Apparently, our ancestors used herring for food from a very long time. In the Baltic, the Germans, who had a trading post in Polotsk, were engaged in herring fishing. In the XVI-XVIII this fish was one of the most popular imported goods. There were shops where you could buy it in almost every city and town. By the way, the opinion that herring was available only to the gentry is wrong. For example, an ordinary resident of Mogilev at the end of the XVII century could afford to buy a few herring every day. Pike, bream and even perch were more expensive.