53 



During tlie period these herrings were being caught by local 

 trawlers, a number Avas examined. Measurements were made, 

 and sex, condition of gonads, and number of winter rin^s shown 

 b}" the scales determined. These particulars will be found in 

 Table I. 



The measurements made were as follows : total length of 

 the fish, length of scale-covered portion, that is from the edge of 

 the operculum to the beginning of the middle of the tail, length 

 of head from snout to operculum, length from snout to ventral 

 fins, anal fin, beginning of dorsal fin and end of dorsal fin 

 respectively. 



The state of the gonads is indicated in the same manner as 

 by Hjort.--- 



1 . Virgins. Gonads small, eggs invisible to the naked eye. 



2. Gonads longer than half the body cavity, and about 1 cm. 



in diameter. Maturing virgins or recovering spents. 



3. Gonads more swollen and filling more than half the body 



cavity. 



4. Gonads filling nearly two-thirds of the body cavity. 



5. Gonads filling body cavity. Ovaries with large trans- 



parent eggs. Milt white. 



6. Roe and milt running. 



7. Spents. 



No record was kept as to the amount of fat present in the 

 body cavity, but the general impression obtained w^as that in the 

 case of maturing individuals the quantity of fat decreased with 

 the increase in bulk of the gonads 



Altogether 101 herrings have been thus examined, and this 

 number is made np of samples taken on the 17th, 19th and the 

 26th of October. The last sample purposely contained many 

 small as it was desired to obtain measurements of other than 

 large fish. The measurements made are summarised in Table II 

 where the mean total length for each centimetre group is taken 

 as 100, and the mean lengths for the other measurements are 

 expressed as percentages of the total length. On 28th Sept. 

 some 15 herrings were examined as to the state of the gonads, and 

 none was found to be spent. 



*Pulj. de Circonatance No. 53, p. 35. 



