Thread: LY (Scaled Sardine) Annual Die-off

I haven't noticed the annual summer die-off of scaled sardines this year. Did I miss it? Or have the conditions just not present themselves yet?

Knock on wood ;-)

I believe the circumstances this year haven't conspired to set that off.
Some years the 'die-off' may occur late in the summer (September).
I have noticed most of the LYs around the pier this year are the 'medium' sized ones.
And the schools of 'larger' ones haven't been as dense as in some years past (when we did have 'die-offs')...

Most folks don't realize all these herring species have a lifespan of only 2 or 3 years.
Also, there are actually TWO similar looking species that may be involved:
Scaled herring Harengula jaguana (https://www.fishbase.se/summary/1480#)
and False herring Harengula clupeola (https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Harengula-clupeola)