Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasi)

The Pacific Herring or Clupea pallasi is just one of the over 180 different species of Herring. Pacific Herring have a blueish green upper body with silver sides. They are relatively thin and have larger scales compared to their body size than a lot of fish.

Pacific Herring can grow to about 18" in maximum length and are an important food source for mammals, birds and lots of different fish, not to mention they are often used as baiting by many fisherman to catch much larger fish like Halibut.Often found in schools near the shores, the Pacific Herring is found from San Diego Bay to the Bering Sea and Japan. These fish will often spawn in the during the Spring months after the fish has reach sexual maturity at 3 or 4 years old. Spawning occurs in very shallow, highly vegetated areas. They will lay about 20,000 eggs that are sticky and will often stick to aquatic plants. After this the male of the species will come in and fertilize the eggs. They take about two weeks or so for the fry to hatch. This fish will live up to 16 years old in the right conditions.

If you are thinking of fishing for the Pacific Herring you should take into consideration the fact that they tend to spend their days close to the bottom and then come up to the surface during the evening to feed on zooplankton and small crustaceans. If you have any fishing tips or recipes for Pacific Herring please leave us a comment!