568 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC -AmMALS. 



as to give rise to a great industry, disappeared iu the year 1808, as suddenly as they made their 

 appearance, and have not since been seen in any number. 



"The desertion of their ordinary grounds by the Herring has been attributed to all imaginable 

 causes, from fishing on a Sunday to the offense caused to the fish by the decomposing carcasses of 

 their brethren, dropped upon the bottom out of the nets. The truth is, that absolutely nothing is 

 known on the subject, and that little is likely to be known until careful and long-continued 

 meteorological and zoological observations have furnished definite information respecting the 

 changes which take place in the temperature of the sea, and the distribution of the pelagic 

 Crustacea which constitute the chief food of the herring shoals. The institution of systematic 

 observations of this kind is an object of international importance, toward the attainment of which 

 the British, Scandinavian, Dutch, and French Governments might wisely make a combined effort. 



"A great fuss has been made about trawlers working over the spawning grounds of the 

 Herring. 'It stands to reason,' we were told, 'that they must destroy ap immense quantity of the 

 spawn.' Indeed, this looked so reasonable that we inquired very particularly into a case of the 

 alleged malpractice which was complained of on the east coast of Scotland, near Pittenweem^ 

 Off this place there is a famous spawning ground known as the Traith Hole, and we were told 

 that the trawlers worked vigorously over the spot immediately after the Herring had deposited 

 their spawn. Of course ouT first proceeding was to ask the trawlers why they took the trouble of 

 doing what looked like wanton mischief. And their answer was reasonable enough. It was to 

 catch the prodigious abundance of flat-fish which were to be found on the Traith at that time. 

 Well, then, why did the flat-fish congregate there? Simply to feed on herring eggs, which seem 

 to be a sort of flat-fishes' caviare. The stomachs of the flat-fish brought up by the trawl were, in 

 fact, crammed with masses of herring eggs. Thus every flat fish caught by the trawl was an 

 energetic destroyer of Herring arrested in his career. And. the trawling, instead of injuring the 

 Herring, captured and removed hosts of their worst enemies. That is how 'it stood to reason' 

 when one got to the bottom of the matter. 



"I do not think that any one who looks carefully into the subject will arrive at any other 

 conclusion than that reached by my colleagues and myself, namely, that the best thing for govern- 

 ments to do in relation to the herring fisheries is,«to let them alone, except in so far as the police 

 of the sea is concerned. With this proviso, let people fish how they like, as they like, and when 

 they like. At present, I must repeat the conviction we expressed so many years ago, that there 

 is not a particle of evidefuce that anything man does has an appreciable influence on the stock of 

 Herrings. It will be time to meddle when any satisfactory evidence that mischief is being done 

 is produced." 



173. THE HERRIKGS OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 



The California Herring — Clupea mirabilis. 



"This species," w'rites Professor Jordan, "is universally known as the Herring. It indeed 

 scarcely differs in size, appearance, or qualities from the Herring of the Atlantic. It reaches a 

 length of about a foot. It is found for the entire length of the coast, being exceedingly abundant 

 northward. All the bay sand outlets of Puget Sound are filled with them in the summer. South 

 of Point Concepcion they are seldom seen except in winter. At San Diego they spawn iu the bay 

 in January. Farther north their spawning season comes later. They are so abundant in San 

 Francisco Bay in the spring that eighty pounds can often be bought for twenty cents. They are 

 fattest and bring the best price in early winter. The Herrings are smoked and dried, or salted, or 



