78 



Technical Instruction for Ireland, Fisheries Branch, I am indebted 

 for the samples of Irish herrings and much information relating 

 to the herring fishery of Ireland. As in previous years, Mrs. 

 Cowan has given considerable help in the investigations. 



The season during 1920 was peculiar. Catches were very 

 irregular, and at most of the ports there was little opportunity 

 for sending the samples of autumn spawners. This was the case 

 in the Shetlands and at Stornoway where transport difficulties 

 had to be considered in order that the samples should arrive in 

 a condition which would allow of examination. 



A list of the samples examined is here given. For each fish 

 the length, sex, state of gonads and age have been recorded, and 

 from the scale records the yearly growth has been calculated. 

 The whole of these data is not given in the tables, as much of it 

 is of the same nature as the data tabulated in the Report of last 

 year. In the case of samples from fishing grounds not previously 

 examined, or of samples taken at different seasons of the year, 

 as the Yarmouth spring sample of 1921, the growth data are given 

 in Table III. 



