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1930 


Gift   of 

Richard  H.  Backus 

May,  1988 


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DEPARTMENT  OF  COMMERCE 


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VOL.  XL 
1924 

IN  TWO  PARTS— PART  I 


HENRY  O'MALLEY 

COMMISSIONER 


PRICE,  $2.00  (Buckram) 
Sold  only  by  the  Superintendent  of  Documents,  Government  Printing  Office,  Washington,  D.  C. 

WASHINGTON 

GOVEFINMENT  PREMTING  OFFICE 

1925 


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Bureau  of  Fisheries  Document  No.  965 


FISHES  OF  THE  GULF  OF  MAINE 


By  HENRY  B.  BIGELOW,  Museum  oj  Comparative  Zoology,  Harvard  University,  and  WILLIAM 
W.  WELSH,  Late  Scientific  Assistant,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Introduction 6 

Scope  of  the  work 1 7 

Area  covered 7 

Sources  of  information 8 

Use  of  the  keys 10 

Key  to  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes 11 

The  lampreys.     Class  Marsipobranchii 15 

The  hagfishes  and  lampreys.     Familes  Myxinidae  and  Petromyzonidse 3  5 

Hagfish  {Myxine  glutinosa  Linnaeus) 16 

Sea  lamprej'  {Petromyzon  marinus  Linnaeus) 18 

True  fishes.     Class  Pisces 21 

Sharks  and  rays.     Subclass  Elasmobranchii 21 

Sharks 22 

The  eel  sharks.     Family  Chlamydoselachidae 24 

Eel  shark  (Chlamydoselachus  anguineus  Garman) 24 

The  smooth  dogfishes.     Family  Galeorhinidae 25 

Smooth  dogfish  (Galeorhinus  tewis  Valmont) 25 

Requiem  sharks.     Family  Carcharinidae 27 

Tiger  shark  (Galeocerdo  arclicus  Faber) 27 

Great  blue  shark  (Galeus  glaucus  Linnseus) 28 

Dusky  shark  {Carcharhinus  obscurus  LeSueur) 29 

The  hammer-headed  sharks.     Family  Cestraciontidse 30 

Hammerhead  shark  {Cestracion  zygxna  Linnaeus) 31 

The  thresher  sharks.     Family  Vulpeculidfe 32 

Thresher  {Vulpecula  marina  Valmont) 32 

The  sand  sharks.     Family  Carchariidae 34 

Sand  shark  {Carcharias  taurus  Ksi&nesque) 34 

The  mackerel  sharks.     Family  Isuridae 35 

Mackerel  shark  {Isurus  punctalus  Storer) 36 

Sharp-nosed  mackerel  shark  {Isurus  tigris  Atwood) 38 

White  shark  {Carcharodon  carcharias  Linnaeus) 39 

Basking  shark  {Cetorhinus  maximus  Gunner) 41 

The  spiny  dogfishes.     Family  Squalidae 44 

Spiny  dogfish  {Squalus  acanthias  Linnjeus) 44 

Portuguese  shark  {Centroscymnus  coelolepis  Bocage  and  Capello) 51 

Black  dogfish  {Centroscyllium  fabricii  Reinhardt) 52 

1 

1 


V*0(Kb  HOa.  MASS.   \ 


2  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

True  fishes — Continued. 

Sharks  and  rays — Continued. 

Sharks — Continued.  Pago 

The  nurse  sharks.     Family  Scymnorhinidoe 53 

Greenland  shark  (Soinniosus  microcephalus  Bloch  and  Schneider) 53 

The  bramble  sharks.     Family  Echinorhinidae 55 

Bramble  shark  (Echinorhinus  brucus  Bonnaterre) 55 

Skates  and  rays 56 

The  skates.     Family  Rajidse 58 

Little  skate  {Raja  erinacea  Mitchill) 58 

Big  skate  {Raja  diaphanes  Mitchill) 60 

Prickly  skate  {Raja  scabrata  Garman) 62 

Brier  skate  {Raja  eglanteria  Bosc) 64 

Smooth  skate  {Raja  senla  Garman) 65 

Barn-door  skate  {Raja  slabuliforis  Garman) 66 

The  torpedoes.     Family  Narcaciontidffi 68 

Torpedo  {Narcacion  nobilianus  Bonaparte) 68 

The  sting  rays.     Families  Dasybatidse  and  Myliobatidae 70 

Sting  ray  {Dasybatus  niarinus  Klein) 70 

Sting  ray  {Dasybatus  hastatus  DeKay) 70 

Cow-nosed  ray  {Rhinoptera  quadriloba  LeSueur) 72 

Chimseroids.     Subclass  Holocephali 73 

The  chimaeras.     Family  Chimaeridee 73 

Chimsera  {Chimxra  affinis  Capello) 73 

The  bony  fishes.     Subclass  Teleostomi 74 

The  sturgeons.     Family  Acipenseridse 74 

Sturgeon  {Acipenser  sturio  Linnaeus) 74 

The     eels.      Families     Anguillidaj,      Synaphobranchidae,      LeptocephaUdae, 

Simenchelyidae,  and  Nemichthyidae 77 

Eel  {Anguilla  rostrata  LeSueur) 78 

Shme  eel  {Simenchelys  parasiticus  Gill) 83 

Long-nosed  eel  {Synaphobranchus  pinnalus  Gronow) 84 

Conger  {Leptocephalus  conger  Linnaeus) 86 

Snipe  eel  {Nemichthys  scolopaceus  Richardson) 88 

The  tarpons  and  herrings.     Families  Elopidoe  and  Clupeidae 90 

Tarpon  {Tarpon  atlaniicus  Cuvier  and  Valenciennes) 91 

Round  herring  {Etrumeus  teres  DeKay) 91 

Herring  {Clupea  harengus  Linnaeus) "2 

Hickory  shad  {Pomolob  us  mediocris  Mitchill) 105 

Alewife  {Pomolobus  pseudoharengus  Wilson) 107 

Blueback  {Pomolobus  xstivalis    MitchiU) HO 

Shad  {Alosa  sapidissima  Wilson) 113 

Menhaden  {Brevoortia  lyrannus  Latrobe) 118 

■     The  anchovies.     Family  Engraulididae 124 

Anchovy  {Anchovia  mitchilli  Cuvier  and  Valenciennes) 124 

The  salmons.     Family  Salmonidae 126 

Humpback  salmon  {Oncorhynchus  gorbuscha  Walbaum) 126 

Salmon  {Salnio  salar  Linnaeus) 130 

Brook  trout  {Salvelinus  fontinalis  Mitchill) 138 

The  smelts.     Family  Argentinidae ^ 140 

Capelin  {Mallotus  villosus  Miiller) 140 

Smelt  {Osmerus  mordax  Mitchill) 143 

Argentine  {Argentina  situs  Ascanius) 14' 


--I 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  3 

True  fishes — Continued. 

The  bony  fishes — Continued.  Page 

The  lanternfishes.     Family  Myctophidse 149 

Lanternfish  (Mthoiprora  effulgens  Goode  and  Bean) 149 

Family  Stomiatidse 151 

Pearlsides  {Maurolicus  pennanli  Walbaum) 151 

Viperfish  (Chauliodus  sloanei  Bloch  and  Schneider) 153 

Cj'clothone  {Cydothone  signata  Garman) 153 

The  lancetfishes.     Family  Alepisauridae 154 

Lancetfish  (Alepisaurus  ferox  Gill) 154 

The  mummichogs  or  killifishes.     Family  Poecilidae 155 

Common  mummichog  {Fundulus  heteroclitus  Linnaeus) 156 

Striped  mummichog  (Fundulus  majalis  Walbaum) 158 

Sheepshead  minnow  (Cyprinodon  variegaius  lia,c6pkde) 159 

The  billfishes.     Family  Belonidaj 161 

Silver  gar  {Tylosurus  marinus  Walbaum) 161 

The  halfbeaks.     Family  Hemiramphidje 163 

Half  beak  (Hyporhamphus  roberti  Cuvier  and  Valenciennes) 163 

The  needlefishes.     Family  Scomberesocidse 164 

Needlefish  {Scomhercsox  saurus  Walbaum) 164 

The  sticklebacks.     Family  Gasterosteidie 166 

Nine-spined  stickleback  (Pungitius  pungitius  Linnteus) 167 

Three-spined  stickleback  (Gaslerosteus  aculealus  Linnaeus) 168 

Two-spined  stickleback  (Gaslerosteus  bispinosus  Walbaum) 171 

Four-spined  stickleback  (Apeltes  quadracus  MitcMU) 171 

The  trumpetfishes.     Family  Fistulariidre 173 

Trumpetfish  (Fislularia  labacaria  Linnaeus) 173 

The  pipefishes.     Family  Syngnathidae 174 

Pipefish  (Siphostoma  fuscum  Storer) 175 

The  sea  horses.      Family  Hippocampidae 177 

Sea  horse  (Hippocampus  hudsonius  DeKay) 177 

The  silversides.     Family  Atherinidae 178 

Silverside  (Menidia  nolala  Mitchill) 179 

Waxen  silverside  (Menidia  beryllina  cerea  Kendall) 181 

The  mullets.     Family  Mugilidae 182 

Mullet  (Mugil  cephalus,  Linnaeus) 182 

The  sand  launces.     Family  Ammodytidae 183 

Sand  launce  (Ammodytes  americanus  DeKay) 183 

The  mackerels.     Family  Scombridce 187 

Mackerel  (Scomber  scomhrus  Linnaeus) 188 

Chub  mackerel  (Pneumalophorus  colias  Gmelin) 209 

Striped  bonito  (Gymnosarda  pelamis  Linnaeus) 211 

Tuna  (Thunnus  Ihynnus  Linnaeus) 212 

Common  bonito  (Sarda  sarda  Bloch) 215 

Spanish  mackerel  (Scomberomorus  maculatus  Mitchill) 217 

King  mackerel  (Scomberomorus  regalis  Bloch) 219 

The  escolars.     Family  Gempylidae 220 

Escolar  (Ruvellus  pretiosus  Cocco) 220 

The  cutlasfishes.     Family  Trichiuridae 220 

Cutlasfish  (TrichiuTus  leplurus  Linnaeus) 220 

The  swordfishes.     Family  Xiphiidae 221 

Swordfish  (Xiphias  gladius  Linnaeus) 221 


4  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

True  fishes — Continued. 

The  bony  fishes — Continued.  Page 

The  sailfishes.     Family  Istiophoridae 227 

Spearfish  {Teirapiurus  imperator  Blooh  and  Schneider) 227 

The  pompanos.     Family  Carangidae 228 

Pilotfish  (Naucrates  ductor  Linnaeus) 229 

Rudderfish  {Seriola  zonata  Mitchill) 230 

Mackerel  scad  (Decapterus  macarellus  Cuvier  and  Valenciennes) 232 

Crevalle  {Caranx  hippos  Linnaeus) 233 

Hardtail  (Caranx  crysos  Mitchill) 234 

Moonfish  {Vomer  selapinnis  Mitchill) 235 

Lookdown  (Selene  vomer  Linnaeus) 236 

The  bluefishes.     Family  Pomatomidae 237 

Bluefish  (Pomatomus  sallatrix  Linnaeus) 237 

The  mariposas.    Family  Lampridce 242 

Opah  (Lampris  luna  Gmelin) 242 

The  rudderfishes.     Family  Centrolophidoe 243 

Barrelfish  (Palinurichthys  perciformis  Mitchill) 243 

The  butterfishes.    Family  Stromateidae 245 

Butterfish  (Poronotus  Iriacanthus  Peck) 245 

Harvestfish  (Peprilus  paru  Linnaeus) 250 

The  sea  basses.    Family  Serranidae 251 

Striped  bass  (Roccus  lineatus  Bloch) 251 

White  perch  (Morone  americana  Gmelin) 257 

Sea  bass  (Centroprisles  slriatus  Linnaeus) 259 

The  Catalufas.     Family  Priacanthidae 261 

Big-e3"e  (Pseudopriacanthus  altus  Gill) 261 

The  sea  breams  or  porgies.    Family  Sparidae 262 

Scup  (Stenotomus  chrysops  Linnaeus) 263 

Sheepshead  (Archosargus  probatocephalus  Walbaum) 268 

The  croakers  or  weakfishes.    Family  Sciaenidae 269 

Weakfish  (Cynoscion  regalis  Bloch  and  Schneider) 270 

Kingfish  (Menticirrhus  saxalilis  Bloch  and  Schneider) 277 

Black  drum  (Pogonias  cromis  Linnaeus) 279 

The  cunners.    Family  Labridae 280 

Gunner  (Tautogolabrus  adspersus  Walbaum) 281 

Tautog  (Tauloga  onilis  Linnaeus) 286 

The  John  Dories.    Family  Zeidae 291 

John  Dory  (Zenopsis  ocellatus  Storer) 291 

The  triggerfishes.    Family  Balistidae 293 

Triggerfish  (Balisles  carolinensis  Gmelin) 293 

The  filefishes.    Family  Monacanthidae 294 

Filefish  (Monacanthus  hispidus  Linnaeus) 295 

Filefish  (Monacanthus  ciliatus  Mitchill) 296 

Orange  filefish  (Alutera  schcepfii  Walbaum) 296 

The  puffers  and  porcupine-fishes.    Families  Tetraodontidae  and  Diodontidae.  297 

Puffer  (Spheroides  maculatus  Bloch  and  Schneider) 298 

Burrfish  (Chilomyderus  schcepfii  Walbaum) 300 

The  headfishes.    Family  Molidae 301 

Sunfish  (Mola  mola  Linnaeus) 301 

The  rockfishes.    Family  Scorpaenidae 304 

Rosefish  (Sebasies  marinus  hinnseus) 304 

Black-bellied  rosefish  (Helicolenus  maderensis  Goode  and  Bean) 313 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  5 

True  fishes — Continued. 

The  bony  fishes — Continued.  Page 

The  sculpins.     Family  Cottidae 314 

Hook-eared  sculpin  {Artediellus  atlanlicus  Jordan  and  Evermann) 314 

Mailed  sculpin  (Triglops  ommatistius  GUbert) 316 

Little  sculpin  (Myoxocephalus  xneus  Mitohill) 318 

Shorthorn  sculpin  {Myoxocephalus  scorpius  Linnaeus) 320 

Longhorn  sculpin  (Myoxocephalus  octodecemspinosus  Mitchill) 325 

Staghorn  sculpin  {Gymnocanthus  tricuspis  Reinhardt) 328 

Deep-sea  sculpin  {Cotlunculus  microps  Collett) 329 

Sea  raven  (Hemilripterus  americanus  Gmelin) 330 

The  alligatorfishes.    Family  Agonidae 332 

Alligatorfish  (Aspidophoroides  monopterygius  Bloch) 333 

The  lumpfishes.    Family  Cyclopteridae 334 

Lumpfish  {Cyclopierus  lumpus  Linnaeus) 334 

Spiny  lumpfish  (Eumicroiremus  spinosus  Miiller) 339 

The  sea  snails.     Family  Liparidae 340 

Sea  snail  {Neoliparis  atlanticus  Jordan  and  Evermann) 340 

Striped  sea  snail  (Liparis  liparis  Cu vier) 342 

The  sea  robins  or  gurnards.    Family  Triglidae 344 

Common  sea  robin  (Prionoius  carolinus  Linnteus) 345 

Red-winged  sea  robin  (Prionoius  slrigalus  Cuvier  and  Valenciennes) 348 

The  remoras.    Family  Echeneididae 349 

Shark  sucker  (Echeneis  naucrates  Linnaeus) 349 

Swordfish  sucker  (Remora  brachyptera  Lowe) 350 

Remora  (Remora  remora  Linnaeus) 351 

The  tilefishes.    Family  Malacanthidae 352 

Tilefish  (Lopholalilus  chamxleonticeps  Goode  and  Bean) 352 

The  toadfishes.    Family  Batrachoididae 356 

Toadfish  (Opsanus  tau  Linnaeus) 357 

The  blennies.    Family  Blenniidae 359 

Rock  eel  (Pholis  gunnellus  Linnaeus) 359 

Snake  blenny  (Lumpenus  lampelrspformis  Walbaum) 363 

Shanny  (Leptoclinus  maculalus  Fries) 365 

Radiated  shanny  ( Ulvaria  subbifurcata  Storer) •  366 

The  wrymouths.    Family  Cry ptacanthodidae 368 

Wrymouth  (Cryptacanlhodes  maculalus  Storer) 368 

The  wolffishes.    Family  Anarhichadidae 370 

Wolffish  (Anarhichas  lupus  Linnteus) 370 

Spotted  wolffish  (Anarhichas  minor  Ol&fscn) 375 

The  eelpouts.     Family  Zoarcidae 376 

Eelpout  (Zoarces  anguillaris  Peck) 378 

Wolf  eel  (Lycenchelys  verrillii  Goode  and  Bean) 382 

Arctic  eelpout  (Lycodes  reticulatus  Reinhardt) 383 

The  cusk  eels.     Family  Ophidiidae 384 

Cusk  eel  (Lepophidium  cervinum  Goode  and  Bean) 384 

The  silver  hakes  and  cods.     Familes  Merlucciidae  and  Gadidae, .-  385 

Silver  hake  (Merluccius  bilinearis  Mitchill) 386 

American  pollock  (Pollachius  virens  Linnaeus) 396 

Tomcod  (Microgadus  tomcod  Walbaum) 406 

Cod  (Gadus  callarias  Linnaeus) 409 

Haddock  (Melanogrammus  ssglifinus  Linnaeus) 432 

Blue  hake  (Antimora  viola  Goode  and  Bean) 444 

White  hake  (Urophycis  tenuis  Mitcliill) 446 


6  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

True  fishes — Continued. 

