﻿THE 
  HERRING 
  FISHERIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  NORTHEAST 
  COAST. 
  415 
  

  

  the 
  escape 
  of 
  the 
  larva 
  from 
  the 
  egg, 
  and 
  this 
  is 
  also 
  about 
  the 
  time 
  

   required 
  upon 
  the 
  eastern 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  Maine, 
  where 
  the 
  

   water 
  temperature 
  is 
  about 
  50° 
  F. 
  during 
  August 
  and 
  September. 
  

  

  As 
  showing 
  the 
  effect 
  of 
  temperature 
  upon 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  development 
  

   the 
  experiments 
  of 
  Dr. 
  Meyer 
  may 
  be 
  cited. 
  He 
  found 
  that 
  with 
  a 
  

   temperature 
  of 
  38,3° 
  F. 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  eggs 
  takes 
  40 
  days, 
  with 
  a 
  

   teinperature 
  of 
  44.6° 
  to 
  46.4° 
  F. 
  about 
  1~) 
  days, 
  aud 
  with 
  a 
  temperature 
  

   of 
  50° 
  to 
  51.8° 
  about 
  11 
  days, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  influence 
  of 
  temperature 
  

   upon 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  spring 
  herring 
  does 
  not 
  differ 
  from 
  its 
  influence 
  on 
  

   the 
  autumn 
  herring. 
  

  

  As 
  soon 
  as 
  the 
  yolk-sac 
  has 
  disappeared, 
  which 
  is 
  in 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  

   days, 
  the 
  young 
  begin 
  to 
  feed, 
  according 
  to 
  Meyer, 
  their 
  food 
  consisting 
  

   of 
  copepods 
  and 
  the 
  embryos 
  of 
  gastropods 
  and 
  lamellibranchs. 
  No 
  

   opportunity 
  was 
  had 
  at 
  Eastport 
  of 
  examining 
  the 
  food 
  of 
  such 
  young 
  

   fish, 
  but 
  individuals 
  from 
  2^ 
  to 
  3 
  inches 
  long 
  and 
  larger 
  were 
  found 
  

   gorged 
  with 
  copepods, 
  as 
  were 
  also 
  young 
  alewives, 
  an 
  allied 
  species, 
  

   2 
  inches 
  long. 
  From 
  the 
  abundance 
  of 
  copepods 
  in 
  the 
  neighborhood 
  

   of 
  the 
  Bay 
  of 
  Fundy 
  it 
  is 
  evident 
  that 
  the 
  newly 
  hatched 
  herrings 
  have 
  

   available 
  an 
  abundant 
  and 
  suitable 
  food 
  supply. 
  

  

  The 
  young 
  herring 
  grow 
  rapidly, 
  as 
  may 
  be 
  seen 
  from 
  the 
  following 
  

   table 
  of 
  sizes 
  of 
  herring 
  caught 
  in 
  the 
  Schlei, 
  in 
  Schleswig. 
  It 
  is 
  

   extracted 
  from 
  Meyer's 
  paper, 
  and 
  the 
  ages 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  are 
  approxi- 
  

   mately 
  correct 
  : 
  

  

  The 
  growth 
  of 
  the 
  herring, 
  as 
  of 
  other 
  fish, 
  is 
  largely 
  dependent 
  

   upon 
  the 
  abundance 
  of 
  the 
  food 
  supply, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  unsafe 
  to 
  make 
  com- 
  

   parisons 
  between 
  regions 
  where 
  the 
  biological 
  conditions 
  may 
  be 
  

   diverse, 
  but 
  a 
  comparison 
  may 
  be 
  made 
  of 
  the 
  several 
  sizes 
  of 
  the 
  

   brit 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Eastport. 
  

  

  On 
  August 
  2, 
  1893, 
  large 
  numbers 
  of 
  herring 
  2 
  to 
  2* 
  inches 
  long 
  were 
  

   seen 
  in 
  West 
  Quoddy 
  Bay. 
  It 
  is 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  question 
  that 
  those 
  fish 
  

   could 
  have 
  been 
  hatched 
  from 
  the 
  earlier 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  school 
  spawning 
  

   this 
  year 
  at 
  Grand 
  Manan, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  equally 
  improbable 
  that 
  they 
  

   (iould 
  have 
  grown 
  so 
  little 
  if 
  hatched 
  during 
  the 
  preceding 
  fall, 
  even 
  as 
  

   late 
  as 
  November. 
  We 
  must 
  suppose, 
  then, 
  th;it 
  they 
  were 
  derived 
  

   from 
  eggs 
  deposited 
  in 
  Oak 
  Bay, 
  the 
  nearest 
  spring 
  spawning-ground. 
  

   The 
  bulk 
  of 
  the 
  herring 
  there 
  appear 
  to 
  spawn 
  in 
  May, 
  and 
  placing 
  

   the 
  time 
  of 
  hatching 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  specimens 
  at 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  that 
  

   month, 
  we 
  would 
  have 
  three 
  months 
  as 
  an 
  estimate 
  of 
  their 
  age, 
  cer- 
  

   tainly 
  not 
  any 
  older 
  than 
  this 
  if 
  my 
  information 
  concerning 
  the 
  spring 
  

   spawning 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  credited. 
  In 
  the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  September 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  