Range extension of the Atlantic herring Clupea harengus (Clupeiformes: Clupeidae) southern part of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

The atlantic herring Clupea harengus linnaeus, 1758 is a pelagic clupeid, schooling, plankton-feeding species that inhabits the coastal areas from inshore to well offshore waters, at depths to 200 m (Whitehead, 1986). This target species has been crucial for food security and economic development in northern europe (Martinez-Barrio et al., 2016). Its fishery currently ranks among the five largest fisheries in the world, with nearly 2 million tons of fish landed annually in the last years (Fao, 2010-2019). This species is distributed on both sides of the north atlantic ocean. In the western atlantic, it ranges from labrador to cape Hatteras; in the eastern atlantic, from the northern part of the Bay of Biscay to Greenland, and to the east into the Barents sea (Whitehead, 1985, 1986). In the northeastern atlantic, a large number of intraspecific groups (races, stocks, and populations) are distinguished by their spawning grounds and seasons, otolith morphology and meristic characters (Berg et al., 2017).