Herring spawn returns to Tiburon Peninsula

Recreational fishers cast lines from Elephant Rock Pier Jan. 17 during the herring spawn. Anglers are allowed one 10-gallon bucket of herring per day. (Gretchen Lang / For The Ark)

After a year’s hiatus, Pacific herring have swarmed back into Tiburon Peninsula coves, providing the traditional winter feast for birds and beasts and drawing recreational fishers from around the Bay Area.

The six-inch silvery fish spend most of their lives at sea, then return to the bay to spawn in late fall and winter. Females lay their eggs on substrate like rocks, piers and eelgrass, while males release clouds of milt to fertilize them.

The fish seemed to avoid the Tiburon Peninsula last year but returned in droves this winter.

“It’s encouraging,” said Ken Oda, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife who monitors herring spawns from his office in Monterey. “We’ve heard good reports of spawning in Richardson Bay, Racoon Strait and one down in San Leandro.”

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