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CONFIDENTIAL FISHERIES AND MARINE SERVICE

CONFIDENTIAL REPORT NO. 37

REPORT ON DISCUSSIONS WITH GERMAN AND BRITISH SCIENTISTS

ON THE STATUS OF EUROPEAN HERRING STOCKS, FISHERIES AND

RESEARCH PROGRAMS

by

A. S. Hourston

Pacific Biological Station

Nanaimo, B.C.

JANUARY 1976

F/• . F ... t'' c , CONFIDENTIAL

FISHERIES AND MARINE SERVICE

CONFIDENTIAL REPORT NO. 37

REPORT ON DISCUSSIONS WITH GERMAN AND BRITISH SCIENTISTS

ON THE STATUS OF EUROPEAN HERRING STOCKS, FISHERIES AND

RESEARCH PROGRAMS

by

A. S. Hourston

Pacific Biological Station

Nanaimo , B.C.

JANUARY 1976 REPORT ON DISCUSSIONS WITH GERMAN AND BRITISH SCIENTISTS

ON THE STATUS OF EUROPEAN HERRING STOCKS, FISHERIES AND

RESEARCH PROGRAMS

Discussions were held on the status of European herring stocks, fisheries and research programs with scientists in West and Britain.

This opportunity arose in connection with a trip to the I . C.E . S. meetings in

Montreal, and to and in West Germany to discuss progress and plans for co-operative research projects on herring involving the Pacific

Biological Station and institutes in the two German cities. ITINERARY

October 1 - Vancouver to Montreal

October 1-4 - Montreal I.C.E.S. meetings

October 4-5 - Montreal to Hamburg

October 6 - Hamburg Biologische Anstalt Helgoland Dr. Rosenthal

October 7 Biologische Anstalt Helgoland Dr. Rosenthal

II Institut fur Hydrobiologie Prof. Dr. Lillelund und Fishereiwissenschaft

October 8 - Helgoland Biologische Anstalt Helgoland Dr. Uhlig

II October 9 - Hamburg Institut fur Seefischerei Dr. Schumaher, Dr. Sahrhage N

October 10 - Kiel Institut f~r Meereskunde Prof. Dr. Hempel Dr. Schnack

October 11 - Hamburg Biologische Anstalt Helgoland Dr. Rosenthal

October 12 Fish market

October 13 Biologische Anstalt Helgoland Dr. von Westernhagen

October 14 Biologische Anstalt Helgoland Prof. Dr. Kinne

October 15 - Nordsee (Fish plant) Dr. Krane

II Institut fur Meeresforchung Dr. Ernst , Dr. Winter

Octobe r 16 - Cuxhaven Nordsee (Fish plant) Mr. Shenk

11 II Institut fur Kusten- und Dr. Dethlefsen Binnenfischerie Itinerary (continued)

II October 17 - Hamburg Institut fur Biochemie Dr. Antona und Technologie

Institut fUr KUsten- und Prof. Dr. Tiews Binnenfischerie

October 18 - Hamburg to London

October 19-21 - London

October 22 - London to Lowest oft

October 23-24 - Lowes to ft Ministry of Agriculture, Messrs. Jones, Garrad, Fisheries and Food Mas a

October 24 - Lowes to ft to Edinburgh

October 25 - Edinburgh

October 26 - Edinburgh to Aberdeen

October 2 7-28 - Aberdeen Ministry of Agriculture and Messrs. Parrish, Fisheries for Scotland Seville, Baxter

Fish market Bailey, McKay, McKenzie, Armstrong, McPherson

October 29 University of Aberdeen Dr. Holliday

- Aberdeen to Glasgow

October 30 - Glasgow to Oban

October 30-31 - Ohan Scottish Marine Biological Dr. Blaxter Association Itinerary (continued)

November 1 - Oban to Glasgow

November 2 - Glasgow to Nanaimo - 5 -

GENERAL COMMENTS

With the exception of matters dealing with the Canada-West Germany scientific exchange, most of the trip was devoted to establishing personal contacts with scientists in related fields and determining their current research thrusts. My notes on part of the German trip and my visit to

Lowestoft were mailed back and have not yet arrived. However, it seemed desirable to report on the trip now while the information is timely.

I.C.E.S. MEETINGS

Most of the papers presented at the sessions which I attended

(Northern Pelagic Committee) were associated with the development of fishing strategies for the Northeast Atlantic Fisheries (NEAF). The biological background for determining total allowable catch (TAC) for the various regions was based on rather crude virtual population analysis (VPA) and a grid pattern of test fishing for young-of-the-year.

