Modern taxonomy, fishery science, and biology were born in Europe. This, together with the longstanding economic importance of the herring, has given Clupea harengus (and its close relative C. pallasi) a prestige and literature that quite outshadows those of any other clupeoid species. In fact, the two species of Clupea contribute about 8% to world clupeoid catches, coming fourth in the 20 economically important clupeoid genera. They belong to a group, the suborder Clupeoidei, with about 80 genera and over 330 species, with a long evolutionary history reaching back to the Cretaceous. The majority of these clupeoid species live in tropical or subtropical waters, where their fisheries are extensive; in total, the clupeoids are economically the most important single fish group, contributing up to one third of all fish catches. The vast Clupea literature (and the research effort that it represents), at times threatening to rival that of all other species put together, suggests an imbalance. Nevertheless, it has pioneered techniques and insights that are of great application to other clupeoids and their fisheries.