Country Species Summary

Clupea harengus in Canada
Atlantic herring

Clupea harengus Linnaeus, 1758
Family:	Clupeidae (Herrings, shads, sardines, menhadens)	picture (Clhar_u2.jpg) by Aquarium Kiel
Order:	Clupeiformes (herrings)
Class:	Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
FishBase name:	Atlantic herring
Max. size:	45.0 cm SL (male/unsexed; Ref. 37032); max. published weight: 1,050 g (Ref. 6114); max. reported age: 22 years
Environment:	benthopelagic; oceanodromous ; depth range 0 - 364 m
Climate:	temperate; 1 - 18°C; 80°N - 33°N
Global Importance:	fisheries: highly commercial
Resilience:	Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (rm=0.5-1.2; K=0.2-0.6; tm=2-5; tmax=25; Fec=20,000)
Distribution:	North Atlantic: northern Bay of Biscay northward to Iceland and southern Greenland, eastward to Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya, including the Baltic; southwestern Greenland and Labrador southward to South Carolina.
Diagnosis:	Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-21; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 12-23; Vertebrae: 51-60. Scutes without prominent keel; no median notch in upper jaw; operculum without radiating bony striae; hind border of gill opening evenly rounded; no distinctive dark spots on body or fins; 12 to 16 post-pelvic scutes (Ref. 188). Silvery, with bluish or greenish blue back. Body elongate (Ref. 7251).
Biology:	Nerito-pelagic (Ref. 58426). Schooling in coastal waters, with complex feeding and spawning migrations whose timing and extent correlate with the more or less distinct races recognizable on morphological grounds. Feed on small planktonic copepods in the first year, thereafter mainly on copepods. A facultative zooplanktivorous filter-feeder, i.e., it can switch to filter-feeding if the food density and particle size are appropriate (Ref. 28664). Spend the day in deeper water, but rise to the surface at night. They find their food by visual sense. Feeding and growth are very low during winter. Mature sexually at age 3-9 years (Ref. 35388). At least one population spawns in any one month of the year. Eggs are laid on substrate. They can be divided into several different stocks and races. The most important races in the East Atlantic are the winter-spawning Norwegian and Icelandic herrings, the autumn spawning Icelandic and North sea herrings and the Baltic herrings. Biomass of Baltic herring has shown inverse correlation with the biomass of sprat, a competitor for planktonic food (Ref. 82765; 82766).Schooling, silvery sides, excellent hearing, and very fast escape response act as anti-predator devices (Ref. 28664). In Guinness Book of World Records, as the most numerous fish (Ref. 6472), but widely overfished in 1990 (Ref. 28644). Utilized fresh, dried or salted, smoked, canned and frozen; can be fried, broiled, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9988). Light is important factor in controlling their vertical distribution. Cestode larvae and trematodes frequently found as parasites in the gut (Ref. 37032). The Thames-Blackwater Herring Driftnet (http://www.msc.org/html/content_489.htm), Hastings Fleet Pelagic Herring (http://www.msc.org/html/content_1215.htm) and the Pelagic Freezer Trawler Association (PFA) North Sea Herring (http://www.msc.org/html/content_1262.htm) fisheries of this species have been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (http://www.msc.org/) as well-managed and sustainable
Threatened:	Not Evaluated, see IUCN Red List , (Ref. 36508)
Dangerous:	harmless
Coordinator:
Main Ref:	Whitehead, P.J.P.. 1985. (Ref. 188)
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Canada country information
Common names:	Atlantic herring, Hareng atlantique, Kapisilik, Bloater	Ref: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 1990
Status:	native	Ref:
Salinity:	freshwater, brackish, marine
Importance:	highly commercial	Ref: FAO, 1992
Uses:	no uses
Comments:	Ranges from the northern Canada eastward to Québec (Ref. 58426) and Newfoundland and Labrador (Ref. 188).
States/Provinces:	British Columbia (native) New Brunswick (native) Newfoundland and Labrador (native) Nova Scotia (native) Nunavut (native) Prince Edward Island (native) Quebec (native)
States/Provinces Complete?:	No
Country Information:	www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ca.html
National Fisheries Authority:	www.ncr.dfo.ca/home_e.htm
Occurrences:	Occurrences Point map
Main Ref:	Coad, B.W. and J.D. Reist, 2004
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Modified: Ortañez, Auda Kareen

Entered: Carpenter, Kent E.

CGNET - US

Page created by: Eli, 20.10.03, last modified by Eli, 26.06.07

	Ref.:		Glossary
		(e.g. 9948)		(e.g. cephalopods)
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