Pacific herring should be managed under the developing fisheries program with conservative numbers of permits and restrictions. However, mortality of eggs is very high. Roe herring are harvested when aggregated for spawning, harvesting mature adults before spawning. Herring undergo substantial variations in natural abundance and may be more sensitive to fishing mortality and environmental change than species with more stable populations. Seine and lampara gear has little effect on habitat.
Harvesting occurs in deeper areas and has little effect on spawning habitat.
Protection of spawning areas from other effects is needed. There has been little evidence a stock will change its spawning area as a result of destruction or major alteration of the original area. Seine and lampara gear have very little incidental catch. Herring are important prey species of other marine animals - effect on other species of heavy fishing of herring is uncertain. Some recreational harvest of herring occurs in Oregon.