Alternative title: Clupeiformes

Clupeiform (order Clupeiformes), common herring [Credit: Kils]common herringKilsany member of the superorder Clupeomorpha, a group of bony fishes with one living order, the Clupeiformes, that contains some of the world’s most numerous and economically important fishes. The order includes more than 400 species, about 20 of which provide more than one-third of the world fish catch. Clupeiforms are by far the most heavily exploited of all fish groups.

General features

clupeiform: body plans of representative clupeiform fishes [Credit: Drawing by A. Murawski based on (Clupea harengus, Etrumeus sadina, Anchoa hepsetus, Alosa pseudoharengus) A.H. Leim and W.B. Scott, Fishes of the Atlantic Coast of Canada (1966); Fisheries Research Board of Canada; reproduced by permission of Information Canada; (Denticeps clupeoides, Chirocentrodon bleekeizianus) Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (1966); (Dorosoma cepedianum) D.S. Jordan, A Guide to the Study of Fishes]clupeiform: body plans of representative clupeiform fishesDrawing by A. Murawski based on (Clupea harengus, Etrumeus sadina, Anchoa hepsetus, Alosa pseudoharengus) A.H. Leim and W.B. Scott, Fishes of the Atlantic Coast of Canada (1966); Fisheries Research Board of Canada; reproduced by permission of Information Canada; (Denticeps clupeoides, Chirocentrodon bleekeizianus) Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (1966); (Dorosoma cepedianum) D.S. Jordan, A Guide to the Study of FishesMost clupeiforms are small marine fishes, under 30 cm (12 inches) in length, slender, streamlined, and rather nonspecialized in body form; a few species exceed 50 cm (about 20 inches) in length. The wolf herring, Chirocentrus dorab, is exceptional in size among the clupeiforms; this species reaches 3.6 metres (12 feet).





Natural history

It is virtually impossible to make a general statement about the biology of clupeiform fishes, except to say that it varies greatly from one species to another. The life history of the majority of species remains little known. Species of economic importance have been extensively studied in order to discover the biological peculiarities that have the determining roles in abundance and distribution; knowledge of such characteristics, of course, is necessary for efficient fishing.








Growth and mortality

The thin, threadlike, newly hatched larva has a shape characteristic of nearly all clupeiform fishes, but its behaviour varies greatly, depending on the habitat. In marine species such as the Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii), the larvae, shortly after hatching, tend to be concentrated near the surface and usually stay a long time in the area of the spawning ground. The larvae of the Atlantic herring at first tend to make short, upward movements from the spawning beds on the bottom and then sink back again. They start to make horizontal movements within two hours after hatching, and after six hours they start to form swarms. As their length increases, the vertical movements become more and more pronounced, particularly at night. Larvae have been found to be dispersed by currents at depths of from 1 to 600 metres (roughly 3 to 2,000 feet). Later, juveniles drift with the current on the surface, sometimes as far as 1,300 km (slightly more than 800 miles). The larvae of the Tanganyika sardine, less than 2 mm (0.08 inch) long, tend after hatching to come straight up by swimming movements of the tail, which is the only flexible part of the body; they sink, however, as soon as they stop movement. Such vertical movement is vital, because the larvae would not survive were they to sink below the level of oxygenated water (80–200 metres [roughly 260–650 feet]). As they grow, the larvae gradually move to the surface waters; when they are about 5 to 6 mm (0.2 to 0.24 inch) long, they move toward the shore. They form schools when about 10 mm (0.4 inch) in size. In the Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), a species that spawns in riverine environments, the newly hatched pelagic larvae first drift downriver between fresh and brackish water and shoreward from spawning areas and into estuarine nursery areas. Later, pelagic juveniles tend to move upstream as far as 50 km (31 miles), emigrating into the sea only after nearly one year.

