FISHES OF THE GULF OF MAINE 327 



Herring, Clupea harengus Linnaeus 



The northern limit to the known range of the herring in the Western Atlantic 

 has been extended to the west coast of Greenland by Jensen (1926, p. 101). 



Herring are so seldom taken in any large numbers on the offshore banks that it 

 is of interest to record a catch of 2,800 pounds in South Channel and 3,000 pounds 

 on the northern edge of Georges Bank, in October 1931. 



Mass destruction of young herring, cast up on the beaches has occurred from 

 time to time in various harbors in the Gulf of Maine. A recent occurrence of this 

 sort was reported by Dr. Austin H. Clark, who, in Manchester Harbor on the north 

 side of Massachusetts Bay, early in August 1925, observed that the mud flats were 

 white with stranded herring which measured 3 to 5 inches in length. Another such 

 destruction took place in the same harbor in the summer of 1928. 



Alewife, Pomolobus pseudoharengus (Wilson) 



So little is known about the habits or migrations of the alewife while at sea 

 that it is of interest to record the capture by Albatross II of 18 adults, 10 to 11 inches 

 long, by otter trawl, seventy odd miles off Barnegat, N. J., on March 5, 1931. 



Blueback, Pomolobus aestivalis (Mitchill) 



The maximum length of this herring is usually given as about 1 foot but we have 

 seen examples of it ranging up to 15 inches. 



The capture of seven adult specimens by Albatross II, on March 5, 1931, about 

 70 miles off Barnegat, N. J., suggests that, like its relative the sea herring, the 

 blueback moves out from land, and passes the cold season near the bottom, thus 

 throwing some light on the probable winter home of the Gulf of Maine stock. 



Thread herring, Opisthonema oglinum (LeSueur) 



The capture of a single specimen, 7 inches long, off Monomoy Point at the 

 southern angle of Cape Cod in August 1931, extends the known range of this southern 

 herring to the Gulf of Maine. Occasionally the thread herring is taken off southern 

 New England; it was even reported as rather common in Buzzards Bay and Vine- 

 yard Sound in the summer of 1885. As it is essentially a tropical fish it is not apt, 

 however, to reach the gulf except as the rarest of strays. 



Round herring, Etrumeus sadina (Mitchill) 



This herring, recorded by Bigelow and Welsh (1925, p. 91) as Etrumeus teres 

 DeKay, appears very rarely to stray past Cape Cod. Hence, it is of interest to record 

 the capture of one specimen in Yarmouth River which empties into Casco Bay, and 

 one in the bay itself, on September 15, 1924. 



Anchovy, Anchoviella mitchilli (Cuvier and Valenciennes) 



This species is listed by Bigelow and Welsh (1925, p. 124) as Anchovia mitchilli. 

 The subgenus Anchoviella Fowler differs from the subgenus Anchovia Jordan and 

 Evermann chiefly by having mucb fewer gillrakers, the former having about 35 to 

 50 and the latter 100 or more. 



