Silver Streak!

I stand on the side of our boat, looking down into the water. A flash of silver catches my eye, and then is gone before I can focus on it. Another flash, and another. These are herring, fish related to sardines, but very much out of the can. The water is pulsing with these silver-sided fish! Sometimes while kayaking, we drift through schools of them swimming together. They turn this way and that in seemingly choreographed movement. Any small motion or shadow of my paddle will cause them to swiftly turn together in a spectacular flash of liquid silver. In the evenings, the herring seem to enjoy jumping clear out of the water. Perhaps it’s to catch a bug, or to escape the jaws of a hungry seal, or maybe just for the joy of leaping. We see these fish in all sizes, from about 3 inches, up to about 10 inches. They are plentiful, and that’s a good thing.

Herrings are near the bottom of the food chain here.  Other fish eat them, seals, sea lions, dolphins, and otters eat them, eagles and ravens snatch them from the water, even humans catch and prepare them for eating:  pickled, packed in sour cream, canned…  And of course, they are a popular bait used by fishermen.

The creatures who are the most organized in hunting herring are the whales. In a spectacular display of team work the whales execute a feat called bubble net feeding. It works like this: The whales swim in a circle around a large school of herring, narrowing the circle, and forcing the fish close together. Then the whales swim straight up through the mass of herring with their mouths wide open, catching bucketloads of fish in their mouths on the way up. Bubble net feeding is really something to behold, unless you’re a herring.

Here’s a question to ponder:  Does the entire ocean ecosystem depend upon herring?  Could any other species of fish serve so many purposes?   Herrings are so plentiful that we may not give them the honor they are due.  I propose a National Herring Day, or perhaps even International.  Just think of the ways we could celebrate!  Who’s with me?