MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 17 



It is shown by these analyses that the smaller fish, of the real 

 sardine size, contain much less fat in the early part of the packing 

 season than later in the year. 



FOOD OF THE SEA HERRING. 



The sea herring, from which the Maine sardines are made, feeds 

 upon several varieties of marine life. According to European inves- 

 tigators, the feed(19) consists of copepods, schizopods (shrimp-like 

 forms), amphipods (sand fleas and their allies), the embryos of 

 gasteropods and lamellibranchs, and young fish often of its own kind. 

 In the examination of about 1,500 specimens at Eastport and vicinity 

 Moore found but two kinds of food. Copepods (" red f eed " ) appeared 

 to constitute the sole food of the small herrings, the so-called brit, and 

 a marked portion of that of the larger individuals from 5J inches 

 upward. The principal foods of the latter, however, were schizopods, 

 crustaceans of the genus Thycanopoda, known to the fisherman as 

 "shrimp." 



Scott(26) states that of 22 species of microscopic crustaceans found 

 in the stomachs of herrings examined by him the greater part were 

 Calanus finmarchicus, Temora longicornis, and Pseudocalanus elongatus. 



In an investigation on the packing of American sardines conducted 

 by the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, in 1911, at Eastport 

 and Lubec(ll), "red feed" was identified as the copepods Temora 

 longicornis, and Calanus finmarchicus . 



Calanus finmarchicus and Temora longicornis were the most numer- 

 ous of the crustaceans collected in the region extending from Dochet 

 Island to Grand Manan for the Marine Biological Station at St. 

 Andrews, N. B. (16). 



In exploring the coast water between Nova Scotia and Chesapeake 

 Bay, July and August, 1913, Dr. Henry B. Bigelow(2) found that 

 of the copepods the most abundant species was Calanus finmarchicus, 

 the Pseudocalanus elongatus ranking next, while in a few regions the 

 Temora longicornis was the most abundant. He considers, however, 

 that the Galanusjinmarchicus is the most abundant form found in the 

 waters of the Gulf of Maine. 



Apparently, therefore, the feed of the sea herring of the Passama- 

 quoddy Bay region may be divided into two general classes: 



1. The copepods 1 (PL X), of which Calanus finmarchicus , Pseudo- 

 calanus elongatus, and Temora longicornis are the species most often 

 found, undoubtedly constitute the chief form of the "red feed." 

 The herring consumes the copepods which, in turn, feed upon micro- 

 scopic plants, such as peridinia, and diatoms. R. Ramsey Wright (40) 



1 Identification of specimens made by the Division of Marine Invertebrates of the U. S. National 

 Museum. 



5890°— 20— Bull. 908 2 