In the early stages of life, all clupeiforms are subject to a high mortality rate, by predation of larger fishes, birds, comb jellies (ctenophores), and arrowworms (chaetognathans) and by being carried out of sheltered bays into localities in which the proper food is lacking. Mortality has been estimated at well over 99 percent, but, because of the extremely high fecundity, the distribution, and the early maturity, the recruitment of new breeding individuals remains high. The age of first sexual maturity is seldom more than three years, and the length at maturity rarely exceeds more than 15 cm (approximately 6 inches). Late-spawning species are usually larger and move over long distances. The age at first breeding is broadly correlated with rate of growth of the individual and with maximum length attained by the species, but there are other determining factors, some of which are unknown. The Siberian shad (Alosa saposhnikovi), the Baltic sprat (Sprattus sprattus balticus), and the Clupeonella engrauliformis all mature at two to three years of age but at lengths of 160 to 200 mm (roughly 6.25 to 8 inches), 120 to 130 mm (4.75 to 5 inches), and 85 to 100 mm (3.3 to 4 inches), respectively. Different populations of a species may vary in their growth rates; the races of the Atlantic herring vary from two to seven years in age at maturity and from 100 to 185 mm (4 to 7.25 inches) in length at maturity. In anadromous populations of the alewife (A. pseudoharengus), sexual maturity occurs at three to four years of age and at 150 to 170 mm (roughly 6 to 6.75 inches) in length, but those of landlocked populations breed at one to two years of age and at 95 to 100 mm (3.75 to 4 inches).


During their life cycle, some clupeiforms undertake very long migrations of several thousand kilometres; others live in a more or less circumscribed area. Such differences occur, however, even within a species; some races of the herring, for example, spend their entire lives in more or less limited areas, while others undertake some of the longest known migrations. Some forms of the Caspian shad (Alosa caspia) remain year-round in the southern region of the Caspian Sea, while others move long distances from winter habitats in southern parts to spawning grounds in the northern region of the Caspian.

In addition to spawning migrations, some species travel long distances for feeding. Japanese pilchards (Sardinella sagax melanosticta), for example, winter and spawn in the southern part of the Sea of Japan and on the Pacific side of the southern islands of Japan. In early summer they migrate to the northern end of the Tatar Strait and, in warm years, even to the eastern shore of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Similar or even longer migrations are made by the Californian pilchard or Spanish sardine (S. anchovia) and others. Most of these spawning and feeding migrations are from south to north and occur along the coast with the aid of some of the larger ocean currents. As the fish move fairly close to shore, they become the object of intensive fishing.

Some of the longest migrations extend over several years and start in the larval stages. The majority of the young Pacific herring spend part or the whole of their first year in shallow coastal waters. Larvae of the Murman race of Pacific herring and Norwegian race (or spring race) of North Atlantic herring usually hatch on offshore spawning grounds and start their long journey drifting with the currents. Those of the Murman race drift with the North Atlantic Current along the coast of northern Norway, north and east, and later, as juveniles, they spread actively into the Barents Sea and even into the White Sea. After their first spawning, the Murman herrings move north to the waters around Spitsbergen. The movements of the Norwegian spring herring are similar to those of the Murman race. The young herrings move into deeper water and, as they grow bigger, move farther and farther from the coast. While still immature, they are taken by fisheries in Norway, Denmark, and Scotland and are processed for oil and into meal. As a rule, migrations are oriented by the sea currents near the spawning grounds, but the fish go as well with or against the current direction; four forms of the Caspian shad are known to move against currents.

Food ecology

Feeding habits and the intensity of movement determine the relative abundance of various species of clupeiform fishes; these same factors determine economic importance. All of the abundant (and economically important) species feed on plankton—pelagic protozoans (diatoms and flagellates), copepods, metazoan larvae, euphausids, and amphipods. Some apparently feed year-round, as long as food is available, but most change their feeding habits seasonally. It is known that all forms of the herring and most members of the genera Alosa and Clupeonella do not feed during the spawning season; feeding is most intensive in the summer after spawning and less so in spring before spawning.

Predatory clupeids seem to be relatively scarce and usually have a much smaller commercial value than do the plankton feeders. The fish-eating race of Russian shad A. kessleri kessleri, for instance, is far less abundant and is caught less often than is the plankton-feeding race A. k. volgensis.

Some evidence suggests that even among plankton-feeding clupeiform fishes some species are as a rule abundant, whereas many others are more or less rare. This variation is apparently determined in large part by the size of the inhabited area and the size of spawning grounds, while the time and distance of migrations preceding the age of first reproduction are of secondary importance. The Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax)—which inhabits vast areas on both sides of the North Pacific, the South Pacific coasts of South America and Australia, and the Indian Ocean coasts of Australia and Africa—is a good example of a widespread, highly migratory, and economically important species. (The Atlantic herring [Clupea harengus] is a similar example.) On the other hand, most of the Pacific races of herring are local and nonmigratory, and their role in commercial catches is far below the value of the Atlantic races. The Japanese pilchard is known to feed in southern as well as in northern regions, and from the ecological point of view this whole area of the Pacific is fully utilized. The high abundance of anchovies is determined more by their early age of sexual maturity than by their movements; similarly, the relatively high abundance in a restricted habitat of the Tanganyika sardines appears to stem from precocious breeding.

