Clupea pallasii, commonly known as the Pacific herring, is a small pelagic marine fish in the family Clupeidae. It is native to the cold and temperate waters of the North Pacific Ocean, ranging from the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk across the Bering Sea to Alaska and down the Pacific coast of North America as far south as California. The genus name Clupea derives from Latin, meaning herring, while the species epithet pallasii honors the 18th-century naturalist Peter Simon Pallas.

Pacific herring form large schools and play a keystone ecological role as forage fish. Historically, they have been a foundational food source for Indigenous peoples of the North Pacific Rim, including Ainu, Yupik, Tlingit, Haida, Coast Salish, and numerous Siberian coastal cultures. In modern times, Clupea pallasii remains commercially important in East Asia, Russia, and North America for fresh consumption, preservation, and especially for its roe.

As a food source, Clupea pallasii has been used fresh, dried, smoked, salted, fermented, and pickled. Its relatively high fat content makes it well suited to smoking and curing, while its abundance historically supported large seasonal harvests and long-term storage strategies. In Indigenous North American cuisines, Pacific herring was eaten roasted or boiled and preserved by drying or smoking, while its eggs were especially prized. In Japan, the fish is consumed grilled or dried, and its roe is processed into kazunoko, a traditional New Year food. Major ingredients derived from this food source include fresh or frozen herring fillets, salted and dried herring, smoked and fermented herring products, and herring roe, including processed roe products such as kazunoko. Herring roe-on-kelp, produced when fish spawn on harvested seaweed, is a culturally significant ingredient for many Indigenous Pacific Northwest communities.

Significant bioactive compounds present in Clupea pallasii include omega-3 fatty acids, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), vitamin D (cholecalciferol), vitamin B12 (cobalamin), iodine, and selenium. Like other oily fish, Pacific herring can also contain biogenic amines such as histamine if improperly stored, and it may bioaccumulate environmental contaminants depending on habitat and trophic conditions, though it is generally considered a nutritious and culturally significant food when properly handled.