FISHERIES RESEARCH BOARD OF CANADA Translation Series No. 1464 Herring investigations in the west Atlantic. By Finn Devold Original title: Sildeunderseelser i vest Atlanteren. From: Fiskets Gang (Migration of Fish), (8): 144-147, 1970. Translated by the Translation Bureau(MGH) Foreign Languages Division Department of the Secretary of State of Canada Fisheries Research Board of Canada 'Biological Station St. Andrews, N.B. 8 pages typescript.1970
î DEPARTMEN OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE 7RANSLATION BUREAU FORUGN LANGUAGES DIVISION CANADA SECRÉTARIAT D i ÉTAT BUREAU DES TRADUCTIONS DIVISION DES LANGUES ÉTRANGÈRES TRANSLATED FROM - TRADUCTION DE HiT0.- EN Norwegian Engliah AUTHOR AUTEUR Devoid, Finn TITLE IN ENGLISH TITRE ANG LA IS Herring investigations in the west Atlantic Title in foreign language (transliterate foreign characters) Sildeundersokelser i vest Atlanteren R,EURENCE IN FOREIGN IANGUAE (NAME OF BOOK OR PUBLICATION) IN FULL. TRANSLITERATE FOREIGN CHARACTERS. REFERENCE EN LANGUE ETRANGERE (NOM DU LIVRE OU PUBLICATION), AU COMPLET.TRANSCRIRE EN CARACTÉRES PHONÉTIQUES. Fiskets Gang REFERENCE IN ENGLISH - RÉFÉRENCE EN ANGLAIS PUBLISH ER - EDITEUR PLACE OF PUBLICATION LIEU DE eue LICATION' Migration of fish YE/le ANNEE 1970 DATE OF PUBLICATION DATE DE PUBLICATION VOLUME ISSUE NO, NUMÉRO 8 PAGE NUMBERS IN ORIGINAL NUMÉROS DES PAGES DANS L'ORIGINAL 11i4 _ 147' NUMBER OF TYPED PAGES NOMBRE DE PAGES DACTYLOGRAPHIÉES 8 REQUESTING DEPARTMENT, MINISTÉRE-CLIENT Fisheries Research Board TRANSLATION BUREAU NO. 0800 NOTRE DOSSIER NO BRANCH OR DIVISION Biological Station TRANSLATOR (INITIALS) M.G.H. DIRECTION OU DIVISION TRADUCTEUR (INITIALES) PERSON ftequesting DATE SOMPLETED Mr. S.N. Tibbo DEMANDE PAR ACHEVE LE '5 June 1970 YOUR NUMBER VOTF,E DOSSIER N I DAY E OF REQUEST DATE. DE LA DEMANDE 769...184.4 22.4.70 UNEDITED DRAFT TRANSLATIC» Only kir information TRADUCTION NON REVISÉE Information soulentent 505.200.10.6 (REV. 2/06)
DEPARTMENT OF 'HE SECRETARY OF STATE TRANS!. ATION BUREAU FOREIèN LAN'GUAGES DIVISION SECRÉTARIAT D'ÉTAT ' BUREAU DES TRADUCTIONS DIVISION DES LANGUES ÉTRANGÈRES CANADA CLIENT'S NO, N DU CLIENT DEPARTMENT MINISTÈRE DIVISION/BRANCH DIVISION/DIRECTION CITY VILLE 769-18-14 Figlieries Research 5d. Biological Station St. Andrews,N. BUREAU NO. N DU BUREAU 0800 LANGUAGE LANGUE Norwegian TRANSLATOR (INITIALS) TRADUCTEUR (INITIALES) DATE, i 19/ 0 âeering 4mventinations in the west Atlantic by Finn Devoid Institute of Oceanogrephy of the Department of Fisheries e O tes M.t.) e ( t r c IU. r. r: -- P'e C <.2 1 *i5. 111 14 c: Introduction The winter herring catch of the last two»aeons has been of a very modeat quantity. The reason for this is that the stock of the Atlantic - Scandinavian herring is at present lean than it has ever been in this centuîfy and any improvement of the winter herring catch cannot be expected during the next five to six yearn, because the replenishment appears to be very small. A herring in found in the western part 6f the Atlantic ocean which is the same sise as theliorwegian winter herring. A voyage waa made by M/S "Havdronm to these waters to investigate the possibilities for finhing thin herring at the time When it in ielts beat condition. The vessel was fitted with modern accoustic equipment to locate nab. It was equippedfor the expedition with an 85 fathom ring net to catch herring and in addition with a sea thermometer and a bathy-thermograph. teabe was in command of M/S "Eavdron". From the oceanographical instituts of the Department of Fisheries, F. Devoid (leader of the expedition), O. Bjerke, W. Lotvedt and O. Lotvedt took part in the expedition. MiS k Eavdron" left liergen on 20 August and returned on 12 géjober. The vessel was accompanied by Ma "Serfoldw which was equipped with a ringnet
