Blueback herring Blueback herring The blueback herring or blueback shad ("Alosa aestivalis") is an anadromous species of herring from the east coast of North America, with a range from Nova Scotia to Florida. Blueback herring form schools and are believed to migrate offshore to overwinter near the bottom. These fish are silvery in color, have a series of scutes (modified, spiny and keeled scales) along their bellies, and are characterized by deep bluish-green backs. They reach a maximum size of approximately and are believed to live up to 8 years. The most distinguishing characteristic of this species is the black to dusky
Herring juvenile herring could never catch a large copepod. Other pelagic prey eaten by herring includes fish eggs, larval snails, diatoms by herring larvae below , tintinnids by larvae below , molluscan larvae, menhaden larvae, krill, mysids, smaller fishes, pteropods, annelids, "Calanus" spp., Centropagidae, and "Meganyctiphanes norvegica". Herrings, along with Atlantic cod and sprat, are the most important commercial species to humans in the Baltic Sea. The analysis of the stomach contents of these fish indicate Atlantic cod is the top predator, preying on the herring and sprat. Sprat are competitive with herring for the same food resources. This is evident