152 MARKETABLE BRITISH MARINE FISHES 



near the Isle of May, and continued to be dredged there in 

 abundance till March 13th. The spawn was sticking to stones, 

 gravel, and shells in great abundance. The ground where the 

 spawn was deposited was stated to be too rough and rocky for 

 trawlers to work over. 



When the present author was stationed at Granton in the 

 years 1884-87 he had frequent opportunities of repeating Pro- 

 fessor Allman's observations. He found evidence that the 

 spawning commenced as early as January i8th. The ground, 

 however, was not altogether unvisited by trawlers. At that 

 time a number of steam trawlers worked from Granton, and 

 in January, February, and March these used regularly to 

 trawl over the herring-spawning ground for the purpose of 

 netting the immense number of haddocks which congregated 

 there to feed on the herring spawn. On one occasion a trawler 

 got his trawl so full of haddocks that he could not hoist it on 

 board, but towed it to Granton harbour with the fish in it. 

 These haddocks were found to have their stomachs gorged with 

 herring spawn. 



Another regular winter-herring fishery which has been 

 studied by naturalists is that of the Ballantrae Banks on the 

 west coast of Scotland, off the village of that name in Ayrshire. 

 Here the spawning takes place in February and March, and an 

 examination of the beds and of the spawn, which was dredged 

 up from the gravelly bottom in large quantities, was made in 

 1884 by Professor Ewart on behalf of the Scottish Fishery 

 Board. Another naturalist, Mr. George Brook, studied the 

 movements of the herring in the Firth of Clyde for several 

 months, and considered that the famous Loch P^yne herring were 

 fish which entered that loch after shedding their spawn on the 

 Ballantrae Banks. It would seem extremely probable in this 

 case that the Loch Fyne herring are hatched and reared within 

 the limits of the Firth of Clyde, and belong to that region as 

 permanently as perch or pike belong to their own river. At the 

 same time it must be mentioned that spawning herring were 

 found in Kilbrennan Sound and near Campbelltown in August 

 and September, and whether these are also local fish, or a race 

 belonging more to the open sea, there is not sufficient evidence 

 to show. We have at present no reason to suppose that the 

 same herring spawn twice a year. 



