CHAPTER XXTX 



ADULT HEEKINGS (EACES AND SCALE BEADING) 



The Baces of Herring 



Hjort 1 tells us that fishermen have long discriminated 

 between the herrings from the Dogger Bank, from Shetland, 

 from the Skagerrak, and from the coast of Norway. Science 

 proceeded to investigate the fisherman's knowledge and was 

 for some time ' at fault '. It could merely corroborate facts 

 already ' known ' to practical men — that, for instance, the 

 ' Shetland ' and Dogger Bank herring spawned in the summer 

 and autumn ; the Norse coast herring spawned in the spring ; 

 and ' fat ' herring never contained ripe roes or ripe milt. 



Then Heincke proved that there really w'ere differences in 

 structure between the different sorts of herring. Large collec- 

 tions from all countries were made under the auspices of the 

 International Council, and were examined by the Norw^egians — 

 especially by Broch. By 1907 it was determined that the follow- 

 ing races were probably distinct : 



{a) Dogger Bank Herring. Caught off the east coast of 

 England and Scotland, on the Dogger Bank, on the Great Fisher 

 Bank, and in the southern portion of the Skagerrak. They are 

 comparatively small (9J-10 inches), have 56 vertebrae, and are 

 ' full herrings ' in August, which means that they spawn about 

 a month later. 



Q)) Shetland Herring. Caught in the northern waters of the 

 North Sea, on the west side towards Scotland and the Shetlands. 

 This is larger than the Dogger Bank herring, and is about Ill- 

 inches when ripe. It has rather more than 56 vertebrae. It 

 spawns in July and August, and is ' spent ' in September and 

 October.2 



(c) The Norse Herring. This occurs in the same waters as the 

 Shetland herring, sometimes with it, and sometimes separately. 

 This is the largest herring, and has the largest number of verte- 

 brae. It spawns in the spring along the south-west coast of 

 Norway, is a ' mattie ' in July and August, and a ' full ' herring 

 not before November. 



* Some Results of the International Ocean Researches, 1907. 

 2 But spring spawning also takes place all the way between Shetland and 

 the Butt of Lewis, see below, p. 173. 



l2 



