ihe -Pacinc. Herring 
By C. McLEAN FRASER. . 
Marine Biological Station, Nanamio, B.C. 
Of the numerous species of fish found in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, 
adjacent to the coast of North America, none plays a more important réle in 
general marine economy than a species that is rather despised from a commerical 
point of view, the Pacific herring. The salmon, the halibut and the cod receive 
almost all the consideration when North Pacific fish are mentioned, but the 
herring, if it is included at all, comes as an afterthought. This is not because 
of any lack of food value or any lack of supply, but rather because of a lack of 
appreciation of the truly wonderful possibilities of development in the value 
of the herring industry. 
While in the case of the halibut and the salmon there are strong indications 
that human interference is more or less rapidly decreasing the numbers, in the 
case of the herring the human factor has been too insignificant to make any 
material impression. 
As a species the herring has a more extensive distribution than any other 
food fish of the coast, with the possible exception of the spring salmon, as appar- 
ently there is an abundance all the way from San Francisco, or farther south, 
to the Arctic Ocean. In all the wide range there is little difference in general 
appearance and habits, as far as I have been able to ascertain, except that in 
Bering Sea there appears to be a race in which the individuals grow much larger 
than at other points along the coast. As I have been unable to get any of these 
for examination I have no opinion to offer as to the cause of such difference. 
For several years I have made use of opportunities for observing the habits 
of the herring and for collecting data on the life history, and while much of the 
material remains to be worked up and many of the data are still to be correlated, 
since specimens have been obtained at all times of the year and at all ages a 
somewhat connected idea of the life history has been obtained. 
Most of the observations have been made in the vicinity of the Biological 
Station, Nanaimo, B.C., and in general the statements made in this paper will 
have special reference to these. 
In the herring the gregarious habit is carried to the extreme. To attempt 
to describe the size of, or the numbers in, a herring school to one who has never 
seen anything of that nature is but to court the destruction of one’s reputation 
for veracity. To watch them as they feed near the surface of the water, or as 
they are rounded up in a seine, one is struck with the wonderful degree of uni- 
formity in size of all the individuals of the school. Careful measurements of a 
large number bear out this fact. In the case of those caught in the purse seines, 
where none has a chance to escape, the average length is about 20 cm. or 8 inches, 
the caudal fin rays not included, and the average weight 100 grams or 3.6 oz. 
105 
