WDFW
­­
WA
State
Forage
Fish:
Pacific
Herring
Biology
Name:
Pacific
herring,
Clupea
harengus
pallasi
Geographical
range:
Baja
California,
Mexico,
to
the
Bering
Sea
and
northeast
to
the
Beaufort
Sea.
Also
along
the
Asian
coast
from
the
Arctic
Ocean
to
Japan.

Related
species:
Common
local
members
of
the
herring
family,
Clupeidae,
are
the
Pacific
sardine,
(
Sardinops
sagax)
and
the
American
shad,
(
Alosa
sapdissima).
Other
forage
fish
species
include
surf
smelt,
sand
lance,
and
anchovy.

Life
history:
Most
Washington
State
herring
stocks
spawn
from
late
January
through
early
April.
The
notable
exception
is
the
Cherry
Point
stock
(
the
largest
in
the
state),
which
spawns
from
early
April
through
early
June.
Herring
deposit
transparent,
adhesive
eggs
on
intertidal
and
shallow
subtidal
eelgrass
and
marine
algae.
Eggs
may
be
deposited
anywhere
between
the
upper
limits
of
high
tide
to
a
depth
of
­
40
feet,
but
most
spawning
takes
place
between
0
and
­
10
feet
in
tidal
elevation.
Eggs
hatch
in
http://
www.
wa.
gov/
wdfw/
fish/
forage/
herring.
htm
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WDFW
­­
WA
State
Forage
Fish:
Pacific
Herring
about
14
days,
producing
slender,
transparent
larvae
about
13
mm
long.
At
this
stage,
they
are
at
the
mercy
of
currents
and
subject
to
heavy
predation
by
larger
organisms.
At
about
three
months
of
age
and
at
about
38
mm
in
length,
herring
metamorphose
into
their
adult
form
and
coloration.
They
will
mature
and
return
to
their
spawning
ground
in
their
second
or
third
year.
Herring
do
not
normally
die
after
spawning,
and
continue
to
spawn
in
successive
years.

Natural
mortality
is
quite
high,
approximately
50­
70
percent
of
the
adult
herring
from
Washington
will
fall
to
predation
each
year.
Thus,
the
typical
Puget
Sound
herring
is
relatively
short
lived,
rarely
surviving
beyond
age
five.
Some
herring
stocks
appear
to
have
an
annual
migration
from
inshore
spawning
grounds
to
open
ocean
feeding
areas,
while
others
appear
to
be
more
"
resident",
remaining
inside
the
Puget
Sound
basin
year
around.
Adult
herring
feed
primarily
on
planktonic
crustaceans,
and
in
turn
are
food
for
many
marine
animals
such
as
seabirds,
marine
mammals,
and
other
fishes.

Spawning
stocks:
Herring
stocks
are
defined
by
spawning
grounds.
At
least
18
stocks
spawn
inside
Puget
Sound
and
one
on
the
Washington
coast
in
central
Willapa
Bay.
Spawning
has
been
reported
but
not
documented
in
the
Columbia
River
estuary
near
the
Illwaco
and
Hammond.
The
approximate
location
of
spawning
grounds
inside
Puget
Sound
and
those
spawning
grounds
grouped
by
stock
are
pictured
in
the
figure
below.

(
Documented
herring
spawning
grounds
GIF
,
24k.)

Although
homing
is
not
absolute,
and
is
less
specific
than
that
demonstrated
by
salmon,
herring
spawning
populations
appear
to
maintain
some
biological
separation
from
each
other.
Each
geographically
distinct
spawning
population
is
defined
as
a
discrete
stock.
Other
stock
specific
characteristics
such
as
unique
age
structures,
distinctive
spawning
timing
and
prespawner
holding
area
behavior
support
the
stock
definitions.

The
adjacent
chart
shows,
in
yellow,
the
approximate
location
of
the
documented
herring
spawning
grounds
in
Puget
Sound.
Herring
populations
which
spawn
each
year
at
these
individual
grounds
form
the
18
stocks.
Each
stock
in
Puget
Sound
is
assessed
annually
by
one
of
two
assessment
methods.
The
annual
assessments
are
published
each
year
in
the
Stock
Status
Report.

