Herring family. Family Herring (Clupeidae) Name of fish similar to herring

Perch family

Perches have two fins on their backs, of which the front one is spiny; less often they are equipped with one fused fin, consisting of two parts - spiny and soft. The pelvic fins are located on the chest. The scales on these fish fit very tightly.

Perch are distributed almost everywhere. They are distinguished by lean meat, but during the fattening period fat (“fat”) is deposited on the intestines of perch fish. Perch species include pike perch, bersh, perch, ruff and others.

Zander– one of the important commercial fishes of the European part of Russia. The teeth are sharp, with fangs. Pike perch meat is white, tender, tasty, although not fatty. The bones are large and easily separated from the muscles. In the trade, a large pike perch is considered to be more than 34 cm long and a small pike perch is 34 cm or less. In the southern basins, pike perch weighing 1-2.5 kg predominate.

Pike perch is especially good for aspic and main courses. Sea pike perch is darker in color than river pike perch.

The perch in the catches is predominantly of local importance. The best is Balkhash. Large perch have a length of 18-20 cm and above.

Perch meat is dense, aromatic, and has good taste. Goes with fish soup and main courses. River perch meat has many small sharp intermuscular bones, which significantly reduces its commodity value. Perch is regarded as a small fish of the 1st group.

Ruff – a small bony fish often found in our reservoirs. When selling, a ruff with a length of more than 12 cm or less is considered a small item of the 3rd group. Ruff produces a very tasty broth, which is why it is widely used for making fish soup.

Perch fish are of greatest value for food in fresh, frozen and canned form.

Herring family

The herring family includes Atlantic, Pacific, White Sea, Caspian and Azov-Black Sea herrings; herring; sardines, including sardine, sardinops. sardinella; sprat and sprat.

The body of herrings is oblong. Head without scales; the lateral line is absent. There is one dorsal fin, located in the middle part of the body, the caudal fin is strongly notched. The pelvic fins are located in the middle part of the body.

The southern Caspian and Azov-Black Sea herrings have a hard keel on their abdomen made of sharp abdominal spike-like scales, while the northern ones do not have such a keel. The upper and lower jaws are equal in length; there is a notch in the upper jaw.

Herring vary in location, size and weight.

Caspian herring has several species. Blackback (commercial name “zalom”) is the best herring, producing the best product, with a length of more than 35 cm.

At the beginning of spawning it has about 19% fat; blackback caught in the Volga delta - about 15%.

Volga (Astrakhan) herring is inferior in quality to blackback herring and has half the fat content.

Puzanok- herring, characterized by a slightly pendulous belly; produces the largest catch among Caspian herrings.

The remaining Caspian herrings are of great commercial importance.

Caspian sprat and anchovy sprat are caught all year round. Caspian sprat is inferior in quality to other types of sprat.

The main place in the herring fishery of the Azov-Black Sea basin is occupied by the Azov-Black Sea herring, which winters in the Black Sea. It is caught in the Kerch Bay and in the Don.

The same herring is caught in the Black Sea, Dnieper and Danube. The best herrings in this area are Kerch and Danube (fat content 17-24%), the rest are inferior to them in fatness, fat content and aroma.

Herrings include sprat, which is used mainly in salted form. Kilka contains 13-18% fat, and only during the spawning period the spawning content decreases to 4-8%.

The name “Atlantic herring” refers to a group of herring (except for White Sea herring) caught in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans with adjacent seas and bays. The meat of these herrings is usually tender and quite fatty. In the north of the Barents Sea in the Spitsbergen area, large polar herring with a fat content of up to 20% are caught (it is called the “polar hall”).

Atlantic herring, like other northern herrings, have an elongated body, a protruding lower jaw, and a soft keel on the abdomen; The abdominal cavity of Atlantic herring is covered with a light mucous film.

White Sea herring comes in several varieties. A special place is occupied by the Solovetsky herring, which differs exclusively high quality(its catches are small).

Salaka- the main commercial fish of the Baltic Sea; used for salting and smoking, and is also widely used in canning. Herring is a small herring fish; In the Kaliningrad region off the coast of Lithuania, large herring, 19-38 cm long and weighing about 50 g, is common.

Baltic sprat is used to produce canned sprat (with spices), sardines and sprats.

Pacific herrings have a poorly developed ventral keel, it is visible only between the ventral and anal fins, and the abdominal cavity of these herrings is lined with a black film. Pacific herrings are divided into Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Primorye, and Okhotsk herrings. The quality of these herrings is very variable. The tasty and fatty herrings - Olyutorskaya and Zhupanovskaya - from the group of Kamchatka herrings, especially stand out in terms of quality. Zhupanovskaya is considered the best of all herrings. Among the herrings of the spring catch, the Okhotsk and South Sakhalin herrings stand out (they are especially good when lightly salted). Pacific herring of other species with a low fat content is not of high quality.

Sardine- valuable commercial fish. It is similar to a herring, but has a bluish-green back, and the sides and belly are somewhat darker than the herring. At the base of the strongly cut caudal fin there are wing-shaped scales, which are its hallmark. There are Pacific and Atlantic sardines.

In warm years, Pacific sardine (ivasi) is caught off the coast of eastern Kamchatka and northeastern Sakhalin. This sardine is characterized by dark spots located along the midline. The fish is thermophilic; when the temperature drops sharply to 5-6C, it dies en masse within a few hours.

The herring family includes Atlantic, Pacific, White Sea, Caspian and Azov-Black Sea herrings; herring; sardines, including sardine, sardinops, sardinella; sprat and sprat

Herring vary in location, size and weight.

Caspian herring has several species. Blackback (commercial name “zalom”) is the best herring, producing the best product, more than 35 cm long.

At the beginning of spawning it has about 19% fat; blackback caught in the Volga delta - about 15%.

Volga (Astrakhan) herring is inferior in quality to blackback herring and has half the fat content.

Puzanok is a herring characterized by a slightly saggy belly; produces the largest catch among Caspian herrings.

The remaining Caspian herring are of little commercial importance. Caspian sprat and anchovy sprat are caught all year round. Caspian sprat is inferior in quality to other types of sprat.

The main place in the herring fishery in the Azov-Black Sea basin is occupied by the Azov-Black Sea herring, which winters in the Black Sea. It is caught in the Kerch Bay and in the Don.

Herrings include sprat, which is used mainly in salted form. Kilka contains 13-18% Fat, and only during the spawning period the fat content decreases to 4-8%.

The Atlantic herring, like other northern herrings, has an elongated body, a protruding lower jaw, and a soft keel on the abdomen; The abdominal cavity of Atlantic herring is covered with a light mucous film.

