THE FISHES OF GEORGIAN BAY 33 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 39b 



Leucichthys cisco huronius, Jordan and Evermann. 



(Huron herring) 



Numerous examples taken in shoal water in November. Some females 

 distended with eggs. Almost all male fish with rough tubercles, arranged in 

 longitudinal rows on the sides of the body, one on each scale in the row. Length 

 9i to 12 inches.. Head -20 to -22. Depth -21 to -25. Caudal peduncle, length 

 •09 to 1, depth -07. Eye -04 to -05. Interorbital distance -06 to -07. Maxilla 

 from tip of snout -07 to -08. Snout to occiput -14 to -17. Ventral to pectoral 

 •29 to '32. Length of pectoral contained in pectoral-ventral distance 2*03 to 

 2-82. Pectoral length • 12 to • 14. Ventral length • 13 to • 14. Dorsal height • 12 

 to -14. Anal depth -07 to -09. Adipose length -04 to -06. Dorsal fin with 10 

 or 11 rays. Anal with 11 or 12 rays. Scale 8 or 9, 77 to 88, 8 or 9. 31 to 36 

 oblique rows before the dorsal fin. 



The body is elongated, elliptical, with rather long and slender snout. Color- 

 ation of upper parts lustrous blue, the upper part of the head, maxilla and tip of 

 the mandible dark. Lateral line almost straight. 



Herrings are sometimes accused of destroying the spawn of other fishes, 

 but there is no evidence of this in these specimens taken during the spawning 

 time. The intestine was found to be filled with enormous numbers of minute 

 entomostraca of the plankton, bottom materials of any kind and fish eggs being 

 rare, and the latter probably ingested by accident. 



Small meshed gill-nets operated for herrings may do considerable damage 

 in places frequented by small whitefish of 9 inches or thereabouts in length. The 

 taking of such fish is unlawful, and most undesirable for obvious reasons, but the 

 regulation providing for their liberation, though evidently of preventive value, 

 is unfortunately not very practical. The same is true of undersized whitefish 

 taken in gill-nets of the authorized mesh for taking whitefish and trout. There 

 are perhaps some fishermen who either cannot or do not wish to make the im- 

 portant distinction between adult herrings and young whitefish, and the relative 

 numbers of small whitefish taken should be enquired into in localities where the 

 herring fishery is permitted. While the herring fishery is admittedly valuable, 

 it involves at least three objectionable elements, first the actual destruction of 

 the young of larger fishes, second, the burden on the provincial authorities of 

 inspecting for undersized fish, from the operation of small-meshed nets, and third, 

 the removal from the waters of the food supply of the lake-trout, which should 

 be estimated either on a basis of the amount of lake-trout taken from the water, 

 or the damage likely to be done to small whitefish as a result of lack of abundance 

 of herrings. 



39b— 3 n 