The  bony  fishes — Continued. 

The  silver  hakes  and  cods — Continued.  Page 

Squirrel  hake  {Urophycis  c/i «ss Walbaum) 447 

Spotted  hake  {Urophycis  regius  Walbaum) 455 

Long-finned  hake  (Urophycis  chesteri  Goode  and  Bean) 456 

Hakeling  (Physiculus  fulvus  Bean) 457 

Four-bearded  rockhng  {Enchelyopus  cimbrius  Linnaeus) 458 

Cusk  {Brosmius  brosme  Miiller) 462 

The  grenadiers.     Family  Macrouridse - 467 

Common  grenadier  {Macrourus  bairdii  Goode  and  Bean) 468 

Smooth-spined  grenadier  {Macrourus  berglax  Lac^pede) 470 

Long-nosed  grenadier  {Ccelorhynchus  carminatus  Goode) 471 

The  flounders  and  soles.     Famihes  Pleuronectidae  and  Soleidae 472 

Halibut  {Hippoglossus  hippoglossus  Linnaeus) 473 

Greenland  hahbut  {Reinhardtiiis  hippoglossoides  Walbaum) 481 

American  plaice  {Hippoglossoides  platessoides  Fabricius) 482 

Summer  flounder  {Paralichthys  dentatus  Linnaeus) 491 

Four-spotted  flounder  {Paralichthys  oblongus  Mitchill) 494 

Rusty  dab  {Limanda  ferruginea  Storer) 495 

Winter  flounder  (Pseudopleuronectes  americanus  Walbaum) 501 

Georges  Bank  flounder  {Pseudopleuronectes  dignabilis  Kendall) 507 

Smooth  flounder  {Liopselia  putnaini  Gill) 508 

Witch  flounder  {Glyptocephalus  cynoglossus  Linnaeus) 511 

Sand  flounder  {Lophopselta  maculala  Mitchill) 516 

Gulf  Stream  flounder  {Ciiharichthys  arctifrons  Goode) 521 

Hogchoker  {Achirus  fasciatus  Lac^pede) 522 

The  anglers.     Family  Lophiidae 524 

Goosefish  {Lophius  piscatorius  Linnaeus) 524 

Bibliography 533 

Addenda 551 

Index 555 


INTRODUCTION 

In  the  summer  of  1912  the  Bm-eau  of  Fisheries,  with  the  cooperation  of  the 
Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  of  Harvard  University,  undertook  an  oceano- 
graphic  and  biological  survey  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  with  special  reference  to  its 
fishes  and  floating  plants  and  animals  (plankton),  its  physical  and  chemical  state, 
.and  the  circulation  of  its  waters.  Subsequent  cruises  were  made  on  the  fisheries 
schooner  Grampus  during  the  summers  and  autumns  of  1913,  1914,  1915,  and  1916, 
and  during  the  winters  and  springs  of  1913  and  1915.  The  work  was  interrupted  by 
the  war,  but  was  resumed  with  a  cruise  of  the  fisheries  steamer  Albatross  in  the  late 
winter  and  spring  of  1920  and  continued  by  the  fisheries  steamer  Halcyon  during 
the  winter  and  spring  of  1920-21  and  the  stmimers  of  1921  and  1922.  Several 
reports  on  special  phases  of  the  survey  have  been  published,  but  not  until  1920 
did  the  body  of  data  warrant  undertaking  a  general  account  of  the  fish  faiina,  general 
biology,  and  oceanography  of  the  Gulf,  of  which  the  present  memoir  is  the  first  part. 

In  the  division  of  labor  the  preparation  of  the  section  on  the  fishes  was  assigned 
to  my  coworker,  W.  W.  Welsh,  who  had  given  special  attention  to  this  phase  of  the 
work  throughout  all  the  years  of  the  survey,  both  on  the  regular  oceanographic 
cruises  and  on  many  trips  on  commercial  fishing  vessels,  in  the  course  of  which  he 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  7 

had  gathered  a  large  body  of  original  observations  on  the  growth,  reproduction, 

diet,  and  other  phases  of  the  lives  of  many  of  the  more  important  species.     The 

report  was  far  advanced  when  interrupted  by  his  untimely  death,  and  so  much  of 

the  material  had  been  collected  that,  at  the  request  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  I 

have  undertaken  to  carry  it  to  publication  along  the  lines  originally  laid  down, 

though  I  am  unable  to  give  it  the  value  it  would  have  possessed  had  Mr.  Welsh 

been  able  to  finish  it. 

SCOPE   OF  THE  WORK 

Our  aim  has  been  to  prepare  a  handbook  for  the  ready  identification  of  the 
fishes  occurring  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  and  to  present  a  concise  statement  of  what 
is  known  of  the  distribution,  relative  abundance,  and  the  more  significant  facts  in 
the  life  history  of  each.  The  descriptions  have  been  made  as  little  technical  as  is 
compatible  with  scientific  accuracy,  and  are  chiefly  limited  to  such  external  features 
as  may  suffice  for  identification  in  the  field.  As  a  further  aid  to  identification,  keys 
to  all  species  have  been  provided.  In  every  case  the  sizes  of  larval  fish  or  eggs  have 
been  given  in  millimeters  (1  inch  equals  25.4  millimeters),  but  these  can  be  easily 
converted  into  inches  or  parts  of  an  inch.  We  have  followed  Garman  (1913)  in  the 
nomenclature  of  the  sharks,  skates,  and  rays,  and  Jordan  and  Evermann 
(1896-1900)  for  all  the  others,  except  as  noted.  For  each  species  we  have  given 
page  references  to  these  authors,  where  the  reader,  if  interested,  may  find  more 
detailed  descriptions  and  synonymies.  Most  of  the  illustrations  have  been 
borrowed  from  earlier  publications,  but  a  few  are  original.  Rules  given  under 
illustrations  represent  a  length  of  1  inch. 

AREA   COVERED 

The  term  "  Gulf  of  Maine  "  covers  the  oceanic  bight  from  Nantucket  and  Cape 
Cod  on  the  west  to  Cape  Sable  on  the  east,  thus  including  the  shore  lines  of  northern 
Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  Maine,  and  parts  of  New  Brunswick  and  Nova 
Scotia.  The  eastern  and  western  boundaries  adopted  in  this  paper  are  65°  and 
70°  west  longitude,  respectively.  Southern  species,  recorded  but  once  from 
Nantucket  and  which  have  no  real  status  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  except  as  accidental 
stragglers,  have  been  relegated  to  footnotes.  The  Gulf  of  Maine  has  a  natural 
seaward  rim  formed  by  Nantucket  Shoals,  Georges  Bank,  and  Browns  Bank.  We 
have  chosen  the  150-fathom  contour  as  the  arbitrary  offshore  boundary  because 
this  will  include  all  the  species  likely  to  be  caught  by  commercial  fishermen  and  will 
exclude  almost  the  entire  category  of  deep-sea  fishes  so  numerous  in  the  basin  of 
the  open  Atlantic  but  not  constituents  of  the  fauna  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

The  general  geography  of  this  area  wUl  be  the  subject  of  another  report,  but 
it  may  not  be  amiss  to  point  out  here  that  the  temperature  of  the  Gulf  and  its 
fauna  as  a  whole  are  boreal,  its  southern  and  western  boundaries  being  the  northern 
limit  of  common  occuiTcnce  of  many  southern  species  of  fishes  and  invertebrates. 
102274— 25t 2 


8  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

SOURCES   OF   INFORMATION 

The  literature  dealing  with  the  fishes  of  tlie  GuK  of  Maine  begins  with  the 
earliest  descriptions  of  New  England,  for  the  fishery  possibilities  of  the  Gulf  so 
impressed  the  early  voyagers,  even  prior  to  the  first  settlement,  that  almost  all 
accounts  of  their  travels  contain  first-hand  observations  on  the  local  abundance 
of  fish  of  one  species  or  another.  Capt.  John  Smith  (1616),  for  instance,  commented 
on  the  abundance  of  sturgeon,  cod,  hake,  haddock,  cole  (the  American  poUock), 
cusk,  sharks,  mackerel,  herring,  cunners,  eels,  salmon,  and  bass  in  1616,  while 
Wood  (1634),  in  his  "  New  England's  Prospect,"  gives  much  interesting  information, 
some  of  which  is  quoted  hereafter.  It  was  not  until  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century  that  the  sea  fishes  of  northern  New  England  and  of  the  Maritime  Provinces 
began  to  attract  scientific  attention,  but  since  then  the  local  faunal  lists  for  that 
region  have  become  numerous.  The  following,  in  chronological  order,  are  the  most 
important  of  these: 

1850. — "Report  on  the  sea  and  river  fisheries  of  New  Brunswick,  within  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law- 
rence and  Bay  of  Chaleur,"  by  M.  H.  Perley.     137  pp.,  1850.     Fredericton. 

1853-1867. — "A  history  of  the  fishes  of  Massachusetts,"  by  David  Humphreys  Storer.  Mem- 
oirs, American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  New  Series,  Vol.  V,  pp.  49-92,  122-168,  and  257-296; 
Vol.  VI,  pp.  309-372;  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  389-439;  Vol.  IX,  pp.  217-256,  39  pis.  (Also  in  book  form 
with  supplement.)     Cambridge  and  Boston. 

1879. — "A  list  of  the  fishes  of  Essex  County,  including  those  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  according 
to  the  latest  results  of  the  work  of  the  U.  S.  Fish  Commission,"  by  George  Brown  Goode  and  Tarle- 
ton  H.  Bean.     Bulletin,  Essex  Institute,  Vol.  XI,  No.  1,  pp.  1-38.     Salem. 

1884. — "  Natural  history  of  useful  aquatic  animals,"  by  George  Brown  Goode  and  associates. 
Section  I,  The  Fisheries  and  Fishery  Industries  of  the  United  States,  published  jointly  by  the  United 
States  Fish  Commission  and  the  United  States  Bureau  of  the  Census.     Washington. 

1908. — "  Fauna  of  New  England.  8.  List  of  the  Pisces,"  by  William  C.  Kendall.  Occasional 
Papers,  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  VII,  No.  8,  April,  1908,  pp.  1-152.     Boston. 

1914. — "An  annotated  catalogue  of  the  fishes  of  Maine,"  by  William  C.  Kendall.  Proceed- 
ings, Portland  Society  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  Ill,  1914,  Part  1,  pp.  1-198.     Portland. 

1922. — "The  fishes  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,"  by  A.  G.  Huntsman.  Contributions  to  Canadian 
Biology,  1921  (1922),  No.  3,  pp.  1-24.     Ottawa. 

Either  at  first  hand  or  by  reference  to  the  original  sources  these  faunal  lists 
contain  all  the  published  locality  records  of  the  rarer  species,  while  the  last  two, 
with  a  paper  by  Gill  (1905b) ,  give  complete  ichthyological  bibliographies  respectively 
for  the  coasts  of  Maine,  New  Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia,  and  Massachusetts.  A 
similar  list  of  the  captures  of  deep-water  forms  along  the  outer  part  of  the  Conti- 
nental Shelf  is  contained  in  Goode  and  Bean's  "Oceanic  Ichthyology"  (1S96). 

The  most  pertinent  extralimital  lists  are  Smith's  (1898)  and  Sumner,  Osburn, 
and  Cole's  (1913)  lists  of  Woods  Hole  fishes  for  the  waters  immediately  to  the  west, 
and  Halket's  (1913)  check  list  of  the  fishes  of  Canada  for  those  to  the  east  and  north 
of  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  With  these  readily  available  we  have  not  thought  it  worth 
while  to  burden  the  present  paper  with  the  authorities  for  localities  except  in  the 
more  interesting  cases.  To  save  constant  repetition  we  state  here  that  almost  all  of 
the  information  as  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy  given  hereafter  is  drawn  either  from 
Huntsman's  paper  or  from  his  unpublished  notes.     Much  information  as  to  local 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  9 

distribution  and  relative  abundance  has  been  gleaned  from  the  fishery  statistics 
published  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and 
the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts. 

The  literature  dealing  with  the  lives  and  habits  of  fishes  occurring  in  the  Gulf 
of  Maine  is  very  extensive,  for  most  of  the  important  commercial  species,  and  many 
of  the  others,  are  common  to  both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic  and  have  come  within 
the  scope  of  the  intensive  studies  carried  out  of  late  years  by  European  zoologists  in 
conjunction  with  the  International  Committee  for  the  Exploration  of  the  Sea,  while 
considerable  attention  has  been  devoted  to  them  by  American  ichthyologists,  also 
(published  for  the  most  part  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries) .  The  many 
scattered  accounts  of  eggs  and  larvae  of  northern  fishes  have  been  collected  by 
Ehrenbaum  ^  in  his  general  summary  of  their  developmental  stages,  a  compilation 
the  utility  of  which  can  hardly  be  overrated. 

Among  the  other  general  European  manuals,  Day's  "Fishes  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland"  ^  and  Smitt's  "Scandinavian  Fishes"  ^  are  especially  helpful.  We 
have  also  had  access  to  a  great  amount  of  unpublished  material  in  the  files  of  the 
Bureau  of  Fisheries,  especially  instructive  being  the  schedules  turned  in  by  observers 
who  accompanied  certain  otter  trawlers  during  1913,  and  the  observations  of  Vinal 
Edwards  on  the  diet  of  fishes  at  Woods  Hole.  The  superintendents  of  the  New 
England  hatcheries  have  supplied  much  valuable  information,  as  noted  in  the  appro- 
priate connections.  Dr.  A.  G.  Huntsman  has,  with  great  kindness,  contributed  his 
unpublished  notes  on  the  fishes  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence, 
allowing  us  to  quote  freely  from  them,  while  Prof.  J.  P.  McMurrich  has  permitted  the 
use  of  his  unpublished  plankton  records.  W.  F.  Clapp,  formerly  of  the  Museum  of 
Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard  University,  has  contributed  many  interesting  notes 
gleaned  during  his  experience  as  a  fisherman  before  his  entrance  into  the  scientific 
field.  Harry  Piers,  of  the  Provincial  Museum  of  Halifax,  has  supplied  interesting 
notes  on  the  occurrence  of  the  blue  shark. 

We  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude,  also,  to  Dr.  Samuel  Garman,  who  has  ever  been 
ready  with  assistance,  and  to  W.  C.  Adams,  director  of  the  division  of  fisheries  and 
game  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts.  Finally,  we  wish  to  express  our  thanks  to  the 
many  commercial  fishermen  M'ho  have  unfailingly  met  our  inquiries  in  the  most 
cordial  way  and  who  supplied  Mr.  Welsh  with  a  vast  amount  of  first-hand  informa- 
tion on  the  habits,  distribution,  and  abimdance  of  the  conamercial  fishes,  which  could 
be  had  from  no  other  source.  Without  their  help  the  preparation  of  this  handbook 
would  have  been  impossible. 

'  Eier  and  Larven  von  Fischen,  by  E.  Ehrenbaum.  Nordisches  Plankton,  Vol.  I,  1905-1909  (1911),  413  pp.,  148  figs.  EleJ 
und  Leipzig.    (Appeared  in  two  parts  as  Lief.  4, 1905,  and  Lief.  10, 1909.) 

'  The  fishes  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  by  F.  Day.     Text  and  atlas,  1880.    London  and  Edinborough. 

'  A  history  of  Scandinavian  fishes,  by  B.  Fries,  C.  V.  Ekstrom,  and  C.  Sundervall.  Second  edition  revised  and  completed  by 
F.  A.  Smitt,  1892, 1,240  pp..  53  pis.     Stockholm. 


