Herring

Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. 2 Two species of Clupea are recognized, the Atlantic herring Clupea harengus and the Pacific herring Clupea pallasii , each which may be divided into subspecies. Herrings are forage fish moving in vast schools, coming in spring to the shores of Europe and America, where they are caught, salted and smoked.

The two species of Clupea belong to the larger family Clupeidae herrings, shads, sardines, menhadens , which comprises some 200 species, which all share similar features. They are silvery colored fish that 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 centimeters, the proper Atlantic herring C. h. harengus can grow to about 46 160 cm 18 160 inches and weigh up 700 g 1.5 pounds , and Pacific herring grow to about 38 160 cm 15 160 inches .

Predators of herring include humans, seabirds, dolphins, porpoises, striped bass, seals, sea lions, whales. Sharks, dog fish, tuna, cod, salmon, halibut and other large fish also feed on adult herring.

Young herring feed on phytoplankton and as they mature they start to consume larger organisms. Adult herring feed on zooplankton, tiny animals that are 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 there is less chance of predation. They swim along with their mouths open, filtering the plankton from the water as it passes through their gills.