28 



of similar age in sample 2 that it would appear the herrings of 

 three winter rings present 100 miles from the coast at the end 

 of April had by the middle of May arrived on the grounds of the 

 Northumberland Coast herrmgs. The bulk of the fish had in their 

 first year made a growth of from 8 to 11 cm. ; 80 per cent, with 

 this growth Avas in sample 1 and 81 per cent, in sample 2, or 

 expressed differently, samples 1 and 2 contained 56 and 57 per cent, 

 respectively, with a growth of from 8 to 9 cm., and both had 14 

 and 10 per cent., with a growth of 10 and 11 cm. It was stated 

 when reporting on the samples of 1914* that sample 1 consisted 

 of recovering spents and virgin fish, and that the gonads owing 

 to their condition gave difficulty in the exact determination of 

 their state. It would appear from the above that at this time of 

 the year, April, when it is stated bj' fishermen that the}^ can catch 

 sufficient herrings for bait purposes almost anywhere in the North 

 Sea, that there is a mixing of shoals, which is followed b}^ segrega- 

 tion of the younger year groups to partake of a feeding migration 

 to waters nearer the coast. 



The first year growth to the nearest centimetre for the herrings 

 of three winter rings in the 1914 samples is here expressed in per- 

 centages : — 



Percentage at Centimetres. 



If these data for the Northumberland Coast herring be 

 arranged as below, it will be seen that there was during the latter 

 part of June and in July an addition to the shoal of fish with a 

 small first year growth. Towards the end of July herrings with 

 a larger first year growth began to arrive, and were present in 

 considerable numbers in samj)le 10 taken towards the end of August. 



* Report, New Series, IV,, page 23. 