White Sea herring comes in several varieties. A special place is occupied by Solovetsky herring, which is distinguished by its exceptionally high quality (its catches are small).

Herring is the main commercial fish of the Baltic Sea; used for salting and smoking, and is also widely used in canning. Salaka is a small herring fish; In the Kaliningrad region and off the coast of Lithuania, large herring, 19-38 cm long and weighing about 50 g, is common.

Baltic sprat is used to produce canned sprat (with spices), sardines and sprats.

Pacific herrings have a poorly developed ventral keel, it is visible only between the pelvic and anal fins, and the abdominal cavity of these herrings is lined with a black film. Pacific herrings are divided into Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Primorye, and Okhotsk herrings. The quality of these herrings is very variable. The tasty and fatty herrings - Olyutorskaya and Zhupanovskaya - from the group of Kamchatka herrings especially stand out in terms of quality. Zhupanovskaya is considered the best of all herrings. Among the herrings of the spring catch, the Okhotsk and South Sakhalin herrings stand out (they are especially good when lightly salted). Pacific herring of other species with a low fat content is not of high quality.

Sardine is a valuable commercial fish. It is similar to a herring, but has a bluish-green back, and its sides and belly are somewhat darker than those of a herring. At the base of the strongly cut caudal fin there are wing-shaped scales, which is its distinctive feature. There are Atlantic and Pacific sardines.

In warm years, Pacific sardine (ivasi) is caught off the coast of eastern Kamchatka and northeastern Sakhalin. This sardine is characterized by dark spots located along the midline. Fish are heat-loving; when the temperature drops sharply to 5-60C, they die en masse

The herring family includes about a hundred that live from the shores of the Arctic to the Antarctic itself. Most of them are very popular in cooking and are caught all over the globe. Let's find out which fish belong to the herring family. How are they characterized and how do they differ from other species?

General characteristics of the family

The herring family includes medium and small sizes. They feed on aquatic plants and microorganisms, mainly plankton, as well as tiny fish. Very often, herrings unite in numerous schools of hundreds, or even thousands of individuals. Thus, they provide themselves with protection from predators, because in a group the chances of being eaten are greatly reduced.

Like fish species of the carp family, herrings lack adipose fins. They have an oval, laterally compressed body, colored in gray and bluish shades. The tail of fish usually consists of two identical parts, between which there is a deep notch. There is only one fin on the back, the lateral line is absent or has a short length. There are no scales on the head of herrings, and some species do not even have scales on the body.

Species of the herring fish family: list

They prefer salty waters and are inhabitants of seas and open ocean spaces. However, in the herring family there are also residents fresh rivers and lakes, as well as anadromous species that swim into non-salty water bodies exclusively during migration. Most of them live in the tropics and subtropics; in cold seas they are much less common.

Many species of fish of the herring family are important fisheries and are regularly present on store shelves. The most famous representatives:

European sardine;
Pacific herring;
Atlantic menhaden;
big-eyed sprat;
Black Sea-Caspian kilka;
ilisha eastern;
alasha;
belly;
herring;
iwasi;
round belly herring.

Atlantic herring

This fish of the herring family has many names. It is called Murmansk, Norwegian, oceanic, multivertebral and, finally, Atlantic. She lives in northern regions Atlantic Ocean, sailing into the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, White, Barents and Labrador and other seas.

It is colored with a dark green or bluish back. The size of the fish reaches an average of 25 centimeters, some individuals grow up to 40-45 centimeters. It can weigh a maximum of 1 kilogram. It received the name “multivertebral” because large number vertebral ridges (55-60 pieces), which distinguishes it from other brothers. Her palatine teeth are well developed, and her lower jaw is noticeably moved forward.

In warm seasons, herring stay close to the surface, no deeper than 200-300 meters; in winter, they move lower into the water column. It represents one of the most common species of the herring family, and marine fish in general. Atlantic herring live in large schools and feed mainly on crustaceans, such as amphipods and calanoids. Sometimes it eats small fish and even its own brothers.

Salaka

Herring, or Baltic herring, is considered a subspecies of Atlantic herring. It lives in the Baltic Sea, as well as in nearby low-salt and fresh water bodies, such as the Curonian and Kalingrad Lagoons. The fish is also found in some lakes in Sweden.

She has an elongated body, a small rounded head and a slightly rounded belly. At the age of two to four years, the fish reaches 15-16 centimeters in length, and by the end of its life it can grow up to 20 centimeters. There are also larger representatives, which are often considered a separate subspecies and are called giant herrings. They can even reach 40 centimeters in length and feed on small fish like sticklebacks, while small herrings eat exclusively plankton. In the waters of the Baltic Sea they have several competitors, which also belong to the herring family. These are sprat and sprats, whose food also includes plankton from copepods.

Herring is actively used in Food Industry. They catch it throughout the year. The fish is suitable for salting, smoking, frying and baking. Canned food and preserves are often made from it under the names “sprats in oil” or “anchovies”.

Far Eastern sardine

Ivasi, or Far Eastern sardine, is a valuable commercial fish of the herring family. It belongs to the genus Sardinops and is similar to the Californian and South American sardines. The body of the fish is very elongated. Its abdomen is painted a light silver color, and its back is very dark and has a blue tint. The transition between the two color schemes is indicated by a thin blue stripe with black spots along it.

The size of the fish usually does not exceed 20-30 centimeters. Moreover, its weight is only 100-150 grams. She has a thin tail with a deep notch in the middle. At the end it is painted dark, almost black.

Sardine loves warmth and stays in the upper layers of water. It gathers in large schools, the length of which can reach 40 meters. This fish lives in the western part Pacific Ocean and is found off the coast Far East Russia, Japan and Korea. During warm periods it can reach Kamchatka and the northern tip of Sakhalin. Sardines do not tolerate sudden drops in temperature. A sudden cold snap of 5-6 degrees can lead to massive fish deaths.

The Far Eastern sardine is divided into two subtypes, which differ in spawning locations and periods. The southern subtype spawns near the Japanese island of Kyushu, arriving there as early as December-January. Northern sardines begin spawning in March, swimming to the shores of the Korean Peninsula.

Atlantic menhaden

Atlantic menhaden is a medium-sized fish. Adults, as a rule, reach a length of 20-32 centimeters, but some can grow up to 50 centimeters. Menhaden have a large head and higher sides than herring and sardines. The color of the fish is light below and dark on the back. The sides are covered with small, unevenly distributed scales. Behind the operculum there is a large black spot, and behind it there are six more rows of small spots.

In our area, menhaden is not the most famous representative of the herring family. It lives in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North America. Approximately 90% of the total volume of this fish caught is in the United States. Its usual diet consists of plankton, seaweed and small copepods. Menhaden itself often becomes prey for whales, waterfowl and pollock.

