CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 



67 



The princii)al fishing is done in San Francisco and Tomales bays (see 

 figs 43 and 44). The species of herring under discussion is reported to 

 run in Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo County, and as far as is known that 

 is the southern limit of its range. Going north from IMorro Bay, the 

 next point at which they are found is in Monterey Bay, where they enter 

 Elk Horn Slough for the purpose of spawning. The schools are small 

 and the fish themselves are of small size. 



In San Francisco Bay the first schools appear in January and soon 

 begin spawning. The eggs are attached to the rocks and seaweeds 

 below low tide mark where they are supposed to hatch in a couple of 

 weeks (see fig 45). The spawning continues until April, when the fish 



Fig. 45. 



(a) Herring spawn on seaweed, San Francisco Bay, March, 1918. 

 of herring spawn. Photographs by N. B. Scofield. 



(&) A close view 



leave and are not seen again until the spawning season of the following 

 year. The fish composing these schools are rather small, few of them 

 reaching a length of ten inches. 



The herring enter Tomales Bay a month earlier and schools continue 

 to spawn at various places in the lower bay until March. They are 

 considered the best herring in California and many of the fish reach a 

 length of ten or eleven inches and are fatter than those found in other 

 parts of the state. 



Herring also spawn in Drakes Bay, Bodega Bay, Shelter Cove and 

 Humboldt Bay. A careful survey will probably show that these fish are 

 found in many other localities in northern California. The herring of 

 Shelter Cove and Humboldt Bay are reported as being only seven or 

 eight inches in length, which is smaller even than those farther to the 