10 


BULLETIN    or   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


USE  OF  THE  KEYS 

The  various  fins  and  other  structures  mentioned  in  the  keys  are  named  in  the 
accompanying  outline  of  a  haddock,  and  the  simplest  way  to  explain  the  use  of  the 
keys  is  to  use  that  species  as  an  example,  running  it  down  with  the  outline  at  hand 
for  reference. 


1  stioisai  f  iTi  Jl        2Tii(lorsd  fiu 


Baibel 


•   ?''    2nd. Anal  fin 


tstAna-lfin. 


Ventral  fin 

Fig.  1.— Diagram  of  a  haddock,  explainmg  terms  used  in  key 

Turning  to  section  1,  Key  A  (p.  11),  the  fish  in  question  evidently  fits  the 
second  alternative,  for  it  has  bony  jaws  and  pectoral  fins  and  is  not  formed  like  an 
eel,  which  refers  us  to  section  3.  As  our  fish  does  not  have  a  tubular  snout  this 
leads  us  to  section  4,  and  this  in  turn  to  section  5,  since  neither  jaw  is  greatly  pro- 
longed. There  being  only  one  gill  opening  on  each  side  we  go  from  section  5  to 
section  7,  and  from  section  7  to  section  8,  for  there  is  a  distinct  tail.  Since  the  fish 
has  no  sucking  plate  on  the  top  of  the  head  this  leads  to  section  11,  and  this  in  turn 
to  section  12  because  the  tail  fin  is  nearly  symmetrical  in  outline.  Since  the  fish  is 
not  clothed  in  an  armor  of  bony  plates  we  are  referred  by  the  second  alternative  of 
section  12  to  section  13.  In  our  specimen  the  anal  fin  is  clearly  separated  from  the 
caudal,  and  section  13  therefore  refers  us  to  section  14.  As  all  the  fins  are  supported 
by  rays  we  must  go  on  to  section  15,  and  from  there  to  section  IS  as  there  are  no 
fleshy  flaps  or  tags  on  the  sides  of  the  head.'*  Our  fish  does  not  lie  fiat  on  one  side 
(that  is,  it  is  a  round,  not  a  flat  fish)  and  therefore  it  fits  the  second  alternative  under 
section  18,  which  refers  it  to  section  19,  and  as  there  is  more  than  one  separate 
dorsal  fin,  this  leads  to  Key  F,  page  13. 

As  we  have  already  determined,  all  the  dorsal  fins  have  soft  rays,  and  since  there 
are  no  spines  in  any  of  the  fins  (a  fact  easily  determined  by  feeling  them) ,  this  sends 
us  to  the  key  to  the  cod  and  silver  hake  families  (p.  385).  Turning  to  the  first 
section  of  the  latter  we  find  that  the  fish  fits  the  first  alternative  (3  dorsal  fins  and 
2  anals),  which  refers  it  to  section  2,  and  here  the  black  lateral  line  and  the  dark 
blotch  on  each  shoulder  name  it  a  haddock. 

Any  other  Gulf  of  Maine  species  is  to  be  named  in  the  same  way,  starting 
with  section  1,  Key  A,  and  following  through  the  appropriate  alternatives  as  they 
refer  it  from  section  to  section. 


*  There  is  a  barbel  on  the  chin  but  this  is  very  different  in  appearance  from  the  skin  flaps  around  the  3aws  characteristic  of 
the  few  species  that  fall  under  the  first  alternative. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GXJLF   OF   MAINE  11 

KEY  TO  GULF  OF  MAINE  FISHES 

Key  A 

1.  Mouth  soft  with  no  bony  jaws;  form  eel-like;  no  pectoral  fins 2 

Mouth  has  bony  jaws;  pectoral  fins  present  if  form  is  eel-like 3 

2.  Two  separate  fins  on  back;  no  barbels  on  snout Lamprey,  p.  18 

Only  one  fin  on  back;  barbels  on  snout Hag,  p.  16 

3.  Bones  of  head  fused  in  a  tubular  snout,  with  mouth  at  tip Key  B,  p.  12 

No  tubular  snout 4 

4.  One  or  both  jaws  greatly  prolonged  as  a  bony  sword  or  bill Key  C,  p.  12 

Neither  jaw  greatly  prolonged 5 

5.  Five  or  more  pairs  of  large  gill  openings  (on  sides  of  neck  in  sharks;  on  lower  surface 

in  skates) . 6 

Only  one  external  gill  opening,  large  or  small,  on  each  side 7 

6.  General  form  cylindrical Sharks,  key,  p.  23 

General  form  flat  and  diskhke,  with  long  whiphke  tail Skates  and  rays,  key,  p.  57 

7.  Body  abruptly  square-cut  close  behind  the  very  high  dorsal  and  anal  fins.  Sunfish,  p.  301 
Body  with  distinct  tail 8 

8.  Large  sucking  plate  or  disk,  either  ou  the  top  of  the  head  or  on  the  chest 9 

No  sucking  disk  or  plate 11 

9.  Sucking  plate  on  top  of  head Remora  family  key,  p.  349 

Sucking  disk  on  chest 10 

10.  General  form  like  a  tadpole;  anal  fin  originates  about  as  far  back  as  the  tip  of  the 

pectoral Sea  snail  family  key,  p.  340 

General  form  not  Uke  a  tadpole,  but  high  arched  with  longitudinal  ridges;  anal  fin 
originates  far  behind  tip  of  pectoral , Lumpfish  family  key,  p.  334 

11.  Tail  like  a  shark,  i.  e.,  with  upper  lobe  much  longer  than  lower Sturgeon,  p.  75 

Tail  nearly  symmetrical 12 

12.  Whole  head  and  body  clothed  in  continuous  armor  of  bony  plates..  Alligator  fish,  p.  333 
If  bony  plates  are  present  they  do  not  form  a  continuous  armor  over  head  and  body 13 

13.  No  clear  separation  between  anal  and  caudal  fins,  which  together  form  one  contin- 

uous fin  (anal  portion  may  be  either  long  or  short) Key  D,  p.  12 

Anal  and  caudal  fins  separated  by  a  deep  notch  if  not  by  a  space 14 

14.  There  is  a  fleshy  (adipose)  fin  with  neither  spines  nor  rays  behind  the  rayed  dorsal 

fin Key  E,  p.  13 

A  fleshy  flap*  in  front  of  dorsal  fin Tilefish,  p.  352 

All  dorsal  flns  supported  by  rays  or  spines,  which  can  be  felt  if  not  seen;  without  fleshy 

lobee  or  adipose  fins  either  in  front  of  or  behind  them 15 

15.  Head  fringed  with  fleshy  tags  or  flaps;  much  broader  than  body 16 

Head  not  fringed  with  fleshy  flaps 18 

16.  Lower  jaw  projects  far  beyond  upper,  exposing  very  large  conical  teeth  even  when 

mouth  is  closed;  two  long  isolated  spines  on  top  of  head  in  front  of  eyes.   Goosefish,  p.  524 
Lower  jaw  does  not  project  noticeably  beyond  upper;  teeth  small;  no  long  isolated 
spines  in  front  of  eyes 17 

17.  First  (spiny)  dorsal  fin  longer  than  second  (soft  rayed);  neither  is  fleshy.   Sea  raven, p.  330 
First    (spiny)    dorsal  fin  much  shorter  than  second    (soft   rayed);    both   thick    and 

fleshy - Toadfish,  p.  357 

'  Although  this  flap  suggests  the  adipose  fin  of  a  salmon  in  appearance,  it  is  not  actually  an  analogous  structure,  but  simply 
a  lobe  of  skin. 


12  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Key  A — Continued 

18.  Fishes  wliich  lie  flat  on  one  side,  with  both  eyes  on  the  other  side,  the  upper  side 

dark,  the  lower  pale Flatfish  tribe  key,  p.  472 

Not  lying  flat  on  one  side 19 

19.  Only  one  well-developed  dorsal  fin  (this,  however,  may  be  preceded  by  isolated  spines 

or  rays) 20 

Two  or  more  separate  and  well-developed  dorsal  fins Key  F,  p.  13 

20.  Top  of  snout  with  several  barbels  or  beards RockUngs(cod  family  in  part)  key,  p.  385 

No  barbels  or  beard  on  top  of  snout 21 

21.  Jaws  with  very  large  canine  tusks  which  project  even  when  the  mouth  is  closed 

Wolffish  family  key,  p.  370 

No  large  canine  tusks 22 

22.  Dorsal  fin  soft-rayed,  except  that  there  may  be  a  short  spine  at  its  forward  margin 

Key  G,  p.  14 

At  least  forward  one-third  of  dorsal  fin,  if  not  whole  length,  spiny Key  H,  p.  15 

Key  B 

Fishes  with  tubular  snouts  (trom  No.  3,  p.  11). 

1.  Head  horselike;  trunk  deep,  narrowing  abruptly  to  slender,  prehensile  tail;  no  caudal 

fin Seahorse,  p.  177 

Head  roughly  cylindrical;  body  very  slender  with  no  distinction  into  trunk  and  tail 
portions;  caudal  fin  present 2 

2.  Snout  no  longer  than  dorsal  fin;  no  ventral  fin;  caudal  fin  rounded Pipefish,  p.  175 

Snout   more  than  six  times  as  long   as   dorsal  fin;  ventral  fins   present;  caudal  fin 

forked Trumpetfish,  p.  173 

Key  C 

Fishes  with  bills  or  swords  (from  No.  4,  p.  11). 

1.  Both  jaws  elongated 4 

Only  one  jaw  elongated 2 

2.  Upper  jaw  elongated  as  a  sword 3 

Lower  jaw  elongated Halfbeak,  p.  163 

3.  Sword  sharp-edged;  first  dorsal  fin  shorter  than  the  sword  forward  of  eye;  no  ventral 

fins Swordfish,  p.  221 

Sword  round-edged;  dorsal  fin  nearly  twice  as  long  as  sword Spearfish,'  p.  227 

4.  Caudal  fin  well  developed 5 

No  caudal  fin;  tip  of  tail  is  whiplike Snipe  eel,  p.  88 

5.  Several  finlets  behind  dorsal  and  anal  fins Needlefish,  p.  164 

No  finlets  behind  dorsal  and  anal  fins Silver  gar,  p.  161 

Key  D 

Fishes  with  well-developed  fins,  snouts  of  ordinary  form,  only  one  gill  opening  on  each  side,  and  the  anal  fin  continuous  with 
the  caudal  around  the  tip  of  the  tail  (from  No.  13,  p.  11.) 

1.  Only  one  dorsal  fin ■- 2 

Two  separate  dorsal  fins,  the  first  much  higher  than  the  second  but  shorter 6 

2.  Body  band-shaped,  the  tail  tapering  to  a  whiplike  tip Cutlasfish,  p.  220 

Body  thick,  eel-like;  vertical  fins  continue  around  tip  of  taU  in  a  broad  band 3 

3.  Dorsal  fin  spiny  from  end  to  end 4 

Dorsal  fin  soft  rayed,  at  least  for  almost  all  its  length 5 

'  The  sailflsh  would  also  come  under  this  heading  should  one  ever  be  taken  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.    The  distinctions  between 
it  and  the  spearflsh  are  given  under  the  account  of  the  latter  on  page  228. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  13 

Key  D — Continued 

4.  Mouth  large  and  strongly  oblique;  no  ventral  fins Wrymouth,  p.  368 

Mouth  small  and  horizontal;  small  ventral  fins Rook  eel,  p.  359 

5.  Without  ventral  fins Eel  family  key,  p.    78 

Small  but  distinct  ventral  fins,  situated  forward  of  the  pectorals 6 

6.  Ventrals  are  situated  behind  the  gill  opening Eelpout  family  key,  p.  376 

Ventrals  situated  on  the  chin,  well  in  front  of  the  gill  openings,  and  reduced  to  forked, 

barbel-like  structures Cusk  eel,  p.  384 

7.  Ventral  fins  situated  below  point  of  origin  of  pectorals;  eye  very  large — 

Grenadier  family  key,  p.  467 

Ventral  fins  situated  behind  tip  of  pectorals;  eyes  very  small Chimeera,  p.    73 

Key  E 

Bony  fishes  with  two  kinds  of  dorsal  fins,  i.  e.,  one  in  front  supported  by  rays,  with  a  fleshy  (adipose)  fin  behind  it.'    (From 

No.  14,  p.  11.) 

1.  Rayed  dorsal  fin  much  longer  than  head,  and  spiny Lancetfish,  p.  155 

Rayed  dorsal  fin  shorter  than  head,  and  soft-raj'ed 2 

2.  Jaws  armed  with  long  projecting  saber-like  fangs Viperfish,  p.  153 

Teeth  small 3 

3.  Noticeable  series  of  phosphorescent  organs  along  each  side 4 

No  phosphorescent  organs 6 

4.  Mouth  gapes  back  beyond  eye Lanternfish  family,  p.  149 

Mouth  does  not  gape  back  as  far  as  eye Pearlsides,  p.  151 

6.         Tail  deeply  forked;  nose  pointed Smelt  family  key,  p.  140 

Tail  nearly  square  or  only  slightly  forked;  nose  rounded Salmon  family  key,  p.  126 

Key  F 

Bony  fishes  with  snouts  of  ordinary  form,  symmetrical  tails,  bodies  not  entirely  encased  in  bony  plate,  caudal  flna  distinct  from 
anal,  and  two  or  more  well-developed  dorsal  fins,  all  of  them  supported  by  rays  or  spines  (from  No.  19,  p.  12) . 

1.  All  fins  soft  rayed;  no  spines Cod  and  silver  hake  families  key,  p.  385 

First  dorsal  fin  spiny;  second  soft-rayed 2 

2.  One  or  more  small  finlets  between  second  dorsal  and  anal  fins  and  the  caudal 3 

No  such  finlets 4 

3.  More  than  3  each  dorsal  and  anal  finlets Mackerel  family,  p.  188 

Two  dorsal  and  two  anal  finlets Escolar,  p.  220 

Only  one  dorsal  and  one  anal  finlet Mackerel  scad  (pompano  family  in  part),  p.  232 

4.  Sides  of  head  bony,  with  sharp  spines  or  horns;  head  very  broad 5 

Sides  of  head  have  no  spines  or  horns ;  head  not  noticeably  broad 6 

5.  Three  lower  rays  of  each  pectoral  fin  separate  from  others,  in    the   form   of   fleshy 

feelers;  outline  of  tip  of  snout,  as  seen  from  above,  concave;  mouth  small 

Sea  robin  family  key,  p.  345 

Lower  rays  of  pectorals  not  separate  from  others;  outline  of  tip   of   snout   convex, 
not  concave;  mouth  very  large Sculpin  family  key,  p.  314 

6.  First  spine  of  first  dorsal  fin  very  much  stouter  than  others  and  can  be  locked  erect  by 

the  second;  no  ventrals;  skin  very   hard Triggerfish,  p.  293 

First  dorsal  spine  not  stouter  than  others;  ventral  fins  well  developed;  skin  soft 7 

7.  Ventrals  more  than  twice  as  long  as  pectorals;  caudal  very  small John  Dory,  p.  291 

Ventrals  no  longer  than  pectorals;  caudal  fin  large 8 

8.  Space  between  two  dorsal  fins  is  as  long  as  the  first  dorsal;  ventrals  are  situated  be- 

•  hind  the  middle  of  the  pectorals 9 

Little  or  no  free  space  between  the  two  dorsal  fins;  ventrals  in   front   of  middle   of 
pectorals 10 

'  The  tileflsh  (pp.  11  and  352)  has  a  fleshy  flap,  simulating  an  adipose  fln,  on  the  back  in  front  of  the  rayed  dorsal  fin. 