2 to catch herring in deeper waters and a capelin net for catches in, shallow water. Tbe investi1ati9u. M/S "Havdronn entered the cold Labrador current on 28 August and cruised alternatively between the cold water and the warmer water to the east from 58 00 ' N. and ' southwards. On 30 August good Shoals of fish were found on the bottom at position 54 30' I, 54 20 W. Towards the evening, the aihoal left the bottom and rose to the surface area. M/S "Sorfold" cast its herring net. The catch was found to be capelin, 19-20 centimetres long which contained 20. 1 fat. The capelin so covered the herring net that no east was made from WeRavdren". p.145 GULF OF ST LAWRENCE Fig. 1. M/S «Havdron», 'Vest Atlanteren, 30. august-5. oktober 1969. Rute og stasjoner. 1) Bat: hyterrnograf stasjoner, 2) snurpenotkast, 3) silderegistreringer, 4) lodderegistreringer. [M/S «Havdron», West Atlantic, 30 August- 5 October 1969. Route and stations, 1) Bathyterrnograph stations, 2) purse seine stations, 3) herring recordings, 4) capelin recordings.]
3 Fig. 2. Temperaturfordeling ost for Labrador den 30. august 1969 basert pâ stasjoner vist pà. kartutsnittet. [Temperature distribution off Labrador, 30 August 1969, based on stations shown on inserted mapp.] Fig. 1 shows the route of Pla elavdronn from the 30th August. The temperature conditions in the most northern area was only recorded with a sea thermometer but further south these were also recorded by a bathy-thermograph. (Fig. 1). Fig. 2 shows the temperature distribution east of Labrador. The width. of the cold Labrador currant at 52 00 ' W. was 100 nautical miles. There in a thin surface layer in the current with favorable temperatures which lies above water with unfavorable temperatures. The temperature increases slowly towards the bottom, but favorable bottom temperatures are onlifound a fair distance from the shore. The temperature in the surface layer was suitable for herring due to the summer heat. Earlier investigations have indicated that the spring spawning Canadian herring select areas close to shore to spawn. The summer warmth.firat takes effect there and only there are suitable temperatures for spring spawning to be found. We know that the temperature in the Labrador current in th+pring is so low even in the surface layer that it approaches the freezing point of,seawater. It is highly improbable that herring during the spawning rua pass through such cold water. It is even less likely that herring after spawning pane through the ice cold water to reach the dividing line between the Labrador current and the Gulf Stream, even if there are good feeding poseibilities
4 in that area. The chance of finding spawning herring eo far north in the border area between the two currents is very email and it was therefore dfcided to investigate the area on the south Bide of Newfoundland. Here the waters lying towarda the Cabot Strait were well investigated. In this area a deep channel cuts through the hanks right into the mouth of the St. Lawrence river. The éhanael is probably an old river bed because its west aide is fairly steep Whereat, its east aide has a more gentle elope. The rotation of the earth causes the water of a river in the northern hemisphere to constantly burrow into the right hand side of the riverbank and little by little as the river shifts its bed, the right hand bank gets steeper and the left hand bank gets more gentle. Fridtjof Nansen discovered already many years ago that a similar. the rivera in Siberia. condition *as characteristic of No herring were found off Newfoundland. At this time the Canadian herring catch waa concentrated far west in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in different inlets of aouthern Nova Scotia, on George's Bank and along the fishing boundary to the United Statee.towards glene:ged. To be able to understand the distribution of herring off the coast of Canada, it is necessary to have knowledge of the hydrographical and especially the temperature conditions. The coastal waters which cover the banks off Labrador, Newfoundland, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Nova Scotia westwards to the Gulf of Naine, are principally cold arctic waters which move eouth and westwards. The current always runes into the Gulf of St. Lawrence through the Strait of Belle Isle and reduces the temperature in the Gulf to such an extent that a great part of it is frozen during the coldest winter months. The incoming current along the south coaet of Newfuundland consists. of slightly warmer water.. The lowest temperature is about 0.5 C which keeps that part of the coast free of ice during the whole winter. It is probably the Jamming current along the bottom of the channel which cuts throngh the banks and continues towards the St. Lawrence rever, where the temperature is about 4 C. throughout the Whole year. The outgoing current from the Gulf of St. Lawrence is found in the western part of the Cabot Strait. luring the summer the surface water becomes much warmer along the whole. of the coast. The warm surface water increases in thickness tirefurther south and west. Nan, of the banks are so ahallow that the tops of the banke are coyered by warm surface water.
