The herring may spawn at any time of the year. In this respect it differs from all other British marine food fishes. Most British caught herrings spawn during September and Autumn. Very little spawning takes place during late winter and spring, i.e. just after minimum sea temperature. Each local race (or species) appears to spawn at a constant time of the year. The date of the annual spawning, and hence the herring fishing season, varies from point to point round the coast. Herrings caught at different places show well-marked differences in appearance and quality, which are evidently due to differences in species and feeding ground. The food value of the herring will depend also upon the time of the year at which spawning occurs. Thus, in the Irish Sea, there are two races of herrings—the Manx and the Welsh. The Manx herring spawns in summer (September), and is rich in fat; the Welsh herring spawns in winter (November and December), and is poor in fat. Herrings are first caught off the West coast of Scotland in the waters round the Hebrides. This fishing begins in the middle of May, its chief centre being Stornoway. In early June herrings are caught in the waters round the Orkneys and Shetlands, and then in succession off Wick, Fraserburgh and Peterhead, and the Northumberland coast (Eyemouth, Berwick and Sea Houses). About the middle of July the herring fishery season begins at Blyth and Shields, and at Scarborough and Grimsby towards the end of July. At Yarmouth and Lowestoft it begins early in October. The last herrings to be caught in British waters are caught round Devon and Cornwall in December. Of the various kinds of herring obtained at different places, the largest and finest fish are those caught in Downings Bay off the North of Ireland, Castle Bay off the Island of Barra in the South Hebrides, and off the Shetlands. Herrings differ very much in their suitability for handling, keeping and curing. Most herrings have a small gut which is easily removed without seriously damaging the body of the fish. Blyth and Shields herrings, however, are very rich and fat, and have a specially big, distended gut. Such herrings are difficult to clean because, when this large gut is removed, the belly of the fish is so tender that it is often broken. Herrings caught off these ports are fat and oily, so that many are landed in a broken condition. The Yarmouth herring is firm and hard, and is the best adapted for handling and curing.