14  BULLETIN    OP   THE   BUREAU   OF   PISHEEIES 

Key  F — Continued 

9.         Eyes  large;  mouth  large  and  very  oblique Silverside  family  key,  p.  178 

Eyes  small,"  mouth  very  small  and  longitudinal Mullet,  p.  182 

10.  Caudal  peduncle  extremely  slender;  caudal  fin  deeply  forked 

Pompano  family  (in  part)  key,  p.  229 

Caudal  peduncle  moderately  deep;  caudal  fin  at  most  moderately  forked 11 

11.  First  (spiny)  dorsal  fin  much  lower  than  second  (soft  rayed)  dorsal Bluefish,  p.  237 

First  dorsal  as  high  as  second,  or  higher 12 

12.  Second  dorsal  fin  not  much  longer  than  anal Sea-bass  famDy  (in  part)  key,  p.  251 

Second  (soft  rayed)  dorsal  about  twice  as  long  as  anal  fin Weakfish  family  key,  p.  269 

Key  G 

Bony  fishes  with  snouts  of  ordinary  form,  symmetrical  tails,  bodies  not  clad  in  bony  plates,  caudal  fin  distinct  from  the  anal, 
neither  canine  tusks  nor  barbels  on  the  top  of  the  snout,  and  only  one  dorsal  fin  which  is  soft-rayed  except  that  it  may  com- 
mence with  one  short  spine  (from  No.  22,  p.  12) .    There  is  no  adipose  fin  or  flap  either  in  front  of  the  dorsal  fin  or  behind  itT 

1.  Tail  deeply  forked 2 

Tail  square  or  rounded 12 

2.  The  whole  of  anal  fin  is  behind  the  dorsal Herring  tribe  key,  p.  90 

Part  or  all  of  anal  fin  in  front  of  rear  margin  of  dorsal 3 

3.  Mouth  gapes  back  beyond  eye 4 

Mouth  does  not  gape  beyond  eye 6 

4.  Series  of  phosphorescent  spots  on  each  side 5 

No  phosphorescent  spots  or  organs Anchovy,  p.  124 

5.  Eye  very  large Lanternfish  family,  p.  149 

Eye  very  small Cyclothone,  p.  153 

6.  Eel-like  in  form Launce,  p.  183 

Not  eel-like  in  form 7 

7.  Large  ventral  fins 8 

Ventral  fins  wanting  or  very  minute 10 

8.  Front  portion  of  dorsal  fin  very  high;  body  very  deep Opah,  p.  242 

Dorsal  fin  not  very  high,  tapers  slightly  from  front  to  rear;  general  form  slender,  only 

about  one-fifth  as  deep  as  long Pilotfish,  p.  229 

10.  First    dorsal    rays   very   elongate   with   tiny   ventral  fins;   deep   and   compressed   in 

form Lookdown  (adult),  p.  236 

First  dorsal  ray  not  elongate 11 

11.  Dorsal  profile  of  head  convex;  forward  portion  of  dorsal  fin  at  least  three  times  as  high 

as  rear  part,  narrowing  abruptly;  no  ventral  fins Butterfish  family  key,  p.  245 

Dorsal  profile  of    head  concave;  dorsal    fin  tapers  only  slightly  from  front   to    rear; 
minute  ventral  fins Moonfish,  p.  235 

12.  Dorsal  fin  preceded  by  one  or  more  stout,  isolated  spines,  with  or  without  triangular 

fin  membranes 13 

No  isolated  spines  in  front  of  dorsal  fin 15 

13.  Only  one  stout  dorsal  spine,  situated  over  the  eye;  body  very  deep 

Filefish  family  key,  p.  294 

Several  dorsal  spines,  all  far  behind  the  eye 14 

14.  Ventrals  large,  of  ordinary  form;  caudal  peduncle  stout Barrelfish,  p.  243 

Each  ventral    consists  of  one  very    large  stout  spine,  with    or  without  a    small    fin 

membrane   and   one   or    two    short   weak     rays;     caudal    peduncle   very   slender 
Stickleback  family  key,  p.  166 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  15 

Key  G — Continued 

15.  No  ventral  fins,  fishes  capable  of  inflating  themselves  with  air 

I Puffer  and  porcupine-fish  families  key,  p.  297 

Ventral  fins  present;  can  not  inflate  themselves  with  air 16 

16.  Dorsal  fin  runs  whole  length  of  back,  from  nape  to  base  of  caudal,  which  it  joins; 

barbel  on  chin;  form  eel-like Cusk  (cod  family  in  part),  p.  462 

Dorsal  fin  occupies  only  one-third  or  less  of  back  behind  nape,  leaving  open  space 
as  long  as  fin  between  it  and  base  of  caudal;  no  barbel  on  chin;  form  not  eel- 
like     Mummichog  family  key,  p.  155 

Key  H 

Fishes  as  in  Key  G,  except  that  at  least  the  forward  one-third  of  the  dorsal  fin  is  spiny  (from  No.  22,  p.  12).    There  is  no  adipose 
fin  behind  the  rayed  dorsal,  nor  fleshy  flap  in  front  of  it. 

1.  Rear  part  of  dorsal  fin  soft  rayed 2 

Whole  length  of  dorsal  fin  spiny 7 

2.  Sides  of  head  bony,  with  knobs  or  spines 3 

No  knobs  or  spines  on  sides  of  head 4 

3.  Sides  of  head  with  conical  spines;  spiny  portion  of  dorsal  fin  at  least  as  long  as  soft 

part;  body  laterally  compressed Rockfish  family,  p.  304 

Sides  of  head  with  low  rounded  knobs;  spiny  portion  of  dorsal  fin  considerably  shorter 
than  soft  part;  body  tadpole-shaped--   Deep-sea  sculpin  (sculpin  family  in  part),  p.  329 

4.  Ventral  fins  much  longer  than  pectorals;  eye  very  large Big-eye,  p.  261 

Ventral  fins  no  larger  than  pectorals;  eye  not  very  large 5 

5.  Pectorals  pointed;  body  much  compressed Sea  bream  family  key,  p.  263 

Pectorals  rounded;  body  not  much  compressed 6 

6.  Rear  (soft)  portion  of  dorsal  fin  nearly  as  long  as   anterior  (spiny)  part;  anal  much 

higher  than  long Sea  bass  (sea  bass  family  in  part),  p.  251 

Rear  (soft)  portion  of  dorsal  fin  less  than  half  as  long  as  spiny  part;  anal  much  longer 
than  high Gunner  family  key,  p.  280 

7.  Mouth  strongly  oblique;  no  ventral  fins Wrymouth,  p.  368 

Mouth  not  strongly  oblique;  ventral  fins  present  (very  small  in  one  species) 

Blenny  family  key,  p.  359 

THE  LAMPREYS.     CLASS  MARSIPOBRANCHII 

Except  for  Amphioxus  and  its  allies,  the  lampreys  are  the  most  primitive  of 
vertebrates,  their  skeletons  being  cartilaginous  and  their  skulls  hardlj'  differentiated 
from  the  vertebral  column.  They  have  no  true  jaws,  no  ribs,  no  shoulder  or  pelvic 
girdles,  and  no  paired  fins.  They  are  eel-like  in  appearance,  but  are  easily  dis- 
tinguishable from  the  true  eels  and,  indeed,  from  most  of  the  true  fishes  by  the 
pecuhar  jawless  sucking  mouth  situated  at  the  tip  of  the  snout,  and  from  all  Gulf 
of  Maine  eels  by  the  absence  of  pectoral  fins. 

THE  HAGFISHES  AND  LAMPREYS.     FAMILIES  MYXINID.S;  AND  PETROMYZONID.a; 

These  two  groups  are  easily  distinguished  by  the  fact  that  the  hags  have  but 
one  gill  opening  on  each  side,  one  continuous  fin  on  the  back,  and  several  barbels 
on  the  snout,  whereas  in  the  true  lamprej's  there  are  seven  gill  openings  on  each 
side,  the  fin  on  the  back  is  separated  into  dorsal  and  caudal  portions,  and  there  are 
no  barbels  on  the  snout. 


16 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


1.  Hagflsh  { Myxine  glutinosa  lAnnsdus) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  7. 

Description. — The  hag,  hke  the  lamprey,  lacks  paired  fins  and  fin  rays.  Its 
skeleton  is  wholly  cartilaginous,  without  bones,  its  mouth  is  similarly  jawless,  and 
its  skin  is  scaleless.  It  is  easily  recognized  by  its  eel-like  form;  by  its  single  finfold 
(a  fold  of  skin,  not  a  true  fin)  running  right  around  the  tail  and  forward  on  the  lower 
surface  of  the  body  with  no  division  into  dorsal,  caudal,  and  anal  fins;  by  the  single 
gill  pore  on  each  side,  just  forward  of  the  origin  of  the  ventral  finfold;  by  its  lipless 
mouth,  stellate  in  outline  when  closed;  by  the  single  nasal  aperture  at  the  tip  of  the 
snout;  by  its  peculiar  barbels  or  "tentacles,"  two  flanking  the  mouth  on  either  side 
and  four  surrounding  the  nostril ;  and  by  the  evertible  tongue  studded  with  rows  of 
horny  rasplike  "teeth."  We  might  also  mention  the  series  of  mucus  sacs  on  either 
side  of  the  abdomen,  and  point  out  that  the  dorsal  finfold  originates  two-tliirds  and 


Fia.  2.— Hagflsh  (Jfiiiineslufinosa).    a,  Aduit.    !),  Egg.    AfterDean 

the  ventral  one-third  the  distance  back  from  snout  to  tip  of  tail,  ^^^th  the  vent 
piercing  it. 

Hags  vary  in  color,  perhaps  to  correspond  with  the  color  of  the  bottom.  They 
are  grayish  brown  or  reddish  gray  above,  variously  suffused,  mottled,  or  piebald 
with  darker  or  paler  gray,  brown,  or  bluish;  below  they  are  whitish  or  pale  gray. 
They  grow  to  a  length  of  about  1  foot  to  a  foot  and  a  half. 

General  range. — Arctic  seas  and  both  coasts  of  the  north  Atlantic;  south  in 
deep  waters  to  the  latitude  of  Cape  Fear,  N.  C.  (33°  50'  N.). 

Occurrence  in  the  Chilf  of  Maine. — The  hag  is  only  too  common  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine;  perhaps  it  is  not  absent  from  any  considerable  area  of  smooth  bottom.  Thus 
it  is  abundant  generally  off  the  north  end  of  Grand  Manan,  is  reported  from  Passa- 
maquoddy  Bay  and  from  various  localities  near  Eastport,  is  to  be  found  offshore  on 
muddy  bottom  all  along  the  Maine  coast,  is  caught  at  times  in  considerable  numbers 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OP    MAINE  17 

on  the  Boon  Island — Isles  of  Shoals  fisliing  ground  and  about  Jeffreys  Ledge,  where 
we  found  it  plentiful  enough  in  the  spring  of  1913  to  have  gutted  3  to  5  per  cent  of 
all  the  haddock  in  the  gill  nets.  Fishermen  report  it  as  equally  numerous  in  the 
deeper  parts  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  On  the  offshore  banks  the  hag  is  well  known, 
and  it  has  been  trawled  at  various  localities  along  the  outer  edge  of  the  continental 
shelf  off  New  England  at  depths  of  from  100  to  200  fathoms,  and  deeper.  We 
ourselves  took  11  large  ones  in  one  set  of  the  Monaco  deep-sea  trap  in  260  fathoms 
off  Nantucket  on  July  9,  1908,  and  it  has  been  taken  in  from  300  to  500  fathoms 
off  Marthas  Vineyard. 

Habits. — The  hag  is  not  a  true  parasite,  as  has  sometimes  been  suggested,  there 
being  no  reason  to  believe  it  ever  attacks  living,  uninjured  fish,  but  it  is  a  scavenger. 
Judging  from  its  habits  during  the  brief  time  it  survives  in  aquaria,  it  spends  its 
time  lying  embedded  in  the  clay  or  mud  with  the  tip  of  the  snout  projecting,  but  it 
is  an  active  swimmer.  Probably  it  finds  its  food  by  its  greatly  specialized  olfactory 
apparatus.  So  far  as  is  known  it  feeds  chiefly  on  fish,  dead  or  disabled,  though  no 
doubt  any  other  carrion  would  serve  it  equally  well,  were  such  available.  It  is 
best  known  for  its  troublesome  habit  of  boring  into  the  body  cavities  of  hooked  or 
gilled  fishes,  eating  out  first  intestines  and  then  the  meat,  finally  to  leave  nothing 
but  a  bag  of  skin  and  bones,  inside  of  which,  or  clinging  to  the  sides  of  a  fish  it  has 
just  attacked,  the  hag  itself  is  often  hauled  aboard.  In  fact,  it  is  only  in  this  way, 
or  entangled  on  lines,  that  hags  ordinarily  are  taken  or  seen.  Being  worthless 
itself,  it  is  an  unmitigated  nuisance  and  a  particularly  loathsome  one,  owing  to  its 
habit  of  pouring  out  slime  from  its  mucus  sacs  in  quantity  out  of  all  proportion  to 
its  small  size.  One  hag,  it  is  said,  can  easily  fill  a  2-gallon  bucket,  nor  do  we  think 
this  is  any  exaggeration. 

The  hag  is  at  home  only  in  comparatively  low  temperatures — cooler,  probably, 
than  50° — and  this  confines  it  to  depths  of  15  to  20  fathoms  or  more  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine  in  summer. 

Breeding  habits. — The  hag  and  its  immediate  relatives  are  hermaphrodites — 
the  only  regularly  effective  ones  in  the  whole  vertebrate  series,  except  for  a  very  few 
species  of  bony  fishes.  Its  single  unpaired  sex  organ  first  develops  sperm  in  the 
rear,  then  eggs  in  the  forward  portion.' 

Further  than  this  our  knowledge  of  its  breeding  habits  is  still  of  the  scantiest. 
Probably  there  is  no  definite  spawning  season,  but  eggs  may  be  laid  at  any  time  of 
the  year,  for  females  near  ripeness  and  others  nearly  spent  have  been  recorded  for 
various  months,  winter  and  spring  as  well  as  summer  and  autumn,  and  eggs  have  been 
taken  in  Norwegian  waters  from  November  to  May.  It  has  long  been  known  that 
the  eggs  are  large  (up  to  20  mm.  in  length),  tough-shelled,  and  comparatively  few 
(only  19  to  25  nearly  ripe  eggs  having  been  counted  in  any  one  fish),  and  that  they 
are  very  characteristic  in  appearance,  for  at  each  end  they  bear  a  cluster  of  barb  or 
anchor  tipped  filaments  (fig.  2b).  Up  until  1900  none  had  been  found  about  which 
it  could  be  asserted  without  hesitation  that  they  had  been  laid  naturally.  In  that 
year,  however,  Dean  (1900)  described  hag  eggs  from  the  northwest  part  of  Georges 

'  For  an  account  of  the  sex  organ  of  the  hag  see  Schreiner  (Biologisches  Centralblatt,  XXIV  Band,  Nr.  3,  February,  1904, 
pp.  91-104).    For  a  summary  of  earlier  studies  see  Smitt  (Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892,  p.  1205). 


18  BULLETIN    OP   THE   BUEEAU    OF   FISHEEIES 

Bank  and  from  the  south  coast  of  Newfoundland.  Jensen  °  described  others  from 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Faroe  Islands,  and  since  then  Huntsman  has  recorded  them 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and  Hjort '"  from  Norway.  The  eggs  are 
demersal  and  stick  fast  in  clusters  to  some  fixed  object — in  Jensen's  case  to  a  Bryo- 
zoan — both  by  their  filaments  and  by  slime  threads.  Newly  hatched  hags  have 
never  been  seen,  but  inasmuch  as  the  smallest  yet  described  (about  2}^  inches 
long),  probably  not  long  out  of  the  egg,  already  resembled  the  adult  in  external 
appearance  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  hag  passes  through  a  larval 
stage  greatly  different  from  the  adult.  The  few  egg  finds  thus  far  reported, 
being  from  50  to  150  fathoms,  point  to  rather  deep  water  for  the  spa^vning  of  the 
hag.  The  Norwegian  eggs  mentioned  by  Hjort  (taken  in  shrimp  trawls)  were  on 
ooze  bottom,  but  whether  the  hag  invariably  seeks  this  type  of  ground  for  breeding 
remains  to  be  learned.  I  need  only  add  that,  to  judge  from  Cunningham's  experience 
with  hags  in  aquaria,  the  females  cease  to  feed  with  the  approach  of  sexual  maturity, 
as  do  so  many  other  fishes. 

2.  Sea  lamprey  {Petromyzon  marinus  Linnaeus) 

Lamprey;  Spotted  lamprey;  Lamper;  Eel-sucker;  Great  sea  lamprey 


Fig.  3.— Sea  lamprey  (Petromyzon  marinus) 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  10. 

Description. — Lampreys  are  very  primitive  vertebrates,  eel-like  in  appearance, 
with  soft,  cartilaginous  skeleton.  They  lack  paired  fins  but  have  well  developed 
dorsal  and  ventral  finfolds.  In  the  adult  the  jaws  are  so  rudimentary  that  apparently 
they  are  wanting;  the  mouth  is  a  longitudinal  slit  when  closed,  but  when  open  forms 
an  elliptical  disk  at  the  tip  of  the  snout  and  is  armed  with  many  horny,  hooked 
teeth  arranged  in  numerous  (11  to  12)  rows,  the  innermost  the  largest.  There  are 
seven  pairs  of  open  gdl  shts  and  two  dorsal  fin  folds,  whereas  the  hag  has  but  one 
pore  on  each  side  and  only  one  fin.  The  sea  lamprey  (the  only  member  of  its  group 
known  from  our  salt  waters)  can  hardly  be  mistaken  for  any  other  fish,  its  eel-like 
appearance  coupled  with  the  jawless  mouth  sufficing  to  place  it  at  a  glance. 

