Report on cetacea stranded on the British coasts during 1913 / by S.F. Harmer.

  • Harmer, S. F. (Sidney Frederic), 1862-1950.
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Report on cetacea stranded on the British coasts during 1913 / by S.F. Harmer. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    14/24 (page 10)
    I have endeavoured to ascertain whether there is any definite connection between the movements of the Herring-shoals and the stranding of these smaller Cetacea. Mr. Henry G. Maurice, of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, has very kindly furnished me with figures showing the number of Herrings (in cwt.) landed from the North Sea during the successive months of 1913, together with an indication of the principal areas in which they were caught. An analysis of these figures gives the following results, for the English coast:— The catch of Herring was almost negligible during the first three months of the year, not exceeding 200 cwt. in any month. In April the total catch was about 4,900 cwt., mostly from East of the Norfolk coast. In May about 38,000 cwt. were landed, principally from near the Northumberland and Durham coasts. In June it had risen to about 131,500 cwt., obtained from the same district and rather further North. In July more than 70 per cent, of a catch of nearly 394,000 cwt. came from inshore waters of Northumberland and Durham ; and most of the rest from rather further North. In August, with about 427,000 cwt., more than half were caught near the coast of Durham and Yorkshire, as far South as Bridlington Bay ; and most of the remainder further North. In September rather more than one-fifth of the total catch of about 520,000 cwt. was obtained from the Durham and North Yorkshire coasts ; nearly one-eighth further from the coast, and respectively North and South of the Dogger Bank ; while nearly one-fifth was obtained nearer land, off the Southern part of the Yorkshire coast. In the first half of October the Southerly migration had proceeded-further, as is shown by the fact that with a total catch of over 1,107,000 cwt., about 782,600 cwt. were taken East of Norfolk, and about 82,500 cwt. North of Norfolk and East of Lincolnshire ; though a certain number were still obtained off’ the Durham and North Yorkshire coast. In the second half of October the fishery was mainly to the East of Norfolk, nearly 2,300,000 cwt. of a total of nearly 2,386,000 cwt. being taken from that area. In November the total, 1,790,000 cwt., was still very high, about 1,715,400 cwt. being from the East of Norfolk. In December most of the total of 135,200 cwt. was from the same district and the Suffolk coast. It is obvious that these figures do not altogether correspond with the curves given above of the stranded Cetacea ; and in particular the sudden drop of those curves from the first half of October to the second half of the same month is by no means represented by the figures for the total catch of Herring during the same periods. But it may be noted that in September and the first half of October, when the number of stranded “ Porpoises ” was at its maximum along the Lincolnshire and Norfolk coasts, there was a considerable Herring fishery to the North of Norfolk. It is possible that the direction of the currents is more favourable to the stranding of dead Cetacea on the projecting parts of the coast of those counties, under those circumstances, than it is when, as in the second half of October, the headquarters of the Herring fishery are well to the East of Norfolk. It may further be noticed that in August, when 7 “ Porpoises ” were found near the mouth of the Tees, Herring were actually being caught