THE HERRING FISHERIES. 5 



factory solution of this problem the very existence of the 

 fishery greatly depends. If we do not know when to look 

 for the fish, we cannot catch them ; therefore anything that 

 adds to our knowledge on this point is a very material 

 assistance. A great many of our eminent men are of 

 opinion that the herring spawns twice a year. We know, 

 however, for certain that herrings appear at different times 

 at different places ; and the investigations of the last few 

 years have led us to believe that the object of their appear- 

 ance off the coasts is for the operation of spawning. For 

 instance, at Wick they appear between July and September ; 

 at Eyemouth between June and September; at Arran 

 between July and November ; and at Thurso as early as May. 

 In the Moray Firth the time is from June to September, 

 but in the Firth of Forth it is from November to March. 

 [It may be noted incidentally that the Scotch fishery of last 

 year was very successful.] In England we find the herrings 

 at Yarmouth between June and November, off Cornwall in 

 August and September, off Kent in October and November, 

 and off Yorkshire between July and September. In 

 Ireland they are fished at Galway in September ; off Kerry 

 between January and March ; and in the Irish Channel 

 between June and November. Taken as a general rule, 

 we may say that the winter herring generally spawns 

 in February and March, and the summer or autumn ? 

 herring in September and October. 



It is an easy transition from the subject of their spawning 

 time to the subject of their migration, or supposed migra- 

 tion. There was a time and we should not have to go 

 back very far when the theory of their migration from the 

 Arctic regions was most stoutly maintained. We know 

 better now. The interesting story was to the effect that 

 the normal abode of the herrings was in the Arctic seas, 

 E. 22. B 2 



