Fishery Board for Scotland. 



xix 



grow after the fifth month, or when they spawn for the first time, or Scientific 

 when they reach the stage of full-grown herring, we at present Inves tigations 

 have no information. 



Tn addition to these valuable observations, for which we are work on 

 indebted to Dr H. A. Meyer, the Eeports of the German Commis- ^ e g^ nen * 

 sioners contain amongst other papers of interest, two by Kupffer of Herring! 116 

 on the early stages of the development of the herring, one by 

 Heincke on the varieties of the herring, which goes to show that 

 the winter herring differ from the autumn herring, and another on 

 the structure of the herring. The various memoirs will be referred 

 to in detail, when the subjects to which they refer are discussed at 

 length in this or in future Eeports. 



In addition to the work done by the German Commission, a 

 number of observations'have been made by Norwegian and Swedish 

 naturalists. 



In 1860 the Norwegian Parliament voted a sum for the investi- Investigations 

 gation of the Norwegian fisheries, and Axel J. Bceck was commis- £y Norwegian 



u0vcrnrn6nt 



sioned to investigate the herring fisheries. Boeck found that 

 herring congregated over large level portions of the bottom covered 

 with gravel, in order to spawn ; and he afterwards succeeded in 

 dredging large lumps of roe mixed with gravel, and in proving Roe found 

 that it was over these flat gravel-coated areas that the largest takes with 

 were obtained. From other observations, he concluded that herring 

 never go far from the shore, and that they always move along 

 certain channels; and further, that their movements are to a certain 

 extent influenced by wind and the temperature of the air, the 

 herring seeking deeper water when the temperature rises. 



In 1874 the results of observations on the herring fisheries Observations 

 made by Axel Ljungman, for the Swedish Government, were Government 

 published. Ljungman found that the herring off the coast of 

 Sweden spawned on rough ground and on clayey bottoms, when 

 covered with aquatic plants, and that the ' small herring ' began to 

 spawn at the end of May or beginning of June. From studying 

 the movements of herring, he concluded — (1) that they avoided 

 the light, and for this reason were most active at the rising 

 and setting of the sun; (2) that in stormy weather, especially 

 with sea-winds, they sought deep water, while with ordinary land 

 winds they approached the shore ; and (3) that waters far from 

 the ocean (e.g., the Baltic) are never visited by great shoals. 



In 1878 the United States Commission (appointed in 1870 to Herring Eggs 

 institute inquiries as to the fisheries), which has done excellent u^tedstates 

 work in connection with both fresh water and sea fisheries, made a Fish Commis- 

 number of experiments with herring eggs, and proved that they slon - 

 could be easily artificially fertilised and hatched. 



C. Work undertaken since the institution of the New Board. 



In 1882 the Board of British White Herring Fishery having Fishery Board 

 been dissolved, the present Fishery Board for Scotland was estab- ^ t f t c ° t ^ nd 

 lished to carry on the work of superintending the fisheries, and, in 1118 1 u e ' 

 addition, to ' take such measures for their improvemnet as the funds 

 ' under their administration may admit of.' The Board soon dis- 

 covered that without further information as to the habits and life 