The warmed surface water is invaded by more warm-water loving pelagic types of fish such as mackerel, tunny, sharks etc. These come from the south and west and go back south and west when the winter chill begins. The migrations of the herring have been investigated only a little. The picture that can be painted of the progress of the fie is the following: From October some herring migrate into the inlets of Newfoundland; the main body of -the herring migrates along the aouth coast to which it comes somewhat later. 1Phere are both fall and spring spawning herring which are mostly inactive all through the winter. In March the spring spawning herring disappeara and later ale) the fall spawning herring. The herring migrate into the Gulf of St. Lawrence as the ice disappears. The spring spawning herring assemble at the (spawning grounds. The herring come all the way up to the Shore to spawn. The warming of the water in the sumwer has alrliy taken place here while it is p.14 too cold for apawning in deeper waters. The spawning takes place in April- May. In the latelummer, the fall spawning herring gather at the spawning grounds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The main spawning takes place in August - September. During the summer, the herring live scattered probably in the transieion layer between the cold winter water and the warmer surface water. When the winter cooling starts, the herring migrate out of the Gulg and gather at the hibernating grounds off Newfoundland. It in hardly probable that the herring which gather at the eouth coast ofnewfoundland come in from the sea. If the herring were going to migrate again in the spring, these would have to pass through large bodies of * water with temperatures close to the freezing point foe seawater. It is therefore rather unlikely that herring would be found in the borderline between the Labrador current and the Gulf Stream. Herring is not found in the stomachs of thi : 9pd Which are caught on the Grand Banks. Capelin dominate there. In the - GUI:1's. of St. Lawrence young herring are not to be found in the stomachs of the col. (Prom Steiner Olaen, verbal information). ", This is interesting as a lot of herring tpawn in the Gulf. Even the 0 - group of the herring seems probably to migrate out of the Gulf to follow the current south-west to the area of the Gulf of Maine - handy Bay. In thia
- 1 6 case thia territory is the main growing - up area of ail Canadian herring..?.long the coast of Nova Scotia, several local stocke of fall spawning herring are to be found. The herring spawn even here in fairly Shallow water. The main fishing takes however place on the George's Bank wheie substantial stocks of herring gather to spawn in August - October. This herring averages about 30 *entimetres in size - somewhat smaller than a Norwegian winter herring. The herring are fairly thin because they are spawning,r are going to spawn when they are_fished. After the spawning the herring migrate southwards to stay during the winter in the waters 'off the coast of Virginia and to migrate neat spring northwards. The herring spawn along a narrow ridge on the northeast side of the bank where the temperature at the bottom was 12 C in September 1969. During the daytime the herring remained at the bottom so that they were difficult to observe buttowarde evening the herring looked like a haze which rose from the bottom. Herring spawn also along the fishing territorial limit outside Maine. The fully. grown herring which are caught here may be as big as about 35. centimetres. The temperature at the bottom was 7-8 ce C. To judge from our tests,these herring 'spawn somewhat later than the herring on the George's Bank. During