Herring (clupeidae) Fish
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast. The most abundant and commercially important species belong to the genus Clupea, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea, as well as off the west coast of South America. Three species of Clupea are recognised, and provide about 90% of all herrings captured in fisheries. Most abundant of all is the Atlantic herring, providing over half of all herring capture. Fishes called herring are also found in India, in the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. Herring played a pivotal role in the history of marine fisheries in Europe,[2] and early in the twentieth century their study was fundamental to the evolution of fisheries science.[3][4] These oily fish[5] also have a long history as an important food fish, and are often salted, smoked, or pickled. 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 centimetres; the proper Atlantic herring (C. h. harengus) can grow to about 46 cm (18 inches) and weigh up 700 g ( pounds); and Pacific herring grow to about 38 cm (15 inches). 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 0–5 metres (0–16 ft) of water while North Sea (bank) herrings spawn at up to 200 metres (660 ft) in autumn. Eggs are laid on the sea bed, on rock, stones, gravel, sand or beds of algae. Wikipedia
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Location: Essex Gt Britain
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Keywords: atlantic, baltic, clupea, dorsal, fin, fish, fisheries, food, forage, genus, herring, large, marine, menhadens, north, oil, oily, pacific, pickled, salted, sardines, schools, science, sea, shads, silver, silvery, single, smoked, spawn
