Herring are various species of forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Atlantic herring is a herring in the family Clupeidae. It is one of the most abundant fish species in the world. Atlantic herrings can be found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, congregating in large schools. They can grow up to 45 centimetres (18 in) in length and weigh up to 1.1 kilograms (2.4 lb). They feed on copepods, krill and small fish, while their natural predators are seals, whales, cod and other larger fish.
The denticle herring is a small, up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long, species of ray-finned fish found only in the rivers of Benin, Nigeria, and western Cameroon. It is related to the herrings, but notable for its large anal fin and its array of denticle-like scales under the head, which give it almost a furry appearance.
Pristigasteridae is a family of ray-finned fish related to the herrings, including the genera Ilisha, Pellona, and Pristigaster. One common name for the taxon is longfin herring. The taxonomic classification of this family is in doubt; it was traditionally divided into two subfamilies, Pelloninae and Pristigasterinae, but molecular data indicates that these are not monophyletic.
The European herring gull is a large gull, up to 66 cm (26 in) long. It breeds throughout the northern and western coasts of Europe. Some European herring gulls, especially those resident in colder areas, migrate further south in winter, but many are permanent residents, such as in Ireland, Britain, Iceland, or on the North Sea shores. They have a varied diet, including fish, crustaceans, as well as some plants, and are also scavengers, consuming carrion and food left by or stolen from humans.
The lesser black-backed gull is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa. However, it has increased dramatically in North America, especially along the east coast. Formerly just a winter visitor to North America, it has increased and occurs in large numbers some winters and birds are now recorded year-round. However, there is serious concern about decline in many parts of its range. The species is on the UK Amber List because the UK is home to 40 per cent of the European population and more than half of these are found at fewer than ten breeding sites.
The Iceland gull is a medium-sized gull that breeds in the Arctic regions of Canada and Greenland, but not in Iceland, where it is only seen during winter. The genus name is from Latin larus, which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific name glaucoides denotes its resemblance to Larus glaucus, a synonym of Larus hyperboreus, the glaucous gull; -oides is Ancient Greek and means "resembling".
Mycteroperca bonaci, the black grouper, black rockfish or marbled rockfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. Other fish are sometimes called the black grouper including the similar gag grouper, the misty grouper, and the warsaw grouper. This species is found in the western Atlantic Ocean from the northeastern United States to Brazil.
Sprat is the common name applied to a group of forage fish belonging to the genus Sprattus in the family Clupeidae. The term also is applied to a number of other small sprat-like forage fish. Like most forage fishes, sprats are highly active, small, oily fish. They travel in large schools with other fish and swim continuously throughout the day.
The silver-stripe round herring, slender sprat, or Kibinago minnow is a small, herring-like forage fish. They are small fish used as fishing bait, especially in skipjack tuna-fishing. It is valued as food in Japan, where it is known as kibinago. These can be eaten raw, as sashimi, or cooked, as whitebait.
The American herring gull or Smithsonian gull is a large gull that breeds in North America, where it is treated by the American Ornithological Society as a subspecies of herring gull.
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water.
Spratelloides delicatulus, the blue sprat, also known as the delicate round herring, blueback sprat, or piha, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Spratelloididae, the small round herrings. This species has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution and has been recorded off Tel-Aviv on the Mediterranean coast of Israel.
The Araucanian herring is a species of fish in the family Clupeidae. It is an epipelagic fish, silvery below and dark blue above, which schools in coastal waters off the west coast of South America. It ranges along the Chilean coast from Valparaiso south to Talcahuano. It schools at depths from 0 to 70 meters in nearshore areas.
The dorab wolf-herring is a fish species from the genus Chirocentrus of the family Chirocentridae. It is a coastal fish, silvery below and bright blue above. It is found in both marine and brackish or estuarine waters, feeding on smaller fish and possibly crustaceans. Chirocentrus is from the Greek cheir meaning hand and kentron meaning sting. Dorab is from the Arabic language word darrab (ضرّاب) and the word is probably a corrupted form of durubb (دُرُبّ) the name for goldfish in Arabic. It has another Arabic name, lisan (لسان) which means tongue.
The elongate ilisha, also known as the Chinese herring or slender shad, is a species of longfin herring native to the coastal waters and estuaries of North Indian Ocean and Northwest Pacific. It is a relatively large species, up to 45–60 centimetres (18–24 in) in total length. It is an important fishery species.
Amblygaster leiogaster, the smoothbelly sardinella, also known as blue sardine, blue sprat, bluebait, is a reef-associated marine species of sardinella in the herring family Clupeidae. It is one of the three species of genus Amblygaster. It is found in the marine waters along Indo-West Pacific regions south towards western Australia. The fish has 13 to 21 dorsal soft rays and 12 to 23 anal soft rays. It grows up to a maximum length of 23 cm. The flank is gold in fresh fish but becomes black while preservation. Belly is more rounded and scutes are not prominent. It is rather closely resemble Amblygaster clupeoides, but the latter has very few lower gill rakers than smoothbelly sardinella. The fish feeds on minute organisms like zooplankton.
Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus, also known as the bluestripe herring, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Dorosomatidae. It is widespread in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Other names for the species include goldspot sardine and fourspot herring. It can grow to a maximum standard length 25 cm (9.8 in), although its typical length is less than half of that.
The dwarf round herring is a marine species of fish in the family Spratelloididae. It is found in the western-central Atlantic Ocean from Bermuda and the Gulf of Mexico south to Tobago. The species is both edible and used as live bait.
