CHAPTEE VIII. 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING. 



Overfishing of the Herring — The Old Theory of Migration — Geographical 

 Distrihution of the Herring — Mr. John Cleghorn's Ideas of 'ithe 

 Natural History of the Herring — Mr. Mitchell on the National 

 ■Importance of that Pish — Commission of Inquiry into the' Herring- 

 Fishery — Grovrth of the Herring — The Sprat— Should there he a 

 Close-time ? — Caprioe of the Herring. 



The common herring is one of our most beautiful and abundant 

 fishes. It is taken throughout the year in vast quantities, thus 

 aflfording a plentiful supply of cheap and wholesome food to all 

 classes, whilst its capture and cure afford remunerative employ- 

 ment to a large body of industrious people. It is greatly to be 

 regretted, therefore, that recent fluctuations in the quantity 

 caught have given occasion for well-grounded fears of an 

 ultimate exhaustion of some of our largest shoals, or at all events 

 of so great a diminution of their producing power as probably 

 to render one or two of the best fisheries unproductive. This 

 is nothing new, however, in the history of the herring-fishery ; 

 various places can be pointed out, which, although now barren 

 of herrings, were formerly frequented by large shoals, that, from 

 overfishing or other causes, have been dispersed. 



This supposed overfishing of the herring has resulted chiefly 

 from our ignorance of the natural history of that fish — ignorance 

 which has long prevailed, and which we are only now beginning 

 to overcome. Indeed, much as the subject has been discussed 

 during the last ten years, and great as the light is that has been 

 thrown on the natural and economic history of oiur fish, consider- 

 ing the elemental difficulty which stands in the way of perfect 

 observation, there are yet persons who insist upon believing all 

 the old theories and romances pertaining to the lives of sea 

 animals. We occasionally hear of the great sea-serpent ; the 