In winter, the fish stays in open ocean without diving to a depth below 50 meters. With the arrival of the warm season, it moves towards the coast, often swimming into closed reservoirs. Menhaden are not found in fresh waters, but can live in slightly saline ones. In summer, fish swim in the shelf area, in deltas and near river mouths.

This very fatty and nutritious fish is a valuable commercial species. However, catching her is not easy. To do this, you need to take into account a lot of factors related to the movement and speed of sea currents, wind direction and others. external factors.

Tyulki are a genus of small fish of the herring family that live in fresh and brackish waters. The Black Sea-Caspian sprat, or sausage, grows on average to 7-8 centimeters, and the maximum size reaches 15 centimeters. Wherein puberty A fish reaches maturity when its body length reaches 5 centimeters. Due to its diminutive size, it becomes prey for even medium-sized species. It is hunted by flounder, pike perch and other representatives of the herring family. The sprat itself feeds exclusively on plankton.

The sprat is painted silver or golden yellow, and its back has a greenish or blue tint. The fish lives in the Black, Caspian and Seas of Azov, floating in the water column. During spawning, it visits low-salinity areas of the seas, enters their estuaries, as well as the Dnieper and Danube.

Migration towards the main spawning grounds takes place in April-May. During such seasonal movements, fish are usually caught. It is consumed salted, smoked and dried, and is also used in agricultural products.

European sprat

Sprat is a small commercial fish of the herring family, colored in silver-gray shades. It is usually slightly larger in size than a sprat and reaches sexual maturity only when it grows to 12 centimeters in length. The maximum size of the fish is 15-16 centimeters. Fish spawning time occurs in spring and summer. Then it moves away from the shores and throws its eggs directly into the sea to a depth of 50 meters. Like other small fish of the herring family, it feeds on plankton and fry.

European sprat, or sprat, includes three subspecies: northern (Western and Southern Europe), Black Sea (Adriatic and Black Sea) and Baltic (Gulfs of Riga and Finland of the Baltic Sea). Canned fish with butter is very tasty and is popular for its festive table. For this preparation, the Baltic subspecies is usually used - it is larger and fattier than the others. Black Sea sprat is usually used to make pates or salt it whole. In wildlife, it is a valuable source of energy for dolphins, belugas and large fish.

Alasha

Alasha, or sardinella, is a medium-sized fish that lives in warm tropical and sub- tropical waters. It inhabits the waters of the Atlantic - from the shores of Gibraltar to the Republic of South Africa, from Massachusetts in the USA to the coast of Argentina. The fish lives in the Caribbean Sea, near the Bahamas and the Antilles. Because of this, it is also called tropical sardine.

The sides and belly of the alasha are painted golden yellow, and its back has a green tint. Externally, this fish of the herring family resembles an ordinary European sardine, differing from it in a more elongated body and convex belly. On average, it grows to 25-35 centimeters in length. It reaches its maximum size at the age of five, and already in the first or second year of life it reaches sexual maturity.

Sardinella feeds on plankton and stays in the upper layers of the ocean. It usually swims at a depth of 50-80 meters, but from time to time it can descend to 350 meters. Thanks to living in warm bodies of water she does not wait for the onset of spring, but spawns all year round. The fish lays its eggs in the shallow waters of lagoons and river estuaries, where the fry then develop.

American shad

The American or Atlantic shad is one of the largest marine fish of the herring family. On average, it grows to 40-50 centimeters. However maximum length The caught fish reached 76 centimeters and its weight was about five kilograms. The shad is colored with a dark blue tint in the back area. Its body is flattened laterally and extended forward, and its belly is slightly convex and rounded. Behind the gills there is a row of black dots, decreasing in size as they move away towards the tail.

Initially, the shad's homeland was the waters of the Atlantic from the island of Newfoundland to the Florida peninsula. Over time, it was successfully acclimatized off the eastern shores of the Pacific Ocean, as well as in some areas. But shad does not live in fresh waters. There it is migratory and appears only during the spawning season from March to May. The rest of the time, the fish lives in the salty waters of the seas and oceans.

Despite the impressive size of the shad, the basis of its diet is plankton, small crustaceans and fry. In rivers it can feed on the larvae of various insects. Fish spawn when they reach the age of four years. In the spring, females go to shallow water and release up to 600 thousand eggs, without attaching them to any substrate. Inhabitants of more southern regions usually die immediately after spawning. Fish in the northern part of their range, on the contrary, return to the open sea to produce new offspring the following year.

Eastern Ilisha

Another tropical representative of the family is the ilish herring. She lives in warm waters Indian and Pacific Oceans and is found mainly in the Yellow, Java and East China Seas. It easily tolerates low salinity, so it often swims to shallow waters near river mouths to spawn. To lay eggs, ilisha gathers in large flocks and migrates as part of a group. After spawning, the schools break up, and the fish one by one swim away from the coast.

Ilisha is a large species of herring: the maximum size can be 60 centimeters. She has a relatively small head with a protruding lower jaw. The body of the fish is gray-silver with a dark back and dark edging of the caudal fins. There is also a dark gray spot on the only dorsal fin.

Round belly herring

The genus of round bellies includes about ten species of small and medium-sized fish. All of them live in tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They differ from other members of the family by their spindle-shaped, rounded body and the absence of keel scales on the belly. These are popular commercial fish, which are caught for salting and preparing canned food. They are also eaten fried and boiled.

Common round bellies live in the northwestern part of the Atlantic from the Bay of Fundy off the coast of the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Like most herrings, they approach shallow waters only in spring and summer, and with cold weather they return to the open sea. They stay close to the surface and feed mainly on zooplankton.

Round bellies grow up to 33 centimeters in length. At the age of two years, when the fish reach sexual maturity, they reach a length of 15-17 centimeters. Interestingly, females begin to lay eggs in winter. Therefore, in the summer, when the water gets warmer, not only adults swim to the shores, but also slightly older fry. They swim at a depth of 20-40 meters, without going lower. Fish live for about 6 years.

Spotted sardinella

Spotted sardinellas live exclusively in tropical waters with fairly high salinity. They meet from the shores East Africa and Madagascar to Australia, Oceania and the southern islands of Japan. The fish live in the Red, East China and other seas of their range. To spawn, they make short migrations within the water bodies in which they live.

This fish has an elongated body, shaped like a spindle. The maximum size is 27 centimeters, although sardinella usually reach only 20 centimeters. It is mainly caught for local consumption. Unlike most fish of the herring family, spotted sardinellas do not form schools or shoals, but swim alone, dispersing throughout the oceans. It can be salted or canned, but the fish is not caught on a large commercial scale.

