HERRING (Clupea harengus), a fish of the malacopterous family Crupeida (q.v.); the most important to mankind of all species of fish. The genus Clupea is distinguished from others of the same family chiefly by the fins and by the teeth, which are small and numerous, and are situated not only on the jaws, but in other parts of the mouth, as the coiner (middle line of the palate) and the tongue. The herring, of which we think it unnecessary to give any description, is found in the seas of the northern parts of the world, but more abundantly in those of temperate than of arctic regions. The opinion once entertained that its proper home is within the Arctic circle, and that its vast shoal% issue thence at certain seasons, migrating southward, and spreading themselves alo»g the British and other coasts, is now discarded as utterly without foundation; and the herring is believed so he an inhabitant of deep water, from which, at certain seasons, it approaches the shores, probably never migrating to any great distance. The young are abundant in the shallow water near the shores at seasons when the parent fish are absent. The herring seems always to deposit its spawn in comparatively shallow water, and is said to he very indifferent whether the spawning-ground be sandy, rocky, or covered with submarine vegetation. Certain localities, however, have the reputation of being favorite spawning-grounds. When the great annual shoals of herrings appear on the coasts, they generally swim near the surface of the water, and are followed by multi tudes of larger fishes, as hakes, dog-fishes, etc., which prey on them; great numbers also fall a ready prey to gulls and other sea-birds, which congregate for the occasion. The food of the herring is believed to consist chiefly of minute crustaceans and but it feeds also on small fishes, not scrupling to devour even the young of its own species. Herrings are sometimes, though rarely, caught on the lines set for other fishes, and by persons angling front the shore; they are readily caught by means of a lure made of a white feather, which swims at the depth of sonic yards, the point of the fishing-rod being kept a yard or two below the surface of the water, the angler being in a boat which is in motion. The immense multitudes of herrings annually taken by the net cause no apparent diminution of their abundance, the destruction being compensated for by prodigious fecundity; more than 08,000 eggs have been counted in the roe of a single female. But herrings, without any apparent cause, often desert parts of the coast where
for a time they have been remarkably abundant, not returning again in similar plenty till after the lapse of a number of years. Some instances of this kind, in the western parts of Scotland, were popularly ascribed to steamboats, when these first began to ply. The magnitude of the shoals of herrings is often enormous, and they have sometimes even been driven ashore in far greater quantities than the inhabitants of the neigh borhood could find means of An instance of this kind occurred, before the days of railways, at Crail in Fife. The water, as the tide came in, was so full of herrings, that half a dozen could be taken out at one dip of a basket. Finally. they were stranded and left by the retiring tide in such numbers, that when all the salt within reach was exhausted, the magistrates had to offer a shilling a cart for their removal as a nuisance.
There is evidence that the herring-fishery has been prosecuted in England since the beginning of the 8th c., and in Normandy since the 11th. Nor is it probable that in either case the date is that of its commencement. The prosperity of Holland is in a great measure owing to the herring-fishery, and the Dutch engaged in it with great eagerness, and carried it on even on the British coasts, at a time when it was compara tively neglected both by English and Scotch.
Another species of herring (C. Wadi) is occasionally found on the British coasts. It is rather smaller than the common herring, and the body is much deeper hi proportion to its length. It is of particularly delicate flavor. The seas of other parts of the world 'produce a number of other species of the genus du pea, as now restricted by ichthyologists. The other British clvpeichs are note referred to other genera.
The fishes popularly called freshwater herrings are salmonidce of the genus emvonus (q.v.), to which also belong the herring salmons of the North American lakes and rivers. All of them arc esteemed for the table.