Herring
­
Management
The
Pacific
herring
is
of
considerable
interest
to
the
citizens
of
the
Puget
Sound
region
because
of
the
species'
value
as
forage,
its
popularity
as
recreational
fishing
bait,
its
significance
to
local
commercial
fisheries,
and
its
importance
as
an
indicator
of
the
general
"
health
and
productivity"
of
Puget
Sound.

Management
Principles
http://
www.
wa.
gov/
wdfw/
fish/
forage/
herring.
htm
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WDFW
­­
WA
State
Forage
Fish:
Pacific
Herring
For
management
planning,
Washington
is
divided
into
four
geographic
regions:
South­
central
Puget
Sound,
north
Puget
Sound,
Strait
of
Juan
de
Fuca
and
the
Washington
coast.
Profiles
have
been
developed
for
known
herring
stocks
within
these
geographic
regions.
These
profiles
are
detailed
in
the
Stock
Status
Report.

Herring
were
included
in
the
1974
"
Boldt
Decision"
regarding
Native
American
fishing
rights,
and
local
stocks
and
fisheries
are
cooperatively
monitored
and
managed
by
Washington
Department
of
Fish
and
Wildlife
(
WDFW)
and
local
area
Tribal
governments.

The
appropriate
harvest
rate
for
herring
has
been
shown
to
be
about
20
percent
of
the
spawning
stock,
and
herring
are
harvested
at
that
rate
worldwide.
Significant
fisheries
for
herring
also
occur
in
Alaska,
British
Columbia,
Oregon
and
California.
(
To
learn
more
about
Canadian
herring
management
visit
their
web
site
at
DFO
Canada.)
Presently,
Puget
Sound
herring
are
fished
at
an
extremely
conservative
level;
at
a
total
annual
exploitation
rate
of
about
6
percent.
Two
commercial
herring
fisheries
occur
in
Washington,
both
in
Puget
Sound:
A
sport
bait
fishery
and
a
spawn­
on­
kelp
fishery.

The
sport
bait
fishery
occurs
primarily
in
the
South­
central
Puget
Sound
Region
and
is
assumed
to
exploit
an
aggregate
of
stocks
within
the
region.
The
fishery
is
regulated
by
area,
season,
gear
type,
and
harvest
guidelines.
Harvest
guidelines
are
generally
based
on
an
annual
average
of
the
pooled
South­
central
Puget
Sound
stock
biomass
estimates.

The
spawn­
on­
kelp
fishery
is
currently
limited
to
specific
north
Puget
Sound
spawning
stocks.
The
fishery
is
managed
among
WDFW
and
four
tribes.
A
Herring
Technical
Team,
comprised
of
representatives
from
the
management
bodies,
is
responsible
for
developing
annual
management
plans
that
include
run
forecasts,
harvest
guidelines,
and
fishery
protocols.
The
fishery
is
regulated
by
area,
season,
gear
type
and
harvest
guidelines.
Harvest
guidelines
are
based
on
annual
stock
biomass
estimates.

Licensing
In
1973,
the
Washington
State
Legislature
enacted
limited
entry
for
non­
treaty
commercial
herring
fishing.
The
maximum
number
of
herring
fishing
licenses
was
"
frozen"
for
each
gear
type
(
dipbag,
lampara
seine,
purse
seine,
beach
seine
and
gill
net).
Anyone
interested
in
commercially
fishing
for
herring
must
purchase
an
existing
license
from
a
current
license
holder.
The
treaty
herring
fishing
fleet
is
not
under
growth
restriction,
although
fishing
effort
is
limited
by
management
plans
defined
by
the
Herring
Technical
Team.

