Taxonomy
Osteichthyes, Clupeiformes, Clupeidae

Maximum size
40 cm TL, though usually <35 cm.

Description
A highly abundant pelagic species. They are filter feeders that feed on a variety of planktonic organisms. There are various spring and autumn spawning sub-populations, each with specific spawning sites. Eggs are laid in dense layers on gravel. Larvae are pelagic. Metamorphosis after 2-7 months depending on spawning time.

Description of stocks
Herring is widely distributed in the Northwest and Northeast Atlantic. Within the Northeast Atlantic, they are distributed from the northern Bay of Biscay to Greenland, and east into the Barents Sea.

Legal MLS
20 cm in the North Sea and 18 cm in the Skagerrak

Interest to fisheries
Herring is one of the most important commercial species taken in the North Sea, where it is targeted in purse seine and trawl fisheries. It is also a by-catch in industrial fisheries and small-mesh fisheries. Some inshore fisheries continue to fish for herring using drift
nets.

Status of stocks- see graph
Landings increased after the Second World War to a peak of 2 million tonnes, though subsequent over-fishing and recruitment failure caused a collapse of the stock in the early 1970s. The fishery was closed from 1977-1981 to allow the stocks to recover. Management for herring has since improved and they are now harvested sustainably.