Volume 39, Plate IV / Ichthyology (Fish)

Pilchard & Twaite Shad

Clupea pilchardus & Alosa finta

1. The Pilchard. Smaller than the Herring and distinguished by its dorsal fin sitting at the centre of gravity, the Pilchard chiefly resorts to the coast of Cornwall, where an extensive sean and drift fishery employs thousands. It keeps near the bottom in winter, congregates in July, spawns partly in May and mainly in October, and feeds almost wholly on small marine Crustacea, being cured and widely exported.
2. The Twaite Shad. Distinguished by teeth on the upper jaw and a row of dark spots along each side, the Twaite Shad measures from ten to seventeen inches and is called in places Mother of the Herrings or Rock Herring. Migratory, it ascends large rivers in May to spawn and retires to sea by July, feeding chiefly on small Crustacea; though coarse and insipid, it is caught in numbers in the Thames, Severn, and elsewhere.