The 1975 young fish surveys took a total of about six juvenile herring in the North and Baltic seas combined, indicating that the potential contri­ bution of the 1975 year-class to the stocks is negligible. The abundance of spratt continues to be relatively high and it is possible that some of the spratt catch may have contained juvenile herring as the two species are known to mix at this stage and are difficult to tell apart. There was a general feeling, however, that the two species do not compete ecologically to any extent and thus that the spratt were not just filling an ecological niche vacated by the herring. The abundance of herring adults has become so low that a food- fishing for anything but top-price, luxury products has become uneconomic in this area . Nevertheless, the Danes continue with a pr ofitable industrial (meal and oil) fishery on the immatures. Most countries look - 6 -

to their distant fisheries (mainly east coast of North America) for supplies

of adult herring. It was my impression that the quality of their stock assessments was well below those for B.C. herring. This is not surprising

considering the relative inaccessability of the spawnings and the complex

international fisheries involved.

Copies of papers judged to be of potential interest to Pacific

Biological Station staff were collected and distributed to the appropriate

program heads. A list of titles of all papers is being circulated to the

scientific staff.

CANADA -- WEST GERMANY SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGE

Discussions of the present status of analysis and write-up of the

work done in Nanaimo during the 1975 spawning season were carried out with

Dr. Harold Rosenthal and Dr. Henry von Westernhagen at Hamburg . It was

agreed that the paper on spawning behaviour presented at I.C . E. S. would be

published in Germany in a journal edited by Prof. Dr . Gotthilf Hempel .

The paper was revised accordingly in Hamburg. Plans for a program in 1976

were developed with Drs . Rosenthal, von Westernhagen, Hempel, and Schnack,

and submitted to the biological co-ordinator for the German side , Prof.

Dr . Kurt Lillelund. Ways of providing better biological input from Canada

at meetings of the policy committee for the two countries were discussed with

Professor Lillelund.

VISITS TO WEST GERMAN INSTITUTES AND IABORATORIES

Contacts were made with 16 institutes or laboratories (Table 1).

Most of the contacts with individuals were on a 'get-acquainted' basis . My

impressions from the more detailed discussions on herring are summarized below. - 7 -

Dr. Antona -- Product quality standards and goals are based on taste. This is not necessarily the same as freshness. Best quality is obtained by storing on ice, in boxes, for 2-4 days before filleting. The maximum storage time is

8 days at 4-8 C. Cutting and bleeding should be avoided as this darkens the meat. Only light meat is acceptable for good quality products. The fish should be filleted fresh, using lots of water. The fillets should then be glazed and frozen, to avoid direct contact between fillets. Fillets should have the skin on as connective tissue is important for taste. (The best taste is achieved having both skin and bones, but the fish store better without bones.)

Holding on board in refrigerated sea water is discouraged as this results in discoloration of the meat. If necessary, it should be done for no more than 1 day because of the delicacy of the flesh .

A fat content of 15% is best for canning; 10% is minimal . For spiced products, a fat content of more than 20% is best and 14% is minimal .

Fish with a fat content of less than 10% are used for marinates but the tissue should be soft and fresh . Two blocks of herring sent from B.C. tested

10-16%. (Dr. Antona would be happy to run additional tests.) Smoked products require very fresh herring (i.e. caught near processing plant and put into processing within about 5 hours).

The West German industry is most interested in frozen fillets from middle- sized herring (slightly less than 200 mm in length) for processing into canned products. Fillets should be not less than 100 nun . This is a question of price! (Most of the B.C. herring catch - - age III and IV fish -­ would meet these size requirements whereas most of the Canadian catch of

Atlantic herring would not.) - 8 -

Finally, Dr. Antona stressed the importance of good organization in processing and distribution. The German industry polices itself very well with respect to quality control, particularly the large companies.

Dr. Tiews -- Coastal fisheries, which are the concern of his institute, provide the fresh fish for the high quality products. There is a scarcity of large herring but an adequate overall supply for the limited market for luxury products. The fishery operates year-round in inshore waters. There is a concern over escalating costs with the reduction in catch-per-unit effort as the stocks have declined. Coastal fishermen are very careful and skilled in handling their catch. I got the impression that the fish were packed in ice individually.

