River herring, due to their size, are not a sport fish. But striped bass, like so many other predatory fish, feast on herring. Though of greater stature, herring, like menhaden, are the sometimes unrecognized bedrock of the food system. Their dominance is limited to the krill, small crustaceans and small fish on which they feed. Mostly, they provide are the feed to seals, whales, cod, stripers, blues and other migratory species. That’s why it’s a concern that the National Marine Fisheries Council has listed them as a “species of concern.” As their ocean and inland spawning habitat has gradually been eroded over decades, their numbers have plummeted. So they go, so go many fish above them.