Alosa to detect ultrasound (at frequencies above 20 kHz, which is the limit of human hearing). This was first discovered by fisheries biologists studying a type of shad known as blueback herring, and was later verified in laboratory studies of hearing in American shad. This ability is thought to help them avoid dolphins that find prey using echolocation. "Alosa" species are generally pelagic. They are mostly anadromous or semianadromous with the exception of strictly freshwater landlocked species. "Alosa" species are generally migratory and schooling fish. Males usually mature about a year before females; they spawn in the late spring to summer.
Atlantic herring not considered to be an Arctic species. The small-sized herring in the inner parts of the Baltic Sea, which is also less fatty than the true Atlantic herring, is considered a distinct subspecies ("Clupea harengus membras") ("Baltic herring"), despite the lack of a distinctive genome. The Baltic herring has a specific name in many local languages (Swedish "strömming", Finnish "silakka", Estonian "räim", "silk", Livonian "siļk", Russian "салака", Polish "śledź bałtycki, sałaka", Latvian "reņģes", Lithuanian "strimelė") and is popularly and in cuisine considered distinct from herring. For example, the Swedish dish surströmming is made from Baltic herring. Herrings reach sexual maturity