APPENDIX III APPENDIX III 
HERRING 
A herring fishery exists on both the Atlantic and Pacific 
coasts of the United States. The Atlantic herring, also 
known as Atlantic sea herring, is one of several related spe- 
cies of fish which are members of the herring family. Along 
the U.S. Atlantic coast, other herring-related fisheries ex- 
ist for Atlantic menhaden and river herring (alewife and 
blueback herring). 
The Pacific herring is very similar to the Atlantic her- 
ring; both are considered to be only subspecies of the same 
species. They differ primarily in spawning habits, growth, 
and longevity. Herring are fast swimmers and occur in large 
schools which may exceed 1 million fish. They feed princi- 
pally on planktonic crustaceans, store large quantities of 
oil in their bodies, and can be used to produce a large vari- 
ety of products. 
Altantic herring are found from Newfoundland, Canada, to 
Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, but only small amounts of 
Atlantic herring are now caught south of Long Island, New 
York. Most of the Atlantic herring are landed in Maine and 
Massachusetts. There are fisheries for herring juveniles 
(under 4 years old) and adults. The U.S. fishermen concen- 
trate on juvenile herring which are packed as sardines. How- 
ever, interest in adult Atlantic herring is growing due to 
increased demand for its use as an edible food product; pre- 
viously it had been used primarily in fishmeal production. 
Pacific herring can be found throughout the coastal do- 
main, from northern Baja, California, on the North American 
coast, around the rim of the North Pacific Basin to Korea on 
the Asian coast. There are no indications that herring occur 
beyond the edge of the continental shelves in mid-Pacific 
waters. Most Pacific herring landed on the west coast are 
landed at Alaskan ports. 
STATUS OF FISHERY 
Current harvest 
The total 1975 U.S. landings of sea herring were 120 mil- 
lion pounds, valued at $5.6 million. The Atlantic herring 
landings were 80 million pounds, valued at $2.7 million. The 
Pacific herring catch of 40 million pounds was worth $2.9 mil- 
lion. Another product of the fishery that comes exclusively 
from Alaskan waters is kelp with herring eggs. In 1973 the 
west coast accounted for 306,000 pounds, valued at $153,000. 
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