Fish are classified according to a number of characteristics: lifestyle, fishing season, sex, physiological state, fatness, feeding pattern, length or weight.

AB - fishing length of fish; AB - standard size; 1 - gill cover; 2 - hard dorsal fin; 3 - soft dorsal fin; 4 - caudal fin; 5 - lateral line; 6 - anal fin; 7 - anus; 8 - ventral fins; 9 - pectoral fins

The length of the fish is measured in a straight line from the top of the snout to the beginning of the middle rays of the caudal fin (Fig. 20). Some small and low-value fish are classified as small fish of groups I, II or III. A number of fish species listed in the standard are not subdivided by length and weight. The minimum length of fish that can be caught is set by fishing regulations and international conventions.

IN commodity practice fish are classified by species and families.

A species is a collection of individuals that occupy a certain geographical area and have a number of inherited characteristics that distinguish this species from related species. Species that are similar in a number of characteristics are grouped into genera, and the latter into families.

IN trading practices Classification of fish into families is carried out mainly according to external signs. Strictly scientific classification fish into families is produced according to many characteristics. Characteristics of the main characteristics of the families of fish most commonly found in commercial practice are given below.

Herring family has a laterally compressed body, covered with easily falling scales. There is no lateral line. There is one dorsal fin, the caudal fin has a deep notch. Herrings of commercial importance are: Atlantic, Pacific, Danube, Don, Dnieper, Kerch, Volga, Chernospinka, Azov belly, Herring, Sardines, Sardinella, Sardi-nops (Ivasi); sprat: Caspian, Baltic (sprats), Black Sea, Tyulka.

Anchovy family has a cigar-shaped body, similar in size to small herrings. This family includes the Azov-Black Sea Hamsa and Anchovy.

Sturgeon family has an elongated fusiform body, with five rows of bone formations - bugs: two abdominal, two thoracic, one dorsal. Elongated snout, With four antennae. The dorsal fin is single, the caudal fin is unequally lobed. Of commercial importance are: beluga, kaluga, sturgeon, thorn, stellate sturgeon, sterlet. By crossing beluga and sterlet, Soviet scientists obtained a bester, which is bred in reservoirs.

Carp family has a tall, laterally compressed body, covered with tightly fitting scales, sometimes naked. The dorsal fin is one, soft, the lateral line is well defined, the teeth are pharyngeal. This family includes fish of inland waters: carp, carp, crucian carp, roach, roach, ram, bream, white-eye, bluefish, barbel, silver carp, grass carp, buffalo, vimba, shemaya.

Salmon family has a tall body, laterally compressed, covered with small scales. There are two dorsal fins, the second is adipose. The lateral line is well defined. Chum salmon, pink salmon, sockeye salmon, Chinook salmon, Caspian salmon, salmon, trout, whitefish, vendace, muksun, and omul are of commercial importance.

Family smelt has an oblong body shape, with easily falling scales, and an incomplete lateral line. There are two dorsal fins, the second one is adipose. Main species: European smelt, smelt, capelin.

Perch family has two dorsal fins, the first is spiny, the anal fin has three spiny rays, the lateral line is straight, and there are transverse stripes on the sides. Common species: perch, pike perch, ruff.

Horse mackerel family has a flattened body shape. The lateral line has a sharp bend in the middle, and in some species is covered with bony spines. There are two dorsal fins, the first is spiny, the second is soft and long. There are two spines in front of the anal fin. The tail stalk is thin. The Azov-Black Sea mackerel, oceanic mackerel, trevally, seriola, pompano, lichia, and vomer are of commercial importance.

Cod family are divided into subfamilies of cod-like and burbot-like. The former have three dorsal and two anal fins, the latter have two dorsal and one anal. This sea fish, with the exception of burbot. They have a well-defined lateral line. The pelvic fins are located under the pectoral fins or in front, and many representatives have a barbel on the chin.

The body shape is close to torpedo-shaped. Cod, haddock, navaga, pollock, pollock, blue whiting, burbot, and cod are of commercial importance.

Mackerel family has an elongated fusiform body and a slender caudal peduncle. There are two dorsal fins; behind the second dorsal and anal fins there are four to seven additional fins. Black Sea, common, and Japanese mackerels are of commercial importance. Mackerels are sold under the names “Azov-Black Sea mackerel”, “Far Eastern mackerel”, “Kuril mackerel”, “Atlantic mackerel”.

In terms of body shape and arrangement of fins, tuna, bonito, and mackerel fish are similar to mackerel; the latter have one dorsal fin and additional fins.

Flounder family has a flat body, flattened from the back to the abdomen, the eyes are located on one side of the head. Dorsal and anal fins along the entire length of the body. The commercially important halibuts are black, common, and arrow-toothed; sharp-headed and river flounder.

Of the fish of other families, the following are of commercial importance.

Groupers golden, beaked, Pacific from the scorpionfish family have a large head, an oblong, laterally compressed body, often red in color, one dorsal fin, usually spiny in the front.

Catfish striped and spotted from the catfish family

They have one long soft dorsal fin, a large round head, and the body in the back is laterally compressed.

Terpugi northern, southern, toothy have a spindle-shaped body, one spiny dorsal fin, highly developed anal and pectoral fins.

Ice fish from the white-blooded family, it has a large head with an elongated snout, two lateral lines, the color is light green, the blood is colorless, as it contains copper instead of iron.

Butterfish and butterfish small fish from the Stromatoid family they have a flattened high body, one soft long dorsal fin of the same size and shape as the anal fin, the lateral line follows the curve of the ridge.

Marbled and green notothenia, squama, toothfish from the nototheniaceae family have a large head, two spiny dorsal fins, a long anal fin, large pectoral fins, and the body is thickened in the front.

Croaker, captain, umbrina- fish from the croaker family, have a high body, a humpbacked back in front, one dorsal fin, divided by a deep notch, the front part is spiny, the lateral line is well defined.

Macruruses from the grenadier family they have an elongated body that tapers off at the tail in the form of a thread. There are two dorsal fins.

Other types of fish that are caught are catfish, pike, lamprey, eel, gobies, argentina, mullet, eelpout, pristipoma, bluefish from families that have similar names, and sea bream from the brahmin family; merrow, rock perch - from the serranaceae family.

