Spawning season has sprung for Pacific herring ( Clupea pallasii ) in the waters off British Columbia, Canada. From mid-February through early May each year, thousands of the small, silvery fish congregate in shallow coastal areas around Vancouver Island and create a spectacle sometimes visible to satellites.
加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省海域的太平洋鲱鱼 (Clupea pallasii) 产卵季节已经到来。每年二月中旬到五月初，数千条银色小鱼聚集在温哥华岛周围的浅海地区，形成卫星有时可以看到的奇观。
Sheltered waters in Barkley Sound, on the southwestern side of Vancouver Island, are regular sites for spawn events . On February 19, 2026, the Landsat 9 satellite caught a glimpse of early-season activity underway along the shore near Forbes Island. In these events, female herring produce eggs that stick to a variety of materials, from kelp and seagrass to rock surfaces. Males release a sperm-containing fluid called milt into the water, giving it a cloudy green or turquoise look.
温哥华岛西南侧巴克利湾的避风水域是产卵活动的常规地点。 2026 年 2 月 19 日，Landsat 9 卫星瞥见了福布斯岛附近海岸正在进行的早季活动。在这些事件中，雌性鲱鱼产下的卵会粘附在各种材料上，从海带、海草到岩石表面。雄性将一种称为精液的含有精子的液体释放到水中，使水呈现出浑浊的绿色或绿松石色。
Spawns near Forbes Island have been observed most years since the 1970s, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) records. “Herrings prefer spawning locations that are more protected, have rocky substrate, and allow them to select areas with reduced salinity,” said Jessica Moffatt, biologist with the Island Marine Aquatic Working Group (IMAWG), which works to strengthen First Nations fisheries through traditional knowledge, modern science, and management guidance. “Barkley Sound hits the sweet spot” in many of these regards, she said, adding that collective memory, predation pressure, and other factors also play a role in spawn size and location.
根据加拿大渔业和海洋局 (DFO) 的记录，自 20 世纪 70 年代以来，福布斯岛附近的产卵现象一直存在。岛屿海洋水生工作组 (IMAWG) 的生物学家杰西卡·莫法特 (Jessica Moffatt) 表示：“鲱鱼更喜欢受到更多保护、有岩石基质的产卵地点，并允许它们选择盐度较低的区域。”该工作组致力于通过传统知识、现代科学和管理指导来加强原住民渔业。她说，“巴克利湾在许多方面都达到了最佳点”，并补充说集体记忆、捕食压力和其他因素也在产卵大小和位置上发挥着作用。
Spawning events last from several hours to several days. At Forbes Island in 2026, local observers saw that fish were staging in the area by February 13 (schools can arrive up to two weeks before spawning, Moffatt noted), and activity was reported to IMAWG from February 19 to February 21 .
产卵事件持续数小时至数天。在 2026 年的福布斯岛，当地观察员在 2 月 13 日之前看到鱼类在该地区聚集（莫法特指出，鱼群可以在产卵前两周到达），并在 2 月 19 日至 2 月 21 日向 IMAWG 报告了活动情况。
Along with changes in water color, spawns often come with increased wildlife presence , which can include whales and sea lions swimming nearby and eagles, wolves, and bears lurking on shore. After spawning, the fish will migrate back to summer feeding areas in deeper, more nutrient-rich waters, sometimes sticking with their same large school for several years.
随着水色的变化，产卵点往往伴随着野生动物的增加，其中包括在附近游泳的鲸鱼和海狮，以及潜伏在岸边的老鹰、狼和熊。产卵后，鱼会迁回更深、营养更丰富的水域的夏季觅食区，有时会在同一个大鱼群中停留数年。
Records of spawn activity have historically been constrained by the timing of aerial and dive surveys, the availability of reports from remote locations, and fisheries priorities. But observations by satellites, including Landsat, can help monitor herring activity over larger areas and longer periods of time. Researchers at the University of Victoria in Canada have used decades of satellite observations to augment historical spawn records and develop methods to streamline future detections .
产卵活动的记录历来受到空中和潜水调查时间、偏远地区报告的可用性以及渔业优先事项的限制。但包括陆地卫星在内的卫星观测可以帮助监测更大区域和更长时间内的鲱鱼活动。加拿大维多利亚大学的研究人员利用数十年的卫星观测来丰富历史产卵记录，并开发出简化未来检测的方法。
Herring and their roe are valuable both as a cultural food source and harvest practice by First Nations and for British Columbia’s commercial fisheries. As a forage fish species, Pacific herring are vital to salmon and other marine life, and a fuller picture of the locations of spawning areas could provide clues about changes in the marine ecosystem.
鲱鱼及其鱼子作为原住民的文化食物来源和收获做法以及不列颠哥伦比亚省的商业渔业都很有价值。作为饲料鱼种，太平洋鲱鱼对鲑鱼和其他海洋生物至关重要，更全面地了解产卵区的位置可以提供有关海洋生态系统变化的线索。
NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey . Photos by Ryan Cutler. Story by Lindsey Doermann.
NASA 地球观测站图像由 Lauren Dauphin 使用美国地质调查局的陆地卫星数据拍摄。照片由瑞安·卡特勒拍摄。林赛·杜尔曼的故事。