Clupea pallasii
Pacific Herring
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Clupeiformes (Herrings, Anchovies and Sardines)
Clupeidae (Herrings)
Clupea
Clupea pallasii (Pacific Herring)
Description
This species account was compiled from
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. Without prominent keel; no median notch in upper jaw. Gill cover without radiating bony striae. No distinctive dark spots on body or fins. Overlaps C. harengus in White Sea, but distinguished by fewer vertebrae (usually 52 to 55; cf. usually 55 to 57) and fewer post-pelvic scutes (10 to 14; cf. 12 to 16). Dark blue to olivaceous above, shading to silver below (Ref. 27547). Precaudal vertebrae: 29-31-32; caudal vertebrae: 19-22-22 (Ref. 265). Striking features: none.
Distribution
Western North Pacific: Dekastri herring, Russia.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater, brackish, marine. pelagic-neritic. depth range 0-475 m. Found in: lakes, estuaries.
Biology
Neritic species (Ref. 11230). A coastal and schooling species (Ref. 188). Landlocked populations exist. Mature adults migrate inshore, entering estuaries to breed. During the summer of their first year, young form schools in shallow bays, inlets and channels that appear at the surface; these schools disappear in the fall and remain in deep water for the next 2-3 years (Ref. 6885, 27547). Young feed mainly on crustaceans, but also take decapod and mollusk larvae; adults prey mainly on large crustaceans and small fishes (Ref. 6885, 27547). Because it does not undertake extensive coastal migrations, the mixing of local populations is relatively rare (Ref. 27547). In the eastern Pacific, the fish is mainly caught for roe markets in Asia (Ref. 9988). There is a fishery for eggs laid on kelp, which when salted, is called kazunoko-kombu, and is considered a delicacy in Japan (Ref. 27547). Used in Chinese medicine (Ref. 12166). Utilized fresh, dried or salted, smoked, canned, and frozen; eaten pan-fried, broiled, and baked (Ref. 9988). Possibly to 475 m depth (Ref. 6793).
Max length: 46.0 cm TL; common length: 25.0 cm SL; max age: 19 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Oviparous (Ref. 265). A female turns to her side, deposits her eggs on the bottom and resumes an upright posture. This procedure is repeated until all eggs have been laid, which may take several days (Ref. 11548). As eggs are being deposited, males are releasing milt, fertilizing the eggs (Ref. 27547). There is no observable pairing of the sexes; the whole spawning area is white with milt (Ref. 11558).
IUCN Red List Status: N.E. (N.E.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish.
References
Whitehead, P.J.P. (1985) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 7. Clupeoid fishes of the world (suborder Clupeoidei). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the herrings, sardines, pilchards, sprats, shads, anchovies and wolf-herrings. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(7/1):1-303. Rome: FAO.
Lamb, A. and P. Edgell (1986) Coastal fishes of the Pacific northwest. Madeira Park, (BC, Canada): Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd., 224 p.
Morrow, J.E. (1980) The freshwater fishes of Alaska. University of. B.C. Animal Resources Ecology Library. 248p.
Brodeur, R.D. and P.A. Livingston (1988) Food habits and diet overlap of various eastern Bering Sea fishes. NOAA Tech. Memo NMFS F/NWC 127:76 p.
Coad, B.W. and J.D. Reist (2004) Annotated list of the arctic marine fishes of Canada. Can. MS Rep. Fish Aquat. Sci. 2674:iv:+112 p.
Hay, D.E., R. Toresen, R. Stephenson, M. Thompson, R. Claytor, F. Funk, E. Ivshina, J. Jakobsson, T. Kobayashi, I. McQuinn, G. Melvin, J. Molloy, N. Naumenko, K.T. Oda, R. Parmanne, M. Power, V. Radchenko, J. Schweigert, J. Simmonds and … (2001) Taking stock: an inventory and review of world herring stocks in 2000. pp. 381-454. In F. Funk, J. Blackburn, D. Hay, A.J. Paul, R. Stephenson, R. Toresen, and D. Witherell (editors) Herring: Expectations for a New Millennium. Alaska Sea Grant College Program AK-SG-01-04.
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