MAINE SARDINE INDUSTRY. 176 
It is shown by these analyses that the smaller fish, of the real 
sardine size, contain much less fat in the early part of the packing 
season than later in the year. 
FOOD OF THE SEA HERRING. 
The sea herring, from which the Maine sardines are made, feeds 
upon, several varieties of marine life. According to European mves- 
tigators, the feed(19) consists of copepods, schizopods (shrimp-like 
forms), amphipods (sand fleas and their allies), the embryos of 
gasteropods and lamellibranchs, and young fish often of its own kind. 
In the examination of about 1,500 specimens at Eastport and vicinity 
Moore found but two kinds of food. Copepods (‘‘red feed’’) appeared 
to constitute the sole food of the small herrings, the so-called brit, and 
a marked portion of that of the larger individuals from 534 inches 
upward. The principal focds of the latter, however, were schizopods, 
crustaceans of the genus Thycanopoda, known to the fisherman as 
““shrimp.”’ 
Scott (26) states that of 22 species of microscopic crustaceans found 
in the stomachs of herrings examined by him the greater part were 
Calanus finmarchicus, Temora longicornis, and Pseudocalanus elongatus. 
In an investigation on the packing of American sardines conducted 
by the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, in 1911, at Eastport 
and Lubec(i1), “‘red feed”? was identified as the copepods Temora 
longicornis, and Calanus finmarchicus. 
Calanus finmarchicus and Temora longicornis were the most numer- 
ous of the crustaceans collected in the region extending from Dochet 
Island to Grand Manan for the Marine Biological Station at St. 
Andrews, N. B.(16). 
In exploring the coast water between Nova Scotia and Chesapeake 
Bay, July and August, 1913, Dr. Henry B. Bigelow(2) found that 
of the copepods the most abundant species was Calanus finmarchicus, 
the Pseudocalanus elongatus ranking next, while in a few regions the 
Temora longicornis was the most abundant. He considers, however, 
that the Calanus finmarchicus is the most abundant form found in the 
waters of the Gulf of Maine. 
Apparently, therefore, the feed of the sea herring of the Passama- 
quoddy Bay region may be divided into two general classes: 
1. The copepods? (PI. X), of which Calanus finmarchicus, Pseudo- 
calanus elongatus, and Temora longicornis are the species most often 
found, undoubtedly constitute the chief form of the ‘‘red feed.” 
The herring consumes the copepods which, in turn, feed upon micro- 
scopic plants, such as peridinia, and diatoms. R. Ramsey Wright (40) 
1Identification of specimens made by the Division of Marine Invertebrates of the U.S. National 
Museum. 
5890°—20—Bull. 908-2 
