Fish
Pacific Herring
B tier
Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) schools the North Pacific from Korea and Japan to Alaska and British Columbia. Flesh is oily and similar in spirit to Atlantic cousins but tied to different foodways: Japanese and Korean dried and grilled products, Northwest Coast Indigenous use of fish and especially roe on kelp, and Russian Far East preserves. Fresh Pacific herring is excellent grilled or fried; the roe (kazunoko, and herring spawn on kelp) can be more valuable than the meat in some seasons. Grill whole small fish, cure for salads, or seek specialty roe products in season. Alaskan and British Columbian fisheries have long mixed food, bait, and roe markets—know which product you are buying. Handle as carefully as any oily clupeid: ice hard, cook or cure soon, and do not expect long fresh shelf life.
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
History
Indigenous nations of the Pacific Northwest relied on Pacific herring and spawn as seasonal staples.
Japanese coastal cuisine developed dried, grilled, and roe uses for Pacific herring.
Commercial Pacific herring fisheries expanded in British Columbia and Alaska for food and reduction.
High value of herring roe reshaped North Pacific harvest priorities in some years.