Color. — In  color  the  sea  lamprey  varies  with  locality,  and  perhaps  wath  age  and 
season  also.  It  is  usually  described  as  mottled  above — hence  the  vernacular  name 
"spotted  lamprey" — and  plain  tinted  below.     While  the  ground  color  of  the  upper 

'  Videnskabelige  Meddelelser  tra  Dansk  naturhistorisk  Forening  i  Kj^benhaven,  1800,  p.  1. 
"Fishing  experiments  in  Norwegian  Fjords,  by  Johan  Hjort  and  Knut  Dahl.    Report  on  Norwegian  Fishery  and  Marine 
Investigations,  Vol.  I,  1900,  No.  1,  Chap.  IV,  p.  75.    Kristiania. 


FISHES    OF    THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  19 

surface  of  the  body  of  lampreys  from  Massachusetts  Bay  is  perhaps  most  often 
ohve  bro^\^l  mottled  with  darker  brown  or  black  (the  dark  patches  almost  confluent), 
a  plain  bluish  variety  has  been  described,  as  have  lampreys  with  the  ground  color 
yellowish  brown,  greenish,  reddish,  and  bluish.  Occasionally  they  are  plain  colored, 
but  usually  variously  mottled.  Perhaps  the  color  of  the  bottom  on  which  they  live 
determines  the  color  of  lampreys  as  it  does  of  so  many  other  fishes.  The  lower  sur- 
face is  whitish,  gray,  or  a  pale  shade  of  the  same  hue  as  the  ground  color  of  the 
back.  During  the  breeding  season  lampreys  (at  least  the  landlocked  form)  are 
described  as  taking  on  more  brilliant  hues,  the  ground  color  between  the  dark  spots 
turning  bright  yellow. 

SiBe. — The  lamprey  rarely  grows  to  a  length  of  3  feet  and  a  weight  of  5  pounds 
or  more.     Usually,  however,  advdts,  as  they  run  up  our  rivers,  are  2  to  2}^  feet  long. 

General  range. — Atlantic  coasts  of  Europe  and  North  America,  from  Labrador 
south  to  Florida  in  the  western  Atlantic.  The  lamprey  spends  most  of  its  life  in 
salt  or  brackish  water,  but  ascends  fresh-water  rivers  to  spawn. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.— "No  doubt  the  sea  lamprey  occurs  along  the 
whole  coast  line  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  for  it  is  recorded  in  or  at  the  mouths  of 
numerous  rivers  and  streams  in  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  Maine,  and  Massa- 
chusetts, specifically  in  the  St.  John  and  Shubenacadie  Elvers  and  from  the  St. 
Andrews  region  in  salt  water  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy;  from  Eastport,  Bucksport,  Casco 
Bay,  and  the  Presumpscott  and  Penobscot  Rivers  in  Maine;  from  the  Merrimac 
River;  and  from  various  stations  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  where  it  has  been  taken 
from  time  to  time  attached  to  driftwood  and  to  the  bottoms  of  boats  as  well  as 
fastened  to  fishes.  In  olden  times  lampreys  entered  the  Merrimac  River  in  extraor- 
dinary numbers,  but  hard  fishing  has  depleted  their  ranks  sadly.  Like  other 
anadromous  fishes,  though  they  may  seem  plentiful  enough  when  condensed  in  the 
narrow  bounds  of  river  banks,  the  stock  probably  is  in  no  wise  comparable  with  that 
of  the  commoner  schooling  fishes.  Certainly  they  are  not  seen  very  often  in  the 
open  sea.  Probably  at  one  time  there  was  a  run  of  lampreys  in  all  the  larger  streams 
empt3dng  into  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  and  they  are  still  to  be  caught  in  the  Merrimac, 
Kennebec,  Penobscot,  St.  John,  and  Shubenacadie,  and  no  doubt  in  sundry  other 
rivers  where  we,  personally,  have  no  direct  knowledge  of  them. 

Habits. — Large  lampreys  have  long  been  known  to  run  up  New  England  rivers  a 
Uttle  earher  in  spring  than  do  shad,  possibly  commencing  to  work  upstream  as 
early  as  the  end  of  April.  They  appear  regularly  in  the  Merrimac  in  May,  and  are 
most  abundant  there  in  June,  after  which  few  if  any  enter.  They  go  far  upstream, 
even  to  the  headwaters,  where  they  spawn  in  June  and  July.  A  sea  lamprey  has 
been  found  to  contain  236,000  ova. 

For  the  most  complete  survey  of  the  hfe  history  of  the  lamprey  we  must 
turn  to  a  landlocked  race  inhabiting  certain  lakes  in  the  interior  of  New  York 
and  in  Ontario.     Briefly,  it  is  as  follows:  "     Such  of  the  lampreys  as  approach 

'1  For  an  account  of  nest  building  and  spawning,  which  are  hardly  germane  to  the  present  study  since  they  do  not  take  place 
in  salt  water,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Oage  (The  lake  and  brook  lamprevs  of  New  York,  especially  those  of  Cayuga  and  Seneca 
Lakes.  The  Wilder  Quarter-Century  Book,  1893,  pp.  421-493,  Pis.  I-VII.  Ithaca),  HussakotI  (Sea  lampreys  and  their  nests. 
American  Museum  Journal,  1913,  Vol.  13,  p.  323),  and  to  Coventry  (Breeding  habits  of  the  landlocked  sea  lamprey,  Petramyzon 
marinus  var.  dorsatus  Wilder.  University  of  Toronto  Studies,  Biological  Series,  No.  20;  Publications  of  the  Ontario  Fisheries 
Research  Laboratory,  1922,  No.  9,  p.  133.    Toronto). 


20  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BXJEEAU    OF   FISHEEIES 

sexual  maturity  run  up  from  the  lakes  into  small  clear  brooks  to  spawn  in  June. 
As  they  ripen,  the  two  sexes  become  dissimilar  in  appearance,  the  males  (and  this 
is  equally  true  of  sea-run  fish  both  in  American  and  European  rivers)  developing  a 
ridge  along  the  back,  the  females  a  finlike  crest  between  the  vent  and  the  caudal  fin. 
They  build  nests  of  round  stones,  which  they  drag  together  with  their  suckerlike 
mouths,  as  has  often  been  described  and  pictured  in  natural  histories,  and  after 
spawning  apparently  most,  if  not  all,  die,  for  not  only  have  they  often  been  found 
dead  but  their  intestines  atrophy,  they  are  attacked  by  fungus,  and  they  become  so 
debilitated  that  I'ecovery  seems  out  of  the  question.  In  short,  the  old  tradition 
that  no  lampreys  return  to  the  sea  from  the  rivers  they  ascend  seems  well  founded. 

The  larvte  are  very  different  in  appearance  from  the  adults.  They  are  blind 
and  toothless,  with  mouths  and  fins  of  different  shape.  They  continue  in  this 
state  for  a  period  estimated  at  3  to  4  years,  during  most  of  which  time  they  live  in 
holes  or  burrow  in  the  mud  or  sand,  hiding  under  stones.  Doctor  Huntsman  informs 
us,  however,  that  they  have  been  taken  in  tow  nets  in  the  Shubenacadie  River  in 
Nova  Scotia.  They  subsist  on  minute  organisms.  At  the  end  of  this  larval  period, 
when  they  have  grown  to  a  length  of  4  to  6  inches,  they  imdergo  transformation  to 
the  adult  form  and  structure,  an  event  occupying  about  two  months — August  to 
October— and  descend  the  streams  of  their  nativity  to  the  sea  just  before  the  water 
freezes  in  November  or  December,  to  live  and  grow  there  for  one  or  two  years  or 
imtil  they  reach  full  size  and  sexual  maturity.  The  larvse  of  the  sea  lamprey  are 
very  abimdant  in  the  mud  of  flats  near  the  mouths  of  small  tributary  streams  of  such 
river  systems  as  the  Delaware  and  Susquehanna,  where  lampreys  breed  abundantly, 
and  they  have  been  reported  in  the  Shubenacadie  (a  stream  emptying  into  the  Bay 
of  Fundy)  and  no  doubt  occur  in  the  Merrimac  and  other  Gvdf  of  Maine  streams. 

Although  lampreys  spawn  but  once  and  then  perish,  their  period  of  growth  is  so 
long  that  large  ones,  not  yet  mature,  are  to  be  found  in  salt  water  all  the  year  round. 

Little  is  known  of  the  habits  of  the  lampreys  while  they  five  in  the  sea  further 
than  that  the  mode  of  life  centers  around  a  carnivorous  nature.  Judging  from 
their  landlocked  relatives  and  from  the  occasions  on  wliich  they  have  been  found 
fastened  to  sea  fish,  they  must  be  extremely  destructive  to  the  latter,  wliich  they 
attack  b}^  "  sucking  on  "  \\dth  their  wonderfully  effective  mouths.  Usually  the  lam- 
prey fastens  to  the  side  of  its  victim,  where  it  rasps  away  imtil  it  tears  through  the 
skin  or  scales  and  is  able  to  suck  the  blood.  Its  prey  sucked  dry,  it  abandons  it 
for  another.  Probably  lampreys  are  parasites  and  bloodsuckers,  pure  and  simple, 
for  we  can  not  learn  that  anything  but  blood  has  been  found  in  their  stomachs, 
except  fish  eggs,  of  which  lampreys  are  occasionally  full.'^  Lamprej's  have  been 
found  preying  upon  cod,  haddock,  and  mackerel  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  even  on 
basking  sharks,  and  salmon,  too,  are  said  to  be  much  aimoyed  by  them.  When 
not  clinging  to  anything  they  are  strong,  vigorous  swimmers,  progressing  by  an 
undulating  motion  in  the  horizontal  plane,  and  they  are  said  to  be  exceedingly 
aggressive  in  their  attacks  on  other  fishes.  Occasionally  they  are  found  fast  to 
driftwood,  even  to  boats. 

"  "The  Fisheries  and  Fishery  Industries  of  the  United  states,"  by  George  Brown  Goode.    Section  I,  1884,  p.  677.    Wash- 
ington. 


FISHES   OF   THE    GULF   OF   MAINE  21 

How  far  offshore  lampreys  wander  is  not  known.  Probably,  however,  most  of 
them  remain  in  the  coastal  zone,  if  not  in  estuaries,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  they 
ever  descend  to  anj^  considerable  depth.  A  few  were  brought  in  from  Georges  and 
Browns  Banks,  however,  during  the  early  years  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries.'^ 

Since  lampreys  never  take  the  hook  or  are  captured  in  nets  except  on  rare  occa- 
sions they  are  seldom  seen  in  salt  water;  only  when  ruiming  up  our  rivers  are  they 
familiar  objects. 

In  Europe,  during  the  middle  ages,  lampreys  were  esteemed  a  great  deUcacy — 
historians  tell  us  Henry  I  of  England  died  of  a  surfeit  of  them — and  formerly, 
when  they  were  much  more  plentiful  than  nowadays,  considerable  numbers  were 
captured  in  the  rivers  of  New  England,  particularly  in  the  Connecticut  and  Merrimac 
Kivers.  They  were,  indeed,  regularly  sought  in  the  former  until  well  into  the  last 
half  of  the  past  century,  but  for  40  years  now  the  lamprey  fishery  has  been  hardly 
more  than  a  memory  except  locally  and  in  a  small  way  for  home  consimiption.  In 
the  salt  water  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  the  lamprey  has  never  been  of  any  commercial 
importance;  the  average  fisherman  might  not  see  one  in  a  Ufetime,  nor  is  there  any 
sale  for  the  few  picked  up  by  chance. 

TRUE  FISHES.     CLASS  PISCES 

Sharks  and  rays.    Subclass  Elasmobranchii 

The  most  obvious  external  character  by  which  all  sharks  and  rays  are  dis- 
tinguishable from  the  bony  fishes  is  that  there  are  five  or  more  pairs  of  gill  openings 
on  either  side  of  the  neck,  instead  of  onty  one.  In  this  they  agree  with  the  lamprej's, 
but  it  is  a  commonplace  that  their  jaws  and  teeth  are  extremely  well  developed. 
Their  skins  are  tough  and  leathery  and  studded  -with  denticles  (placoid  scales), 
which  but  remotely  suggest  orchnary  scales  and  which  are  not  homologous  with  the 
scales  of  bony  fishes,  for  both  dermis  and  epidermis  take  part  in  their  formation, 
instead  of  the  former  alone.  The  teeth  of  the  sharks  and  rays  are  essentially  such 
placoid  scales  modified  and  simply  embedded  in  the  gums,  not  in  the  jaws.  The 
fins  are  supported  at  their  bases  with  segmented  cartilaginous  rods,  and  further  out 
by  numerous  slender  horny  fibers,  instead  of  by  such  rays  or  spines  as  are  to  be  seen 
in  the  bony  fishes.  All  the  fins  are  covered  with  the  same  leathery  skin  that  clothes 
the  body.  Among  sharks  the  tail  is  uneven,  with  the  vertebral  column  extending 
out  into  its  upper  lobe,  but  in  most  skates  and  rays  it  is  whiphke,  with  no  definite 
caudal  fin.     The  torpedo  (p.  6S)  is  an  exception  to  this  rule. 

The  skeleton  is  for  the  most  part  cartilaginous,  the  skull  far  simpler  than  it 
is  among  the  bony  fishes,  and  the  gills  are  attached  throughout  their  lengths  to  the 
partitions  between  the  gill  openings  instead  of  being  free,  while  the  rear  portion 
of  the  digestive  tract  is  modified  into  the  so-called  "spiral  valve"  by  the  develop- 
ment of  a  special  fold  from  its  lining  layer.  Sharks  are  usually  looked  upon  as  the 
most  primitive  of  the  true  fishes. 

"  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries  for  1879  (1882),  pp.  811,  812,  and  814.    Washington. 


22.  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUKEAU   OF   FISHERIES 

SHARKS 

Sharks  are  always  objects  of  interest,  not  only  to  fishermen  and  mariners  but 
to  seaside  visitors  generally,  because  of  their  evil  appearance,  their  ferocity,  the 
large  size  to  which  some  of  them  grow,  the  destruction  they  wreak  on  fishermen's 
nets  and  lines  as  well  as  on  the  smaller  fishes  on  which  they  prey,  and  the  bad 
reputation  certain  kinds  have  earned,  rightly  or  wrongly,  as  man-eaters. 

The  Gulf  of  Maine  is  not  particularly  rich  in  sharks  (compared  with  our  south- 
em  coasts,  very  poor  indeed),  for  while  the  nimiber  of  species  actually  recorded 
there  is  considerable  (indeed  any  high-seas  shark  might  straggle  thither)  the  little 
spiny  dogfish  alone  is  numerous  in  the  sense  in  which  this  term  is  applied  to  the 
various  commercial  fishes.  Only  one  of  the  larger  species,  the  mackerel  shark 
{Isurus  punctatus),  visits  us  in  numbers  sufficient  for  one  to  be  fairly  sure 
to  see  it  during  a  summer's  boating  off  the  coast  north  of  Cape  Cod.  With 
the  larger  sharks  generally  so  scarce  (the  mackerel  shark  is  weak-toothed  and 
perfectly  harmless  to  anything  larger  than  the  fishes  on  which  it  feeds),  the  danger 
of  attacks  on  bathers  is  negligible.  Indeed,  not  a  single  well-authenticated 
instance  of  the  sort  is  on  record"  for  the  past  SO  years  for  the  coast  north  of  Cape 
Cod,  though  the  beaches  yearly  are  crowded  with  vacationists.  As  long  as  the 
white  shark  occasionally  strays  iato  the  Gidf,  however  (p.  40),  it  is  always  remotely 
possible  that  some  summer  we  may  be  horrified  by  the  news  of  such  a  tragedy  as 
occurred  on  the  New  Jersey  coast  in  July,  1916,  when  several  persons  were  killed 
or  injured,  presumably  by  a  shark  of  this  species  that  was  captured  nearby  a  few 
days  later.'^ 

Most  Gulf  of  Maine  sharks — certainly  all  the  commoner  ones — are  viviparous, 
giving  birth  to  young  not  only  practically  adult  in  structure  but  of  relatively  large 
size  at  birth. 

As  sharks  are  of  little  commercial  value  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  (attempts  to 
introduce  the  dogfish  as  a  food  fish  having  failed  so  far)  they  are  an  unmitigated 
nuisance  to  the  fishermen  because  of  their  damage  to  nets  and  other  gear. 

