﻿THE 
  HERRING 
  FISHERIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  NORTHEAST 
  COAST. 
  441 
  

  

  it 
  is 
  doubtful; 
  but 
  it 
  could 
  hardly 
  be 
  sufficient 
  to 
  drive 
  them 
  entirely 
  

   from 
  the 
  broad 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  bay, 
  nor 
  would 
  it 
  be 
  likely 
  to 
  actuate 
  them 
  

   to 
  remain 
  away 
  after 
  the 
  cause 
  had 
  ceased 
  to 
  operate, 
  unless 
  we 
  

   attribute 
  to 
  them 
  a 
  higher 
  order 
  of 
  psychological 
  development 
  than 
  

   most 
  persons 
  are 
  willing 
  to 
  admit. 
  The 
  recollection 
  of 
  imi)ediments 
  in 
  

   their 
  i)ath 
  is 
  not 
  a 
  sufficient 
  i-eason 
  to 
  explain 
  Avhy 
  they 
  should 
  avoid 
  

   a 
  locality 
  after 
  those 
  impediments 
  are 
  removed. 
  If, 
  however, 
  these 
  

   winter 
  schools 
  were 
  composed 
  of 
  fish 
  which 
  spawned 
  in 
  St. 
  Andrews 
  

   Bay 
  in 
  spring 
  — 
  a 
  probable 
  connection 
  yet 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  established 
  — 
  

   then 
  by 
  preventing 
  the 
  access 
  of 
  the 
  fish 
  to 
  the 
  spawning-grounds 
  the 
  

   nets 
  might, 
  after 
  compelling 
  the 
  schools 
  to 
  spawn 
  elsewhere 
  for 
  several 
  

   years, 
  gradually 
  change 
  their 
  distribution. 
  This 
  is 
  an 
  explanation 
  

   offered 
  by 
  some, 
  but 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  the 
  several 
  hypotheses 
  which 
  it 
  

   involves, 
  it 
  also 
  has 
  the 
  well-nigh 
  fatal 
  defect 
  that 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  explain 
  

   the 
  reason 
  why 
  the 
  fish 
  could 
  not 
  pass 
  to 
  the 
  spawning-grounds 
  after 
  

   the 
  cessation 
  of 
  the 
  winter 
  fishery 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  warm 
  weather. 
  The 
  

   spawning 
  season 
  ai)pears 
  to 
  have 
  occurred 
  in 
  May, 
  and 
  as 
  there 
  was 
  

   practically 
  no 
  fishery 
  in 
  most 
  years 
  after 
  March 
  15, 
  there 
  was 
  ample 
  

   opportunity 
  for 
  the 
  fish 
  to 
  come 
  ashore 
  in 
  the 
  meantime 
  if 
  such 
  were 
  

   their 
  habit 
  or 
  desire. 
  

  

  After 
  considering 
  the 
  several 
  phases 
  of 
  the 
  matter 
  presented 
  by 
  the 
  

   information 
  at 
  hand, 
  the 
  most 
  that 
  can 
  be 
  said 
  is 
  that 
  we 
  do 
  not 
  know 
  

   any 
  good 
  reason 
  for 
  the 
  disapi^earance 
  of 
  these 
  schools 
  and 
  the 
  loss 
  of 
  

   an 
  important 
  industry 
  to 
  the 
  fishermen 
  of 
  the 
  Passamaquoddy 
  region. 
  

  

  An 
  important 
  question 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  the 
  winter 
  herring 
  is 
  

   whether 
  or 
  not 
  we 
  are 
  justified 
  in 
  expecting 
  their 
  return, 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  

   connection 
  it 
  maybe 
  well 
  to 
  examine 
  experience 
  elsewhere. 
  In 
  several 
  

   places 
  in 
  Europe, 
  but 
  especially 
  upon 
  the 
  shores 
  of 
  the 
  Kattegat, 
  in 
  

   Sweden, 
  there 
  are 
  herring 
  fisheries 
  which 
  have 
  long 
  been 
  known 
  to 
  be 
  

   periodical. 
  "They 
  are 
  called 
  periodical 
  because, 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  known, 
  they 
  

   have 
  only 
  lasted 
  from 
  twenty 
  to 
  eighty 
  years, 
  with 
  intervals 
  of 
  sixty 
  to 
  

   one 
  hundred, 
  or 
  an 
  average 
  of 
  seventy 
  years." 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  observed 
  

   that 
  toward 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  these 
  periods 
  the 
  herrings 
  have 
  always 
  arrived 
  

   later 
  and 
  later 
  in 
  each 
  successive 
  year, 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  have 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  

   time 
  kept 
  farther 
  and 
  farther 
  away 
  from 
  the 
  coast. 
  This 
  appears 
  to 
  

   have 
  been 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  each 
  successive 
  ])eriod 
  during 
  hundreds 
  of 
  

   years, 
  and 
  when 
  such 
  retardation 
  begins 
  to 
  manifest 
  itself 
  in 
  the 
  fish- 
  

   eries 
  of 
  Bohusliin 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  customary 
  to 
  i)redict 
  with 
  certainty 
  the 
  

   approaching 
  loss 
  of 
  the 
  fishery. 
  

  

  Our 
  herring 
  fisheries, 
  and 
  especially 
  the 
  one 
  with 
  which 
  this 
  chapter 
  

   deals, 
  are 
  recent 
  as 
  compared 
  with 
  those 
  of 
  Europe. 
  We 
  have 
  no 
  

   records 
  running 
  back 
  for 
  hundreds 
  of 
  years, 
  ami 
  there 
  is 
  yet 
  no 
  data 
  

   for 
  asserting 
  the 
  periodicity 
  of 
  any 
  of 
  our 
  herring 
  schools, 
  but 
  it 
  will 
  

   be 
  observed 
  that 
  the 
  (conduct 
  of 
  the 
  winter 
  herring 
  ])ri(>r 
  to 
  their 
  dis- 
  

   a])pearancc 
  might 
  be 
  described 
  in 
  the 
  exact 
  words 
  applied 
  to 
  the 
  

   herring 
  of 
  Bohusliin. 
  

  

  