Atlantic herring

Atlantic herring, (Clupea harengus), species of herring in the family Clupeidae (order Clupeiformes) and one of the most commercially important fish in the world. Atlantic herring travel in large schools, migrating between feeding, spawning, and overwintering areas (see also schooling behavior). They occur on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean, and the species’s geographic range extends from coastal waters and continental shelf areas off of North Carolina north to the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay in the western Atlantic and from the Bay of Biscay north to Svalbard and Novaya Zemyla in the eastern Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Atlantic herring are also found in the waters around Iceland.

Natural history

Atlantic herring are small, streamlined fish with silvery sides and blueish or greenish blue backs. Adults typically reach lengths of up to 35 cm (14 inches), though the largest known individuals have reached 44–45 cm (17.3–17.7 inches) in length. An Atlantic herring has a small head with a protruding lower jaw and a streamlined body with a round belly and a forked tail. The fish’s weight is typically 750 grams (1.7 pounds), with a maximum weight of 1.1 kg (2.4 pounds).

Atlantic herring are usually found in depths ranging from 11 to 200 meters (36 to 660 feet) in coastal and continental shelf waters, although they may be found in water as deep as 400 meters (1,300 feet). At night, they migrate up the water column to shallower waters to feed. The species is an important forage fish (that is, a schooling, plankton-eating fish that serves as prey for larger fishes) in the Atlantic food web. It is a filter feeder that consumes copepods, zooplankton, krill, and fish larvae, and it is preyed on by other fishes (such as skates, sharks, mackerel, and tuna) as well as by seabirds and marine mammals (such as seals and porpoises). Bottom-dwelling fish, such as cod, haddock, winter flounder, and red hake, feed on Atlantic herring eggs.

The Atlantic herring is harvested by countries, including the United States, Canada, Norway, and Iceland, and is used as food, bait for fishing, and fish oil. The fish is sold fresh, frozen, smoked, salted, pickled, or canned as sardines. Atlantic herring roe (a clustered mass of eggs) is also sold for consumption.

The spawning times for Atlantic herring vary by location: populations living in colder areas spawn during the high summer months, and those living in temperate and marginally subtropical areas spawn later in the year. Females deposit their eggs on the ocean floor in rocky, gravely, or sandy areas. Several sources report that one female can produce 30,000 to 200,000 eggs during her lifetime. Sometimes the females in large schools produce so many eggs that they cover the ocean floor in a layer several centimeters deep. Depending on the temperature of the water, the eggs hatch in 7–10 days. As juvenile Atlantic herring grow, their small size and abundance make them attractive prey for many organisms. Female and male Atlantic herring grow quickly. Most can reproduce when they are 4 or 5 years old, although some sources report that some individuals can reach sexual maturity as young as age 2 or as old as age 9. Most Atlantic herring can live as long as 15 years.

Conservation status

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) classifies the Atlantic herring as a species of least concern. During the 1970s, the global population of Atlantic herring declined substantially because of overfishing; however, several countries passed laws that established catch limits, and the global population began to recover slowly. Although population sizes had increased substantially by the 2020s, Atlantic herring stocks still remained largely depleted, with some estimates placing the species at only 26 percent of its targeted biomass goal. Government officials on both sides of the Atlantic continue to monitor population changes and adjust harvesting rates as needed (see also sustainability).

In January 2024 the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the two cases Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Commerce “in tandem.” The cases were brought by Atlantic herring fishers in New Jersey and Rhode Island who objected to a regulation requiring them to pay for monitors—who verify that the fishers do not exceed catch limits—to accompany them on their ships. These cases are notable in that they became the basis of the 2024 challenge to Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council (1984). Chevron U.S.A. established the judicial precedent known as the Chevron doctrine, or Chevron deference, giving federal agencies charged with issuing regulations latitude in interpreting statutes containing ambiguous or unclear provisions. On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court overturned Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council and thereby eliminated the Chevron deference rule.

Are you a student?

Get a special academic rate on Britannica Premium.

Subscribe