Herring

Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the order Clupeiformes.

Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, including the Baltic Sea, as well as off the west coast of South America. Three species of Clupea (the type genus of the herring family Clupeidae) are recognised, and comprise about 90% of all herrings captured in fisheries. The most abundant of these species is the Atlantic herring, which comprises over half of all herring capture. Fish called herring are also found in the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, and Bay of Bengal.

Herring played an important role in the history of marine fisheries in Europe,Cushing, David H (1975) Marine ecology and fisheries Cambridge University Press. . and early in the 20th century, their study was fundamental to the development of fisheries science.Went, AEJ (1972) "The History of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Section B. Biology, 73: 351–360. These oily fish also have a long history as an important food fish, and are often salted, smoked, or pickled.

Herring were also known as "silver darlings" in the United Kingdom.

Species

A number of different species, most belonging to the family Clupeidae, are commonly referred to as herrings. The origins of the term "herring" is somewhat unclear, though it may derive from the same source as the Old High German heri meaning a "host, multitude", in reference to the large schools they form.Herring Online Etymology Dictionary, Retrieved 10 April 2012.

The type genus of the herring family Clupeidae is Clupea.Pauly, Daniel (2004) Darwin's Fishes: An Encyclopedia of Ichthyology, Ecology, and Evolution Page 109, Cambridge University Press. . Clupea contains only two species: the Atlantic herring (the type species) found in the North Atlantic, and the Pacific herring mainly found in the North Pacific. Subspecific divisions have been suggested for both the Atlantic and Pacific herrings, but their biological basis remains unclear.

Herrings in the genus Clupea Common name Scientific name Maximumlength Commonlength Maximumweight Maximumage Trophiclevel FishBase FAO ITIS IUCN status Atlantic herring Clupea harengus Linnaeus, 1758 45.0 cm 30.0 cm 1.05 kg 22 years 3.23 Clupea harengus (Linnaeus, 1758) FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 2012. Least concern Pacific herring Clupea pallasii Valenciennes, 1847 46.0 cm 25.0 cm 19 years 3.15 Clupea pallasii (Valenciennes, 1847) FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 2012. Data deficient

In addition, a number of related species, all in the Clupeidae, are commonly referred to as herrings. The table immediately below includes those members of the family Clupeidae referred to by FishBase as herrings which have been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Other herrings in the family Clupeidae Group Common name Scientific name Maximumlength Commonlength Maximumweight Maximumage Trophiclevel FishBase FAO ITIS IUCN statusFreshwater herrings Toothed river herring Clupeoides papuensis (Ramsay & Ogilby, 1886) cm cm kg years Data deficient Round herrings Day's round herring Dayella malabarica (Day, 1873) cm cm kg years Least concern Dwarf round herring Jenkinsia lamprotaenia (Gosse, 1851) cm cm kg years Least concern Gilchrist's round herring Gilchristella aestuaria (Gilchrist, 1913) cm cm kg years Least concern Little-eye round herring Jenkinsia majua Whitehead, 1963 cm cm kg years Least concern Red-eye round herring Etrumeus sadina (Mitchill, 1814) 33 cm 25 cm kg years Etrumeus teres (De Kay, 1842) FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved 25 March 2024. Least concern Two-finned round herring Spratellomorpha bianalis (Bertin, 1940) 4.5 cm cm kg years 3.11 Data deficient Whitehead's round herring Etrumeus whiteheadi (Wongratana, 1983) 20 cm cm kg years 3.4 Etrumeus whiteheadi (Wongratana, 1983) FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 2012. Least concern Venezuelan herring Jenkinsia parvula Cervigón and Velasquez, 1978 cm cm kg years VulnerableThread herrings Galapagos thread herring Opisthonema berlangai (Günther, 1867) 26 cm 18 cm kg years 3.27 Vulnerable Middling thread herring Opisthonema medirastre Berry & Barrett, 1963 cm cm kg years Least concern Pacific thread herring Opisthonema libertate (Günther, 1867) 30 cm 22 cm kg years Opisthonema libertate (Günther, 1867) FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 2012. Least concern Slender thread herring Opisthonema bulleri (Regan, 1904) cm cm kg years Least concernOther Araucanian herring Strangomera bentincki (Norman, 1936) 28.4 cm cm kg years 2.69 Clupea bentincki (Norman, 1936) FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 2012. Least concern Blackstripe herring Lile nigrofasciata Castro-Aguirre Ruiz-Campos and Balart, 2002 cm cm kg years Least concern Denticle herring Denticeps clupeoides Clausen, 1959 cm cm kg years Vulnerable Dogtooth herring Chirocentrodon bleekerianus (Poey, 1867) cm cm kg years Least concern Graceful herring Lile gracilis Castro-Aguirre and Vivero, 1990 cm cm kg years Least concern Pacific Flatiron herring Harengula thrissina (Jordan and Gilbert, 1882) cm cm kg years Least concern Sanaga pygmy herring Thrattidion noctivagus Roberts, 1972 cm cm kg years Least concern Silver-stripe round herring Spratelloides gracilis (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846) 10.5 cm cm kg years 3.0 Least concern Striped herring Lile stolifera (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882) cm cm kg years Least concern West African pygmy herring Sierrathrissa leonensis Thys van den Audenaerde, 1969 cm cm kg years Least concern