Stock
Assessment
Two
methods
are
used
by
WDFW
to
provide
quantitative
estimates
of
herring
abundance:
spawn
deposition
surveys
and
acoustic/
trawl
surveys.
Using
one
of
either
of
the
two
methods,
WDFW
currently
estimates
the
abundance
(
spawning
biomass)
of
each
of
the
18
recognized
herring
stocks
in
Puget
Sound
each
year.
Occasional
assessments
are
conducted
on
the
Washington
coastal
stock.

http://
www.
wa.
gov/
wdfw/
fish/
forage/
herring.
htm
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WDFW
­­
WA
State
Forage
Fish:
Pacific
Herring
Spawn
deposition
surveys
provide
a
direct
estimate
of
herring
spawning
abundance
measured
as
biomass.
The
marine
vegetation
on
documented
herring
spawning
grounds
is
sampled
for
the
presence
of
herring
eggs.
If
eggs
are
present
their
density
and
coverage
is
estimated
and
that
data
is
converted
to
an
estimate
of
spawning
escapement.
These
surveys
are
generally
conducted
weekly
during
a
stock's
spawning
season
to
document
cumulative
spawn
deposition.

Acoustic/
trawl
surveys
are
conducted
on
the
prespawner
holding
areas.
Prior
to
spawning,
ripening
adult
herring
congregate
and
hold
in
a
region
usually
adjacent
to
the
spawning
grounds.
In
the
adjacent
drawing,
the
spawning
ground
is
shown
in
pink
and
the
holding
area
in
blue.
The
schooling
process
usually
begins
3­
4
weeks
before
the
first
spawning
event.
Acoustic/
trawl
surveys
are
conducted
early
in
the
spawning
season
when
holding
area
stock
abundance
peaks.
This
method
utilizes
echosounding
equipment
(
sonar)
with
a
computer
interface.
The
acoustic
gear
produces
a
realtime
estimate
of
total
fish
abundance.
The
estimate
of
total
fish
abundance
is
apportioned
to
herring
biomass
based
on
data
collected
by
a
mid­
water
trawl
which
samples
the
schooling
fish.
Analyses
of
the
trawl
catch
also
provides
herring
size,
age,
and
maturity
data.

Total
Puget
Sound
Herring
Spawning
Biomass
Estimates,
1977­
96.

Annual
estimates
of
herring
spawning
stocks
size
can
vary
greatly
between
years
and
spawning
grounds
for
a
variety
of
reasons
unrelated
to
fishing
pressure.
The
best
indicator
of
overall
herring
viability
for
each
of
the
four
regions
is
the
cumulative
estimate
of
all
stocks
that
spawn
within
each
region.
Any
extensive
environmental
changes
or
deleterious
factors
resulting
in
a
negative
impact
on
herring
productivity
would
readily
become
apparent
by
trends
in
these
cumulative
regional
estimates.

Of
the
four
management
regions,
the
South­
central
Puget
Sound
combined
stock
spawning
biomass
has
shown
the
least
variation
during
the
20
year
time
frame
presented
in
the
figure
below.
The
cumulative
spawning
biomass
for
the
period
is
6,059
tons.

The
cumulative
north
Puget
Sound
spawning
biomass
has
typically
been
the
largest
within
the
state.
From
the
period
1975
through
1983,
the
standing
spawning
biomass
exceeded
10,000
tons
each
year,
primarily
because
of
large
Cherry
Point
stock
estimate.
The
period
1984­
1987
saw
a
substantial
decline
in
the
biomass,
again
largely
related
to
a
decline
in
the
Cherry
Point
stock
estimates.
From
1988
to
1994,
a
gradual
increase
in
total
spawning
biomass
has
taken
place,
and
then
a
decline
in
1995
and
1996.
All
stocks
in
the
region
have,
to
some
degree,
contributed
to
this
escalation.

The
Strait
of
Juan
de
Fuca
collection
of
stocks
contains
the
smallest
spawning
biomass
among
the
four
regions.
Discovery
Bay
is
the
location
of
the
predominant
stock.
From
the
mid
1980s
to
the
present,
stock
estimates
from
this
region
have
shown
a
continuing
decline.
The
reason
for
the
decrease
in
abundance
is
unknown.
Commercial
landings
from
the
area
during
the
1977­
96
period
have
been
insignificant
and
no
known
major
environmental
changes
in
the
area
have
occurred.

