732 KEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [4] 



course, caught first. If the race of great herring in question had its 

 permanent home in the eastern Skagerak, it ought to approach our 

 coast only a little before (or almost at the same time with) the herring 

 which come from a greater distance ; whilst on the contrary, like all large 

 and full herring, they remain in greater deptbs, and never go as high up 

 the fiords as the smaller or the spent herring. Dr. Trybom's objection 

 seems to have been caused by his overlooking the common circumstance 

 that rich herring fisheries are preceded by small and inferior herring, 

 and that the herring in question need not be found any nearer the coast 

 than the spent herring, even if they should have entered a large fiord 

 somewhat earlier than the latter. Last year's experience, however, seems, 

 in my opinion, to i^oint to the fact that these herring are a separate race, 

 which possibly may in some way be connected with the Norwegian spring 

 herring, which they resemble in several important points. Dr. Try bom, 

 who, during the winters of 1880-'81 and 1881-'82, visited the coast of 

 Bohuslan to study the herring and the herring fisheries, considers it 

 probable that the larger among the herring spawning in autumn which 

 visit the coast of Bohuslan, finish their spawning process so late in the 

 season, that instead of its going on during the coldest season, it goes on 

 towards its close, which is towards the end of winter or beginning of 

 spring. As an objection to this view it may be said that a delay of 

 from three to four, and even five months in the spawning season of part 

 of a race of herring, although on the east coast of Scotland and some 

 other places, assumed as an explanation of entirely different circum- 

 sitances, is hardly credible, and has, as a fact, not been observed either 

 in the North Sea or the Kattegat. No such autumnal spawning is 

 known on the west coast of Norway. The herring which spawn in 

 spring in the southern Kattegat and the Sound and Belt are smaller 

 than the herring of the same waters which spawn in autumn ; and are, 

 moreover, distinguished from the latter by external differences of form. 

 The herring of the southern part of the North Sea, whieh spawn towards 

 the end of winter, also seem to be smaller than the herring of the same 

 waters which spawn in autumn. This whole question can hardly be 

 answered satisfactorily before the present Bohuslan herring periodhas 

 come to a close, and proper observations have been made relative to the 

 interval between the periods. It is not, however, of any great practical 

 importance, at least as far as the choice between Dr. Trybom's opinion 

 and mine is concerned. If we desire to enter the unlimited domain of 

 suppositions, we shall here find a promising field for numerous new 

 hypotheses. 



As regards the question of the origin of the different races of her- 

 ring, it will be sufficient to say that as a general rule it is treated in 

 too one-sided a manner as an isolated fact, or, at best, but few of the 

 circumstances which have something to do with it are taken as a suf- 

 ficient explanation. The same remark also applies to the question as to 

 what races of herring are actually found in the Skagerack. This as a 



