Herring
Herring - Image courtesy of Seafish Public Media Library
Scientific name: Clupea harengus (Atlantic Herring)
Conservation status
Herring is a member of a larger group of about 200 species. The most common are Atlantic, Pacific and Araucanian Herring. Of these the Atlantic Herring, found in the seas around Europe and North America, is the most abundant species.
Herring sustainability varies a good deal. The IUCN status is of Least Concern. The MCS identify 4 Best Choice, 1 Needs Improvement and 7 Avoid sustainability ratings based on location, stock size, management, and capture method. For example, Herring in the Celtic and Irish Seas and southwest of Ireland (with an Avoid sustainability rating) have fallen below safe biological levels and have no recovery management measures in place. The MCS Best Choices rating for Herring are for those caught in the North Sea and the North Irish Sea. There are ongoing concerns for the management of fishing in the Northeast Atlantic.
Overview
Herring are small silvery streamlined fish with a single dorsal fin well known for travelling in huge schools.
Herring belongs to a family of forage fish species which also include sardines and anchovies. They feed on plankton, tiny sea creatures, small fish, and fish larvae. Herring shoals are huge – containing billions of fish and their unusual breeding cycle means that different stocks spawn at different points in the year. (There are spring, summer, autumn, and winter herring). They are found around coasts in temperate shallow waters.
Herring are vitally important to marine ecosystems and provide food for sea birds, dolphins, porpoises, whales, seals, cod, bass, mackerel, sharks and salmon. They are also commercially significant and an important food source for humans (containing omega 3 and vitamin D) for 1000s of years – eaten as kippers, rollmops, and bloaters. In the past in Britain Herrings were a valuable source of protein in a working-class diet rather than a luxury delicacy. Herring played a big part in the development of the European fishing industry.
In the mid-20th century Herring was seen as one of the most commercially viable fish and stocks of fish were seriously threatened. In 1966 global landings were over 4 million tonnes declining to under 9 hundred thousand tonnes in 1979. This was attributed to overfishing.
In response to over-exploitation of stocks in the 1970s, Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) limits were imposed (Source IUCN). This worked well for decades however there is now a need for sharing agreements between coastal states that ensure total catches remain within scientifically advised limits.
Nigel Edwards points out for over a decade, coastal states decision-makers haven’t agreed on sustainable quota shares for Northeast Atlantic mackerel and Atlanto-Scandian herring. He suggests that this has led to years of unilateral quota setting and overexploitation and that even with scientific evidence and long-term management strategies a lack of cooperation between Coastal States stands in the way of securing a sustainable future for mackerel and herring fisheries. (Source N. Edwards and NAPA)
https://www.msc.org/uk/what-you-can-do/sustainable-fish-to-eat-in-the-uk/herring
https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/155123/4717767
https://www.mcsuk.org/goodfishguide/species/herring/?search=herring
https://napafisheries.org/fishery-improvement-projects/mackerel-and-herring-fip/