In coastal rivers where ranges overlap, fisheries for these species are typically mixed. Both species are anadromous and undertake upriver spawning migrations during spring. Fecundity and age at maturity for both species are similar. River herring have supported one of the oldest documented fisheries in North America. The principal fishing gears used to catch river herring are fish weirs, pound nets, and gill nets.
Recreational fishing is insignificant.
The U.S. nominal catch averaged 24,800 mt annually between 1963 and 1969. Maine, North Carolina and Virginia typically account for more than 90 percent of total landings from the Gulf of Maine through the Middle Atlantic. However, recovery has not been consistent. Several river herring populations along the east coast are still being exploited at higher than optimal levels and a great deal of historic spawning habitat remains unavailable. The dramatic decline in landings since the mid-1960s reflects substantial declines in resource abundance since that time.