Blueback herring Government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, has some concerns regarding status and threats, but for which insufficient information is available to indicate a need to list the species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). 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
Weymouth Back River Whitman's Pond was dammed to turn the machines which processed the natural bog iron for the Weymouth Iron Works. Later, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts installed a herring ladder to allow the herring to bypass the dam on their spawning runs. Historically the herring ran to Whitman's Pond, and beyond up Mill River and Swamp River, to Great Pond. River herring commonly refers to two species, Blueback herring ("Alosa aestivalis") and alewife ("(Alosa pseudoharengus)"). Today, 1/2 million river herring and Rainbow smelt ("Osmerus mordax") run up the river each year to spawn (although they are not able to ascend the fish