Sea herring fish

The herrings are the original species of the North Atlantic, the pelagic counterpart to the cod. The great majority herring species are warm-water fishes: of approximately 190 species of herring worldwide.

Most herring species live exclusively in salt water but there are a number of freshwater species, most of them in the tropics and an equal number of anadromous species.

Herrings can be distinguished from other species by several characteristics - they are no rayed canals on the grill cover bones; lateral line pores are absent; there are keel scales the medial line of the belly.

Blueback herring 

In the United States sea herring are found in ocean waters from Alaska to the state of Washington on the West Coast, and from Labrador to Cape Hatteras on the East Coast.

Sea herring are plankton feeders, eating the various microscopic plants and animals (diatoms, larvae of various shellfish, etc) when very young and, as adults, eating small shrimp, small fish, and so on. When unmolested, the sea herring may live to an age of 20 years or more.

Herring populations may mix during overwintering and feeding seasons, but then separate during the spawning period.

Most sea herring are caught with purse seines, but some are caught with pound traps or weirs (similar to pound traps but constructed with poles and brush). Gill nets are sometimes used to catch these fish.
Sea herring fish

Notes
*anadromous are the fishes that’s spawn in freshwater but spend much of their life in the ocean.