62 



MARINE AND FISHERIES 



1-2 EDWARD VII., A. 1902 



On August 15 a sample was received from Malloch's weir which had been taken 

 on a nizht tide. This was made up entirely of C. harengus, of which there were 211 

 ranging in size from 5 to 7 inches, and four ranging from 8 to 10 inches. 



On August 26 a small selection consisting of five fish was received from Malloch's 

 weir, composed as follows : — 



Species. 



No. of 

 Specimens. 



Size. 







inches. 





3 









Pomolobus pseudoharewjus, Wilson 



1 



9 



Rhombus triacanthus, Peck (Dollar-fish) 



1 



5i 



It is apparent from the above facts, limited though they undoubtedly were, that 

 the bulk of the catch of the brush weirs consist of the 5 to 7 inch young of the common 

 herring (Clupea harengus), and that these provide the material for the sardine industry. 

 The young of other clupeoid fishes do not appear to be affected, if one may judge by the 

 average selections sent to the Biological Station, by the operation of the weirs and the 

 adults of all only slightly. Further study is necessary, however, before a final decision 

 could be finally rendered on this point, as there may be a vaiiation in different seasons. 

 A more lengthy investigation extending over several seasons would be more conclusive. 

 As noticed above, all the specimens examined were taken in the immediate vicinity of 

 St. Andrews and during the month of August alone, and it may be possible, therefore, 

 that the character of the catch may vary considerably at different points on the coast 

 and at different periods of the sardine season. It is clear, in the case of the common 

 herring, that the removal of such enormous numbers of the young in the sardine industry 

 must be a very considerable drain on the supply however rapid the rate of increase may 

 be. Whether this is the essential factor in the decline of the herring fishery alleged to 

 have occurred in certain parts of the Bay of Fundy must remain doubtful, however, until 

 adequate causes of decline can be assigned in the case of other clupeoid fishes. 



An impression is stated to have, at one time, prevailed that the small fish used as 

 sardines, are not the young of any larger species, but a diminutive kind of herring, 

 which never exceeds a size of nine or ten inches. 



The true sardine has, of course, never yet been recorded on our Atlantic coast, 

 the so-called sardine in Florida being really an Atherine or kind of ' Silversides ' 

 scientifically known as Atherina stipes (laticeps). On the Pacific coast, moreover a small 

 Clupeoid occurs, viz. : Clupanodon caeruleus, Girard, usually known as the Californian 

 sardine. The anchovy (Engraulis mordax, Girard) also occurs and is canned in the 

 United States under the name of sardine ; but in British Columbia neither of these fishes 

 has been turned to commercial account. 



The growth of the Maine sardine industry has been remarkable especially in view 

 of the fact that the major part of the raw material comes from our Canadian waters. 

 From 1875 to 1880 it is stated (C. H. Stevenson, Bullet. U. S. Fish Commiss. xviii., 

 1898, p. 526) that there were only five sardine canneries in Maine; but in 1880 the 

 number rose to eighteen. In 1886 twenty-seven more establishments began operations. 

 This number (45) fell in 1889 to thirty-seven ; but in 1892 increased to forty-six, while 

 in 1898 there were nO less than sixty-two of these canneries putting up so-called 

 sardines. The average value is stated by Mr. Stevenson, in the report above referred to, 

 as $2,000,000 per annum ; but in 1898 the value rose to $2,727,781, and in 1899 the 

 New York Fishing Gazette estimated it to be not less than $3,000,000, the factories 

 being chiefly confined to the towns of Eastport and Lubeck, which practically maintain 

 their existence as flourishing business centres through this one industry. 



