CHAPTER XXX 



INTEENATIONAL HERRING RESEARCHES 



The International Council in 1920 considered the future of 

 herring investigations very carefully. Dr. K. A. Andersson 

 pointed out that the apparently ' capricious ' variations in the 

 catch were probably connected with variations in the numbers 

 of young herrings ' born ' in a particular year. The old idea 

 was, he said, that the fish simply deserted one particular hne of 

 coast for another, so that if, for instance, the fishing fell off on 

 the west coast of Norway it probably improved on the west 

 coast of Sweden. Variations in the catch were, in fact, attri- 

 buted to migrations of the fish, rather than to variations in the 

 out-turn of fry. 



Dr. Andersson suggested, and the Council agreed, that an 

 endeavour should be made to prepare a statistical history of the 

 fluctuations, like those mentioned in Chapter XXVI, which are 

 known to have occurred in Europe. 



TJie Herring Committee of the Council 



This Committee met under the presidency of Dr. Hjort in 

 March 1920. The chairman told the Committee of his visit 

 to Canada in 1914, and of his discovery that in Canadian, as in 

 European, waters, herrings from different localities differed in 

 their rate of growth, and that in Canada also, the broods of 

 particular years seemed to predominate season after season. 

 His report on this subject was laid on the table. It has been 

 pubhshed by the Canadian Government. 



Dr. Einar Lea described his discoveries, which have already 

 been detailed, as to the predominance of the 1904 and 1912 

 broods. And Dr. Andersson said that he had found the same 

 broods to be predominant in Swedish waters. 



The Committee resolved that in consideration of ' the 

 pressing nature of the Plaice Problem ' they would, in 1920, 

 formulate only a temporary and provisional programme of 

 work. The Norwegian Government was to be asked to under- 

 take the responsibihty and expense of the herring researches. 

 And that means that they will be in extremely capable hands. 



The Norwegians propose to continue their examinations of 

 the catches of ' large ' and ' spring ' herrings with observations 

 on length, weight, sex, maturity, growth, the number of 



