Canada's Oceans Now: Pacific Ecosystems, 2021 - Ecosystem pressures on Pacific herring life history

An infographic showing the ecosystem pressures on Pacific herring life cycle. A simplified graphic of the herring lifecycle shows fish at different stages with icons of ecosystem pressures at each stage.

At left is a legend describing each ecosystem pressure.

Eggs – fisheries, ocean conditions, predation, habitat, harvest

Larvae - ocean conditions, food, predation, competition, habitat

Juveniles - ocean conditions, food, predation, competition, habitat

Adults - ocean conditions, food, predation, competition, fisheries

Spawners - ocean conditions, fisheries, predation, habitat

Ecosystem pressures on Pacific herring life history

• Pacific herring live in a variety of habitats and many different pressures impact them at each stage of their life history.

Eggs, hatching, larvae, growth and development, juveniles, offshore migration, adults, inshore migration, spawners, spawning

Ecosystem Pressures

Changes in:

• Ocean conditions - Temperature, salinity, oxygen, upwelling, river flow, sea level
• Food - Abundance, timing, and quality
• Predation – Herring are consumed by fish, seabirds, marine mammals, and more
• Competition – Herring can compete for food with other small fish
• Habitat – Kelp and eelgrass habitats are important to the herring life cycle
• Fisheries - Adult food and bait fishery, pre-spawn sac roe fishery
• Harvest – Food/social/ceremonial harvest of spawn on kelp and spawn on boughs