Herring family (Clupeidae)

Herring fish have a laterally compressed or squamous body, usually silvery, with a dark blue or greenish back. There is one dorsal fin, usually in the middle part of the back, the pectoral fins are located at the lower edge of the body, the ventral fins are located in the middle third of the belly (sometimes absent), the caudal fin is notched. Very characteristic is the absence of pierced scales on the lateral line on the body, which occur only in the number 2-5 immediately behind the head. Along the midline of the belly, many have a keel of pointed scales. The teeth on the jaws are weak or missing. The swim bladder is connected by a canal to the stomach, and two processes extend from the anterior end of the bladder, penetrating into the ear capsules of the skull. There are upper and lower intermuscular bones.

Herrings are schooling planktivorous fish; Most species are marine, some are migratory, and a few are freshwater. Widely distributed from the subantarctic to the Arctic, but the number of genera and species is high in the tropics, decreases in temperate waters, and single species are common in cold waters. For the most part, these are small and medium-sized fish, less than 35-45 cm, only a few anadromous herring can reach a length of 75 cm. In total, there are about 50 genera and 190 species of herring. This family provides about 20% of the world's fish catch, occupying the first place among fish families in terms of catch size, along with anchovies.

In this large and important family, 6-7 subfamilies are distinguished, some of which are accepted by some scientists as special families.

HERRING (Dussumierinae) subfamily

Round belly herrings differ from other herrings in that their bellies are rounded and there are no keel scales along its midline. The mouth is small and terminal. The jaws, palate and tongue are lined with small, numerous teeth. This group includes 7 genera with 10 species, distributed in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Pacific, Indian and western Atlantic oceans. Among round-bellied herrings, two groups of forms (genera) are distinguished: larger multivertebral (48-56 vertebrae) fish, reaching a length of 15-35 cm (Dussumieria, Etrumeus), and smaller few-vertebral (30-46 vertebrae) fish, 5-11 cm length (Spratelloides, Jenkinsia, Echirava, Sauvagella, Gilchristella). Kibango herrings (Spatelloides) are small, the most numerous among round-bellied herrings, reaching only 10 cm in length. Throughout the coastal areas of vast expanses of tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans (except only in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean), these fish are attracted at night by the light of lamps from the ship in huge numbers. Kibinago herrings are included in summer time into shallow bays for spawning.

Unlike dussumieria and ordinary round belly herring (urume), which spawn floating eggs, kibinago herrings lay peculiar bottom eggs that adhere to grains of sand, the yolk of which is equipped with a group of small fat droplets. Despite its small size, kibinago herring is eaten fresh, dried, and in the form of a tasty fish paste. They are also used as excellent live bait when fishing for skipjack tuna.

Manhua (Jerrkinsia) is very close to the kibinago herring. Two or three species of manhua live off the Atlantic coasts of the islands and isthmus of Central America from the Bahamas, Florida and Mexico to Venezuela, as well as off Bermuda. It is even smaller, up to only 6.5 cm in length, but, like the kibinago, it has a silver stripe running along its sides from head to tail; it stays in coves with a sandy bottom and lays eggs that adhere to the same exact bottom. Manhua is specially caught in Cuba to attract skipjack tuna, and its shortage has an adverse effect on the tuna fishery.

Species of the remaining genera of round-bellied herring are small herrings that live in bays and estuaries off the coast of East Africa, Madagascar and India.

SPROTE-LIKE HERRING (Clupeinae) or Herring Subfamily

This subfamily is the most important group of herring fishes, including northern sea herrings, sardines, sardinellas, sprat, kilka and other genera. There are about 12 births in total.

Sea herring (Clupea) inhabit temperate waters northern hemisphere(boreal region) and adjacent seas of the Arctic Ocean, and in the southern hemisphere they live off the coast of Chile.

Sea herring are schooling planktivorous fish, usually up to 33-35 cm in length. The scales are cycloid, easily falling off. Keel scales are poorly developed. The sides and belly are silvery, the back is blue-green or green. They lay bottom-adherent eggs on the ground or algae. Most sea herring live near the coast, only a few races go beyond the shelf during the feeding period. Among sea herrings, there are those that make long-distance migrations with passive settlement of larvae and fry, return migrations of growing fish and feeding and spawning wanderings of adults, and those that form local herds confined to marginal seas; There are also lacustrine forms that live in semi-enclosed or completely isolated brackish water bodies.

Currently, there are three types of sea herring - Atlantic, or multivertebral, eastern, or few-vertebral, and Chilean herring.

MANDUFIAS (Ramnogaster) - three species of herring of this genus live in the waters of Uruguay and Argentina. The body of Mandufia is laterally compressed, the belly is convex, with a jagged keel of scales equipped with spines, the mouth is small, upper; the pelvic fins are moved further forward than in herrings and sprats, their bases are located in front of the base of the dorsal fin. These are small fish, about 9-10 cm long, common in coastal waters, estuaries and rivers. Schools of mandufias are found in brackish waters and enter rivers along with schools of silversides; feed on small crustaceans of plankton.

SPRATS OR SPRATS (Sprattus) genus is distributed in temperate and subtropical waters of Europe, South America, South Australia and New Zealand. Sprats are close to sea herrings of the genus Clupea. They differ from them by the stronger development of keel scales on the belly, forming a spiny keel from the throat to the anus; a less forward dorsal fin, starting further back than the bases of the ventral fins; a smaller number of rays in the ventral fin (usually 7-8), a smaller number of vertebrae (46-50), floating eggs and other characteristics. Sprats are smaller than sea herrings; they are no larger than 17-18 cm. They live up to 5-6 years, but their usual lifespan is 3-4 years. Sprats southern hemisphere insufficiently studied. In the waters of Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands, as well as in the extreme south of South America, lives the fire sprat (Sprattus fuegensis), found in large flocks and having a length of 14-17 cm. Close to it and possibly classified as the same species is the Tasmanian sprat (S. bassensis), schools of which are common in the deep bays and straits of Tasmania and South Australia in the summer and autumn months.

TULKA OR CASPIAN SPRAT (Clupeonella) genus contains 4 species of small herring fish that live in the Black, Azov and Caspian seas and their basins. The belly of kilkas is laterally compressed, equipped with 24-31 strong spiny scales along the entire length from the throat to the anus. Pelvic fins approximately under the anterior third of the dorsal fin. In the anal fin, the last two rays are elongated, like in sardines and sardinellas. The mouth is upper, toothless, small, the maxillary bone does not extend back further than the anterior edge of the eye. The eggs are floating, with a very large purple fat drop, with a large circular yolk space. Vertebrae 39-49. Tyulka are euryhaline and eurythermic fish, living both in brackish waters, up to 13°/00, and in fresh water at temperatures from 0 to 24°C.