It  is  possible  to  identify  all  sharks  so  far  known  from  the  GuK — and  tliis  in- 
cludes all  that  are  apt  to  occur  there  except  as  strays — by  the  size,  structure,  and 
relative  locations  of  the  fins,  and  by  such  tooth  characters  as  may  be  seen  at  a 
glance  at  the  open  mouth  or  easily  felt  with  the  finger  (after  the  shark  is  dead!). 

In  the  following  descriptions  of  the  several  species  we  have  attempted  to 
present  only  such  features  as  will  tell  what  shark  is  at  hand;  for  more  minute  par- 
ticulars we  refer  the  reader  to  Garman's  monograph  (1913),  which  is  not  only  the 
most  authoritative  work  on  this  group  of  fishes,  but  in  which  almost  all  our  species 
are  beautifully  pictured. 

1*  In  1830 — an  event  often  quoted — one  Joseph  Blaney,  fishing  from  a  small  boat  in  Massachusetts  Bay  off  Swampscott,  Mass., 
was  attacked  by  some  fish  that  was  seen  to  overset  and  sink  his  boat  and  presumably  devoiu-ed  him,  for  neighboring  fisher- 
men, who  hastened  to  his  rescue,  found  no  trace  of  him.  Whether  his  attacker  was  a  large  shark  or,  as  we  think  more  likely, 
a  killer  whale,  is  an  open  question. 

"  Murphy  and  Nichols  (The  shark  situation  in  the  waters  about  New  York.  The  Brooklyn  Museum  Quarterly,  Vol.  Ill, 
October,  1916,  No.  4,  pp.  145-160.    Brooklyn)  give  a  detailed  account  of  this  occurrence. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  23 

KEY  TO  GULF  OF  MAINE  SHARKS 

1.  Head  hammer-shaped Hammerhead,  p.  31 

Head  of  ordinary  shape;  rounded  or  pointed  nose 2 

2.  Only  one  dorsal  fin;  six  gill  slits  on  each  side;  body  eel-shaped Eel  shark,  p.  24 

Two  dorsal  fins  (the  second  may  be  small  but  is  always  perfectly  distinct) ;    only  5  gill 

slits;  body  of  ordinary  shark  form 3 

3.  Both  dorsal  fins  have  spines  at  their  forward  margins;    no  anal  fin 4 

Dorsal  fins  lack  spines , 6 

4.  Rear  margin  of  upper  lobe  of  tail  not  notched ;   a  very  common  species 

Spiny  dogfish,  p.  44 

Rear  margin  of  upper  lobe  of  tail  notched  near  the  tip 5 

5.  Dorsal  spines  so  small  they  are  hardly  visible,  though  easily  felt 

Portuguese  shark  (Centroscymnus  c(Elolepis),p.  51 

Both  dorsal  spines  large Black  dogfish,  p.  53 

6.  There  is  no  anal  fin,  the  paired  ventrals  being  the  only  fins  on  the  ventral  surface 7 

Anal  fin  present 8 

7.  First  dorsal  fin  situated  about  midway  between  pectorals  and  ventrals 

Greenland  shark,  p.  53 

First  dorsal  far  back  as  ventrals Bramble  shark  {Echinorhinus  brucus),  p.  55 

8.  No  lateral  keels  on  caudal  peduncle  (root  of  tail);  upper  lobe  of  caudal  fin  much  longer 

than  lower * 9 

A  longitudinal  keel  on  either  side  of  caudal  peduncle;  lower  lobe  of  tail  more  nearly  as 
large  as  upper,  suggesting  tail  of  a  swordfish 14 

9.  Upper  lobe  of  caudal  fin  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  long  as  head  and  body  together 

Thresher,  p.  32 

Caudal  fin  less  than  half  as  long  as  head  and  body  combined 10 

10.  Second  dorsal  at  least  half  as  high  as  first 11 

Second  dorsal  less  than  half  as  high  as  first 12 

11.  Second  dorsal  considerably  smaller  than  first;    teeth  small,  blunt,  and  arranged  like 

a  pavement Smooth  dogfish,  p.  24 

Second  dorsal  about  as  large  as  first;  teeth  narrow  and  pointed Sand  shark,  p.  34 

12.  Origin  of   first  dorsal  hardly  behind   pectorals;  upper    and  lower  teeth  alike;   skin 

spotted Tiger  shark,  p.  27 

First  dorsal  originates  well  behind  the  pectoials;  upper  teeth  broader  than  lower;  skin 
not  spotted 13 

13.  The  first  dorsal  originates  about  over  the  inner  corner  of  the  pectorals  when  these  are 

laid  back;  snout  broadh' rounded Dusky  shark,"  p.  29 

First  dorsal  originates  far  behind  inner  corner  of  pectoral;    snout  long  and  pointed 

Blue  shark,  p.  28 

14.  Gill  slits  very  long;  first  pair  nearly  meeting  on  throat;  gills  with  rakers;  teeth  tiny.. 

Basking  shark,  p.  41 

Gill  sUts  short,  confined  to  sides  of  neck;   no  gill  rakers;    teeth  large 15 

15.  Teeth  broad,  triangular,  with  serrate  edges;   second  dorsal  fin  well  forward  of  anal 

White  shark,  p.  39 

Teeth  slender,  smooth-edged;   second  dorsal  fin  over  or  hardly  in  front  of  anal 16 

16.  First  dorsal  fin  originates  above  axil  (armpit)  of  pectoral 

Mackerel  shark  (Isurus  punctatus),  p.  36 

First  dorsal  fin  originates  well  behind  the  axil  f  pectoral 

Sharp-nosed  mackerel  shark  (/.  iigris),  p.  38 

i»  The  brown  shark  (Carcharinus  milberti),  very  abundant  west  and  south  of  Cape  Cod  but  not  yet  known  from  the  Oulf, 
is  easily  distinguished  from  its  close  relative,  the  dusky  shark,  by  its  very  tall  dorsal  fin. 


24  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

THE   EEL    SHARKS.     FAMILY    CHLAMYDOSELACHID.E 
3.  Eel  shark  {CMamydoselachus  anguineus  Garman) 

Frilled  shark;  Snake  shark;  Sea  serpent 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  16. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  14. 

Description. — The  readiest  field  marks  for  this  curious  shark  are  the  eel-Uke 
form  of  its  body  and  tail,  the  fish  being  about  fifteen  times  as  long  as  deep;  the  fact 
that  there  is  only  one  dorsal  fin,  situated  far  back  over  the  anal  but  smaller  than  the 
latter;  that  there  are  six  gill  openings  on  a  side  instead  of  five;  and  that  the  mouth 
is  more  nearly  terminal  than  in  most  sharks,  with  the  snout  hardly  projecting 


Fio.  4.— Eel  shark  iChlamydoaelachtu  anguineus).    After  Qoode  and  Bean 

beyond  it.  The  pectorals,  it  may  be  added,  are  relatively  small;  the  ventrals  are 
larger  and  close  in  front  of  the  anal. 

Size. — The  few  eel  sharks  so  far  recorded  have  been  from  2  to  5  feet  long. 

Color. — Uniform  brown. 

General  range. — Probably  cosmopohtan  in  the  deep  waters  of  temperate  and 
tropical  oceans.  This  shark  has  been  taken,  on  several  occasions,  in  Sagami  Ba}', 
Japan;  also  off  New  South  Wales,  Madeira,  and  Norway. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — A  curious  eel-like  fish  found  dead  in  a  net 
near  Pemaquid  Point,  Me.,  in  1880  "  may  have  been  an  eel  shark,  and  tliis  is  its 
only  claim  to  mention  here.  It  would  not  be  surprising  should  it  stray  into  our 
Gulf  along  the  trough  of  the  basin  from  the  open  Atlantic,  for  it  is  as  likely  to  five 
off  our  coast  as  off  any  other,  so  widely  separated  are  the  localities  of  capture,  listed 
above. 

"  Described  by  Hanna  (1883). 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  25 

THE    SMOOTH    DOGFISHES.     FAMILY    GALEORHINID^ 

These  are  rather  small  sharks  (17  known  species)  with  two  dorsal  fins,  the 
first  large  and  the  second  usually  much  smaller,  without  spines.  The  upper  lobe 
of  the  tail  is  much  longer  than  the  lower,  anal  fins  are  present,  and  the  teeth  are  flat 
and  pavementhke.  Except  for  the  teeth  they  closely  resemble  the  requiem  sharks 
(family  Carcharinidse,  p.  27). 

4.  Smooth  dogfish  {Galeorhinus  Isevis  Vaimont) 

Grayfish;  Smooth  dog;  Smooth  hound;  Switch-tail;  Whtpper-tail 

Jordan  and  Evermann  (Mustelus  canis  Mitchill),  1896-1900,  p.  29. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  176. 

Description. — The  smooth  dog  is  easily  identified  by  the  presence  of  two 
large  spineless  dorsal  fins,  the  first  larger  than  the  second,  combined  with  an  anal 
as  well  as  the  paired  ventral  fins  on  the  lower  surface;  a  tail  of  typical  shark  outline — 
that  is,  the  upper  lobe  longer  than  the  lower  but  not  excessively  elongated — and 
with  flat  granular  teeth.     So  different,  indeed,  are  the  teeth  from  the  cutting  teeth 


Fio.  5.— Smooth  dogfish  (Galeorhinus  Isem) 

of  all  our  other  sharks,  that  a  glance  at  the  mouth  is  enough  to  separate  this  species 
from  the  young  of  any  larger  Gulf  of  Maine  shark.  In  form  this  httle  shark  is 
slender,  flattened  below,  with  tapering  but  blunt  snout.  Its  first  dorsal  originates 
nearly  over  the  hind  angle  of  the  pectorals  and  is  decidedly  larger  than  the  second. 
The  latter,  in  turn,  is  about  twice  as  large  as  the  anal,  over  which  it  stands.  The 
hind  margin  of  the  upper  lobe  of  the  caudal  is  deeply  notched  near  the  tip ;  the  lower 
caudal  lobe  is  very  small. 

Size. — ^Adult  smooth  dogs  average  about  2  to  3  feet  in  length,  but  they  have 
been  taken  up  to  5  feet  in  length. 

Color. — Light  gray  above ;  paler  gray  below. 

General  range. — Cape  Cod  to  Cuba  in  American  waters;  also  off  the  coasts  of 
southern  Europe. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  smooth  dog  is  extremely  abundant 
west  and  south  of  Cape  Cod.  In  Long  Island  waters,  for  example,  it  is  one  of 
the  commonest  and  most  generally  distributed  of  fishes  from  June  until  November, 
and  it  aboimds  equally  throughout  the  summer  and  early  autumn  in  the  Woods 
Hole  region  on  all  kinds  of  bottom.  This,  however,  is  the  most  easterly  outpost 
for  its  presence  in  any  numbers,  for  though  it  has  been  reported  from  Provincetown, 


26  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

from  various  localities  within  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  even  from  as  far  north  as  St. 
Andrews  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  where  one  was  caught  in  July,  1913,  it  occurs  only 
as  a  southern  straggler  in  the  GuK  of  Maine,  and  that  so  rarely  that  neither  of  the 
authors  has  ever  seen  it  north  of  Cape  Cod.  So  far  as  known  its  occasional  incur- 
sions into  the  Gulf  are  sporadic — at  least  they  have  not  been  correlated  with  unusu- 
ally warm  summers  or  ■with  the  presence  of  other  southern  fishes. 

On  the  outer  part  of  the  continental  shelf  Nantucket  Shoals  must  be  regarded 
as  the  easterly  limit  of  its  regular  occurrence,  for  it  is  not  recorded  nor  reported 
by  fishermen  from  either  Georges  or  Browns  Banks,  nor  was  it  detected  there  by 
the  representatives  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  during  the  trawling  investigations  of 
the  years  1912  and  1913  (p.  9). 

The  smooth  dog  is  most  familiar  as  a  shore  fish  and  a  bottom  swimmer,  com- 
monly entering  shoal  harbors  and  bays,  nor  is  it  known  to  descend  to  any  consider- 
able depth. 

Food. — The  food  of  the  smooth  dog  consists  chiefly  of  the  larger  Crustacea,  and 
it  is  perhaps  the  most  relentless  enemy  of  the  lobster,  which  had  been  eaten  by  no 
less  than  16  per  cent  of  the  fish  examined  by  Field  (1907).  Large  crabs  are  like- 
wise an  important  article  in  its  diet,  as  are  the  smaller  fishes.  Field  estimated  that 
in  Buzzards  Bay  100,000  smooth  dogfish  would  annually  devour  over  600,000 
lobsters,  90,000  to  100,000  fish  of  one  kind  or  another  (menhaden  and  tautog  are  the 
species  most  often  found  in  dogfish  stomachs) ,  and  a  couple  of  million  crabs.  While 
these  figures  are  to  be  taken  only  as  broadly  suggestive,  they  are  based  on  a  suf- 
ficient number  of  observations  of  the  stomach  contents  to  serve  as  a  general  indi- 
cation of  the  destructiveness  of  dogfish.  They  also  feed  on  squid,  especially  in 
spring,  and  while  they  do  not  regularly  take  moUusks,  razor  clams  have  been  found 
in  the  stomachs  of  several  at  Woods  Hole.  When  kept  in  captivity  they  are  con- 
stantly on  the  move,  searching  the  bottom  for  food,  which  they  find  chiefly  by  the 
sense  of  smell  though  their  sight  is  also  keen.''  Any  crab  that  may  be  offered  is  soon 
found,  seized,  shaken  to  and  fro,  and  eaten,  and  with  packs  of  these  sea  hounds 
hunting  over  every  square  foot  of  our  southern  bays  and  sounds  it  is  a  wonder  any 
of  the  larger  Crustacea  escape  when  dogfish  are  abxmdant.  Field  also  made  the 
interesting  observation  that  the  smooth  dogs  never  molested  healthy  and  active 
menhaden  but  soon  devoured  any  sick  or  injured  fish  that  might  be  in  the  same 
tank  with  them. 

Breeding  habits. — Not  being  a  characteristic  Gulf  of  Maine  fish  we  need  merely 
note  of  its  breeding  habits  that  it  is  viviparous,'*  giving  birth  to  from  4  to  12  young 
at  a  litter,  the  pups  being  about  a  foot  long  and  practically  of  adult  form  when  born ; 
and  that  in  the  Woods  Hole  region  females  containing  eggs  and  embryos  at  various 
stages  in  development  are  to  be  found  throughout  the  summer.  How  many  litters 
of  young  are  produced  by  any  one  female  during  a  year  is  still  to  be  learned. 

"  The  senses  of  this  shark  have  been  studied  by  Parker  (Bulletin,  V.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol.  XXIX,  1909  (1911),  pp. 
43-57)  and  by  Sheldon  (Journal  of  Comparative  Neurology  and  Psychology,  vol.  19,  1909,  No.  3,  p.  273). 

"In  the  report  of  the  Massachusetts  Commissioners  of  Fish  and  Game  for  1905  it  is  erroneously  said  to  be  oviparous, 
apparently  being  confused  with  the  European  dogfish,  ScyWum  cankula. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  27 

REQUIEM    SHARKS.     FAMILY    CARCHARINID^ 

This  family,  containing  a  large  number  of  species  in  tropical  and  temperate  seas, 
is  characterized  by  a  head  of  normal  shape,  tail  with  the  upper  lobe  much  larger  than 
the  lower  but  not  greatly  elongate,  two  spineless  dorsal  fins,  the  first  usually  much 
larger  than  the  second  and  situated  over  the  space  between  the  pectorals  and  the 
ventrals,  a  caudal  peduncle  lacking  lateral  keels,  and  sharp  teeth. 

5.  Tiger  shark  {Galeocerdo  arcticus  Faber) 

Jordan  and  Evermann  (G.  tigrinus  MuUer  and  Henle),  1896-1900,  p.  32. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  148. 

Description. — The  tiger  shark  is  characterized  among  the  "smooth"  (spineless) 
sharks  by  the  fact  that  it  has  an  anal  as  well  as  ventral  fins,  that  the  upper  lobe  of  the 
tail  is  much  larger  than  the  lower,  that  the  second  dorsal  fin  is  very  much  smaller 
than  the  first,  and  that  the  latter  originates  little,  if  any,  behind  the  "armpit"  of  the 
pectoral.  The  only  Gulf  of  Maine  shark  with  which  it  might  be  confused  is  the 
dusky  shark  (p.  29),  but  it  is  easily  separable  from  the  latter  by  the  more  forward 
position  of  the  first  doreal  fin  and  by  the  fact  that  it  is  spotted  instead  of  plain 
colored.     I  may  also  note  that  its  teeth  are  large  and  alike  in  both  jaws. 

