Herring Spawn: nutritious fast food in danger?
A recent SeaDoc-funded project has revealed how important herring spawn can be for species like migratory waterfowl. Eric Anderson, Jim Lovvorn and others studying the role of herring spawn in the diet of surf and white-winged scoters found that these birds aggregate to feed on herring spawn whenever it is available.
Just like herring provide important energy for numerous marine fish, birds and mammals, so does their spawn and herring spawn is an important food source for fattening of scoters, birds that have declined by almost 50% over the last 25 years. The authors recognize that, like scoters, many of the predators observed at spawning sites are declining and that existing management does not appear adequate to preserve this important herring spawning habitat. To view the entire manuscript, click here