Author: (Bowdich, 1825)
FBname: Bonga shad
Comments: <i>Ethmalosa fimbriata</i> is found in fairly shallow coastal waters, lagoons and estuaries, and sometimes also in lower courses of coastal rivers, even more than 300 km up rivers (Ref. 187, 188, 81269, 81631). It feeds principally on phytoplankton, chiefly diatoms, filtered by the very fine gillraker sieve (Ref. 187, 188, 3166). It breeds throughout the year in waters of salinities 3.5-38 ppt, but with peaks in at least some areas; spawns in the sea, in estuaries and in rivers (Ref. 188). The largest fisheries are in Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cameroon, mainly in the dry season (Ref. 188).