1915] ON CLuPeA PALLASII CUVIER AND VALENCIENNES 99 
October and November and spring salmon later off West Rocks and 
Five Finger Islands commonly contain mature herring. Seals killed 
in the vicinity of Nanoose Bay contained many of them, but as the seal 
is a strong swimmer it might go out some distance to sea when neces- 
sary to secure a sufficient supply of food. It is generally credited with 
a fondness for salmon, but there is plenty of evidence to show that the 
herring are not rejected, although they may be taken only when more 
tasty food is scarce. Such indications of the occurrence of herring in 
the neighbourhood is too common to make it possible to believe that 
even the larger body of those making their appearance early migrate 
southward soon afterward. 
After fishing for a short time near Yellow Point the fishermen moved 
to Cowichan Gap (Porlier Pass), in the neighborhood of which they 
remained for several weeks, working gradually northwest from this 
again by way of Gabriola Pass and Northumberland Channel to points 
near Nanaimo, where the last fishing of the season (Feb. 28) was done. 
(Gill netting and line fishing is carried on more or less throughout the 
whole year). Practically all of the fishing until within a short time of 
the spawning season is done in much the same depth of water (15-25 
fathoms). 
For a week or two before spawning the Pacific herring are so devoid 
of fat that they are not very palatable and after they are spent they are 
no better for some time. For that reason as well as to protect them 
during spawning, restrictive regulations have been framed to prevent 
as much as possible the catching of them after they show signs of spawning. 
In fish caught soon after spawning the gonads are so shrunken as 
to be scarcely noticeable, and they show but little change for two months 
or more. Then enlargement begins, but very slowly at first, so that even 
at the end of June, four months after spawning, each gonad usually 
weighs less than a gram. After this there are greater differences in 
development in different fish, probably depending somewhat on the 
age of the fish. At the end of six months they vary in weight from 2 
to 4 or even 5 grams and/are from one-quarter to one-half the size of 
the full grown gonad. The development during the last six months is 
as gradual as during the first six. At any one time the weight of the 
gonad bears a fairly definite ratio to the weight of the entire fish. The 
increase in the size of the egg will indicate the rate of enlargement of 
the gonad. Average eggs from fish obtained Oct. 10 were 0.7 mm. in 
diameter, Nov. 9, .85 to 0.9 mm., Dec. 12, 1.0 to 1.05, Jan. 28, I.1 to 1.2; 
Feb. 8, 1.25 to 1.30; Feb. 22, 1.35 to 1.40; Feb. 28, 1.4 to 1.6 (Spawned). 
This offers rather conclusive evidence that the Pacific herring at least 
spawns but once in the year. 
