11 



Froiii this table and the chart it is evident that spawning 

 took place in at least three areas, and all may be said to ailect 

 our district. The principal one for the Northumberland region 

 is that to the, north east of the Longstone. From general notes 

 that were made of the samples exammed even up to September 

 it appears that the herring of the region u ere on the whole not quite 

 mature. It is thus evident that the mature heriing whicli spawned 

 to the north-east of the Longstone at the end of August and the 

 early part of September represented a third vvave of jnigraiits, 

 in this case of the matare shoal of the Korthumberland school. 



There was one exception to the statement made above as to 

 the maturity of the samples. About a fourth of the herring of 

 sample Dl were found to be ready for spa^^^iing, but we have no 

 record of spawning having taken place in the region from which 

 Dl was obtained. A letter from Mr. R. Dawson, Seahouses, 

 received on September 19th, shovred that the few herrings landed 

 at Seahouses at that period when stormy vreather was experienced 

 were " full." These herring were obtained in the region of Dl, 

 and it is probable therefore that the spawning ground is more 

 extensive, as *we have found from previous records of " spawny " 

 haddocks than is given in Figure 1. 



The young herring drifted up the Tjme by the tide and 

 poisoned by the efiluents in the Newcastle region (this Report, 

 page 25) are interesting in this connexion. They were obtained 

 in May, and if they came from last year's autumn spa^iiing they 

 would be about nine months old. Even the larger of the series 

 reported in the paper on " Pollution of the Tyae " appear to be 

 younger than that, and at all events the smaller group camiot be 

 referred to this sp^.^\^ling time and place. From their condition 

 and size they may be concluded to have been derived from a "winter 

 spawner, and the only vrinter spavvming region therefore to Vv^hich 

 they can be related is the Firth of Forth. This goes to indicate 

 the length of the denatation of the '' " group. 



There were last year no trawl herring available, and we are 

 thus unable to say anything mth regard to them. 



The sample from the Fnth of Forth (El) is as one should 

 expect very different in age composition from the summer herring 

 of the Northumberland coast. It includes four to nme winter- 

 ring groups, and all are evidenth' mature herring of five to ten 

 years. They present an interesting and noteworthy diminishing 

 series of numbers according to agje. 



