The consequences of marine gravel extraction on the spawning of herring, Clupea harengus Linné

The rapid increase of the mining for marine gravels in the North Sea offers a serious threat to the marine environment and especially for the herring populations of the southern North Sea and Channel. The paper reviews the literature dealing with the herring and its spawning ground, behaviour, abiological characteristics—type of substrate, depth, salinity, temperature and current velocity. A hypothesis is made that sound may play an important role in guiding the herring to its spawning site.