Sardines are the names of three genera of marine herring fish: Sardina, Sardinops and Sardinella. These three genera are characterized by elongated, blade-shaped two posterior rays of the anal fin and the presence of two elongated scales - “wings” - at the base of the caudal fin. In addition, pilchard sardines and sardinops have radially diverging grooves on the gill cover. True sardines (pilchard and sardinops) are common in warm temperate and subtropical seas, sardinella - in tropical and partly subtropical waters. Sardines reach a length of 30-35 cm; in commercial catches they are usually 13-22 cm long.

All sardines are sea schooling fish that live in the upper layers of water; feed on plankton and spawn floating eggs. Sardine eggs have a large round-yolk space, and in the yolk there is a small drop of fat. Sardines are of great practical importance, replacing sea herring in warm waters.

SARDINES SARDINOPS (Sardinops) genus reaches a length of 30 cm and a weight of 150 g and above. The body is thick, the belly is not compressed laterally. The back is blue-green, the sides and belly are silvery-white, along each side there is a row of dark spots, up to 15 in number. There are radially diverging grooves on the surface of the gill cover. The number of vertebrae is from 47 to 53.

Sardinops are very similar to the real sawdust sardine. They differ from it in having shortened gill rakers at the corner of the first gill arch, a slightly larger mouth (the posterior edge of the upper jaw extends beyond the vertical of the middle of the eye) and the nature of the scales. Sardinops have all the same scales, average size(50-57 transverse rows of scales), and in pilchards smaller scales are hidden under large scales.

SARDINELLA (Sardinella) genus contains 16-18 species of sardines from tropical and partly subtropical waters. Only one species (S. aurita) enters moderately warm seas. Sardinella differ from the pilchard sardine and sardinops by a smooth gill cover, the presence of two protrusions on the anterior edge of the shoulder girdle (under the edge of the gill cover), the absence in most species of dark spots on the side of the body, which are present only in S. Sirm, and in the form of a single spot ( not always) in S. aurita. Twelve species of this genus live in the waters of the Indian Ocean, and in the western Pacific Ocean, from East Africa and the Red Sea to Indonesia and Polynesia in the east, and from the Red Sea, India and South China- to Southeast Africa, Indonesia and Northern Australia.

Herrings and sardines are small, up to 15-20 cm in length, tropical herring fish with a laterally compressed silvery body and a scaly keel on the belly. They inhabit the coastal waters of the Indo-West Pacific biogeographic region and Central America. There are none on the eastern shores of the Atlantic Ocean. In structure, these fish are close to sardinella. On the anterior edge of the shoulder girdle, under the gill cover, they also have two rounded lobes protruding forward. The last two rays of the anal fin are slightly elongated, but do not form a protruding lobe. Their eggs, like those of sardines, are floating, with a large circular yolk space, with a small drop of fat in the yolk. Unlike sardines, they do not have elongated scales at the base of the caudal fin. Their body is laterally compressed and silvery; vertebrae 40-45.

HERRINGS (genus Herclotsichthys, recently isolated from the genus Harengula) are distributed only within the Indo-West Pacific region: from Japan to Indonesia and Australia, off the coast of the Indian Ocean, off the islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. There are 12-14 species of herring, of which 3-4 species live off the eastern and southeastern coasts of Asia, 4 species live in Northern Australia, 4 species are widespread in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Indonesia , Polynesia and Northern Australia.

SARDINES (Harengula), as already mentioned, live only in the tropical waters of America. There are three species in the Atlantic Ocean; they are very numerous off the coast of Central America, the Antilles, and Venezuela. Along the Pacific coast, from the California coast to the Gulf of Panama, one species is widespread - the arena (N. thrissina).

Machuela (Opisthonema) gen. Representatives of this genus are distinguished by a strongly elongated posterior ray of the dorsal fin, sometimes reaching the base of the caudal fin. By this characteristic, the machuela resembles the snout herring (Dorosomatinae), but it has a semi-superior or terminal mouth, the snout is not blunted and there is no elongated axillary scale above the base of the pectoral fin. Machuela has 46-48 vertebrae.

It is a purely American genus containing two species.

Also, only in America, off the coast of Brazil, in the sea and in the rivers of Guiana and the Amazon, do unique spiny-nosed sardines (Rhinosardinia) live, with two spines on the snout and a spiny keel on the belly.

NAKE-EYED HERRRING OR NOL-EYED HERRRING (Pellonulinae) A subfamily that contains 14 genera and over 20 species of tropical, mainly freshwater herring fishes of America (8 genera), the Indo-Malayan archipelago, partly India and Australia. Representatives of this subfamily do not have a fatty eyelid or it is barely developed, the belly is usually laterally compressed, and the mouth is small. Some species of Australian genera (Potamalosa, Hyperlophus) have a serrated keel made up of a series of scutes (scales) on the back between the back of the head and the dorsal fin. Most species in this group are small fish, less than 10 cm in length. Corica (Corica, 4 species), living in the waters of India, Indochina and the Indo-Malayan archipelago, are especially small. They are no larger than 3-5 cm, their anal fin is divided into two: the anterior one, consisting of 14-16 rays, and the posterior one, consisting of 2 rays, separated from the anterior one by a noticeable gap.

BELLY HERRRINGS (Alosinae) Subfamily

The subfamily contains the largest herring fish. Most species in this group are anadromous, some are brackish water, some are freshwater. This group of herring fish includes 4 genera with 21 species, living in moderately warm and to a lesser extent subtropical and tropical waters of the northern hemisphere. Bellied herrings have a laterally compressed belly with a spinous scale-like keel along its medial line; they have big mouth, the posterior end of the upper jaw extends beyond the vertical of the middle of the eye; There are fatty eyelids on the eyes. These include aloz, gilzi and gudusia. Aloses are common in moderately warm coastal marine, brackish and fresh waters of Eastern America and Europe; Gilsa and Gudusia live off the coast and partly in the fresh waters of East Africa, South and Southeast Asia.

The subfamily of bellied herrings also usually includes special group herring fish close to the American menhaden (Brevoortia). Apparently, it is more correct to classify them into a special group or subfamily of comb-scaled herring, including here the American menhaden, nacheta and West African bonga.

The Alosa genus is important in this group. Species of this genus are characterized by a strongly laterally compressed body with a pointed, serrated ventral keel; two elongated scales - “wings” - at the base of the upper and lower lobes of the caudal fin; radial grooves on the roof bone; a noticeable medial notch in the upper jaw, as well as highly developed fatty eyelids on the eyes. On each side of the body there is usually a dark spot behind the upper edge of the operculum, which in some species is often followed by a row of several spots; sometimes, in addition, under this row there is a second and occasionally a third of a smaller number of spots. Differences in the shape and number of gill rakers, which correspond to differences in the nature of food, are very characteristic of different species and forms of aloz. Few short and thick gill rakers are characteristic of predatory herrings, numerous thin and long ones are characteristic of planktivorous herrings. The number of gill rakers on the first arch in aloz varies from 18 to 180. The number of vertebrae is 43-59.