The  body  is  slender,  rather  heavy  forward  of  the  pectorals,  and  tapering 
toward  the  tail.     The  head  is  large,  very  short,  and  broad.     The  snout  is  rounded 


FiQ.  6.— Tiger  shark  (attleocerdo  arcUcus) 

(not  pointed)  and  the  mouth  is  very  broad,  occupying  nearly  two-thirds  of  the 
width  of  the  snout.  The  first  dorsal  is  high,  triangular,  and  nearly  as  large  as  the 
pectoral,  while  the  second  dorsal  is  hardly  one-third  to  one-fourth  as  high  as  the 
first  and  stands  over  the  anal,  which  is  of  about  equal  size.  The  lower  tail  lobe  is 
almost  half  as  long  as  the  upper,  the  rear  margin  of  which  is  notched  near  the  tip. 

Color. — Young  tiger  sharks  are  light  brown,  more  or  less  spotted  and  barred 
with  darker  brown.  These  markings  fade  with  advancing  age  until  adults  are 
nearly  plain  colored. 

Size. — This  is  one  of  the  largest  sharks,  frequently  being  12  to  15  and  occa- 
sionally as  much  as  30  feet  in  length,  though  such  a  size  is  altogether  exceptional. 
Most  specimens  caught  north  of  the  Carolinas  are  small. 

General  range. — Cosmopolitan  in  the  warmer  waters  of  all  oceans,  whence  it 
strays  northward  as  far  as  Cape  Cod  on  the  American  coast  of  the  Atlantic. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Every  year  a  few  young  tiger  sharks  are  taken 
in  the  fish  traps  in  the  Woods  Hole  region,  where,  according  to  the  records  of  the 
Bm-eau  of  Fisheries,  it  is  the  latest  shark  to  arrive,  rarely  being  seen  before  August 


28  BULLETIN   or   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

or  after  October.  The  specimens  captured  there  usually  have  been  about  5  feet 
long,  and  very  rarely  does  a  full-grown  tiger  shark  stray  so  far  from  its  tropical 
home.  But,  curiously  enough,  one  at  least  of  the  several  specimens  recorded  from 
Provincetown,  its  furthest  known  outpost  and  the  only  locality  where  it  has  been 
captured  in  the  GuK  of  Maine,  must  have  been  of  good  size,  for  its  stomach  contained 
a  whole  full-groAvn  swordfish. 

Habits. — This  slender,  active,  and  voracious  shark,  with  wide  jaws  and  powerful 
teeth,  is  an  inhabitant  of  the  high  seas,  preying  upon  the  large  sea  turtles,  other 
sharks,  fish,  and  occasionally  on  invertebrates  such  as  horseshoe  crabs,  crabs, 
conchs,  whelks,  etc.  Remnants  of  squeteague,  mackerel,  hake,  scup,  menhaden, 
goosefish,  and  dogfish  all  have  been  found  in  stomachs  of  tiger  sharks  taken  at  Woods 
Hole.=°  In  the  West  Indies  it  is  much  dreaded,  whether  or  not  with  good  cause. 
So  seldom  does  this  species  round  Cape  Cod  (in  fact  none  has  been  reported  east  or 
north  of  the  cape  for  many  years)  that  the  chance  of  running  across  one  in  the  Gulf 
of  Maine  is  extremely  remote.     It  has  never  been  recorded  from  the  offshore  banks. 

6.  Great  blue  shark  {Galeus  glaucus  Linnaeus) 
Blue  Shark 

Jordan  and  Evermann  (Prionace  glauca  Linnseus),  1896-1900,  p.  33. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  145. 

Description. — The  blue  shark  is  slender  bodied,  thickest  at  about  its  mid- 
length,  and  tapering  thence  toward  the  head  and  tail  (that  is,  the  shape  usually 
named  "fusiform"),  its  long  pointed  snout  separating  it  at  a  glance  from  the  blunt- 
nosed  tiger.  The  first  dorsal  is  of  moderate  size,  standing  well  behind  the  middle 
of  the  space  between  pectorals  and  ventrals.  The  pectorals  are  very  long,  their 
tips  reaching  as  far  back  as  the  first  dorsal,  and  their  very  narrow  and  pointed 
outlines,  combined  with  the  location  of  the  first  dorsal  and  the  pointed  snout,  give 
it  an  aspect  very  different  from  that  of  the  dusky  shark,  which  resembles  it  in  the 
relative  sizes  of  the  fins.  The  second  dorsal  is  less  than  half  as  high  as  the  first — 
about  equal  to  the  anal  over  which  it  stands.  The  lower  lobe  of  the  tail  is  only 
one-third  as  long  as  the  upper.  The  latter  is  notched  near  the  tip,  and  both  tail 
lobes  are  sharp  pointed. 

The  teeth  of  the  blue  shark  are  very  characteristic,  being  large  and  serrate, 
each  series  forming  a  continuous  cutting  edge.  Those  of  the  upper  jaw  are  broadly 
triangular  with  curved  tips,  while  the  lower  teeth  are  narrower,  pointed,  and  stand 
more  erect. 

Size. — The  blue  shark  grows  to  a  length  of  about  12  feet. 

Color. — The  color  varies  from  grayish  to  light  or  bright  steel  blue,  or  even  to 
bluish  black  above.     Below  it  is  dirty  white. 

General  range. — Cosmopolitan  in  the  warmer  parts  of  all  oceans.  On  the 
northeastern  coast  of  North  America  it  is  taken  from  time  to  time  at  Woods  Hole, 

'"  Bell  and  Nichols  {Copeia,  No.  92,  Mar.  15, 1921,  pp.  17-20)  list  the  stomach  contents  of  a  large  number  of  tiger  sharks  caught 
off  Morehead  City,  N,  C. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GUU   OF   MAINE  29 

where  it  is  one  of  the  rarer  sharks,  and  at  Nantucket.  While  only  a  stray  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine,  it  must  visit  the  outer  coasts  of  Nova  Scotia  in  some  numbers  every 
summer,  for  Harry  Piers,  of  the  Provincial  Museum,  Hahfax,  informs  us  that  there 
are  three  specimens  in  the  museum — one  of  them  10  feet  5  inches  long — taken  near 
Hahfax.  He  also  reports  a  fourth  taken  there  in  1895,  and  writes  that  this  shark 
was  "plentiful  at  entrance  to  Halifax  Harbor  about  25  August,  1920;  first  seen 
about  15  August;  last  seen  23  September."  Cornish ^^  also  saw  two  specimens  at 
Canso,  Nova  Scotia,  but  whether  the  "blue  dogs"  described  to  him  by  local  fisher- 
men as  common  on  the  neighboring  fishing  banks  actually  are  this  shark  seems 
doubtful.  On  the  European  side  of  the  Atlantic  the  blue  shark  is  not  uncommon  in 
summer  around  the  south  coasts  of  Great  Britain,  and  has  been  taken  casually  as 
far  north  as  southern  Norway. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  claim  of  this  species  to  mention  here 
rests  on  a  single  specimen  from  Massachusetts  Bay  recorded  by  Garman  (1913), 
but  being  comparatively  so  common  off  Nova  Scotia  it  is  to  be  expected  in  the  Gulf 


Fig.  7. — Great  blue  shark  {Gaieus  glaucus) 

any  summer.  It  may  be  noted  in  passing  that  it  is  viviparous,  and  that  Nichols 
and  Murphy  "  have  given  a  graphic  account  of  it  as  it  is  met  with  by  whalers  on 
the  high  seas. 

7.  Dusky  shark.  {CarcharMnus  oiscurus  heSueur) 


■fe-^ 


Shovelnose 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  3.5. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  130. 

Description. — In  the  dusky  shark  (a  moderately  stout-bodied  species)  the 
second  dorsal  is  not  over  one-half  as  high  as  the  fii-st. .  The  latter  stands  well  back 
of  the  pectorals,  but,  being  nearer  these  than  to  the  ventrals,  is  relatively  further 
forward  than  in  the  blue  shark  and  further  back  than  in  the  tiger  shark.  The  rear 
margin  of  the  first  dorsal  is  deeply  concave;  the  pectorals  are  relatively  long  and 
narrow  (twice  as  long  as  broad)  and  reach  back  as  far  as  the  rear  edge  of  the  first 
dorsal.  The  second  dorsal  is  even  smaller  than  the  anal,  over  which  it  stands. 
The  tail  is  long,  occupying  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  total  length  of  the  shark, 

>i  Further  Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology,  1902-1905  (1907),  p.  81.    In  39th  Annual  Report  of  the  Department  of  Marine 
and  Fisheries,  1906,  Fisheries  Branch.    Ottawa. 

"  Brooklyn  Museum  Science  Bulletin,  vol.  3,  No.  1,  1916,  p.  9.    Brooklyn. 


30  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEHIES 

but  its  lower  lobe  is  relatively  shorter  than  in  either  tiger  or  blue  shark.  The  dusky 
shark  is  further  distinguished  from  the  latter  by  its  blunt  rounded  nose  and  broad 
flat  head.  The  upper  teeth  are  broad,  triangular,  serrate,  and  with  concave  outer 
edges;  the  lower  teeth  are  narrower,  more  pointed,  with  broad  bases,  and  stand  more 
erect. 

Size. — This  shark  occasionally  reaches  a  length  of  14  feet,  but  the  larger 
specimens  caught  in  the  traps  are  usually  only  6  to  9  feet  long.  The  relation  of 
length  to  weight  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  one  11  feetij  inches  in  length 
weighed  650  pounds. 

Color. — Gray  brown  above;  whitish  below.  It  is  said  that  this  shark  is  some- 
times blue  above.  ' 

General  range. — Middle  Atlantic;  from  North  Carolina  to  Portland,  Me.,  on 
the  coast  of  North  America. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Like  several  other  sharks  the  shovelnose  is 
sufficiently  plentiful  all  along  the  shores  of  southern  New  England,  as  far  east  as 


Fig.  8. — Dusky  shark  ( CarchaThinu^  obscurus) 

Cape  Cod,  throughout  summer  and  early  autunm,  to  be  well  known  to  the  local 
fishermen.  At  Woods  Hole,  for  example,  it  is  very  common,  but  it  rarely  strays 
into  the  colder  waters  beyond  the  cape.  The  localities  within  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
where  it  has  been  definitely  recorded  are  Crab  Ledge  off  Chatham,  Nahant,  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  and  Cod  Ledge  near  Cape  Elizabeth  (the  most  northerly  occurrence 
yet  known),  where  one  was  caught  in  1864  by  Capt.  B.  J.  Willard.  So  rare  are 
these  stragglers  that  neither  of  the  writers  has  ever  seen  one  in  the  Gulf.  In  short, 
it  has  no  place  in  the  fauna  of  the  latter  except  as  a  stray.  Neither  recorded  cap- 
ture nor  fishermen's  report  credits  it  to  Georges  or  to  Browns  Bank. 

Food. — The  shovelnose  is  a  bottom  swimmer,  feeding  chiefly  on  fish  and 
squid  but  also  eating  the  larger  Crustacea.  Gunners,  menhaden,  scup,  skates, 
and  silver  hake  have  been  found  in  specimens  caught  at  Woods  Hole.  It  is 
harmless  to  human  l)eings. 

THE   HAMMER-HEADED    SHARKS.     FAMILY    CESTRACIONTID.S; 

The  peculiar  shape  of  the  head,  described  below,  sufficiently  characterizes  the 
only  Gulf  of  Maine  representative  of  tliis  familj^,  which  otherwise  resembles  the 
requiem  sharks  (p.  27). 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  31 

8.  Hammerhead  shark  {Cestracion  zygsena  Linn.-Bus) 

Jordan  and  Evermann  {Sphyrna  zygsnia  Linnseus),  1896-1900,  p.  45. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  157. 

Description. — The  bizarre  outline  of  the  head  of  the  hammerhead,  easier 
drawn  than  described,  has  been  so  widely  heralded  that  probably  everyone  at  all 
concerned  with  fishes  is  perfectly  familiar  with  it.  It  can  not  possibly  be  confused 
with  that  of  any  other  fish.  The  eyes  stand  at  either  edge  of  the  "hammer";  the 
first  dorsal  fin  originates  slightly  behind  the  "armpit"  of  the  pectoral,  is  con- 
siderably larger  than  the  latter,  and  is  much  higher  than  long;  the  very  small  second 
dorsal  is  hardly  one-fifth  as  high  as  the  first;  the  upper  lobe  of  the  tail  is  notably 
long  (about  one-third  as  long  as  the  body  of  the  fish)  and  deeply  notched  near  the 
tip,  the  lower  lobe  hardly  one-half  as  long  as  the  upper. 

Size. — The  hammerhead  is  one  of  the  larger  sharks,  growing  to  a  length  of  15 
feet  or  more. 

Color. — Gray  to  ashy  brown  above;  paler  brown  to  dirty  white  below. 

General  range. — A  warm-water  species,  cosmopolitan  in  tropical  seas  north- 
ward to  the  Gulf  of  Maine  in  the  western  North  Atlantic,  and  to  British  waters  in 
the  eastern  North  Atlantic. 


FiQ.  9. — Hammerhead  shark  ( Cestracion  zygxna) 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  hammerhead,  like  most  of  its  tropical 
relatives,  finds  Cape  Cod  and  the  cool  water  that  it  meets  when  it  strays  beyond 
that  natural  boundary  the  eastern  and  northern  limit  to  its  regular  annual  occur- 
rence. In  the  Woods  Hole  region,  only  a  few  miles  west  of  the  cape,  it  is  caught 
from  time  to  time  in  the  fish  traps  from  July  to  October  almost  every  year.  So  far, 
however,  the  only  definite  reports  of  it  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  with  which  we  are 
acquainted  are  from  Chatham  and  Provincetown,  the  latter  its  most  northerly  record 
on  the  American  coast;  nor  is  it  likely  that  the  hammerhead  is  more  common  in 
the  Gulf  than  these  few  records  suggest,  for  so  easily  recognized  is  it  among  sharks 
that  it  is  far  more  apt  to  bo  reported  than  are  the  various  tropical  species  of  more 
conventional  appearance.  It  would  not  be  surprising  to  see  it  on  Georges  or  Browns 
Bank,  though  no  rumor  of  its  presence  there  has  reached  us. 

With  the  hammerhead,  as  with  many  other  tropical  fishes,  the  examples  that 
visit  the  shores  of  New  England  are  usually  small.  At  Woods  Hole  about  4  feet 
is  the  commonest  length  and  6  to  8  feet  the  maximum.  In  1805,  however,  a  speci- 
men 11  feet  long  was  netted  at  Riverhead,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  and  the  fact  that 
102274—251 3 


32  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEBIES 

this  specimen  contained  parts  of  a  man  in  its  stomach  is  chiefly  responsible  for  the 
bad  reputation  of  the  hammerhead. 

Habits. — The  hammerhead  is  pehigic  in  habit,  often  swimming  with  dorsal  and 
caudal  fins  above  the  surface.  It  feeds  chiefly  on  fish  and  squids  but  is  also  known 
to  eat  crabs  and  even  barnacles.  It  is  viviparous.  Thirty-seven  embryos  have 
been  taken  from  the  oviducts  of  a  female  11  feet  long,  and  probably  such  specimens 
as  wander  north  of  the  Chesapeake  Capes  give  birth  to  their  young  in  summer,  for 
specimens  as  small  as  1}4  feet  long  have  been  taken  at  Woods  Hole  in  Jul}-  and 
August. 

THE   THRESHER    SHARKS.     FAMILY   VULPECULID.5; 

The  only  representative  of  this  famih-  (the  well-known  thresher)  is  peculiar 
among  sharks  for  its  enormously  elongate  tail.  Its  closest  affinities  otherwise  are 
with  the  mackerel  sharks  (p.  35). 

9.  Thresher  {Vtdpecula  marina  Vahnont) 

Thraser;  Swiveltail;  Swingletail;  Fox  shark 

Jordan  and  Evermann  (Alopias  vulpes  Gmelin),  1896-1900,  p.  45. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  30. 


Fig.  10. — Thresher  shark  (  Vulpccula  marina) 

Description. — The  thresher  is  as  easily  distinguished  by  its  long  tail  as  the 
hammerhead  is  by  its  head,  the  upper  caudal  lobe  being  about  as  long  as  the  head 
and  body  of  the  fish  together,  curved  much  like  the  blade  of  an  ordinary  scythe, 
and  notched  near  the  tip,  whereas  the  lower  lobe  is  hardly  longer  than  the  anal 
fin.  It  need  merely  be  pointed  out  in  addition  that  the  first  dorsal  (of  moderate 
size  and  about  as  high  as  long)  stands  about  midway  between  pectoral  and  ventral, 
that  the  second  dorsal  and  the  anal  are  very  small,  the  pectoral  is  very  long  and 
sickle  shaped,  and  that  the  thresher  is  a  stout-bodied  shark  with  short  snout,  blunt, 
rounded  nose,  and  small  triangular  teeth. 

