Herring

Herring and their relatives are among the most important of commercial fish worldwide. They are also extremely important as forage fish for a wide variety of predatory fish, sea birds, seals, and other carnivores. In the past, some countries depended entirely on the herring (or related species) fishery for their economic survival. Wars have been waged over the rights to particularly productive herring grounds, which are found in all seas except the very cold waters of the Arctic and the Antarctic.

Most members of the herring family are strictly marine. Some are anadromous and spawn in freshwater, and a few species (those of freshwater origin) never go to sea. Herring typically travel in extensive schools; in the ocean, such schools may extend for miles, which makes harvesting possible in great quantities.

Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus)

A member of the Clupeidae family of herring, the Atlantic herring is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s most numerous fish and is certainly one of the world’s most valuable fish. It is used by humans in a host of ways and is extremely important as forage for predator species.

Identification

The Atlantic herring is silvery with a bluish or greenish-blue back and an elongated body. The dorsal fin begins at about the middle of the body, and there are 39 to 47 weakly developed ventral scutes. At the midline of the belly are scales that form a sharp-edged ridge. Teeth on the roof of the mouth distinguish the Atlantic herring from the similar alewife.

Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii)

A member of the Clupeidae family of herring, an important food for many predatory fish, and the principal food of salmon, the Pacific herring also has many uses for human consumption. Sold fresh, dried/salted, smoked, canned, and frozen, the Pacific herring is commercially caught in the eastern Pacific for its roe; it is marketed in Asia as an extremely expensive delicacy called kazunokokombu, in which the roe are salted and sold on beds of kelp. Pacific herring may be used as bait by anglers but are not a sportfishing target, although they may be caught (or snagged) by coastal anglers who seek to use fresh specimens as live bait.

Identification

Similar to the Atlantic herring, the Pacific herring is silvery with a bluish or greenish-blue back and an elongated body.