Round Herring Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Slender, cylindrical body that is noticeably rounder in cross-section than most herrings, up to about 20-25 cm
• Bright silvery sides with a blue-green back and no dark spots
• Small, terminal mouth and a pointed snout
• Single dorsal fin set near the middle of the body
• Deeply forked tail fin
• Smooth, rounded belly lacking the sharp keel of scutes found in true herrings and shads

Common look-alikes

• Herrings and sardines: these carry a sharp, saw-edged keel of scutes along the belly, while round herring has a smooth, rounded ventral profile without a keel.
• Anchovies: anchovies have a much larger mouth with the jaw extending past the eye, unlike the small terminal mouth of round herring.
• Sprat: sprat is more laterally compressed with a visible belly keel, whereas round herring's body stays rounded in cross-section along its whole length.

Where you'll see one

Round herring inhabit warm temperate to subtropical continental shelf waters worldwide, typically schooling well offshore over deeper water than many coastal sardines and true herrings.