Bonga shad (Ethmalosa fimbriata)

Scientific name: Ethmalosa fimbriata Bowdich, 1825

Bonga shad (Ethmalosa fimbriata)

The Bonga shad (Ethmalosa fimbriata) is a freshwater fish of the family Clupeidae.

Biology

Occurs in inshore waters, lagoons and more than 300 km up rivers (e.g. Gambia River). Feeds by filtering phytoplankton, chiefly diatoms. Breeds throughout the year in waters of salinities 3.5-38 ppt, but with peaks in at least some areas. Spawns in the sea, in estuaries and rivers. Feeds on phytoplankton, chiefly diatoms. Marketed fresh, also smoked and dried.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Ethmalosa fimbriata
Family
Clupeidae (Herrings, shads and sardines)
Order
Clupeiformes (Herrings)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
45.0
Common length
25.0
Environment
Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; catadromous; depth range 0 - ? m, usually 0 - 50 m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Eastern Central Atlantic: Dakhla, Western Sahara to at least Lobito, Angola, corresponding to the extreme northerly and southerly limits of the 25?C isotherms throughout the year; dwarf population exist in Lake Nokou?, Benin. Cape Verde records based on erroneous type locality for Ethmalosa fimbriata by Bowdich - followed by later authors.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Least Concern (LC)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: experimental
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.25-0.36; tm=1; Fec=16,000)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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