The
cumulative
total
Puget
Sound
spawning
biomass
for
the
1977­
96
period
is
15,994
tons.
Annual
cumulative
estimates
above
15,000
tons
are
presently
considered
the
baseline
level
for
a
healthy
regional
herring
population.
During
three
of
the
last
five
years
the
total
cumulative
estimate
has
exceeded
or
been
within
five
percent
of
the
baseline.
The
1996
cumulative
estimate
of
12,966
tons
falls
below
this
threshold.

While
spawning
populations
of
herring
are
known
to
occur
in
the
Washington
coastal
region,
only
occasional
monitoring
or
http://
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wa.
gov/
wdfw/
fish/
forage/
herring.
htm
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WDFW
­­
WA
State
Forage
Fish:
Pacific
Herring
assessment
of
coastal
herring
currently
takes
place.
Variable
spawn
deposition
survey
effort
in
Willapa
Bay
during
1974,
1988,
1989
and
1997
suggest
a
spawner
escapement
ranging
from
50
to
700
tons.

Natural
Mortality
Herring
spawning
stock
size
fluctuations
are
primarily
influenced
by
ecological
factors
that
affect
survival,
and
to
a
smaller
extent
growth.
Changes
in
sea
temperature,
for
example,
can
affect
herring
food
supplies
and
or
change
the
abundance
of
predators.

With
appropriate
stock
assessment
methodology,
survival
and
mortality
can
be
estimated.
Mortality
can
be
divided
into
two
types:
fishing
and
natural
mortality
(
all
causes
other
than
fishing).
An
annual
estimate
of
herring
mortality
in
Washington
has
been
calculated
since
1976.
The
figure
below
shows
the
annual
mortality
experienced
by
all
adult
Puget
Sound
herring
combined.
For
the
purpose
of
this
figure,
it
is
assumed
that
the
cumulative
spawner
biomass
estimate
is
reflective
of
the
total
spawner
biomass
and
that
variation
in
annual
mortality
between
stocks
is
small.

The
annual
natural
mortality
rate
estimates
for
herring
in
Puget
Sound
have
increased
from
the
30­
40
percent
range
in
the
1970s
to
the
60­
70
percent
range
at
present.
Worldwide,
natural
mortality
rates
in
the
30­
40
percent
range
are
considered
typical,
while
higher
rates,
like
those
presently
observed
for
the
Puget
Sound
stocks
are
considered
unusual.
Relatively
good
two
year
old
recruitment
in
recent
years
has
been
sustaining
most
stocks
in
Puget
Sound
despite
high
natural
mortality
rates.
Recruitment
failure,
under
the
present
natural
mortality,
would
lead
to
dramatic
stock
biomass
declines.

The
adjacent
graph
indicates
that
in
the
last
20
years,
herring
natural
mortality
has
increased
while
fishing
mortality
has
decreased.
Therefore,
declines
in
herring
abundance
can
most
likely
be
attributed
to
increased
predation.
Increases
in
some
herring
predators,
such
as
harbor
seals,
California
sea
lions
and
mackerel
may
contribute
significantly
to
herring
population
declines.
Similarly
environmental
changes
may
contribute
to
the
increase
in
natural
mortality.

Herring
­
Habitat
Issues
The
location
of
herring
spawn
deposition
in
lower
intertidal
and
upper
subtidal
habitats
and
the
geographically
specific
nature
of
herring
spawning
behavior
makes
herring
spawning
grounds
vulnerable
to
shoreline
development.
Documented
herring
spawning
grounds
are
protected
from
habitat
loss
by
the
Washington
Administrative
Code
Hydraulic
Code
Rules.

Each
herring
spawning
ground
is
assumed
to
represent
a
discrete
stock.
WDFW's
ongoing
assessment
survey
results,
which
indicate
stock
specific
age
structures,
and
strong
site
specificity,
spawn
timing,
and
prespawner
holding
area
characteristics
continue
to
support
the
assumption
of
stock
autonomy
for
Puget
Sound
herring.
Therefore,
conservation
of
herring
spawning
habitat,
and
minimizing
disturbance
in
the
prespawning
holding
areas
is
key
to
the
preservation
of
the
herring
stocks
inside
Puget
Sound.
Herring
stock
assessment
data
is
very
useful
for
localized
habitat
management
and
planning.

