92 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



Figure 43. — Larval stages of the herring (Clupea harengus) 

 European. After Ehrenbaum. A, newly hatched, 7 

 mm.; B, 10 mm.; C, 19 mm.; D. 29 mm.; E, young fry, 

 41 mm. 



Shoals in mid-July. They grow to about 3K to 

 near 5 inches (90-125 mm.) by the end of their 

 first year of life; fish of that size, presumably of 

 the previous autumn's hatch, are abundant in the 

 fall in the Bay of Fundy, and at Boothbay, Maine. 

 The growth rate is about the same at Woods Hole, 

 where herring spawned in October and early No- 

 vember are 3 to 5 inches (76-125 mm.) long by the 

 following autumn. The Norwegian herring, also, 

 average about 5 inches (125 mm.) long at the end 

 of their first year, according to Hjort, and North 

 Sea herring are about 4 inches (100 mm.) long 

 then. 34 



Subsequent growth. — The herring has proved a 

 particularly favorable object for growth studies 

 based on the structure of the scales. 35 Without 

 pursuing this subject, which would lead us far 

 afield, we may point out that herring not only 

 grow at different rates at different times of year, 

 with the contrast between the rapid growth of 

 summer and the slow growth of the winter greater 

 or less in different seas, but that they grow rapidly 

 when young and slowly thereafter in some locali- 



ties, whereas they may grow slowly at first in 

 other localities, but sustain a more even growth 

 to old age. 



The Dogger Bank herring, for example, in the 

 North Sea approximate 4 inches iD length at the 

 end of the first year, 8% to 9 inches at the end of 

 the third year, 10% at the end of the sixth, and 11% 

 to 12 inches at the end of the ninth, though with 

 considerable variation. The Norwegian herring, 

 however, spawned in the year 1899, averaged only 

 7% inches when 3 years old, but were as large as the 

 Dogger Bank fish of equal ages by their sixth year 

 and subsequently. 36 Newfoundland herring grow 

 more slowly at first than those in the southern side 

 of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but catch up with 

 them as they grow older. 



Huntsman credits the Bay of Fundy herring 

 with about 10 inches at the end of their third year; 

 i. e., when 4 years old, which agrees closely with 

 an average growth of 9% inches at 4 years as cal- 

 culated by Lea for Gulf of St. Lawrence fish. The 

 average growth rate of the older Bay of Fundy fish 

 probably falls between that of the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence fish and that of the herring of outer 

 Nova Scotia which grow a little faster; i. e., to 

 between 10% and 11% inches at 5 years; between 

 11 and 12% inches at 7 years; and betweeD 12% and 

 13% inches at 9 years. 37 Bay of Fundy herring 

 make most of their growth from May to Septem- 

 ber. In the southern parts of our Gulf, where the 

 growth period probably continues a month later 

 into the fall, they may grow as fast as they do along 

 outer Nova Scotia. 



When the little herring have reached an age of 

 about 2 years and a length of 7% to 8 inches 

 (190-200 mm.) they accumulate large amounts of 

 fat among the body tissues and viscera during the 

 warm months of the year when growing rapidly, 

 but lose this fat in winter and also at the approach 

 of sexual maturity. We can bear witness and 

 the fact is well known to fishermen that this "fat" 

 stage is as characteristic of American waters as of 

 European, where "fat" herring are the objects of 

 extensive fisheries. 



According to Moore, who examined thousands 



" Huntsman (Canad. Fish. Exped. (1914-1915), 1919, pp. 168-169) believed 

 he could recognize spring as well as autumn-spawned herring fry in the Bay 

 of Fundy, and credits the former with a length of about 90 mm. by the first, 

 and 150 mm. by the second, winter. But this seems to call for confirmation, 

 it being unlikely that any herring now spawn there in spring (p. 98). 



« See Lea (Canad. Fish. Exped. (1914-15), 1919, pp. 75-164) for an account of 

 age determination by analysis of the scales, as applied to the herring. 



" Eapp. and Proc. Verb., Cons. Internat. Explor. Mer, vol. 20, 1944. 



•' As scaled from Lea's diagrams (Canad. Fish. Exped. 1914-1915 (1929), 

 figs. 40 and 41). It has been found that the Norwegian herring grow from 

 April to September only, remaining practically stationary in length from 

 October until March; see Lea (Pub. de Circ, Cons. Perm. Internat. Explor. 

 Mer, No. 61, 1911, pp. 35-57) and Hjort (Eapp. Proc. Verb., Cons. Perm. 

 Internat. Explor. Mer, vol. 20, 1914). 



