Alosa kessleri

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	ACTINOPTERYGII	CLUPEIFORMES	CLUPEIDAE

Scientific Name:	Alosa kessleri
Species Authority:	(Grimm, 1887)
Common Name/s: English – Black-back Shad

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern     ver 3.1
Year Published:	2008
Assessor/s:	Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M.
Reviewer/s:	Bogutskaya, N., & Smith, K. (IUCN Freshwater Biodiversity Unit)
Justification: Impoundment of main rivers (during 1950s and 1960s) significantly reduced available spawning sites and migration routes leading to a population decline. Currently the population is abundant (estimated at around 12 million mature individuals in 2000) and stable below the Volgograd dam, where the species has found new spawning sites. The current threats to the species are commercial and illegal fishing in the Caspian Sea and at the mouth of the Volga during the migration. Also, the flow regulation from the Volgograd dam (which is dependant on energy demand) is a potential threat as the species needs a large flow in April to the beginning June for optimal spawning conditions. However this is not thought to cause a decline or reduce the range of the species so it would qualify for a threatened category.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Caspian Sea from where adults ascend Volga (only few fish enter Ural and Terek) to spawn. Earlier reached upriver up to Kama and Oka systems. Migrations now blocked by Volgograd dam. There are indications it has formed landlocked populations in Volga reservoirs.
Countries:	Native: Azerbaijan; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Kazakhstan; Russian Federation; Turkmenistan
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Still relatively abundant and stable below the Volgograd dam where it appears to have found new spawning grounds. Juveniles are regularly found in the delta of the Volga. In 2000 the estimated number of mature individuals in the Caspian was 12,000,000 (N. Bogutskaya, pers comm.)
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:

Habitat: At sea, pelagic, in a wide variety of habitats. Migrates to middle reaches of large rivers, spawning close to shores in main channel and in almost-still water bodies such as river bays, river eddies and flood plains. Biology: Anadromous. Migrates upriver to spawn at 4-5 years. Enters rivers with unripe gonads. Some spawn 2-4 seasons, but most females die after spawning. Spawners appear along the coast in March-April, entering rivers April-May when temperatures reach about 9°C, peaking at 12-15°C. Spawning run originally lasted 30-50 days. Spawning starts in May-August when temperature rises above 15°C, and lasts as long as temperatures remain at 15-23°C. Spawning is most intensive between 4 and 10 p.m. Eggs are bathypelagic. Spent fish migrate back to the sea to feed. In autumn, they move to the southern part of the sea to overwinter. Juveniles migrate to the sea or to estuaries during their first summer, remaining there until maturity. At sea, feeds on a wide variety of zooplankton, crustaceans and small fish.

Systems:

Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):

The damming for the Volga River (main spawning river) in the 1950's and 1960's, blocked most of the spawning grounds. Currently the major threat to the species is commercial and illegal fishing in the Caspian Sea and at the mouth of the Volga during the migration. The flow regulation from the Volgograd dam (which is dependant on energy demand) is also a threat to the species as the species needs a large flow in April to the beginning June for optimal spawning conditions.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:

There is a canal which has been constructed to allow fish to pass the Volgograd Dam, so some fish occasionally get past.

Bibliography [top]

Heckman. 1991. in: Hoestlandt, H. (ed.). The freshwater fishes of Europe. Clupeidae, Anguillidae. Aula, Wiesbaden. IUCN. 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 5 October 2008). Kottelat, M. and Freyhof, J. 2007. Handbook of European Freshwater Fishes. Publications Kottelat, Cornol, Switzerland.