Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii)

Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii) – sea fish of the Clupeidae family. The distribution is widely in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean; along the Asian coast, its distribution is from the Yellow Sea in the south to the Bering Strait in the north and in America from San Diego in the south to Kotzebue Sound in the Chukchi Sea. Within this huge area, herring is divided into several disjunct populations different in numbers and in distribution.

P.H. is a schooling, pelagic fish. It can attain length up to 50 cm, though typical fish size is 40 cm. It can live in freshwater and matures at 2–3 years. The spawning is in spring in the coastal area, in the temperature 2–6 °C at the depth up to 10–15 m; some herring spawns in salty lakes and bays. After spawning, adult herring and tiny fish leave the coastal area, but do not migrate far and gain weight separately. Adult herring feeds on plankton crustacea. Life span is up to 13 years. It is a very important commercial species.

Pacific Herring...