The size of the inhabited area is reflected in the presence of more-progressive adaptive morphological characteristics. The clupeiforms with more-primitive features (such as Denticeps, Dorosoma, Clupeonella) are less abundant and are limited to small areas. Tropical genera have more different species; subtropical and temperate genera are more often monotypic (comprising a single species) but are far more abundant.

Schooling behaviour

With few exceptions, the important behavioral characteristics of clupeiforms are schooling and diurnal (daily) vertical movements. Schools are formed with larvae or young juveniles. A fish less than 10 mm (0.4 inch) long approaches the tail of another; both vibrate their bodies in a series of rapid motions, after which they swim together. Occasionally they are joined by others, and, as the fish grow a few more millimetres in length, the first small schools increase in size and begin to show a steady schooling pattern. Opinions differ on whether the school keeps together through visual contact—it sometimes tends to break up at night—or through sensations received by the lateral line system, a series of sensory endings extending along the side of the fish. When the schools do persist after nightfall, the lateral line system may also play a significant role in preventing one fish from straying.

Single schools of herring or anchoveta have been estimated to include many millions of individuals, and some authorities assert that as many as three million fish may occur in a single school. Even a big school such as this behaves as if it were one organism, with a roughly spherical shape that is flattened when the school comes into shallow waters or approaches the surface. Within a school of anchovies, the larger individuals tend to be below and the smaller ones above, so that light is allowed to filter through the whole school. There are limits to the size of individuals in any big school; for herring, the difference between the largest and smallest members of a school is about 50 percent. Fishes above or below the size limit break away and form schools among themselves, but even large uniform schools occasionally break apart, and small schools may fuse into larger units. The uniform size of individuals within a school (mostly the same age group) is of convenience to humans and the fishing and canning industries, as the fish sort themselves out naturally.

Within the school, each fish usually is spaced evenly with enough room between it and the others to swim but not to turn around. In all schools of some species, and in some schools of others, the fish swim with their heads side by side; in other species (such as herring) the head of each fish lies next to the middle of its neighbour’s body. The schools may spread out or become very tight, depending on the situation.

The primary advantage of the schooling habit seems to lie in the safety of the individual fish. Sardines react to attacks by predators by swimming closer together and milling around in tight, compact balls; herring form a close school with any approach of danger. The reaction of anchovies to predators is even more intense; a school that may be spread over several hundred metres contracts at the approach of a predator to a moving, writhing sphere of thousands of fishes only a few metres across. In such a situation the predator cannot concentrate on a single individual and may be frustrated in its attempt to catch any fish.

The adaptive value of schooling behaviour is poorly understood, but several logical explanations have been advanced. Schooling evidently provides a better chance for small fish to survive many environmental hazards than if they live solitarily. The instinctive tendency of the tiny larvae to associate, even though hatched from scattered eggs, ensures the formation of the school—with its protection from predation. Certain hydrodynamic interactions between members of the school are thought to facilitate feeding movements, and the aggregation of so many fish simplifies the finding of mates.

Although anchovy schools progress steadily through the water, they do not seem to have any leader or leader groups. Observers from the air have noted that

fish travelling in the vanguard often drop back and are replaced by others from the flanks and this is repeated in due course. When the school changes course, the fish from the flank find themselves on the leading edge and the previous leading edge becomes a flank. These manoeuvres are carried out with such precision that one has the impression of watching a single creature moving through the water.

The behaviour of the school is determined most probably by the order of feeding. If a school were to swim straight forward, the fish in front would capture most of the food organisms, and those in the rear would starve. Instead, the leading individuals turn back to either flank and, step by step, return to the rear of the school; in this way each fish gets its turn to feed.

The depth at which the schools swim depends on the movements of plankton, light intensity, temperature, and the maturation cycle of gonads (that is, whether the fish are in breeding condition). There are diurnal vertical movements of schools, related mainly to the corresponding movements of plankton. Most clupeiform schools are believed to stay near the bottom or in deep water during the day and to move toward the surface during the night. Herring often vertically migrate from depths of 300 to 400 metres (roughly 1,000 to 1,300 feet) during the day toward the surface water at night and thus move from deep cold waters of about 3 °C (37 °F) to somewhat warmer surface waters of 5 °C to 7 °C (41 °F to 45 °F). On moonless nights, clupeid schools can be attracted to beams from strong lights and congregate near the surface—a behavioral pattern often exploited by fishermen.

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