358 



BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



eighth year of life. The oldest herring I have ever seen was a female in its eleventh 

 year, taken in 1917 from a pound net at Blind River in Georgian Bay. The largest 

 herring I have ever seen was a female 395 millimeters (15.6 inches) long, weighing 2 

 pounds and 3 ounces. It was taken in 1924 from Saginaw Bay. The largest herring 

 of which I have a record was captured at Brighton, Ontario (Lake Ontario), in 1921 ; 

 it measured 412 millimeters in length and was in its eleventh year (see fig. 36). 



Table 32. — Actual average, minimum, and maximum length and weight attained by Saginaw Bay 

 herring taken in 1921, 192'2, and 1923, for each sex of each age group of a year class 



AGE GROUPS 



In Table 31 are shown for the fish captured in 1921, 1922, 1923, and 1924 the 

 actual average, minimum, and maximum lengths and weights of each age group 

 (male and female) of a year class. The average length of the 2-year herring increased 

 from 195 millimeters in 1921 to 217 millimeters in 1922 and to 221 millimeters in 

 1923; in 1924 the general average dropped to 190 millimeters. The average length 

 of the 3-year herring increased from 224 millimeters in 1921 to 229 millimeters in 

 1922 to 233 millimeters in 1923 and to 236 miUimeters in 1924.= The 4-year fish 

 likewise show an increase in average length. It increases from 232 millimeters in 

 1921 to 236 millimeters in 1922 and to 243 millimeters in 1923 and 1924. The fish 

 of the remaining age groups also show the same tendency to grow bigger each j-ear. 

 The 5-year herring averaged 241 milhmeters in length in 1921 and 1922, 251 milli- 

 meters in 1923, and 254 millimeters in 1924; the 6-year fish averaged 254 milli- 

 meters in length in 1921, 252 millimeters in 1922, 263 millimeters in 1923, and 267 



'As stated on p. 350, in a strictly comparative study it is preferable to employ only the Tobico and Nayanquing samples 

 for 1924. 



