Herring
Clupea harengus
What to check for
Location
Location
Location refers to two things:
- Where the fish population or stock lives, e.g., North Sea, or South Pacific.
- Who is managing the fishery. If it says “All areas”, this means that our scoring for management covers the same area as the fish stock.
Irish Sea (South), Celtic Sea and southwest of Ireland: Cornwall
Technical location
Technical location
A global system is used to split the ocean into different zones, areas, and subdivisions. Each zone is indicated by a number and/or letter. By law, this must be shown on all unprocessed seafood sold in the EU and UK, alongside the fishing method used to catch it. Look for these details on the packet to match your seafood to our ratings.
7g: Celtic Sea (North), 7h: Celtic Sea (South), 7aS: Irish Sea (South), 7j: Southwest of Ireland (East), 7k: Southwest of Ireland (West)
Caught by
Caught by
Hook & line (handline)
Handlining varies depending on where it is happening and what species is being targeted. In general, it uses a baited line from a stationary boat. The fisher pulls the line in by hand, rather than using rods or poles. It’s also known as one-by-one fishing because the fish are landed onto the boat one at a time.
Hook & line (handline)
Rating summary
For more information about this rating please visit: http://www.cornwallgoodseafoodguide.org.uk/fish-guide/herring.php
How we worked out this Rating
Stock status
The size and health of a fish population, or 'stock', that is being targeted by fishermen is a crucial indicator of whether a fishery is sustainable. If the stock is too small to withstand fishing, it is at risk of crashing. We look at how big the stock is, and how much pressure there is from fishing, to assess this. The target level that many fisheries aim for is 'Maximum Sustainable Yield' - the most fish that can be caught year after year whilst keeping the population at a healthy size.
Herring in the Irish Sea (South), Celtic Sea and southwest of Ireland is below safe biological levels and there are no measures or plans in place to help it recover. Therefore, it receives a critical fail for stock status and is a default red rating.
Stock assessments are carried out annually by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The most recent stock assessment was published in 2025 using data up to 2024. The next assessment is expected in 2026.
The stock assessment defines reference points for fishing pressure (F) and biomass (B). For fishing pressure, there is a target to keep F at or below Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). For biomass, there is no target. However, there is a trigger point (MSY BTrigger). Below this level, F should be reduced to allow the stock to increase. Because BMSY is not defined, the Good Fish Guide applies its own definition of 1.4 x MSY BTrigger.
The spawning-stock biomass (SSB) of herring within this area significantly decreased from around 200,000 tonnes in the late 1950s to around 7,500t in the 1970s. It has fluctuated since then, but reached an all-time low of 7,207t in 2018. There has been a small increase since then to 20,065t in 2024 and the short term forecast predicts a further increase in 2025 to 22,292t. However, this remains below the level at which the stock's ability to reproduce may be impaired (Blim: 34,000 tonnes). The stock is therefore in a very overfished state, outside safe biological limits, and suffering reduced reproductive capacity. Due to this this ratings receives a critical fail.
Fishing mortality (F) had been above levels associated with Maximum Sustainable Yield (FMSY, 0.26) for most of the history of the fishery. In 2013 it reached a low of 0.20, then dramatically increased to 1.11 in 2017. It declined again in 2020 to an all-time low of 0.017. In 2024, F was 0.058 remaining low and below FMSY. This indicates that the stock is not subject to overfishing.
ICES advises that when the MSY approach and precautionary considerations are applied, there should be zero catch in 2026. Zero catch has been recommended since 2020 because there are no catch scenarios that will allow the stock to recover to above Blim by 2027.
Recruitment of young fish into the stock has been declining since 2011 (956,829 t), and is thought to have reached an all-time low in 2021 (56,685 t). Recruitment have been increasing since then with 286,770 in 2024. However, recruitment in 2025 is estimated to decline to 124,841t. These estimates are uncertain, due to a lack of data.
Juvenile Celtic Sea herring mix with the Irish Sea stock, but the level of mixing is unknown. This could affect management and advice.
For this autumn-spawning stock, the SSB is determined at spawning time and influenced by fisheries between 1st April and spawning (October). Herring stocks are surveyed using acoustic surveys, but as they have been observed close to the sea bed in recent years this may not be the most reliable estimate, and it makes the stock assessment more uncertain. SSB is consistently overestimated and fishing mortality is consistently underestimated, so the assessment is considered to be highly uncertain. However, the uncertainty of the assessment does not impact the outcome of the advice.
Area 7h (Celtic Sea South) is part of the management area, but it is unclear if it is part of the stock.
Management
Good management is vital to be sure that fishing doesn't cause fish populations to decline. We look at whether regulations follow the best available scientific advice, how well compliance is monitored and enforced, and whether this is effective in maintaining healthy fish stocks.
For more information about this rating please visit: http://www.cornwallgoodseafoodguide.org.uk/fish-guide/herring.php
Capture method
Environmental impacts of fishing vary hugely, depending on the method used and where it's happening. We look at whether the fishing gear being used could have an effect on seabed habitats, and if so, how severe might this be. We also review whether it catches any other species by accident (bycatch), and what effect this might have on those species - especially if they're Endangered, Threatened, or Protected.
For more information about this rating please visit: http://www.cornwallgoodseafoodguide.org.uk/fish-guide/herring.php
References
For more information about this rating please visit: http://www.cornwallgoodseafoodguide.org.uk/fish-guide/herring.php
Sustainable swaps
Learn more about how we calculate our sustainability ratings.
How our ratings work
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