Herring Movements in the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine, 1957 and 1958
During 1957 and 1958, 137,469 herring were tagged in the southern part of the Bay of Fundy and the western part of the Gulf of Maine. These fish were immature and ranged in mean total length from 9.9 to 20.0 cm and in age from 1 to 3 years. Recovery of 3,582 (2.6%) tagged individuals showed that herring moved in and out of Passamaquoddy Bay irregularly throughout the summer and autumn with some tendency to concentrate at the head of this bay. Outward movement reached a peak in July when there was a considerable movement eastward towards Point Lepreau. Herring moved into Passamaquoddy from as far south as Grand Manan and from as far east as Point Lepreau. Little interchange of herring took place between the Passamaquoddy area and the coasts of Maine and Nova Scotia. The greatest straight-line distance from release to recovery points was 55 miles. More than half of the recaptures were made within 2 miles of the tagging sites and nearly two-thirds within 5 miles. About 28% of the recaptures were made within 1 week after tagging and 63% within 2 weeks. The average time before recapture was 12 days in 1957 and 17 days in 1958. The longest time between release and recapture for both years was 165 days. Drift bottles released with tagged herring showed no apparent relationship between herring movements and surface drift. The results of tagging support a general conclusion that the proposed Passamaquoddy tidal power structures will have no significant effect on the herring fisheries of the Passamaquoddy area.