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Norway North Sea and Skagerrak herring

MSC status

Certified as sustainable on the 30th April 2009. 

Summary

Species: Herring (Clupea harengus)
Location: North Sea and Skagerrak; ICES divisions IV and IIIa within EEZ of Norway
Fishing methods: Pelagic trawl and Pelgaic purse-seine (scored seperately)
Vessels: According to Norges Sildesalgslag, 100 purse-seine, 27 pelagic trawlers and 84 coastal purse-seine vessels fished for North Sea herring in 2007
Number of fisheries: 1

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More about herring

This pelagic species is distributed widely throughout the North Sea. The herring’s unique habit is that it produces eggs which are attached to a gravelly matter on the seabed. This points to an evolutionary history in which herring spawned in rivers and at some later date re-adapted to the marine environment. The spawning grounds in the southern North Sea are the beds of rivers which existed in geological times and some groups of spring spawning herring still spawn in very shallow inshore waters and estuaries. Herring are mainly plankton feeders although they do eat some small fish.

More about the fishing methods

On average about 86% of the Norwegian North Sea autumn spawning herring catch originated from purse seiners, 7% from pelagic trawlers, and 7% from coastal purse seiners.

Fishery tonnage

104,563 tonnes

Commercial market

Herring caught from this fishery is mainly exported to the EU.

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