Genetic structure of marine and lake forms of Pacific herring Clupea pallasii

The Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) is one of the most important species in the commercial fisheries distributed in the North Pacific Ocean and the northeastern European seas. This teleost has marine and lake ecological forms a long its distribution in the Holarctic. However, the level of genetic differentiation between these two forms is not well known. In the present study, we used ddRAD-sequencing to genotype 54 specimens from twelve wild Pacific herring populations from the Kara Sea and the Russian part of the northwestern Pacific Ocean for unveiling the genetic structure of Pacific herring. We found that the Kara Sea population is significantly distinct from Pacific Ocean populations. It was demonstrated that lake populations of Pacific herring differ from one another as well as from marine specimens. Our results show that fresh and brackish water Pacific herring, which inhabit lakes, can be distinguished as a separate lake ecological form. Moreover, we demonstrate that each observed lake Pacific herring population has its own and unique genetic legacy.

Comparison of Target Strength of Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii Valenciennes, 1847) from Ex-Situ Measurements and a Theoretical Model

Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii Valenciennes, 1847) is a commercially important species that inhabits the coastal waters of the North Pacific from Korea to California, USA. This study analyzed the target strength (TS; dB re 1 m2) of Pacific herring individuals (n = 14, total length (LT) = 21.3–32.3 cm) at 38 and 120 kHz using ex-situ measurements and the Kirchhoff-ray mode (KRM) model. The least-squares regressions of the TS–LT relationship for the ex-situ measurements were TS38kHz = 20 log10(LT) − 70.10 (r = 0.17) and TS120kHz = 20 log10(LT) − 70.59 (r = 0.10). The least-squares regressions for the KRM model were TS38kHz = 20 log10(LT) − 68.39 (r = 0.40) and TS120kHz = 20 log10(LT) − 69.74 (r = 0.49). The b20 value of the KRM model was 1.71 dB higher than that of the ex-situ measurement at 38 kHz but similar at 120 kHz. These results provide basic data to evaluate the distribution and abundance of Pacific herring using fisheries’ acoustic technology.

Helminth fauna of spawning pacific herring Clupea pallasii from the Taui population (Tauiskaya Guba Bay, Okhotsk Sea)

Parasites of spawning pacific herring (Clupea pallasii Valenciennes in Cuvier et Valenciennes, 1947) from the Taui population are explored on the samples caught on two spawning grounds located in the Ola lagoon and Amakhton Bay (Tauiskaya Guba Bay, Okhotsk Sea), and 17 species of helminthes are found, including 6 trematodes, 5 cestodes, 4 nematodes, and 2 acanthocephalans. Some differences in species composition of helminthes and their infestation were found between these estuarine and marine spawning grounds. In the Ola lagoon, 16 species of helminthes were identified, including 5 species of cestodes, whereas only 13 species of helminthes, including 3 species of cestodes, were found in the Amakhton Bay. The Taui population of herring is distinguished from the Okhotsk and Gizhiga-Kamchatka populations by presence of nematodes Hysterothylacium aduncum, l, and Ascorophis pacificus with rather high rates of invasion (occurence = 52.9 %; mean abundance = 4.16) and trematode Bucephaloides spp. On the other hand, the herring from the Taui population has common dangerous parasites with other populations in the Okhotsk Sea, as trematode Brachyphallus crenatus and nematode Anisakis spp. (larvae), with high degree of infestation.

Annual Recurrences of Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Epizootics in Age 0 Pacific Herring Clupea pallasii Valenciennes, 1847

Throughout a 20 year biosurveillance period, viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus was isolated in low titers from only 6/7355 opportunistically sampled adult Pacific herring, reflecting the typical endemic phase of the disease when the virus persists covertly. However, more focused surveillance efforts identified the presence of disease hot spots occurring among juvenile life history stages from certain nearshore habitats. These outbreaks sometimes recurred annually in the same temporal and spatial patterns and were characterized by infection prevalence as high as 96%. Longitudinal sampling indicated that some epizootics were relatively transient, represented by positive samples on a single sampling date, and others were more protracted, with positive samples occurring throughout the first 10 weeks of the juvenile life history phase. These results indicate that viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) epizootics in free-ranging Pacific herring C. pallasii are more common than previously appreciated; however, they are easily overlooked if biosurveillance efforts are not designed around times and locations with high disease potential.

Features of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) fishery in January-April 2021 in the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk

Based on the materials collected in 2021, the catch, some features of herring biology and behavior inhabiting the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk are considered. The problems encountered in the herring fishery are shown, and measures to optimize the fishery are proposed.