Aloses are common in the coastal, moderately warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean basin in the northern hemisphere, as well as in the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian seas. There are 14 species in this genus, grouped into two subgenera: 10 species of the main form of the genus Alosa and 4 species of Pomolobus. In true aloz, the height of the cheek is greater than its length, in pomolobs it is equal to or less than its length. Two species of true aloz live in the waters east coast North America (Alosa sapidissima, A. ohioensis), two - off the western shores of Europe, North Africa and in the Mediterranean Sea (A. alosa, A. fallax), two species - in the basins of the Black and Caspian seas (A. caspia, A. kessleri), four species - only in the Caspian Sea (A. brashnikovi, A. saposhnikovi, A. sphaerocephala, A. curensis). All four species of mothfish (Alosa (Pomolobus) aestivalis, A. (P.) pseudoharengus, A. (P.) mediocris, A. (P.) chrysochloris) live in American waters. Many species of alosas fall into a greater or lesser number of forms - subspecies, races, etc. According to the biology of reproduction, four groups of species and forms of the genus alosa are distinguishable: anadromous, semi-anadromous, brackish-water and freshwater. Anadromous live in the sea, and for spawning they rise to the upper and middle reaches of rivers (anadromous anadromous); semi-anadromous eggs lay eggs in the lower reaches of rivers and in adjacent pre-estuarine, slightly saline areas of the sea; Brackish water fish live and spawn in brackish sea water. Some Atlantic-Mediterranean anadromous species also form local lake forms (subspecies), permanently living in fresh water. In American waters Western Europe, the Mediterranean and Black Sea-Azov basins live anadromous and semi-anadromous species, as well as their freshwater forms; in the Caspian basin - anadromous, semi-anadromous and brackish-water species. Unlike the Atlantic-Mediterranean alozes, the Black Sea-Azov and Caspian alozes do not form lacustrine freshwater forms; Moreover, among the alozes of the Black Sea-Azov basin there are three anadromous and one semi-anadromous species, and in the Caspian Sea - one anadromous (2 forms), one semi-anadromous (4 forms) and four brackish-water species.

In Black Sea and Caspian aloz, the eggs ripen and are laid out in three portions, with intervals between layings of 1-1.5 weeks. The number of eggs in each serving is usually from 30 to 80 thousand.

The eggs of species of the genus Alosa are semi-pelagic, floating in the current or bottom-dwelling, and partly weakly adhering (in the American elmen and the Caspian elmen belly). The shell of semi-pelagic eggs is thin; in bottom eggs, it is more dense and impregnated with adhered particles of silt. Like sardine eggs, aloz eggs have a large or medium yolk space, but unlike sardines, as a rule, they do not contain a fat drop in the yolk. The size of the eggs varies among different species: from 1.06 in the big-eyed shad to 4.15 mm in the Volga herring.

Polomolobs (genus Alosa, genus Pomolobus) live only in the Atlantic waters of North America. Two species - grayback or elewife (A. pseudoharengus) and blueback (A. aestivalis) - multi-stamened (38-51 rakers on the lower half of the first gill arch), predominantly planktivorous, distributed in more northern areas, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Nova Scotia to Cape Hatterasai of North Florida. They reach a length of 38 cm, have a dark blue or gray-green back and silvery sides with a dark spot on either side behind the top of the operculum (the “shoulder patch”). These are anadromous anadromous fish that stay in schools in the sea near the coast and rise low into rivers to spawn. Spawning in rivers, mainly in April - May. The caviar is bottom, with a small circular yolk space, the shell is weakly adhering, impregnated with particles of silt. Being schooling, these species are of significant commercial importance and, although their numbers have decreased over the last half century, they are still quite numerous. They were also the object artificial breeding: fish close to spawning were planted in tributaries devastated by excessive fishing, which resulted in spawning and the resumption of fish in these tributaries. Greyback was unintentionally successfully introduced along with juvenile shad into Lake Ontario, where it became established, reproduced, and spread from there to other lakes.

Two more southern, also close to each other, species of thrush - hickory (A. te-diocris) and greenback (A. chrysochloris) - reach larger sizes: greenback 45 and hickory - 60 cm. Hickory is distributed from the Bay of Fundy, mainly from Cape Cod, to North Florida, greenback - in rivers flowing into the northern Gulf of Mexico, west of Florida. These species have fewer gill rakers (18-24 on the lower half of the first gill arch) and feed mainly on small fish. Hickory has a row of dark spots on each side of its flanks. Hickory lives in the sea near the coast, entering estuaries and lower reaches of rivers in schools to spawn from late April to early June.

Lays eggs in the fresh water of rivers in the tidal zone. The caviar is sinking, weakly sticking, but easily swept up by the current; the eggs have a medium-sized circular yolk space; several small fat drops are visible in the yolk. The greenback lives in fast upper tributaries of rivers and descends into brackish water and into the sea. Its spawning and migration have not been sufficiently studied.

HILSA (Hilsa) The genus replaces aloz in tropical waters. Species of this genus are common in coastal sea waters and in the rivers of East Africa, South and Southeast Asia, from Natal to Busan ( South Korea). There are 5 species in this genus, which are migratory fish that enter rivers from the sea to spawn. The sleeves are close to alozes in the shape of a laterally compressed body; scaly keel on the belly; fatty eyelids covering the eye in the anterior and posterior thirds; lack of teeth (also poorly developed in many aloz); by the silvery color of the body and the presence in some species of a dark “shoulder” spot on both sides on the side behind the upper edge of the gill cover (juveniles of some species also have a number of dark spots on the side, like a belly). Unlike aloz, sleeves do not have elongated tail scales - “wings” - at the base of the caudal fin; The eggs of the hilsa are semi-pelagic, having a large circular yolk space and floating in the current, like in aloz; unlike aloz eggs, they contain several fat drops in the yolk; The shell of the eggs is single, like the aloz, or double.

There are 5 types of sleeves.

GUDUSIA - freshwater fish, very close to anadromous shells. Gudusia are very similar to gilz, but are easily distinguished by their smaller scales (80-100 transverse rows instead of 40-50 for gilz). Gudusia live in the rivers and lakes of Pakistan, Northern India (north of the Kistna River, approximately 16-17° N), and Burma. Gudusia are small fish, up to 14-17 cm in length. There are two known species of this genus - Indian Gudusia (Gudusia chapra) and Burmese Gudusia (G. variegata).

