40 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



herring occurred, migrating only in restricted areas and that they con- 

 gregated in dense schools at the period of ripeness. At such times, 

 which may be termed "times of seasonal schooling," the fishing 

 operations can be carried on profitably and successfully. 



Dr. Hjort's investigations in Canada must be regarded 

 Methods of ^g Qf ^ preliminary nature, but they show some results 



of great interest. Limits of time and opportunity 

 rendered it necessary to confine the investigations to certain main 

 features, and, in studying the specimens of herring obtained, the 

 features regarded by Heincke as the most important received spe;cial 

 attention. These were : 



(o) Number of fin-rays in the dorsal fin; 



(&) Number of fin-rays in the anal fin ; 



(c) Number of keel scales behind the ventral fins; 



(rf) Total number of vertebrae ; 



(e) Number of first vertebrae with haemal arch. 



For the study of these characters, samples of fifty to seventy-five 

 individuals were selected from the following localities : the west coast 

 of Newfoundland; the gulf of St. Lawrence, especially Magdalen 

 islands and Northumberland strait ; the Atlantic coast of Cape Breton, 

 especially west of L'Ardoise; the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, 

 especially near Lockeport ; the bay of Fundy, andof Gloucester, Mass. 



During 1915, Dr. Hjort continued his work, assisted by Prof. 

 Willey of McGill University, Dr. Bjerkam of Bergen, Dr. Huntsman 

 of Toronto, Dr. J. W. Mavor of Wisconsin and a Norwegian captain. 

 Their report is now in preparation. 



Knowlbdcs Acquired by Investigations in the North Sea 



Scientists have urged two extreme opinions with 

 Distribution regard to the distribution of herring in the North sea, 



namely, (1) a great migration of one vast school, and 

 (2) the limited migration of a number of local races. Variants of 

 these two theories have been much discussed. On the whole, writers 

 have, since the time of Linnaeus, distinguished between different races 

 or varieties of herring, and Nilsson determined that two great types 

 could be distinguished off the coast of Norway, namely, the outside 

 oceanic herring (forma oceanica), and the inshore or coast herring 

 (forma tanensis), which has a larger eye in proportion to its length 

 than the ocean herring. 



