Life history and exploitation of the Norwegian spring spawning herring
Year: 1990
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: This paper is a review of the history and exploitation of the\nNorwegian spring spawning herring stock. In a virgin state the biomass\nof this stock may have ranged from 15 to 20 million tonnes and it was\nthe most important fish resource in the Northeast Atlantic. The adult\nstock utilized the rich plankton production along the Polar Front in\nthe Norwegian Sea but spawned during winter on the Norwegian west\ncoast. These spawners formed the basis for the largest fishery in\nEurope for centuries. The young and adolescent herring are distributed\nin Norwegian coastal waters and in the Barents Sea where they\nconstitute the most important prey species or many stocks of\npredators, both of fish , birds and mammals.\nDue to technical advances the exploitation of the herring increased\ntremendously in the 1960's and the adult stock was fished out\ncompletely in 1970. Some small components of juvenile herring did\nhowever survive, and spawned on the traditional spawning grounds in\n1973. After spawning the herring did not migrate to the traditional\nfeeding area in the Norwegian Sea, but remained i n Norwegian coastal\nwaters throughout the year. In later years the stock has recovered\nslowly, but the old traditional migration pattern of herring between\nthe Polar Front area and the Norwegian coast has not yet been\nretained. It is concluded that the break down of the life cycles of\nthe herring is the prime reason for the recent crisis which has\ndeveloped in the Barents Sea stocks and fisheries.
Author: Johannes Hamre
Language: English
Subfield: Aquatic Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2482457675