COMB-SCALE HERRRING (Brevoortiinae) Subfamily

They are distinguished from all other herrings by having a comb-like posterior margin and two rows of enlarged scales or scutes along the midline of the back, from the back of the head to the beginning of the dorsal fin. They are also characterized by the presence of 7 rays in the ventral fins. They are close to bellied herrings in their laterally compressed shape. tall body, with a serrated scaly keel along the belly, by the presence of a medial notch in the upper jaw, by the absence of teeth on the jaws of adult individuals.

The structure of menhaden eggs differs from alose, but is close to sardines: their eggs contain a fat drop in the yolk and are pelagic, not hemipelagic. Unlike bellied herrings, comb-scaled herrings are marine fish that live and breed in the sea at a salinity of at least 20°/00. There are three genera of combed herring: menhaden, the closely related machete, and bonga.

MENHADEN (Brevoortia) genus is distributed in the coastal waters of the Atlantic coast of America, from Nova Scotia to the Gulf of Mexico and from southern Brazil to Argentina. Menhaden reach a length of 50 cm, the usual length is 30-35 cm. The back is green-blue, the sides are silvery-yellowish, behind the top of the gill cover on both sides of the body there is a black shoulder spot, behind which in some species there is a varying number of smaller dark spots on the sides, often located in two, three or several rows. The pelvic fins of menhaden are small, located under the dorsal fin, and have 7 rays.

There are 7 species of menhaden: 3 - off the east coast of North America, from Nova Scotia to Florida, 2 - in the northern Gulf of Mexico, 2 - off the coast of Brazil, from the Rio Grande to the Rio de la Plata.

Blunt-snouted herrings (Dorosomatinae) Subfamily

Blunt-snout or goiter herrings, which have a short, high, laterally compressed body, with a ventral serrated keel of scales, represent a unique group. Unlike all other herrings, their snout is almost always protruding, bluntly rounded; the mouth is small, lower or semi-inferior; the stomach is short, muscular, reminiscent of a bird's crop. The anal fin is quite long, from 18-20 to 28 rays; the pelvic fins are located under the dorsal fins or closer to the dorsal fins towards the anterior end of the body, they have 8 rays. Almost all species have a dark “shoulder” spot on the side, behind the top of the operculum; many, in addition, have 6-8 narrow dark longitudinal stripes along the sides. In most genera and species, the last (posterior) ray of the dorsal fin is extended into a long thread; only in species of two genera (Anodontostoma, Gonialosa) is it not elongated. These are mud-eating and phytoplankton-eating fish of bays, estuaries, rivers of tropical and partly subtropical latitudes, not of great nutritional value due to their bonyness. However, in many areas they are prepared for food, mainly in dried form and in the form of canned food. In total, this group contains 7 genera with 20-22 species. Blunt herring (or blunt herring) are common in the waters of North and Central America (genus Dorosoma, 5 species), South and Southeast Asia and Western Oceania (Melanesia) (genus Nematalosa, Anodontostoma, Gonialosa, 7 species in total), East Asia (genera Coposirus, Clupanodon, Nematalosa, 3 species), Australia (genus Nematalosa, 1 species, and Fluvialosa, 7 species). Have more northern species- Japanese Konosir and American Dorosoma - vertebrae 48-51, the rest - 40-46.

American Dorosoma (Dorosoma) reaches a length of 52 cm, the usual size is 25-36 cm. Southern Dorosoma (D. petenense) lives from the river. Ohio (approximately 38-39°N) to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico and along the coast south to Honduras. Mexican (D. anale) - in the Atlantic basin of Mexico and Northern Guatemala; Nicaraguan dorosoma (D. chavesi) - in the lakes of Managua and Nicaragua; Western dorosoma (D. smith) lives only in the rivers of Northwestern Mexico.

Another species of blunt-nosed herring is found in the Yellow Sea - the Japanese nematalosa (Nematalosa japonica). The remaining species of the genus Nematalosa live off the Indian Ocean coasts of South Asia, from Arabia (N. arabica) to Malaya, and in the Pacific Ocean - off the coasts of Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan (N. nasus), as well as in the northwestern coast of Australia (N. come). Nemathaloses live mainly in bays, lagoons and estuaries, and enter rivers.

In the rivers of India and Burma, there live two more species of a special freshwater genus of herring, Gonialosa; These are small fish, up to 10-13 cm in length.

Freshwater herring are particularly abundant in Australia. There are up to six species of them here, sometimes separated into a special genus, Fluvialosa. They are common in the rivers and lakes of Australia; some species are small, up to 13-15 cm, others reach a fairly large size, up to 39 cm in length. A seventh species of freshwater fluvialose is found in the upper tributaries of the Strickland River in New Guinea. As mentioned above, along with these freshwater species of snout, there is also one marine coastal species of nematalosa in the waters of Northern Australia (Nematalosa come).

Keelneck or Saw-bellied herring (Pristigasterinae) Subfamily

This group of purely tropical genera of herring fish is characterized by a strongly laterally compressed body, pointed along the ventral edge, with a saw-toothed “abdominal keel of scales, extending forward to the throat. Almost everyone has an upper or semi-upper mouth. Their anal fin is long, containing more than 30 rays; pelvic fins are small (in Pellona and Ilisha) or absent (in other genera). This group includes 8 genera with 37 species.

In appearance, different genera of saw-bellied herring represent different stages of specialization. The least specialized and somewhat reminiscent in appearance of aloz or gilz are the already mentioned fish of the genera Pellona and Ilisha. They have abdominal and dorsal fins, the body is high or of medium height, the anal fin contains from 33 to 52 rays and usually begins behind the middle of the body. Pellona is widely distributed along the coasts of the Indian Ocean, reaching as far south as any other saw-bellied herring: in the west to Natal off Southeast Africa, in the east to the Gulf of Carpentaria and Queensland (Australia). It is numerous off the eastern coast of India. The genus Ilisha contains about 60% of the total number of saw-bellied herring species - 23 species. 14 species of ilish live off the coasts of India, Indochina and Indonesia, of which 4 are distributed further north, along Southeast Asia up to the South China Sea; further north, in the East China Sea, two species are found, and in the Yellow and Japanese Seas there is one.

Of the remaining 5 genera of saw-bellied herring, three genera are American, found either only off the Pacific coast of Central America (genus Pliosteostoma), or represented by one species in Pacific waters and one or two species in Atlantic waters (genera Odontognathus, Neoopisthopterus). One genus (Opisthopterus) is represented by three species off the Pacific coast of the Isthmus of Panama and Ecuador and two species in the Indian Ocean and the southwestern Pacific Ocean, off the coasts of India, Indochina and Indonesia.