THE HERRING FAMILY 1 85 



It has long been known that anchovies occur with great 

 regularity, but in varying abundance, off the coasts of Devon and 

 Cornwall in the last months of the year. For several years 

 observations on the occurrence of these fish were made by myself 

 and others at the Plymouth Laboratory, and a fleet of small- 

 meshed nets was procured and shot on purpose to catch them. 

 They are usuall}^most in evidence in November. In 1889 a con- 

 siderable number were taken by the sprat fishermen, fishing with 

 drift nets, off Dover, then they were taken in the sprat seines in 

 Torbay. They continued to be captured till the beginning of 

 January at Torquay. In November, 1890, a thousand of the 

 fish were obtained from the pilchard boats off Plymouth in two 

 days. These facts seem to indicate very strongly that the 

 anchovies leave the coast of Holland in October, and migrate 

 down the English Channel. It would follow that they return 

 to Holland about April. But although a few have been taken 

 by the small-meshed nets off Plymouth in April, they have 

 not yet been found to be so abundant at that time as in 

 November. No indication that any anchovies are present near 

 Plymouth in summer, or that they spawn there, has ever been 

 ■obtained. It appears then that the\- move northwards to 

 spawn. 



But then the question arises, If the anchovies move north- 

 ward to spawn, why do not others come up from the Bay of 

 Biscay to spawn in the English Channel ? The reply to this 

 apparently is because the shallow enclosed waters of the coast 

 of Holland are much warmer in summer than the waters of the 

 English Channel, and colder in winter. In July, 1891, the mean 

 temperature off Plymouth was 57"3° ; in the same month in the 

 Zuyder Zee it was 627°. In February, 1892, off Plymouth it 

 was 45'i° ; in the Zuyder Zee in the same month 36°. Thus the 

 anchovies are driven south by the cold, and in summer by going 

 to the Zuyder Zee they get water as warm, as it is farther south 

 in the Bay of Biscay, where also anchovies probably spawn ; but 

 we do not know the latter fact by actual observation at present. 



So far as comparisons have been made at present, evidence 

 of abundance of anchovies in the Channel in November is 

 followed by a large catch in the Zuyder Zee in the following 

 summer. But a small catch in the Zuyder Zee has not always 

 been followed by a scarcity in the Channel. The two years 



