Alosa aestivalis
Mitchill 1814
Family Clupeidae

Lateral view of a blueback herring
The blueback herring pictured above was collected in Volusia County, Florida in 2016. It is now part of the Florida Museum ichthyology collection, UF 238448. Florida Museum photo by Zachary Randall

The blueback herring is a member of the herring family, and has a lower jaw that projects only slightly beyond the snout. It has between 44 and 50 rakers on the lower limb of the first gill arch. Blueback herrings live along the Atlantic Coast and usually ascend the St. John’s River during spawning season.

Status & distribution

  • Status — Native freshwater
  • Florida Distribution — Peninsula drainages
  • River Drainages — St. John’s River
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