The Republican journal., 1882-07-13
NUMBER %.
The Yarmouth Herring Fishery.

The industry is great in every sense Of
the word. Over three million dollars, or
six hundred thousand pounds is invested
in it : it employs more than one thousand
vessels and eight thousand men, and the
late Frank Buckand computed that the
herrings caught in one year would be suf-
tlclent to make fourteen meals for every
man, woman, and child in the United
Kingdom. The herring is the mamstay
OF the towns prosperity; it was the
abundance Of this palatable and whole
some fish that attracted the early settlers
TO the sands. Statisticallv, it is nearly
as interesting as it is upon the breakfast
table. Yarmouth and the adjacent town
of LoWestott catch three hundred and
fifty million a year, and the gross yearly
produce of the North Sea and East Allan
tic fisheries is said by Mr.. William Watt.
of Aberdeen (the author of an exceeding
~ interesting essay on the subiect, to be
not less than twenty four hundred mil
hon, or two behring's to every man, W0-
man, and child in the world. The cod.
ing, and hake destroy twelve times as
many herrings as all the fishermen Of
Europe catch, and the shoals are also
preyed upon by other fish and great
tlocks of birds Nearly all tie fish that
swim prey upon the herring at one stage
or another Of its existence. The spawn
| ing grounds are rayaged 10y crabs and
| Holsters, and bV all sorts of hat-tish. and
the fry is consumed by the paddock, the
whiting, and the herring itself. The shoals
are sometimes four. miles long and two
| broad, and the fish are 50 lensely packed
| that those in the rear have been known
70 push the front ranks ashore. The nets
used hy the Scotch and mm0uth lishe-
res together are long enough to reach
from Liverpool to New York more than
| four times; and vet some commissioners
who were appointed to investigate the
| subject have reported thatnothing which
man has done has diminished the stock
OF herlngS in the sea, and nothing which
man is likely to do can diminish it. The
| tecundity Of the fish is 50 great that the
progeny Of 4 single female would, ut one
spawning. if all the ova We're hatched,
be sufficient to fill about forty barrels,
and it is this reproductive power which
enables the species to hold its place.
It MOI III sea Is tlIt I1IIlit lIl.tl uVIIlt OI
the herring, and the shoals come and go
from the shore to deep water and back
again. iiucnecd BY temperature, spawn
| ing, and the location ot their food. In
the north Of Scotland they are most
abundant by the lst Of August, While in
the vicinity Of launouth tile principal
fishing does not begin untl September.
No herrings are caught III January. To-
ward the end Of February the fishermen
begin to catch spring behring's, and con
tinue to do SO during March, April, and
May. In June and July the midsummer
herlings are caught. ami little is done in
August preliminary to the opening ot the
autumn or home fishing, which lasts from
September until about Christmas. Tive
Of three days before the great festival, all
the boats come in, and are moored along
the wharf, bow un, from the SouthtoWu
Bridge 70 the estuary where the Mare
cmpties between two picturesque wood
en piers into the sea- W. II. Riding in
IIarper's Magazine for June.