658 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



peculiar to the Skagerak, whose disappearance at a later time may m 

 part at least have been caused by a decrease of " herring-food '' in these 

 waters. 



There is another feature of the recent spring-herring fisheries which 

 I cannot pass by, as it seems quite inexplicable and has been the sub- 

 ject of much unnecessarily anxious thought. It has been maintained 

 that during the last few years a new kind of inferior herring has made 

 its appearance in the spring-herring district, a kind of herring which 

 has been unknown in former years ; and people have considered this as 

 a certain sign that the spring-herring fisheries would soon come to an 

 end. This supposed new kind of herring is the so-called " mixed her- 

 ring," which especially last winter, in January and February, and in 

 some cases even earlier, has at various points appeared in considerable 

 numbers even outside the herring district proper, among the rest at 

 the mouth of the Korsfiord. Unfortunately I had no opportunity of 

 personally examining these herrings, and the inquiries made of the fish- 

 ermen have not given me a very clear idea in what respects they diflfered 

 from other herrings. All seem agreed, however, that they are not the 

 common spring-herrings. But as for the rest the accounts differ very 

 much. Some say that they are of an excellent quality, others that they 

 are lean; some say that they have roe and milt like other spring-her- 

 rings, while others maintain that they have neither. Their size is also 

 given very different. The fact of the matter is, that the "mixed her- 

 ring,?' as its name indicates, shows great differences, so that among them 

 one may find fat and lean, large and small fish, some with roe and milt, 

 and some without. How can the occurrence of these herrings be ex- 

 plained ? There must be a possibility of answering this question satis- 

 factorily, thus removing the darkness which has hitherto enveloped it. 



Although I have not personally examined these herrings, I think I 

 am able to give an explanation ; and it is again the before- mentioned 

 new theory regarding the mode of life and the migrations of the spring- 

 herring which will materially aid us in solving the problem. The greatly 

 differing accounts as to the appearance of these so-called mixed herrings 

 impressed me very strongly with the idea that they are herrings of dif- 

 ferent ages, and that only a comparatively small number of them are 

 fit for spawning, as with most of them roe and milt are either not yet 

 fully matured, or are entirely wanting as is the case with the so-called 

 " straal" herring or " blood" herring. As these herrings can therefore 

 not possibly come near the coast for the purpose of spawning, and as 

 they cannot come in search of " herring-food," of which at this time of 

 the year but little is found near the coast, it must be supposed that 

 from some reason or other they are against their wish forced to approach 

 the coast. 



From the information which I was able to obtain regarding this so- 

 called "mixed herring", and judging from the time when it first makes 

 its appearance near the coast, I have come to the conclusion that their 



