Form schools and possibly wintering near the bottom and out from the coast, approaching the shore in the late spring. Feed on small fishes, copepods and small shrimps. Spawn in brackish- or freshwaters of rivers, arriving in coastal waters a month or so later than A. pseudoharengus (in April at Chesapeake Bay, apparently when the water is above 70° C and later further north). Eggs are essentially pelagic, demersal in still water (Ref. 4639). Larvae are found in fresh and brackish rivers (Ref. 4639). Juveniles leave fresh and brackish nursery grounds at about 5 cm, migrating downstream (Ref. 4639). Marketed mostly fresh and salted (Ref. 188). Parasites found are acanthocephalan and nematodes (Ref. 37032).