50 



Appendices to Fourth Anmial Report 



be the result of over-feeding. When a gut-poke herring is examined a large 

 amount of red oily matter may be seen to issue from the vent. This 

 appears to consist almost entirely of the partly digested remains of 

 copepods. The stomach being overtaxed, a large percentage of the oil 

 contained in the Calani passes along the intestine undigested, and issues 

 from the vent mixed with the chitinous shells and other disintegrated 

 remains of the copepods. 



When the fish are in this condition they are of little market value, as they 

 will not keep at all. They are quite good to eat if cleaned at once, but 

 after being kept some time putrefaction sets in, and the whole alimentary 

 tract becomes blackened. The evil is only a temporary one, and if the fish 

 are left to themselves they soon regain their normal condition. I see from 

 the evidence given before the Royal Commission appointed to inquire 

 into the herring fisheries in 1877 that many fishermen urged that gut- 

 poke herring should not be taken, and that a bye-law should be passed 

 to prohibit their capture. This would indeed be a useful measure, as if 

 allowed to remain a few weeks the fish would sell for three or four times 

 their value in the gut-poke condition. I fail, however, to see how it 

 could be carried out. The gut-poke herring are so mixed up with those 

 in a healthy condition that it is impossible to catch the one without the 

 other. There appears therefore no remedy. 



Spavming. 



Loch Fyne has now lost its ancient reputation as a spawning ground. 

 During the last twenty years scarcely any herring have spawned in Upper 

 Loch Fyne. Prior to that period the waters north of Otter Spit were 

 teeming with spawning herring in the month of October, the head of the 

 loch having been a particularly favourite quarter. Hitherto I have not 

 had an opportunity of examining these deserted spawning beds, but hope 

 to report on them on a future occasion. In the lower portion of Loch 

 Fyne, i.e., from Ardrishaig to Skipness Point, a number of herring appear 

 to spawn every season. So far as my investigations go, however, there 

 does not appear to be any regular spawning bank such as is found at 

 Ballantrae. I found a few herring ripe in various localities from the end 

 of July, but ripe herring were not caught in the same locality night 

 after night. About the middle of July a few ripe males were obtained 

 off Laggan on several occasions. It was noted that there were more 

 ripe fish when the take was small, and in the larger takes the ripe 

 herring were usually meshed in the net. In the beginning of August a 

 few ripe females were obtained in the same locality on three or four con- 

 secutive nights. From this time to the 12th of September no ripe females 

 were obtained near shore between Tarbert and Skipness so far as I have 

 been able to ascertain. On most occasions, however, a few males could 

 be obtained which were either quite ripe or nearly so. 



During the latter part of August, when no ripe females were obtained 

 by the trawlers, it was a common thing for the drift-net men, who had 

 been fishing in the centre and as far south as the Cock of Arran, to bring 

 in small catches of herring containing a large percentage of ripe females. 

 On many occasions the roe lay in heaps in the bottom of the boats. 

 During August and the early part of September a few ripe herring were 

 taken occasionally in the north bay at Barmore. Their occurrence was, 

 however, very irregular. Full herring were also taken between Ardrishaig 

 and Barmore by drift-nets in the latter part of August, and a few were 

 secured in a similar manner near the east shore of Loch Fyne. 



Without doubt the greatest numbers of full fish were found south of 



