Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Commercially exploitable quantities of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) occur in Alaska from its southern boundary at Dixon Entrance (55° N) to Norton Sound (64° N) (herring populations graphic). Herring spawn in nearshore areas and deposit their adhesive eggs on intertidal and subtidal vegetation. Spawning begins as early as late March in southern Southeast Alaska and continues through mid July in the northern Bering Sea. Gulf of Alaska herring are genetically distinct from Bering Sea herring (Grant and Utter 1984) and are smaller and non-migratory, generally moving less than 100 miles among spawning, feeding, and wintering grounds. Bering Sea herring are much larger and longer lived. Most travel to offshore central Bering Sea wintering grounds, with some herring migrating over 1,000 miles annually (Funk 1990). Herring are planktivores and provide a key link in pelagic and nearshore food chains between primary production and upper-level piscivores.

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing

Alaska Herring Fishing