Dr. Schumaher Offshore fisheries are mainly dependent on catches off the east coast of North America for their supply of herring . In addition to their own catches, German vessels buy catches from Canadian boats outside the

12-mile limit . The industry's main concern, however , is keeping their ships working. They are also interested in obtaining a guaranteed supply of landed frozen products. They would be most interested in an arrangement whereby they could land catches off North America for processing and shipping back to Germany. (I did not encourage this approach. )

The North Sea herring stocks used to support a catch of 700 , 000 tons . Spawning is now down to one-tenth the level required to produce average recruitment. Stock assessments are made from VPA using an "average" mortality rate and from catch-per-unit effort for some established fisheries. - 9

Recruitment is estimated from annual surveys of the young fish. Dr. Schumaher expressed concern over the Danish fishery on young herring. The southern component of the stocks supporting this fishery is now gone and the Danes are concentrating on the remaining (northern) component.

Drs. Rosenthal and von Westernhagen -- The Biologische Anstalt Helgoland

Zentral is involved in "basic" or long-term research with some direction towards current priorities. It may, perhaps, be compared to Fisheries

Research Board some years ago. They are heavily involved in scientific exchange programs with several developed and undeveloped countries. Present work on herring is mainly through the Nanaimo-Hamburg co-operative program co-ordinated by Prof. Dr . Lillelund of the University of Hamburg.

Dr . Uhlig is director of the Helgoland Marine Station (B .A.H . ). A new building is nearing completion and he is interested in attracting marine biologists there as visiting scientists. The facilities appear to be excellent and the island is most attractive . It is, however , very isolate d and can be reached only by small boat from cruise ships or from an airport '

for STOL aircraft on a nearby island.

Dr . Schnack is an assistant to Prof. Dr . Hempe l at the .

He has worked mainly on the feeding of larval herring and will be doing a similar project in Nanaimo in 1976 . He will be assisted by his wife who is

just compl eting her Ph . D. on the feeding of copepods . - 10 -

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD FISHERIES LABORATORY LOWESTAFT

At the time of my visit, Mr. A. C. Burd and others involved with stock assessment were called away for meetings on the "Iceland problem."

There was considerable concern over extended fishing zones in general.

Moreover I came down with a bad cold. Consequently my visit was not as productive as I had hoped. I did manage to have some general discussion on herring problems with Messrs. Barry Jones and Tim Masa and on stock assessment models with Mr. Dave Garrett. Most of the material covered is in

I.C.E.S. documents and other publications delayed in the mails.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES FOR SCOTLAND MARINE LABORATORY, TORRY,

ABERDEEN

I was received by Mr. Basil Parrish, the director who turned me over to Mr. Alan Seville, head of the pelagic and groundfish section.

Alan Seville -- The U.K . herring catch has remained fairJ.y stable at about

120,000 tons. This catch used to be taken mainly from the North Sea but is now taken mainly from the west coast of Scotland ("Minch herring"). If the

North Sea stocks come back they would probably take an additional 150,000 tons. The minimum price to fishermen isX65-70 per ton and the average price varies between /!70 and Lao per ton. Prices paid for individual landings range up to~50 per ton. Catches are sold by auction and prices may vary by as much as 50% between nearby ports on the same day and from day- to- day in the same port. Keeping a close watch on prices and selecting the best place to land the catch is an important function of boat skippers. - 11 -

Herring are caught mainly by seine in sets of about 25 tons. The set is pumped into the hold, with a separation filter removing loose scales, etc. The fish are then either iced in boxes (SO kilo per box) or put into refrigerated sea water. The Scottish processors like refrigerated seawater fish but do not pay any more for them and the equipment is expensive. The labour required for icing is no factor as the crew work on a share basis.

The fish are landed 6-to-7 hours after capture and are processed or frozen inunediately after sale by auction. Fish kept overnight bring a very low price at the auction. The west coast fishery operates year- round with the biggest landings between mid-October and the end of February . North Sea catches are taken from June to November.

Ian Baxter is in charge of herring and is working mainly on the effects of heavy metals on eggs and larvae in aquaria . He took me to the fish market where landings for that day were mainly dogfish and whiting. Local fish shops and restaurants buy their fish directly from the fishermen at the auction where they pay top prices on small purchases (1 box or more). The remainder are bought by the fish companies in larger amounts at lower prices .

Roger Bailey works on spratt and young herring, mainly in the Clyde area.

The two species mix to a large extent during the first year but the spratt grow faster and mature earlier. Herring are aged using age-length keys derived from otoliths from 20 fish from each size group in each area . Scales are used for t calculations . Autumn spawners are on the increase while 1 spring spawners are on the decline. Spring spawners with "autumn-type" otoliths are not uncorrnnon, making past data open to question. - 12

Historical data are lacking on spratt. Past catches depended on herring abundance and the annual fish larvae surveys (May-June and September­

October) miss the larval period for spratt. Up to 6 year-class are found off the west coast of Scotland as opposed to only three in the North Sea.

