Atlantic Herring

The Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) is the most important pelagic fishery resource in the state of Maine, supplying the primary bait used in our valuable lobster fishery. It is also an important forage species for predators such as seabirds, marine mammals, and a variety of larger fish species. Landings in Maine were about 13 million pounds in 2019 valued at about $5.8 million ex-vessel (preliminary data).

• Subscribe to Email/Text Notifications of Herring Meetings and other Herring News
• Fishery management announcements, actions, closures, links to ASMFC, NEFMC and more
• Herring description, biology, and research
• Commercial landings data, recent and historical
• General Information about Atlantic Herring
  • ASMFC Atlantic herring page
  • NOAA Fisheries Atlantic herring page
  • NOAA FishWatch Atlantic herring status page
  • New England Fishery Management Council Atlantic herring plan
  • Atlantic herring description and picture from "Do You Know Your Catch?" (PDF file, 1 page)

For more information, contact Matt Cieri (biology and assessment) or Melissa Smith (management) at DMR.