Pacific Herring
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Pacific herring is an important species because it consumes zooplankton and other small forage, and in turn becomes a signficiant food source for birds, large fish, and marine mammals. Herring spawn annually in specific spawning areas, and attach their eggs to sumbmerged aquatic vegetation, like eelgrass and macroalgae. Some herring populations appear to be declining.
Notes[edit]
- Herring spawn on shallow subtidal eelgrass and macroalgae.
- Stick et al 2014 provides a summary of stock status based on 2012 surveys--Stick & Lindquist 2009 is the previous documentation.
- Gustafson et al 2006 provides a review by NOAA on the status of Cherry Point herring stocks under the Endangered Species Act.
- Vines et al 2000 describes increased mortality in herring eggs laid on creosote pillings. This phenomena was also observed y Carls et al 1999 who found effects on herring embryos from low concentrations of PAH.
- https://www.eopugetsound.org/magazine/herring-history - a profile of herring by Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Herring Spawning Locations[edit]
The following distinct stocks are identified by WDFW with links provided where we have wiki pages:
South/Central[edit]
- Squaxin Pass
- Wollochet Bay
- Purdy
- Quartermaster
- Elliot Bay
- Port Orchard/Madison
- South Hood Canal
- Quilcene Bay
- Port Gamble Ecosystem
- Kilisut Harbor
- Port Susan Bay Ecosystem
- Holmes Harbor
- Skagit Bay
North[edit]
- Fidalgo Bay
- Samish/Portage Bay
- Interior San Juan Islands
- Northwest San Juan Island
- Semiahmoo Bay
- Cherry Point
- Strait of Juan De Fuca
- Discovery Bay Ecosystem
- Dungeness/Sequim Bay