Dave McKay works on larval herring. As the autumn spawning stocks declined in the North Sea, the centers of distribution of newly hatched larvae

(and presumably the spawning grounds) have moved to the north and west

(from the Aberdeen area to the Orkney Islands). This is in the opposite direction to the larval drift. In the Clyde area, there is a second peak in hatching about 3 weeks after the first peak in years of high abundance.

George McPhersonis in charge of tagging and sampling. He has been using both spaghetti and internal tags and getting about 2% recovery from gillnet catches. A combination spaghetti and metal disc tag has been tested and

found unsatisfactory. The herring sampling program collects and processes

50 fish each day from each port. This is about all they can handle but he feels that it provides adequate coverage.

Dave Armstrong has been doing some interesting theoretical work with age-length keys. I discussed our method of age-determinations from lengths which is different from theirs but would appear to be equally valid theoreti­ cally. He has also developed an automatic length-recorder which he plans to demonstrate at the next I.C.E.S. meetings . - 13 -

Ken McKenzie has had some success in digtinguishing herring stocks on

the basis of parasitic load. Renincola, a kidney parasite with a world-wide

distribution whose final host is sea birds, has been found in 40-80% of

coastal herring but in less than 1% of North Sea herring . This parasite

can only be detected microscopically however, and they are looking for something

more convenient.

ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY

Dr. Fred Holliday, who has been very active in herring research, particularly

on behaviour and early-life history, is now head of the Natural History

Department here. The department stresses systematics and basic biology

and has an excellent teaching museum. Professor Holliday showed me around

the department and we discussed herring spawning behaviour and egg development.

SCOTTISH MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION DUNSTAFFNAGE MARINE RESEARCH LABORATORY

OBAN

Dr . John Blaxter has a long record of quality publications on a variety

of aspects of herring biology. His current major interest is in the detection

of changes in pressure by the auditory systems. He has successfully reared

herring through all stages. He noted that starved and underfed herring

larvae could be identified by an increase in the eye-diameter to head-length

ratio and a decrease in the pectoral angle . - 14 -

Dr. Bill Wales is a neurophysiologist. He was surprised to find that the supposedly fragile herring larvae proved quite hardy in laboratory operations. He has demonstrated that larvae with their eyes removed responded to increasing and decreasing light intensity. Some blinded individuals were able to feed effectively on Artemia nauphlii. This type of light sensitivity may not require specialized cells. The typical phototactic response would appear, however, to be a function of the eyes .

Other subjects discussed included activity rhythms (Dr. Robin

Gibson), chemical detection of food (C. Demsey), and wound healing (Gaye

Hickey). - 15 -

Table 1 . Organization of Institutes and Laboratories contact ed

in West Germany

A. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

1 . Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food,

II Bundesforschungsanstalt fur Fischerei

II (i) Institut fur Biochemie Technologie

II Hamburg -- Drs . Antona, Flediturmacher, Wunsche

II II (ii) Institut fur Ku.sten -- und Binnenfischerei

Hamburg -- Prof . Dr . Tiews, Drs . Mann,

Halsbad, Koops, Kuhlmann

Cuxhaven Dr . Dethlefsen

Bremer haven

Kiel -- Dr. Tharow

II (iii) Institut fur Seefischerei

Hamburg -- Drs . Schumaher , Sahrhage, Do rnheim

Cuxhaven --

Bremerhaven -- Dr. Messtorf

II (iv) Institut fur Fangtech

Hamburg -- Prof. Stinsberg

2. Ministry of Science and Technology

Biologische Anstalt Helgoland - 16 -

Table 1. (cont'd)

(i) Zentrale (Hamburg) -- Prof. Dr . Kinne , Drs . Rosenthal,

van Westernhagen

(ii) Marine Station (Helgoland) -- Dr. Uhlig

(iii) Litoral Station (Sylt) --

(iv) Isotope Laboratory (Hamburg) --

B. UNIVERSITY OF HAMBURG

II Institut fur Hydrobiologie und Fischereiwissenschaft

Hamburg -- Prof. Dr. Lillelund, Dr . Braum

C. UNIVERSITY OF KIEL

(i) Institut fur Meereskunde

Kiel -- Prof. Dr . Hempel , Dr . Schnack

II (ii) Institut fur Meeresforchung

Bremerhaven -- Drs . Ernst , Winter