the cruising we called at St. Pierre to examine more closely different circumstances. St. Pierre is a town of 4000 inhabitants On a French group of islands south of Newfoundland. In many ways it reminds you of a.large-fiehing station in Norway. At the first call of the town, a fairly hie fee has to be paid but at later calla the payment consists only of pilot and dock fees. The town livea mainly trdirtrintatee*yairade and tourists. It may be regarded as a free port, where ail aerchandiae may be bought without duty or other fees. The prices are however at a high level. All dutiable and taxable merchandise can be bought cheaper as export from Canadian harbours. The deck facilities at St. Pierre are large and are continously expanding. Re-loiding fron a nailing veasel to dock or to another fishingvessel is permitted. There is a large facility for filleting of rosefish (Sebastes narinua) and cod. The rosefiah are fished by French trawlers in the Gulf et St. Lawrence, while the cod are mealy need off the islands fron small open boats. Conclesion. The nain part of herring which are caught off the coast of Canada
., 7 and Maine during the months July - October are caught in areas where the depths are less than about 90 metres. The standard Norwegian herring nets are therefore too deep to be used. The Icelandic seiner+hich catch herring off the coast of Maine have used nets ehich were 40 fathoms deep and had about 400 kilos of lead sinkers at the bottom. The catch per twenty-four hours for these was about 1000 hectoliter. It is possible that from August on in this area, fishing can be done profitably by pickling and with specially made seine nets. The quality will be similar to Norwegian large herring until the middle of September, later on it - will be the same as spring herring. On the George's Bank fishing with standard Norwegian ring nets will be impossible as it is too ahallow. The great number of trawlers, strong current and very often poor visibility will hamper the fishing with special nets. It has also to be taken into consideration that it is forbidden to repair nets inside the United States' and Canadian 12 mile zones. As mentioned above, there are grez..t numbers of herring which hibernate along the aouth coast of Newfoundlan. The main body of fish moves in the end of November or >ginning Of December injo the inlets and is caught inside the fishing SesmitOttal limit. The fishing of these stocks of -herring has increased considerably every year as a relatively large herring industry has been established, based upon meal or oil, whieh hau caused reduction of herring. It cannot be stated Whether a Norwegian herring fleet is able to utilize these stocks. The herring are a mixture of spring epawning and fall spawning herring. In later years, the fall spawning herring eeem to have dominated. M/S "Havdron" covered large areas during the expedition and the prospects Been to be dim. The fish and plankton in the transition layer which were recorded were hardly to be compared to the recording from the eastern part of the Atlantis. Even in the areas where there waa relatively good p.14 herring fiàhing and where a large BUropean fishing fleet had assembled, the stocks of herring were all according to thè records and compared to the quantities of herring that could be recorded during the 50 ' a in the Norwegian spawning areas. In the area off the George's Bank - the coast of Maine, an European fishing fleet was assembled in September consisting of 349 vessele which were catching herring. These were mostly large, modern trawlers or factory ships
with the most effective fishing equipment. The herring are assembled in such Shallow water that they have difficulty in escaping from a pelagic trawl. In the daytime the herring are caught at the bottom and at night they are caught higher up in the sea. The question is how long the stock will last. Subotantial resources of capelin exist off the coast of Labrador and it Newfoundalnd. These resources have not been used apart from the fishing during spawning close to Shore. If an agreement to co-operate could be reached between the Norwegian capelin fishermen and the Canadian herring oil industry, it would probably be profitable for both partiee. 8