The spawning stock is estimated close to 580,000 tonnes in 2000. The Atlanto-Scandian herring stock spawns off Norway in early spring and the immature fish stay in Norwegian waters but the older fish search for food further out in the northeast Atlantic. Until the late 1960s shoals would approach the Icelandic coast in summer and often be caught in large quantities by the Icelandic fleet. The spawning stock is now estimated at approx. 7 million tonnes.
Herring is caught by herring and capelin seine and by pelagic trawl.
The flesh of herring shows great variations in fat content according to season. Herring in good condition has firm flesh, rich in lipids. Catch of Icelandic herring has increased steadily since 1975, amounting to around 100,000 tonnes per year in recent years. The catch in the 1999 calendar year was 95,000 tonnes. The Icelandic catch of Atlanto Scandian herring was 204,000 tonnes in 1999.