﻿THE 
  HERRING 
  FISHERIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  NORTHEAST 
  COAST. 
  439 
  

  

  schools, 
  but 
  when 
  they 
  are 
  pressed 
  for 
  reasons 
  it 
  is 
  found 
  that 
  their 
  

   theories 
  are 
  based 
  upon 
  insuflticieut 
  data. 
  Some 
  of 
  those 
  whom 
  circum- 
  

   stances 
  caused 
  me 
  to 
  regard 
  as 
  the 
  most 
  observant 
  and 
  better 
  informed 
  

   among- 
  them 
  frankly 
  confess 
  themselves 
  nnable 
  to 
  state 
  whether 
  these 
  

   winter 
  herring 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  school 
  which 
  spawns 
  at 
  (Irand 
  Manan 
  in 
  

   summer 
  and 
  fall 
  or 
  to 
  that 
  which 
  formerly 
  spawned, 
  and 
  to 
  some 
  

   extent 
  still 
  spawns, 
  in 
  St. 
  Andrews 
  Bay 
  and 
  Oak 
  Bay 
  in 
  spring, 
  during 
  

   the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  April 
  and 
  early 
  in 
  May. 
  That 
  these 
  two 
  si)awning 
  

   schools 
  are 
  not 
  comiiosed 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  iish 
  is 
  unquestionable, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  

   possible, 
  though 
  not 
  very 
  j)robable, 
  that 
  the 
  winter 
  herring 
  may 
  com- 
  

   prise 
  members 
  of 
  both 
  of 
  these 
  schools 
  attracted 
  shoreward 
  for 
  the 
  sake 
  

   of 
  the 
  food 
  to 
  be 
  there 
  obtained. 
  

  

  The 
  shoreward 
  movement 
  of 
  schools 
  of 
  herring 
  is 
  usually 
  conditioned 
  

   by 
  one 
  of 
  two 
  desires 
  — 
  the 
  instinct 
  of 
  reproduction 
  or 
  the 
  desire 
  for 
  

   Ibod. 
  As 
  the 
  winter 
  herring 
  always 
  arrive 
  with 
  very 
  immature 
  genital 
  

   glands, 
  it 
  is 
  evident 
  that 
  the 
  first 
  of 
  these 
  is 
  not 
  to 
  be 
  considered 
  in 
  

   this 
  connection, 
  aiul 
  we 
  must 
  assume 
  that 
  the 
  desire 
  for 
  food 
  is 
  the 
  

   impelling 
  motive 
  to 
  which 
  the 
  fishermen 
  have 
  been, 
  until 
  recently? 
  

   indebted 
  for 
  this 
  profitable 
  fishery, 
  though, 
  as 
  will 
  be 
  shown, 
  some 
  at 
  

   least 
  probably 
  remain 
  to 
  spawn. 
  

  

  As 
  before 
  stated, 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  run 
  of 
  herring 
  at 
  Herring 
  Cove 
  and 
  the 
  

   neighboring 
  portions 
  of 
  Campobello 
  in 
  October. 
  According 
  to 
  the 
  

   fishermen, 
  these 
  fish 
  are 
  still 
  caught 
  as 
  usual 
  and 
  are 
  similar 
  to 
  a 
  school 
  

   which 
  appeared 
  at 
  the 
  place 
  mentioned 
  in 
  September, 
  1895. 
  Tliese 
  

   herring 
  were 
  evidently 
  spent, 
  and 
  no 
  doubt 
  had 
  just 
  arrived 
  from 
  the 
  

   spawning-grounds 
  at 
  Grand 
  Manan 
  or 
  elsewhere, 
  and 
  the 
  October 
  

   school 
  should 
  doubtless 
  be 
  traced 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  source. 
  After 
  the 
  Octo- 
  

   ber 
  school 
  left 
  there 
  was 
  an 
  interval 
  of 
  about 
  a 
  week 
  or 
  a 
  fortnight 
  

   before 
  the 
  arrival 
  of 
  the 
  regular 
  winter 
  school, 
  which, 
  the 
  fishermen 
  

   say, 
  diii'ered 
  in 
  ai)i)earance 
  from 
  those 
  which 
  came 
  earlier. 
  This 
  difi'er- 
  

   ence, 
  however, 
  may 
  be 
  due 
  solely 
  to 
  difference 
  in 
  condition 
  caused 
  by 
  

   relative 
  remoteness 
  from 
  the 
  sjjawning 
  season, 
  amount 
  of 
  food, 
  etc.; 
  

   but 
  if 
  we 
  accept 
  the 
  statement 
  that 
  the 
  roes 
  and 
  milts 
  are 
  small 
  in 
  

   November 
  and 
  well 
  developed 
  in 
  March, 
  it 
  Mould 
  establish 
  a 
  distinction 
  

   between 
  tlie 
  schools 
  of 
  October 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  late 
  fall 
  and 
  winter. 
  The 
  

   same 
  herring 
  does 
  not 
  spawn 
  twice 
  in 
  a 
  season, 
  and 
  those 
  spawning 
  at 
  

   one 
  time 
  do 
  not 
  apparently 
  associate 
  with 
  those 
  spawning 
  at 
  another; 
  

   in 
  other 
  words, 
  the 
  schools 
  of 
  adults 
  tend 
  to 
  remain 
  distinct, 
  and 
  not 
  only 
  

   si)awn 
  at 
  different 
  times, 
  but 
  select 
  ditierent 
  grounds 
  for 
  the 
  purpose. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  well 
  known 
  that 
  the 
  winter 
  herring 
  remained 
  in 
  St. 
  Andrews 
  

   Bay 
  usually 
  into 
  the 
  month 
  of 
  April, 
  though 
  the 
  testimony 
  of 
  the 
  fish- 
  

   ermen 
  would 
  indicate 
  that 
  they 
  sometimes 
  did 
  not 
  go 
  there 
  at 
  all, 
  or 
  

   at 
  least 
  during 
  cold 
  weather. 
  It 
  is 
  equally 
  well 
  known 
  that 
  they 
  

   spawned 
  in 
  St. 
  Andrews 
  Bay 
  and 
  Oak 
  Bay 
  about 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  

   May, 
  and 
  this 
  date 
  would 
  about 
  correspond 
  with 
  the 
  spawning 
  season 
  

   of 
  herring 
  which 
  contained 
  large 
  but 
  hard 
  spawn 
  in 
  March. 
  

  

  