The Sea HerringAmong the various categories of fish used by humans for food, one of the most important is the family Clupeidae comprising pelagic species that travel in groups or schools near the ocean surface.
In the United States sea herring are found in ocean waters from Alaska to the state of Washington on the West Coast, and from Labrador to Cape Hatteras on the East Coast.
Sea herring are plankton feeders, eating the various microscopic plants and animals (diatoms, larvae of various shellfish, etc) when very young and, as adults, eating small shrimp, small fish, and so on. When unmolested, the sea herring may live to an age of 20 years or more.
Most sea herring are caught with purse seines, but some are caught with pound traps or weirs (similar to pound traps but constructed with poles and brush). Gill nets are sometimes used to catch these fish.
The Sea Herring
