BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 287 



NOTES OIV THE HERRING FISHERY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY IN 



THE AUTUMN OF 1882. 



By CAPT. J. W. COLLINS. 



The herring fishery prosecuted in Massachusetts Bay and contiguous 

 waters during the fall of 1882 has presented some phases which are of 

 special interest. The peculiarities exhibited are : 



I. The apparent disinclination of the fish to approach as close to the 

 shore as was formerly their custom. 



II. The accidental capture of many schools of herring, in the night, 

 by the purse-seiners, at various distances from land. 



Before entering into a discussion of these topics I shall allude, briefly, 

 to the arrival of spawning sea-herring in several distinct schools on the 

 coast of Maine, during the spring and summer ; and to the marked de- 

 gree of consistency and regularity which these fish exhibit in making 

 their annual visits to certain localities. I designate them as sea her- 

 ring in contradistinction to the smaller fish which frequent the shores 

 during the greater part of the year. The large herring come inshore 

 apparently only for the purpose of reproduction, for I have never known 

 any of them to make their appearance on the coast except when they 

 were in a gravid condition. At other times they are usually found only 

 •on or near the outer fishing-banks from 30 to 150 miles from the coast. 



In the spring, during April and May, the schools of herring, which 

 are found in the vicinity of Eastport, generally come to deposit their 

 ova. In the latter part of July and beginning of August, spawning 

 herring are abundant about Boisbubert Island, near Millbridge, on the 

 <coast of Maine, and many small vessels resort to that locality and ob- 

 tain their fares with gill-nets. I have been told by several of the old 

 residents of Isle au Haut that for many years previous to 1850, two 

 •distinct schools of large spawn-herring visited the shores of that island 

 with an almost un deviating regularity. One of these schools made its 

 appearance about the middle of Julj*, and remained one month ; the 

 other came in about two mouths later, staying about the same length 

 of time. A remarkable circumstance, in this connection, was that these 

 bodies of fish occupied different spawning grouuds which were distant 

 from each other about four or five miles. The summer fish visited the 

 western part of the island, and those which came later struck in at the 

 •eastern end. Since 1850 the appearance of these herring has been very 

 uncertain. Sometimes they would come in great abundance, but more 

 frequently would not be seen at all, yet within the past ten years ves 

 sels have occasionally obtained full fares of these large spawn-herring 

 at Head Harbor on the western part of the island. For the last few 

 years schools of spawn-herring have been found in Castine Harbor, and 

 also at Crabtree Point, the southernmost extremity of Korth Haven, 



