Alosa tanaica (Grimm, 1901)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 67-68

Alosa tanaica

Common name. Little Black Sea shad.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Alosa entering freshwater in Black Sea basin by: ● 66–96 gill rakers, longer than branchial filaments / ● teeth on palatine and vomer poorly developed. Size up to 200 mm SL.

Distribution. Black and Azov Seas, from where adults ascend rivers and migrate a short distance upstream to spawn. Inland populations in Anatolian lakes of Sapanca, Apolyont, and Manyas.

Habitat. At sea, pelagic, in deeper layers ( 50–70 m) of coastal waters. Migrates from sea to estuaries and lower reaches of large rivers, spawns in fresh or slightly brackish water, usually close to shore, in upper 2–4 m, in almost still waters such as floodplains or lakes.

Conservation status. LC; still common in coastal lagoons. Further reading. Kolarov 1991a (biology).

Biology. Anadromous. Migrates upstream at 1–2 years. Many individuals spawn in 2–4 seasons. Spawners appear along coast in late January–March, enter rivers when temperature reaches about 10°C, late April–May. Spawning begins when temperature reaches about 15°C or higher in May–June. Eggs are bathypelagic or sink to bottom. Fry migrate to estuaries and coastal lagoons or to sea near estuaries to feed. In autumn, move to sea to overwinter. Juveniles migrate to sea or estuaries during first summer until they reach maturity. At sea, feed on a wide variety of zooplankton (crustaceans) and small fish. Conservation status. LC; most populations declined in early decades of 20 th century due to pollution. Seems to have stabilised at moderate levels since then. Situation in West Asia needs to be better known.

Remarks. Landlocked populations in Türkiye have not been studied for many years and might have vanished. They need a critical review.

Further reading. Mogil’chenko 1991 (biology); Kottelat 1997 (systematics).

Clupeiform fishes support small scale fisheres all over their range.