Herrings were carefully lifted out of the water with buckets

Our sensitive souls – herring

Catching herring alive is a very challenging task that requires a lot of tact. Their skin and scales are so sensitive that they could die at the slightest touch. The sensitivity of these schooling fish is also the reason that most aquariums avoid keeping herring. But not the OZEANEUM. With the help of our coastal fishermen and two gentle fishing methods, we have succeeded in giving a healthy school of herring a new home.

One of the methods we used was a nearly forgotten method of pound net fishing. This tactic causes schooling fish to lose their way in the labyrinthine chamber system of the nets used. After the trap is filled, the partition walls are shortened so that all the animals swim into duckweed. We use this moment to use a bucket to gently lift individual herring from the water before the fishermen suck the remaining herring into the hull of the trawler with a large hose.

The second gentle fishing method we use is fishing with special hooks. With a skillful flick of the wrist, fish are removed from the hook without being touched. This process requires two boats. One boat fishes the herring out on the sound, while the second boat carries these sensitive marine creatures on the fastest route to the aquarium because they do not survive long in the transport containers. Although these two fishing practices are the most gentle we have, it was a very long process to collect the school of herring for our Baltic Sea tank.