the fall season, were located at that time in 

 or near every major bay between Portland, 

 Maine, and Machias Bay, Maine (fig. 1). The 

 location, date, and average length of each catch 

 are shown in table 1. 



That zero-year-class herring brit generally 

 occur in the inside waters of the coast of 

 Maine was again demonstrated in the 1956 

 season when the young herring, progressing 

 in size through the season from larval-size 

 taken during the early spring to sardine-size 

 taken in the autumn, were detected by echo 

 sounding and caught. Midwater trawl tows 

 made with the chartered vessel Metacomet took 

 herring from Casco Bay waters that averaged 

 1.42 inches in standard length on May 9. 

 Schools of the young fish were found by echo 

 sounding and sampled during succeeding 

 cruises of the Metacomet through the summer 



of 1956, again indicating the presence of 

 populations of growing herring. The most 

 eastward catches of these small fish were 

 taken in Passamaquoddy Bay near East Quoddy 

 Head. Locations of the 1956 soundings and 

 catches of herring brit are plotted by month 

 in figure 2. A large part of the catches 

 plotted were made during August, and the 

 reason for this is primarily increased fishing 

 effort. A special brit survey was made during 

 August 1956 to obtain as complete as possible 

 an inventory of the amount and location of the 

 young herring that might be large enough to 

 be utilized for sardines during the last 2 or 3 

 months of the sardine season. Herring were 

 found along the entire coast from Casco Bay 

 to Passamaquoddy Bay, in the Bay of Fundy 

 near Grand Manan Island, at Petite Passage, 

 Nova Scotia, and in St. Mary Bay during August, 

 (table 2). 





CATCH OF HERRING BRIT 1955 

 Moy 24 - July 8 O 



-ris^ 



Figure 1. — Locations of catches of zero-year-class herring made by the research vessel Theodore N. Gill , 



spring and summer of 1955. 