Herring
­
Commercial
Fisheries
In
Washington,
the
majority
of
commercial
herring
fisheries
have
historically
occurred
inside
Puget
Sound.
There
are
no
directed
fisheries
on
any
herring
populations
on
the
Washington
coast.
From
the
early
1930s
until
the
late
1950s,
herring
caught
commercially
in
Puget
Sound
were
primarily
used
as
bait
for
halibut,
crab,
and
shark
fisheries.
During
the
early
1950s,
fishing
emphasis
began
shifting
to
supply
bait
needs
for
a
rapidly
growing
recreational
salmon
fishery.
In
addition,
beginning
in
the
late
1950s
over
all
herring
catches
rose
substantially
due
to
an
expanding
reduction
fishery
in
north
Puget
Sound
that
processed
herring
into
fish
meal.

http://
www.
wa.
gov/
wdfw/
fish/
forage/
herring.
htm
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WDFW
­­
WA
State
Forage
Fish:
Pacific
Herring
In
1972,
a
large
scale
fishery
for
herring
sac­
roe
began
in
the
Strait
of
Georgia
(
north
Sound
region
).
Total
landings
of
herring
in
Puget
Sound
peaked
by
the
mid­
1970'.
Harvest
levels
decreased
in
the
late
1970'
when
north
Puget
Sound
stocks
began
to
decline,
and
both
the
reduction
fishery
and
the
sac­
roe
fishery
were
closed
in
the
early
1980s.

Currently,
WDFW
is
responsible
for
the
management
of
two
commercial
herring
fisheries
in
Washington:
the
sport
bait
fishery
and
the
spawn­
on
kelp
fishery.
The
sport
bait
fishery
is
the
principal
commercial
herring
fishery
which
occurs
primarily
in
the
South­
central
Puget
Sound
region.
Annual
landings
from
1992­
96
averaged
510
tons,
with
most
of
the
harvest
taken
by
small
(
200
foot)
lampara
seines.
This
predominately
non­
treaty
fishery
targets
1­
1/
2
year
old
"
plug"
herring
almost
exclusively.

The
spawn­
on­
kelp
fishery
(
treaty
and
non­
treaty)
predominantly
occurs
in
the
north
Puget
Sound
region,
although
occasionally
a
small
treaty
only
spawn­
onkelp
fishery
is
conducted
in
central
Puget
Sound.
In
this
fishery,
purse
seines
capture
herring
which
are
congregating
in
the
prespawning
holding
areas.
The
fish
are
impounded
in
floating
pens
hung
with
lines
of
kelp;
(
Macrocystis
integrifolia).
The
impounded
herring
spawn
on
the
kelp,
and
then
are
released,
and
the
spawn
laden
kelp
is
harvested.
In
a
variation
of
this
fishery,
the
kelp
is
hung
from
floating
lines
near
the
spawning
beaches
where
it
is
spawned
upon
by
fish
which
are
not
impounded.
The
combined
treaty/
non­
treaty
spawn­
onkelp
fishery
has
averaged
241
tons
of
fish
impounded
or
utilized
per
year.

Herring
­
Recreational
Fisheries
Recreational
landings
of
herring
in
Washington
State
are
relatively
insignificant.
Sport
anglers
occasionally
jig
herring
or
dip
herring
"
balls"
for
salmon
bait,
but
most
purchase
commercially
caught
bait
herring.
Herring
are
also
commonly
caught
incidentally
in
surf
smelt
recreational
jig
fisheries,
and
some
are
likely
kept
and
consumed.

Go
to
the
top
of
this
document
Go
to
the
Forage
Fish
Index
Page
Go
to
the
WDFW
Home
Page
For
more
information
on
fish
management
issues,
please
contact
WDFW
Fish
Management
Program.

E­
mail:
fishpgm@
dfw.
wa.
gov
Find
a
bug
or
error
in
the
system?
Let
us
know
about
it!
©
1997
Washington
Department
of
Fish
and
Wildlife
E­
mail
<
webmaster@
dfw.
wa.
gov>

http://
www.
wa.
gov/
wdfw/
fish/
forage/
herring.
htm
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