512 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



to 30 fathoms in the fall, but elsewhere the migration is onto the shoals and into the 

 bays. None of the fish are known to remain in shallow water during the winter, 

 and only at a few ports are they known to return to shallow water again in the spring, 

 though it is probable that the onshore movement at that season is general. At 

 Bronte and Brighton, Ontario, and at Sodus Point, N. Y., some fish are present on 

 the shoals in May. In summer the herring at the west end are said to swim off the 

 bottom and are not fished for, while those at the east end congregate at depths of 

 20 to 30 fathoms and even to 75 fathoms from May to September, where they are 

 taken at times when market conditions are favorable or when no other species of 

 fish is to be had in marketable quantities. There are no fishing operations of any 

 consequence on the American shore except at the eastern end of the lake, and on 

 the Canadian shore fish other than herring occupy the attention of the fishermen 

 except in the fall. 



BREEDING HABITS 



The inshore migration in the fall is for the purpose of spawning. Except for 

 the deep-water form at the western end of the lake, which spawns at depths of 15 

 to 30 fathoms presumably on clay bottom, the herring elsewhere spawn on the shoals 

 and in the bays as shallow as 10 feet. The bottom selected is sand, as a rule, though 

 in the bays pond conditions obtain and the bottom is usually carpeted with the last 

 previous summer's growth of Myriaphyllum, Ceratophyllum, and Utricularia. The 

 time of spawning is usually from the middle to the last of November, and the season, 

 according to the fishermen, lasts about 10 days. 



Hurd Doville, who has fished herring in Sodus Bay for the last 15 years, says 

 that the larger males appear first on the grounds, and after spawning is nearly finished 

 there is a run of small males. The fish are caught best in gill nets when spawning, 

 and Perry Bartlett says usually they are taken at the bottom of the netting at this 

 time, which indicates that they spawn near the ground. After spawning, the fish 

 leave abruptly. It is not known definitely when the young, which are hatched in 

 the bays, enter the lake. 



VALUE AS FOOD 



The western deep-water herring are of the same quality as those of Lake Erie 

 and often are prepared smoked on account of their oily flesh. Other herring are less 

 fat and are not esteemed generally, but there is some demand for them locally, and 

 at certain seasons they can be disposed of to advantage in the New York markets. 



RELATIVE ABUNDANCE 



Herring have been fished for on Lake Ontario for more than 50 years. In the 

 western waters there has been a decrease in their numbers, according to statistics 

 and according to the testimony of fishermen. The herring fisheries now exploited 

 in the Bay of Quinte region and in the eastern American waters are of relatively 

 recent origin, and in the last decade they have become of great importance in the 

 fisheries of the lake. Perry Bartlett is of the opinion that there has been a decline 

 in the number of herring at Sandy Pond. Hurd Doville, who has fished them at 

 Sodus Bay for the last 15 years, says the runs have not been good for the last five falls. 



