﻿416 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FIKH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  same 
  year 
  herring 
  about 
  3 
  inches 
  long 
  were 
  observed 
  at 
  St. 
  Andrews, 
  

   and 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  September, 
  1895, 
  large 
  numbers 
  of 
  about 
  this 
  

   size 
  were 
  seen 
  playing 
  at 
  the 
  surface 
  in 
  the 
  St. 
  Croix 
  River 
  between 
  

   Deer 
  Island 
  and 
  the 
  "Perry 
  Shore" 
  of 
  Maine, 
  these 
  also 
  being, 
  with 
  

   little 
  doubt, 
  fish 
  hatched 
  during 
  the 
  preceding 
  May. 
  Comparing 
  these 
  

   two 
  sizes 
  with 
  Meyer's 
  table, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  equal 
  to 
  the 
  

   Schlei 
  herring 
  a 
  month 
  older, 
  and 
  this 
  is 
  perhaps 
  not 
  surprising 
  when 
  

   we 
  consider 
  the 
  great 
  richness 
  of 
  the 
  food 
  supply 
  of 
  the 
  Passama- 
  

   quoddy 
  district. 
  

  

  On 
  August 
  2, 
  1893, 
  the 
  same 
  day 
  upon 
  which 
  the 
  2-inch 
  herring 
  were 
  

   taken, 
  large 
  numbers 
  of 
  5^-iuch 
  herring 
  were 
  caught 
  in 
  the 
  weirs 
  at 
  

   Fry 
  Island, 
  New 
  Brunswick, 
  and 
  in 
  6 
  hogsheads 
  of 
  such 
  fish 
  there 
  were 
  

   but 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  large 
  ones. 
  It 
  seems 
  most 
  reasonable 
  to 
  regard 
  these 
  

   as 
  fish 
  hatched 
  during 
  the 
  preceding 
  fall, 
  and 
  as 
  they 
  could 
  not 
  have 
  

   been 
  spawned 
  later 
  than 
  October 
  (about 
  the 
  last 
  of 
  the 
  spawning 
  season 
  

   in 
  eastern 
  Maine 
  and 
  New 
  Brunswick) 
  they 
  were 
  from 
  9 
  to 
  10 
  mouths 
  

   old 
  at 
  the 
  least. 
  

  

  A 
  few 
  days 
  later 
  (August 
  8 
  et 
  seq.) 
  large 
  quantities 
  from 
  6 
  to 
  7 
  

   inches 
  long 
  — 
  a 
  few 
  of 
  the 
  largest 
  being 
  almost 
  7^ 
  inches 
  — 
  were 
  taken 
  

   at 
  various 
  places 
  near 
  L'Etang. 
  Two 
  views 
  of 
  these 
  fish 
  present 
  them- 
  

   selves 
  — 
  either 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  hatched 
  from 
  the 
  earlier 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  

   summer 
  and 
  fall 
  of 
  1892, 
  or 
  from 
  spring 
  eggs 
  of 
  that 
  year. 
  In 
  consid- 
  

   eration 
  of 
  the 
  larger 
  number 
  caught 
  at 
  various 
  places 
  about 
  this 
  time, 
  

   and 
  of 
  the 
  limited 
  extent 
  of 
  the 
  spring 
  spawning 
  school 
  at 
  Oak 
  Bay, 
  it 
  

   is 
  the 
  more 
  probable 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  the 
  progeny 
  of 
  the 
  large 
  fall 
  schools, 
  

   and 
  when 
  compared 
  with 
  the 
  5^-inch 
  herring 
  before 
  mentioned, 
  it 
  may 
  

   be 
  fair 
  to 
  assume 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  hatched 
  from 
  the 
  earlier 
  eggs, 
  say 
  in 
  

   July 
  or 
  August, 
  and 
  are, 
  consequently, 
  12 
  to 
  13 
  months 
  old. 
  A 
  few 
  

   herring, 
  8 
  to 
  8J 
  inches 
  long, 
  with 
  very 
  immature 
  ovaries, 
  were 
  taken 
  

   with 
  these, 
  and 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  individuals 
  of 
  the 
  spring 
  spawning 
  of 
  

   1892, 
  i. 
  e., 
  15 
  months 
  old; 
  they 
  could 
  hardly 
  have 
  been 
  as 
  old 
  as 
  two 
  

   years. 
  

  

  As 
  before 
  stated, 
  the 
  smallest 
  ripe 
  herring 
  seen 
  were 
  9i 
  to 
  10 
  inches 
  

   long, 
  and 
  there 
  were 
  few 
  of 
  these 
  relatively 
  to 
  the 
  ripe 
  fish 
  examined. 
  

   If 
  the 
  ages 
  already 
  assigned 
  are 
  correct, 
  these 
  must 
  be 
  at 
  least 
  2 
  

   years 
  old, 
  and 
  can 
  hardly 
  be 
  more 
  than 
  3 
  years. 
  It 
  will 
  be 
  noticed 
  

   that 
  I 
  assume 
  an 
  increase 
  in 
  length 
  of 
  but 
  1^ 
  inches 
  in 
  eight 
  or 
  nine 
  

   months, 
  but 
  it 
  must 
  be 
  remembered 
  that 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  growth 
  in 
  fish 
  is 
  

   usually 
  less 
  rapid 
  as 
  they 
  approach 
  maturity, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  maturation 
  

   of 
  the 
  genital 
  products 
  makes 
  such 
  a 
  heavy 
  draught 
  upon 
  the 
  nutri- 
  

   tion 
  that 
  it 
  in 
  all 
  probability 
  considerably 
  retards 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  growth. 
  

  

  The 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Eastport 
  presents 
  difficulties 
  in 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  rate 
  

   of 
  growth, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  extension 
  of 
  active 
  spawning 
  over 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  

   four 
  months 
  in 
  summer 
  and 
  fall, 
  which 
  with 
  the 
  addition 
  of 
  the 
  spring 
  

   season 
  makes 
  it 
  possible 
  for 
  fish 
  hatched 
  during 
  the 
  same 
  year 
  to 
  

   differ 
  six 
  months 
  in 
  age. 
  A 
  great 
  variety 
  of 
  sizes 
  may 
  be 
  taken 
  at 
  

   almost 
  any 
  time 
  during 
  spring 
  and 
  fall, 
  and 
  standards 
  are 
  difficult 
  to 
  

  

  