FISHES OF THE GULF OF MAINE 
327 
Herring, Clupea harengus Linnaeus 
The northern limit to the known range of the herring in the Western Atlantic 
has been extended to the west coast of Greenland by Jensen (1926, p. 101). 
Herring are so seldom taken in any large numbers on the offshore banks that it 
is of interest to record a catch of 2,800 pounds in South Channel and 3,000 pounds 
on the northern edge of Georges Bank, in October 1931. 
Mass destruction of young herring, cast up on the beaches has occurred from 
time to time in various harbors in the Gulf of Maine. A recent occurrence of this 
sort was reported by Dr. Austin H. Clark, who, in Manchester Harbor on the north 
side of Massachusetts Bay, early in August 1925, observed that the mud flats were 
white with stranded herring which measured 3 to 5 inches in length. Another such 
destruction took place in the same harbor in the summer of 1928. 
Alewife, Pornolobus pseudoharengus (Wilson) 
So little is known about the habits or migrations of the alewife while at sea 
that it is of interest to record the capture by Albatross II of 18 adults, 10 to 11 inches 
long, by otter trawl, seventy odd miles off Barnegat, N. J., on March 5, 1931. 
Blueback, Pornolobus aestivalis (Mitchill) 
The maximum length of this herring is usually given as about 1 foot but we have 
seen examples of it ranging up to 15 inches. 
The capture of seven adult specimens by Albatross II, on March 5, 1931, about 
70 miles off Barnegat, N. J., suggests that, like its relative the sea herring, the 
blueback moves out from land, and passes the cold season near the bottom, thus 
throwing some light on the probable winter home of the Gulf of Maine stock. 
Thread herring, Opisthonema oglinum (LeSueur) 
The capture of a single specimen, 7 inches long, off Monomoy Point at the 
southern angle of Cape Cod in August 1931, extends the known range of this southern 
herring to the Gulf of Maine. Occasionally the thread herring is taken off southern 
New England; it was even reported as rather common in Buzzards Bay and Vine- 
yard Sound in the summer of 1885. As it is essentially a tropical fish it is not apt, 
however, to reach the gulf except as the rarest of strays. 
Round herring, Etrumeus sadina (Mitchill) 
This herring, recorded by Bigelow and Welsh (1925, p. 91) as Etrumeus teres 
DeKay, appears very rarely to stray past Cape Cod. Hence, it is of interest to record 
the capture of one specimen in Yarmouth River which empties into Casco Bay, and 
one in the bay itself, on September 15, 1924. 
Anchovy, Anchoviella mitchilli (Cuvier and Valenciennes) 
This species is listed by Bigelow and Welsh (1925, p. 124) as Anchovia mitchilli. 
The subgenus Anchoviella Fowler differs from the subgenus Anchovia Jordan and 
Evermann chiefly by having much fewer gillrakers, the former having about 35 to 
50 and the latter 100 or more. 
