- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Subphylum: Vertebrata
- Superclass: Gnathostomata
- Class: Actinopterygii
- Order: Clupeiformes
- Family: Clupeidae
- Scientific name: Clupea harengus
- Norwegian: sild
Characteristics:
This is silver blank fish with a slender laterally compressed body. It has a bluish back, the jaw is slightly undershot. The single, ray less, dorsal fin starts on the middle of the back, in contrast to its North American variant. It may grow to a length of 50 cm.
Habitat:
It is pelagic, living in large shoals, usually no deeper than 200 meters.
Distribution:
It is found along the Atlantic coasts from the Bay of Biscay to Norway, Iceland and Greenland. There are three different populations, all feeding in the area between Iceland and the Jan Mayen Island, every year.