ON TRENDS IN HERRING POPULATIONS AND TROPHODYNAMICS Co-convenors :

A 2-day REX Workshop on “Trends in herring populations and trophodynamics” was convened prior to the Ninth Annual Meeting in Hakodate, Japan (October 20-21, 2000). Papers were presented by 8 speakers from among 25-30 participants. At the workshop, we learned that there are long time series (80+ years) of data for herring populations related to catch, size-at-age, length and weight, spawning time, distribution and age composition. Shorter time series are available for biomass estimates, age-structured abundances, survival index, production and instantaneous growth rates. Process studies have examined food habits and energetics, vertical distribution, timing of migration, age-specific habitat requirements, larval survival and distribution, juvenile abundance and distribution, genetic structure of populations, densities of herring aggregations, gonad weight and fecundity and key competitors and predators.