Herring on the south and northeast coasts of Newfoundland were divided into stock complexes based spring spawning areas. Currently, it is not known if these stocks are still appropriate, and new tagging studies are not being prepared. The few genetic studies do not provide evidence of a stock structure at this level (see Bourne et al. 2015; Cadrin et al. 2004).

The five stock complexes are: White Bay-Notre Dame Bay (WBNDB), Bonavista Bay-Trinity Bay (BBTB), Conception Bay-Southern Shore (CBSS), St. Mary’s Bay-Placentia Bay (SMBPB), and Fortune Bay (FB).