| Main Ref. | Muus, B.J. and P. Dahlström, 1974 |
| Mode | dioecism |
| Fertilization | external |
| Mating type | |
| Spawning frequency | no obvious seasonal peak |
| Spawning aggregation | Ref. |
| Batch spawner | Ref. |
| Reproductive guild |
nonguarders open water/substratum egg scatterers |
| Parental Care | none |
| Description of life cycle and mating behavior | The herring matures between 2-9 years (Refs. 35388, 82767, 89571). Herring populations are known to use traditional spawning grounds, many of which are along shallow coastal areas (15-40 m depth) or on offshore banks down to 200 m (Refs. 6684, 89572). Spawning usually occurs on gravel or rock bottoms, with the exception of Baltic populations which show a preference for shallow (less than 10 m depth) seaweed beds (Refs. 89520, 89572). Each population spawns only once a year over a relatively short time period (Ref. 89573). At least one population is spawning in any one month of the year, each having a different spawning time and place. The herring is a demersal spawner that releases a ribbon of sticky eggs that sink to the sea bed (Ref. 89574) and adhere to the substrate. The eggs released by a spawning population may be several layers thick which may deprive eggs in the bottom layers of oxygen, causing egg mortality (Ref. 89563). Although higher fecundities were reported earlier (e.g. Ref. 74523), fecundity now ranges from 10,000-60,000 eggs (Ref. 89571). Hatching may take up to 3 weeks, depending on temperature (Ref. 89571). Larvae are pelagic and drift with the current. Note: it is impossible to summarize briefly the wide range of spawning strategies of Atlantic herring; the best reviews are those of Svetovidov (Refs. 4608, 4609) for the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and Hildebrand (Ref. 4607) for the Western Atlantic Ocean. |
| Search for more references on reproduction | Scirus |