COUNCIL - MARCH 1920 - REPORT — 60 — 



VI. Meeting of the Herring Committee. 



Sitting — March 5th, 1920. 



Chairman: Dr. Hjort. 



Present; Mssrs. Fulton, Jones, Lea, Sund, Russell, Johnstone, Wollaston, Hefford, 



Järvi, Redeke, Andersson, Johansen. 



Dr. Hjort referred to the last meeting of the Herring Committee, which 

 took place in May 1914. At this meeting a definite programme of work was drawn 

 up, to be carried out by all countries concerned. The prosecution of this work 

 was to a great extent prevented by the War, but Norway had continued researches 

 on seine and drift caught herrings during the war. Dr. Hjort referred to his visit 

 to Canada in 1914, to examine the conditions of age and growth of the herrings 

 in Canadian waters. The data dealing with these points had been worked up by 

 Mr. EiNAR Lea, and the published report was laid before the meeting. One of the 

 most interesting results of the work was the discovery that in Canadian, as in 

 European waters, herrings from different localities showed marked differences in 

 their rate of growth, and in the predominance of certain year classes, which persisted 

 from year to year. Thus, the Canadian herrings could be divided into so many 

 "kinds" or races, according to these characters. Dr. Hjort in expressing his regret 

 at having to sever his connection with the herring work, proposed that the Nor- 

 wegian Government should be asked to undertake the expenses and responsibility 

 of administration of the herring researches. He then requested Mr. Einar Lea 

 to give an account of the researches carried out on seine-caught herrings in Norway 

 during the war. 



Mr. Einar Lea read a paper on the above question, which had been prepared 

 for public information in Norway. He referred to diagrams which were laid before 

 the meeting. The samples of herring examined were very strongly marked by the 

 predominance of certain year groups. In the beginning of 1915 herrings of the year 

 group 1904 formed by far the largest part of the catch, though, later in the season, 

 a new and rich year group, namely that of 1910, began to make its appearance. 

 Between the year groups 1904 and 1910 lies a series of poorly represented year groups. 



In 1915, year group 1904 is still predominant at the beginning of the season; 

 the year groups 1910, 1911 and 1912 later make their appearance and form a large 

 percentage of the catch. 



In 1916 similar conditions prevail. In 1917 a very rich new year group, 

 that of 1913, preponderates in the latter part of the season, the larger herrings 

 being mainly of the group 1904, as in former years. In 1918 and 1919 the year- 

 groups 1913 and 1904 still form over 50 7o of the total catch, though the herrings 

 of the latter group are now 15 years old. 



The "Large" drift-caught herrings proved to be of the same age composition 

 as the seine-caught "spring herrings". 



