	Fecundity is between 13,200 and 49,200 eggs  

	Spawning occurs from March to May in tidal freshwater streams and ponds 

	After spawning, adults return to the sea   

	Inland populations spawn from April to August in shallow areas of lakes and streams 

	Adults pair during spawning and swim in spirals to the surface 

	Eggs are nonadhesive and sink to the bottom of calm, still waters  


Population Status, Economic, or Ecological Importance: 
	Stocked as a sportfish forage food 

	Preys upon sportfish larvae and can cause a population decline 


References:       

Jenkins, R.E and N.M. Burkhead. 1993. Freshwater Fishes of Virginia. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland. 

Alewife American Shad Blueback Gizzard Shad Continue Browsing Families..... Petromyzontidae, Lampreys Polyodontidae, Paddlefish Acipenseridae, Sturgeons Lepisosteidae, Gars Amiidae, Bowfins Anguillidae, Freshwater Eels Amblyopsidae, Cavefishes Ictaluridae, Catfish Percopsidae, Trout-Perches Salmonidae, Trouts Clupeidae, Herrings Esocidae, Pikes Aphredoderidae, Pirate Perches Umbridae, Mudminnows Fundulidae, Killifishes Poeciliidae, Livebearers Cyprinidae, Minnows Catostomidae, Suckers Gasterosteidae, Sticklebacks Atherinidae, Silversides Cottidae, Sculpins Sciaenidae, Drums Percidae, Perches Moronidae, Striped Basses Centrarchidae, Sunfishes