n o t e Restoration Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council b o o k Pacific

• Main Authors: Photo Mark Carls, Clupea Pallasi, Mark G. Carls, National Marine, Fisheries Service
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1998
• Subjects: Restoration; Baja; Pacific; Beaufort Sea
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.369.4712; http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/Universal/Documents/Publications/RestorationNotebook/RN_herring.pdf

Few species are of greater combined ecological and economic importance in Prince William Sound (and in many other coastal ecosystems) than is the Pacific herring, Clupea pallasi. Herring of all life stages are central to a marine food web that includes humpback whales, harbor seals, a large variety of marine and shore birds, bald eagles, jellyfish and other invertebrates, and an array of other fishes, such as pollock. In addition, herring—especially their eggs—provide a multi-million dollar resource that is available to commercial fishers in the spring, before the main salmon seasons open. Pacific herring belong to the family Clupeidae, which includes small fish that occur in enormous numbers in large schools. Pacific herring range from Baja California, Mexico north to the Beaufort Sea and south along the coast of Asia to Korea. 1 They inhabit continental shelf regions and spend much of their lives in nearshore areas. 1,2 Herring are abundant within the area contaminated by the Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS), including in Prince William Sound (PWS), the outer Kenai Peninsula coast, lower Cook Inlet, and in the waters around the Kodiak Archipelago. Herring are a bony, streamlined fish, about eight inches long, with very oily flesh. On their backs, they have distinctive blue-black shading, which brightens to silvery white on their sides. 1 Silvery layers of guanine crystals in their skin reflect light and serve as camouflage. Herring also have specialized retina in their eyes, allowing filter feeding in darkness, and very complex nerve receptors that link the lateral line with the swim bladder, allowing rapid vertical movements. 3