Maine sardines harvested June, July, October, and November were analyzed for moisture, ash, fat, cholesterol, and fatty acids either as whole fish, raw dressed, steam precooked, and after canning in soy oil, menhaden oil, or in the liquid exuded after steam precooking (cookout liquid). Fat content ranged from 5% for juvenile herring sampled June and October to 11% in maturing herring harvested prior to the spawning season in July. All canning liquids contributed to elevated fat content in the finished product. Herring packed in soy oil or cookout liquid had about 90 mg cholesterol/lOOg samples. Herring packed in menhaden oil had 100–115 mg cholesterol/100g. Herring packed in either of the two fish oil solutions contained significantly more ω3 fatty acids and had a greater ratio of ω3:ω6 than those packed in soy oil.