20 



visits the samples displa^'ed for sale were inspected, and the age 

 of a large number of fish was determined. There is no doubt 

 that throughout the season, after the recovering spents arising 

 from spring spa^vning shoals had disappeared and the summer 

 fishery had commenced, that the greater part of the herrings from 

 the shoals of this district consisted of fish with three winter rings. 

 The August sample was examined because I found the catch from 

 which it was taken to contain a number of fish with two winter 

 rings. It will be seen by referring to Table I. that the conclusion 

 arrived at on the Fish Quay from a rough examination of the 

 sample at the sale ring was borne out by detailed examination 

 at the Laboratory. Catches of this quality were not frequent, 

 but were landed occasionally during August and the beginning of 

 September. The fishing was practical^ finished by 24th September, 

 and during the whole of the season I had not seen one sample of 

 spawiiing fish. Two boats landed S2^a^^^ling herring the week 

 before the end of the fishing, and the catches during September 

 contained a few spent fish. There is therefore no evidence of 

 herrings spa\\TLing in our local waters in any great quantitj^, and, 

 again, the district has not been visited bj^ large shoals of autumn 

 spa^\^lers. The little spawning which did take place probably 

 arose from those young fish of the summer shoals which had 

 developed on the grounds and not from any immigration of spawn- 

 ing shoals. 



The samples of trawled herring contained a number of young 

 herrings, but differed from the Northumberland shoals, having 

 a larger number of older fish. The two samples were practically 

 alike for herrings with winter rings up to five, but the Dogger 

 Bank sample differed from that from 70 miles E.S.E. of the Tyne 

 in the number of fish with six and seven winter rings, and on the 

 whole the gonads were at a little higher stage of development. 

 Herrings at all stages of development from virgin fish to spents 

 were found in the samjjles, and the possibility of maturing herrings 

 from these areas, where the samples were obtained, joining a 

 spawning assembly which afterwards invades the grounds of the 

 summer shoals of young herring is worth consideration. 



Scarborough Samples. — The samples from the Scarborough 

 grounds show, as have those from practically all other grounds, 

 that the wealth of the greater part of our summer fishery arises 



