No. 29. HERRING. 



Clnpcu Inii-oi^iis , Linna-us. 



Usual extreme length : -Slightly above 1.2 inches, but examples 

 have been recorded measuring- 17 inches. 



Description: Dorsal fin commencing midway between the end 

 of the snout and the base of the tail; ventral fins rooted on a 

 line a little behind the commencement of the dorsal; scales of 

 moderate size, easily detached. Coloration blue green above, 

 the sides brilliantly iridescent. 



The food of the herring consists of the free-moving organisms 

 of the sea (Plankton). Several distinct races of this important 

 fish are now recognised, which differ in their habits more particu- 



^ i 



larly as regards the time and place of spawning, those which 

 deposit their eggs in winter frequenting brackish waters, whilst 

 the summer-spawning fish are less coastal during the breeding- 

 season. Both varieties, however, frequent the upper strata of 

 the sea, and undertake inshore migrations prior to and during 

 the process of reproduction. 



Range: From the White Sea to the Bay of Biscay. So far 

 as the British Isles are concerned, the heaviest landings are 

 those of autumn herrings at Yarmouth, Lowestoft, and 

 North Shields. At the two former ports, the larger quantities 

 are marketed from July to December, whereas at the last-named 

 place, together with Blyth and Hartlepool, the heavier landings 

 occur somewhat earlier in the year, and diminish rapidly before 

 the end of November. The majority of herring marketed in 

 ihis country arc caught by means of drift nets, but a profitable 

 fishery is also prosecuted, by means of the trawl, upon fish 

 situated fircsnnuibh' in their permanent quarters on the sea-bed. 



Remarks: It is a remarkable fact that less than one quarter of the 

 Herrings landed in this country are for home consumption ; the remainder, 

 in some form or another, are exported to various foreign countries. 



It is to be regretted that many Continental methods of converting this 

 inexpensive fi-h into special forms of delicacy are practicall}' neglected 

 in this country. The species, however, when salted or smoked, and 

 retailed as "Kippers," "Ham-cured" or "Red Herrings," and 

 ' Bloaters,'' forms the subject of the largest dried fish trade in these 

 islands. In its young stages, the Herring, from an economic stand- 

 point, is very closely connected with the Sprat, and often forms a very 

 large component of a sample of Whitebait, a collective term used to 

 designate a gathering of the voung of certain kinds of fish, and which 

 may sometimes include such widely different species as Sand-Eels. 

 Pipefish. Ciobies, and Scad. 



