it became evident that the Barents Sea is populated only by young, sexually immature herring and 

 that the complete life cycle of herring might be studied only through extensive and thorough investi- 

 gations of the adjacent regions of the Norwegian and Greenland seas . 



Using the boats "Knipovich" and "Avangard", in 1939, we explored the eastern edge of the 

 Spitsbergen current from Bear Island to South Cape (south tip of Spitsbergen). Many herring con- 

 centrations were found over the entire territory covered by the investigations. Several drift net 

 catches amounted to over 50 centners . 



After World War II, the migrations of the older age groups of herring were again investi- 

 gated. A cruise on ixiard the exploratory boat "Rynda" took place in 1946; and, in 1947, by the 

 decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, a small scientific research expedition on board 

 two exploratory and four fishing boats was organized, and this gave rise to the development of the 

 Soviet commercial herring fishery outside the Barents Sea. 



At the end of June, at the latitude of Bear Island, the expedition boats met herring schools 

 moving from the south towards the north. In July, the migration of herring was followed to 77-78 

 north latitude . The return movement of herring in the southern direction was followed along the 

 slope to 73-72° north latitude. 



During subsequent years, the fishing grounds were expanded considerably in a southern 

 direction. In 1952, upon the initiative of I. G. Yudanov and with his personal participation, an 

 experimental fishing expedition went to the Viking Bank region, where large pre-spawning concen- 

 trations were spotted. Thus, from 1952 on, the fishing grounds began expanding in both directions 

 - to the north as well as to the south. Since 1953, Soviet fishermen have fished for herring in the 

 Norwegian and Greenland seas during the entire year . 



The recently organized large-scale Russian commercial herring fishing in the North- 

 European basin contributed to the rapid development of exploratory work and research conducted by 

 the Polar Institute along the entire extent of the migration grounds of the Atlantic-Scandinavian 

 herring. 



COMPOSITION OF MIGRATING SCHOOLS AND MAIN DISTRIBUTION 



PATTERN OF ADULT HERRING 



The main conclusions drawn on the basis of the data collected in the process of the 1939 re- 

 search (15) are as follows: 



In July-August, 1939, in the zone of the Spitsbergen current, we discovered large concentra- 

 tions of herring 28 to 35 cm. in length with gonads at the stage of redevelopment. In July, the 

 specimens in the VII-II, II-III development stages prevailed; whereas, in August, we encountered 

 most frequently herring in the II and III-IV development stages. 



Sexually immature herring 22 to 25 cm. in length were found in considerably smaller 

 numbers. Only single specimens of herring 26-27 cm. in length were caught. 



The age of large herring ranged from 6 to 16 years . The majority of sexually immature 

 specimens belonged to the 1934 year class. When determining the age of herring caught in that 

 region, we encountered the following phenomena: the six- and seven-year- old herring (5+ and 6+) 

 were represented in the catches by fish of two dimensions - i.e. either 24-25 cm. or 28-30 cm. in 

 length. The growth rate of the former was low, the increment of the preceding year was consider- 



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