diff --git a/src/bioetl/infrastructure/adapters/crossref/_doi_batch_processor.py b/src/bioetl/infrastructure/adapters/crossref/_doi_batch_processor.py
index 735a30490f..a698c341c2 100644
--- a/src/bioetl/infrastructure/adapters/crossref/_doi_batch_processor.py
+++ b/src/bioetl/infrastructure/adapters/crossref/_doi_batch_processor.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import asyncio
 import time
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, cast
 
@@ -100,17 +101,30 @@ async def _fallback_individual_fetch(
         self, dois: list[str]
     ) -> AsyncIterator[BronzeRecord]:
         """Fall back to individual DOI fetches."""
-        for doi in dois:
+
+        async def fetch_one(doi: str) -> BronzeRecord | None:
             try:
-                publication = await self.fetch_single(doi)
-                if publication:
-                    yield publication
+                return await self.fetch_single(doi)
             except CROSSREF_FALLBACK_ERRORS as error:
                 self._logger.debug(
                     "crossref_individual_fetch_failed",
                     doi=doi,
                     error=str(error),
                 )
+                return None
+
+        # CrossRef API allows 50 requests per second. Use a semaphore to limit concurrency
+        # in the fallback to avoid overwhelming the polite pool.
+        semaphore = asyncio.Semaphore(10)
+
+        async def fetch_with_semaphore(doi: str) -> BronzeRecord | None:
+            async with semaphore:
+                return await fetch_one(doi)
+
+        results = await asyncio.gather(*(fetch_with_semaphore(doi) for doi in dois))
+        for publication in results:
+            if publication:
+                yield publication
 
     def _normalize_dois(self, dois: list[str]) -> list[str]:
         """Normalize and filter DOI list, removing invalid entries."""