CLUPEIDAE, Cuvier, 1816

Family CLUPEIDAE View in CoL

Genu s Alosa Linck, 1790

7. Volga shad Alosa volgensis (Berg, 1913)

This is an anadromous shad, endemic to the Caspian Sea basin. This species spends the winter in the Southern Caspian Sea, while during migrations it is found throughout the sea. It spawns in the Volga, much less in the Ural, and occasionally in the lower reaches of the Terek River. This shad is found in the waters of the Republic of Kalmykia, Astrakhan and Volgograd regions (before the construction of the Volgograd hydroelectric dam) ( Pavlov, 2021). Currently, the species has lost its commercial importance ( Voinova, 2013). The main reasons for the decline in the abundance of the Volga shad were the regulation of river flow and competition for spawning grounds with the blackback Alosa kessleri . The main conservation measure for this species is its inclusion in the RDBs of the Russian Federation ( Pavlov, 2021), the Astrakhan Region ( Pilipenko et al, 2014), Republics of Kalmykia ( Ochirov, 2014) and Dagestan ( Magomedov, 2009), as well as Turkmenistan ( Annabayramov, 2011) (category II as a not abundant, declining species) and Kazakhstan ( Meldebekov, 2010) (category II as a not abundant, declining species). Reducing stocks of this species to critical levels will require the introduction of additional conservation measures.