Also, a number of other species are called herrings, which may be related to clupeids or just share some characteristics of herrings (such as the lake herring, which is a salmonid). Just which of these species are called herrings can vary with locality, so what might be called a herring in one locality might be called something else in another locality. Some examples:

Other fishes called herring Common name Scientific name Maximumlength Commonlength Maximumweight Maximumage Trophiclevel FishBase FAO ITIS IUCN status Longfin herring Bigeyed longfin herring Opisthopterus macrops (Günther, 1867) cm cm kg years Least concern Dove's longfin herring Opisthopterus dovii (Günther 1868) cm cm kg years Least concern Hatchet herring Ilisha fuerthii (Steindachner, 1875) cm cm kg years Least concern Panama longfin herring Odontognathus panamensis (Steindachner, 1876) cm cm kg years Least concern Tropical longfin herring Neoopisthopterus tropicus (Hildebrand 1946) cm cm kg years Least concern Vaqueira longfin herring Opisthopterus effulgens (Regan 1903) cm cm kg years Vulnerable Equatorial longfin herring Opisthopterus equatorialis Hildebrand, 1946 cm cm kg years Least concern Wolf herring Dorab wolf-herring Chirocentrus dorab (Forsskål, 1775) 100 cm 60 cm kg years 4.50 Chirocentrus dorab (Forsskål, 1775) FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 2012. Least concern Whitefin wolf-herring Chirocentrus nudus Swainson, 1839 100 cm cm 0.41 kg years 4.19 Least concern Freshwater whitefish Lake herring (cisco) Coregonus artedi Lesueur, 1818 cm cm kg years Least concern

Characteristics

The species of Clupea belong to the larger family Clupeidae (herrings, shads, sardines, menhadens), which comprises some 200 species that share similar features. These silvery-coloured fish have a single dorsal fin, which is soft, without spines. They have no lateral line and have a protruding lower jaw. Their size varies between subspecies: the Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras) is small, 14 to 18 cm (about 5.5 to 7 inches); the proper Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus harengus) can grow to about and weigh up ; and Pacific herring grow to about .

Life cycle

At least one stock of Atlantic herring spawns in every month of the year. Each spawns at a different time and place (spring, summer, autumn, and winter herrings). Greenland populations spawn in of water, while North Sea (bank) herrings spawn at down to in autumn. Eggs are laid on the sea bed, on rock, stones, gravel, sand or beds of algae. Females may deposit from 20,000 to 40,000 eggs, according to age and size, averaging about 30,000. In sexually mature herring, the genital organs grow before spawning, reaching about one-fifth of its total weight.

The eggs sink to the bottom, where they stick in layers or clumps to gravel, seaweed, or stones, by means of their mucous coating, or to any other objects on which they chance to settle.

If the egg layers are too thick they suffer from oxygen depletion and often die, entangled in a maze of mucus. They need substantial water microturbulence, generally provided by wave action or coastal currents. Survival is highest in crevices and behind solid structures, because predators feast on openly exposed eggs. The individual eggs are in diameter, depending on the size of the parent fish and also on the local race. Incubation time is about 40 days at , 15 days at , or 11 days at . Eggs die at temperatures above .

The larvae are long at hatching, with a small yolk sac that is absorbed by the time the larvae reach . Only the eyes are well pigmented. The rest of the body is nearly transparent, virtually invisible under water and in natural lighting conditions.

The dorsal fin forms at , the anal fin at about —the ventral fins are visible and the tail becomes well forked at 30 to — at about , the larva begins to look like a herring.

Herring larvae are very slender and can easily be distinguished from all other young fish of their range by the location of the vent, which lies close to the base of the tail; however, distinguishing clupeoids one from another in their early stages requires critical examination, especially telling herring from sprats.

At one year, they are about long, and they first spawn at three years.

Ecology

Prey

Herrings consume copepods, arrow worms, pelagic amphipods, mysids, and krill in the pelagic zone. Conversely, they are a central prey item or forage fish for higher trophic levels. The reasons for this success are still enigmatic; one speculation attributes their dominance to the huge, extremely fast cruising schools they inhabit.

Herring feed on phytoplankton, and as they mature, they start to consume larger organisms. They also feed on zooplankton, tiny animals found in oceanic surface waters, and small fish and fish larvae. Copepods and other tiny crustaceans are the most common zooplankton eaten by herring. During daylight, herring stay in the safety of deep water, feeding at the surface only at night when the chance of being seen by predators is less. They swim along with their mouths open, filtering the plankton from the water as it passes through their gills. Young herring mostly hunt copepods individually, by means of "particulate feeding" or "raptorial feeding",Kils U (1992) The ATOLL Laboratory and other Instruments Developed at Kiel U.S. GLOBEC News, Technology Forum Number 8: 6–9. a feeding method also used by adult herring on larger prey items like krill. If prey concentrations reach very high levels, as in microlayers, at fronts, or directly below the surface, herring become filter feeders, driving several meters forward with wide open mouth and far expanded opercula, then closing and cleaning the gill rakers for a few milliseconds.