Size. — The  thresher  grows  to  a  length  of  about  20  feet  or  more,  fish  as  largo  as 
16  feet  in  length  having  several  times  been  taken  at  Woods  Hole.  One  of  13  feet 
has  been  found  to  weigh  about  400  pounds. 

Color. — Dark  lead  brown  to  nearly  black  above;  white  below,  except  that  the 
lower  sides  of  the  pectorals  are  leaden  in  hue. 

General  range. — An  inhabitant  of  all  warm  seas,  especially  numerous  in  the 
Mediterranean  and  temperate  Atlantic. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  33 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  most  northerly  locahty  on  the  east  coast  of 
the  United  States  where  the  thresher  can  be  called  fairly  abundant  is  off  Block 
Island,  where,  say  Nichols  and  Murphy,^^  it  is  the  commonest  large  shark,  appear- 
ing in  May,  most  plentiful  in  June,  and  remaining  until  late  in  the  fall.  At  Woods 
Hole,  too,  it  has  occasionally  been  taken  in  the  fish  traps  from  April  until  late  in 
the  autumn.  Specimens  as  large  as  20  feet  in  length  have  been  caught  there — 
three  fish  of  16  feet  each  in  one  trap  in  a  single  morning.  Although  only  two 
specimens  have  been  reported  at  Nantucket,  the  thresher  evidently  enters  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  more  often  than  do  most  of  its  tropical  relatives  (e.  g.,  the  blue 
shark)  for  it  has  been  recorded  repeatedly  on  the  coasts  of  Maine  and  Massa- 
chusetts— at  Provincetown,  Massachusetts  Bay,  Boston  Hai'bor,  Nahant,  off 
Monhegan,  east  of  Matinicus,  off  Penobscot  Bay  where  a  specimen  estimated  to 
weigh  500  pounds  was  caught  in  1911,  and  off  Eastport.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
taken — even  to  have  been  common — in  the  past  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  though  there 
is  no  recent  record  of  it  there,  and  it  has  been  reported  entangled  in  nets  off  the 
Nova  Scotian  coast  and  even  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  To  these  records 
we  can  add  that  of  several  large  threshers  seen  leaping  near  the  Grampus  as  she 
saUed  through  Pollock  Rip  on  August  4,  1913.  In  fact,  next  to  the  mackerel 
sharks  (p.  35)  the  thresher  is  no  doubt  the  commonest  large  pelagic  shark  in  the 
Gulf.  No  doubt  it  also  occurs  in  the  mackerel  season  on  Georges  and  Browns 
Banks,  though  we  find  no  definite  record  of  it  there.  The  thresher  is  to  be  expected 
in  our  waters  only  in  the  spring,  summer,  and  autumn;  in  the  cold  season  it  alto- 
gether deserts  the  northern  coasts  for  warmer  seas. 

Food  and  habits. — The  tale  that  the  thresher  leagues  with  the  swordfish  to  attack 
whales  is  time  honored,  but  it  seems  that  it  must  be  relegated  to  the  category  of 
myth,  for  few,  if  any,  experienced  whalemen  can  be  found  to  credit  it  (except  in 
yarns  spun  to  entertain  and  awe  landlubbers!),  and  so  weak  toothed  is  this  shark 
that  the  second  part  of  the  story — that  it  makes  a  meal  on  its  huge  victim — is  an 
impossibility.  In  actual  fact  the  thresher  feeds  chiefly,  if  not  exclusively,  on  such 
schooling  fishes  as  mackerel,  menhaden,  herring  (of  which  it  destroys  great  numbers) , 
and,  in  European  waters,  pilchard.  A  pair  of  threshers  often  work  in  concert  "herd- 
ing" a  school  of  fish,  and  it  is  to  frighten  its  prey  together  that  its  enormously  long, 
flail-like  tail  is  Employed.  Allen  ^*  gives  an  interesting  eyewitness  account  of  a 
thresher  pursuing  and  striking  a  single  small  fish  with  its  tail.  It  is,  we  may  add, 
perfectly  harmless  to  human  beings. 

Commercial  importance. — In  the  Gulf  of  Maine  the  thresher  is  not  common 
enough  to  be  of  any  importance  to  fishermen  one  way  or  another,  or  to  play  a 
practical  role  of  any  moment  among  the  smaller  fish.  Further  south,  however,  and 
wherever  it  is  numerous  in  the  Atlantic,  it  makes  itself  a  great  pest,  tangling  and 
tearing  mackerel  nets  as  well  as  destroying  and  chasing  away  the  more  valuable 
fishes  on  which  it  feeds. 

"  Brooklyn  Museum  Science  Bulletin,  vol.  3,  No.  1,  1916,  pp.  1-34,  pis.  1-3.    Brooklyn. 
'<  Science,  New  Series,  Vol.  LVIII,  No.  1489,  July,  1923,  pp.  31-32. 


34  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

THE  SAND  SHARKS.     FAMILY  CARCHARHDiE 

In  the  sand  sharks  the  two  dorsal  fins  are  spineless  and  nearly  equal  in  size,  the 
upper  lobe  of  the  tail  is  much  larger  than  the  lower,  there  are  no  keels  on  the  caudal 
peduncle,  and  the  teeth  are  very  slender  and  pointed. 

10.  Sand  shark  {Carcharias  taurus  Rafinesque) 

Shovelnose;  Dogfish  shark;  Blue  dog;  Little  mackerel  shark;  Ground  shark 

Jordan  and  Evermann  {Carcharias  littoralis  Mitchill),  1896-1900,  p.  46. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  25. 

Description. — The  large  size  of  the  second  dorsal  and  anal  fins  (which  are  about 
equal  to  the  first  dorsal  instead  of  much  smaller)  is  of  itself  enough  to  distinguish 
this  species  from  all  other  GuK  of  Maine  sharks.  The  first  dorsal  fin  being  located 
but  little  in  front  of  the  ventrals,  the  trunk  seems  crowded  with  fins  of  equal  size — 
a  useful  field  mark  for  this  species.  We  may  also  point  out  that  the  pectoral  fins  are 
not  much  larger  than  the  other  fins — triangular  rather  than  sickle  shaped ;  that  the 
upper  lobe  of  the  tail  is  nearly  one-third  as  long  as  head  and  body  together  and 
notched  near  the  tip,  with  the  lower  lobe  about  one-fifth  as  long  as  the  upper;  and 


Fig.  11.— Sand  shark  (Carcharias  taurus) 

that  the  head  is  flat,  the  nose  short  and  blunt  at  the  tip.  The  teeth  of  the  sand  shark 
(they  are  alike  in  both  jaws)  are  likewise  diagnostic,  being  long,  narrow,  and  pointed, 
with  a  spur  at  either  side  near  the  base,  and  smooth-edged. 

Size. — Adult  sand  sharks  are  usually  about  4  to  5  feet  long,  often  a  foot  or 
more  longer,  and  rarely  taken  up  to  8  or  9  feet."  They  have  been  reported  up  to 
12  feet  long,  but  this  is  so  much  longer  than  the  general  i-un  as  to  refise  the  question 
whether  these  monsters  were  actually  sand  sharks  and  not  some  other  species. 

Color. — The  ground  color  is  gray,  darker  above,  lighter  below,  indistinctly 
spotted  with  darker  brown,  and  the  edges  of  the  fins  are  sometimes  edged  with  black. 

General  range. — Coastal  waters  of  the  United  States  from  Maine  to  North 
Carolina. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  sand  shark  is  the  commonest  of  all  its 
tribe  (except  the  smooth  and  spiny  dogfishes)  at  the  westerly  entrance  to  the  Gulf 
of  Maine.  It  is  very  plentiful  at  Woods  Hole  from  June  to  November  and  is  to  be 
found  everywhere  in  that  region  in  shoal  waters,  even  coming  up  to  the  wharves. 
At  Nantucket,  too,  it  is  so  abundant  that  shark  fishing,  with  the  sand  shark  as  the 
chief  objective,  is  a  popular  sport,  and  although  we  find  it  far  less  abundant  once  we 

"  Sherwood  (Copeia,  Nov.  15,  1921,  No.  100,  p.  7")  records  one  of  8  feet  10  inches,  caught  at  Clinton,  Conn. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GXJLF   OF   MAINE  35 

pass  the  southern  elbow  of  Cape  Cod,  it  is  more  often  seen  and  taken  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine  than  is  any  other  large  shark  except  the  mackerel  shark  (p.  36)  or  perhaps 
the  thresher.  There  is  well-established  record  of  its  presence  at  Monomoy,  North 
Truro,  Provincetown  (where  it  has  been  caught  often  enough  to  have  received  the 
local  name  of  dogfish  shark,  appropriate  because  of  its  small  size),  Cohasset  in 
Massachusetts  Bay  (where  the  senior  author  caught  one  about  4  feet  long  years 
ago) ,  in  Boston  Bay,  at  Lynn,  at  the  mouth  of  Casco  Bay,  and  even  near  St.  Andrews 
in  the  Bay  of  Fundy — its  most  northerly  outpost — where  a  stray  specimen  was  taken 
in  a  weir  in  1913.  Probably,  were  all  the  sand  sharks  that  entangle  themselves  in 
nets  reported,  we  would  find  that  it  ranges  northward  as  far  as  Casco  Bay  every 
summer  and  in  much  greater  numbers  than  the  actual  published  record  would 
suggest.  Any  "shovelnose"  reported  from  northern  New  England  would  probably 
belong  to  this  species;  and  no  doubt  it  is  represented  among  the  "ground  sharks" 
taken  by  fishermen  on  Georges  Bank,  though  definite  information  is  lacking  on  this 
point. 

Habits  and  food. — This  shark,  in  the  warm  months  at  least,  swims  chiefly  near 
the  bottom  in  shoal  water,  often  coming  right  up  on  the  beaches  almost  to  tide  mark 
and  even  entering  the  mouths  of  rivers.  Over  certain  bars,  however,  it  often  comes 
to  the  surface,  where  it  may  be  seen  moving  slowly  to  and  fro  with  its  dorsal  and  tail 
fins  projecting  above  the  surface.  It  captures  great  numbers  of  small  fish,  which  are 
its  chief  diet,  particularly  menhaden,  cunners,  mackerel,  skates,  silver  hake,  flounders, 
alewives,  butterflsh,  and — south  of  Cape  Cod — scup,  weakfish,  and  bonito.  It  also 
eats  lobsters,  crabs,  and  squid.  Although  comparatively  sluggish  in  habit,  as  sharks 
go,  sand  sharks  have  been  seen  surrounding  and  devouring  schools  of  bluefish,  and 
have  even  been  known  to  attack  nets  full  of  blueflsh,  which  gives  a  measure  of  their 
voracity.  There  is  no  record  or  even  well-grounded  rumor  that  this  shark  ever 
attacks  human  beings.  Indeed,  it  is  looked  upon  merely  as  a  harmless  nuisance 
wherever  it  is  common  enough  to  be  familiar.  So  far  as  the  Gulf  of  Maine  and, 
indeed,  the  southern  coast  of  New  England  as  a  whole  are  concerned,  the  sand 
shark  occurs  only  as  a  summer  visitor,  moving  away  either  southward  or  into  deep 
waters  during  the  cold  season. 

Breeding  habits. — Nothing  is  definitely  known  of  its  breeding  habits.  Females 
with  unripe  eggs  have  been  taken  at  Woods  Hole  in  July. 

Commercial  value. — This  shark  has  no  commercial  value  except  the  negative 
one  of  damaging  nets,  but  so  readily  does  it  bite  a  hook  that  it  is  of  some  importance 
as  an  object  of  sport,  though  hardly  so  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  where  it  is  never 
plentiful  enough  to  be  Avorth  fishing  for. 

THE  MACKEREL  SHARKS.  FAMILY  ISURID.« 

This  group  of  sharks  is  easily  recognizable  by  the  fact  that  the  tail  is  very  firm 
and  lunate  in  outline  with  the  lower  lobe  but  little  smaller  than  the  upper,  suggest- 
ing a  swordfish's  tail,  and  that  there  is  a  prominent  keel  on  either  side  of  the 
caudal  peduncle.     The  dorsal  fins  are  spineless. 


36  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

11.  Mackerel  shark  {Isuriis  punctatus  StoTer) 
Blue  shark;  Porbeagle 

Jordan  and  Evermann  {Lamna  cornuhica  Gmelin),  1896-1900,  p.  49. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  36. 

Descri-ption. — The  mackerel  sharks  (this  and  the  two  species  following)  are 
easily  told  from  all  the  sharks  so  far  mentioned  by  the  shape  of  the  tail,  for  while 
its  lower  lobe  is  sharklike,  somewhat  smaller  than  the  upper,  the  difference  is  slight, 
the  tail  being  almost  evenly  forked,  with  the  upper  lobe  directed  so  sharply  upward, 
the  lower  downward,  that  the  tail  as  a  whole  is  crescentic  and  much  broader  than 
long.  In  fact  it  recalls  the  tails  of  such  pelagic  bony  fishes  as  the  mackerel  tribe 
or  the  swordfish  in  outline,  likewise  in  its  firm  texture.  More  precise  if  less  obvious 
a  character  is  that  the  root  of  the  tail  bears  a  well  marked  longitudinal  ridge  or 
keel  on  either  side,  a  feature  shared  by  the  white  and  basking  sharks  (pp.  39  and  41) . 

This  is  a  stout,  heavy-shouldered  shark,  tapering  in  front  to  a  sharply  pointed 
snout  and  behind  to  a  very  slim  tail  root.  Its  dorsal  and  pectoral  fins  are  very 
large;  the  former,  originating  over  the  armpit  of  the  pectoral,  is  triangular  and 
about  as  high  as  long;  the  latter,  broad-based  but  tapering  sicldelike  to  a  narrow  tip. 


Fig.  12. — Mackerel  shark  {Isutu^  punctatus).    After  Garman 

is  only  about  half  as  broad  as  long.  The  second  dorsal  and  anal  fins  are  very  small 
indeed,  and  the  ventrals  but  little  larger.  The  second  doi-sal  stands  over  the  anal. 
The  positions  of  the  dorsal  fins  are  the  readiest  field  mark  to  distinguish  this  species 
from  the  sharp-nosed  mackerel  shark  (p.  38).  The  teeth  are  alike  in  the  two  jaws- 
small,  slender,  pointed,  smooth-edged,  and  without  spurs  on  the  sides — and  their 
structure  differentiates  this  shark  from  the  European  porbeagle  {Isurus  nasus), 
which  it  otherwise  resembles  closely  but  in  which  the  teeth  bear  a  sharp  denticle  on 
either  side  at  the  base  of  the  cusp. 

Size. — The  larger  mackerel  sharks  are  usually  about  8  to  10  feet  long,  growing 
to  an  extreme  length  of  about  12  feet. 

Color. — The  upper  parts  are  dark  bluish  gi'ay  to  bluish  brown,  changing  abruptly 
to  white  below.  According  to  Garman  the  dorsal,  pectoral,  and  tail  fins  are  tipped 
with  black,  there  is  a  black  area  in  the  armpit  of  the  pectoral  followed  by  a  white 
space  on  the  fin  and  body,  and  there  is  a  large  and  very  noticeable  black  spot  on 
the  outer  half  of  the  pectoral,  which  is  one  of  the  distinguishing  features  of  this 
species. 


FISHES    OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  37 

General  range. — North  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans.  Closely  allied  to  the 
ommon  porbeagle  (Isurus  nasus  Bonaterre)  of  British  seas. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — From  the  days  of  the  earliest  settlement  it 
has  been  known  that  stout-shouldered,  surface-swimming  sharks  of  moderate  size 
and  with  "mackerel"  tails  are  tolerably  common  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  universally 
referred  to  by  the  fishing  population  as  "mackerel  sharks."  During  the  first  half 
of  the  last  century  only  one  such  shark  species  was  recognized  in  our  waters,  but 
more  recent  researches  have  proved  that  there  are  actually  two — the  present  one 
and  the  next — readily  separable  by  the  position  of  the  first  dorsal  fin  relative  to 
the  pectorals  and  of  the  second  dorsal  relative  to  the  anal,  but  so  much  alike  in 
general  appearance  that  it  is  usually  impossible  to  determine  without  actually  exam- 
ining the  specimens  to  which  species  many  of  the  records  actually  belong.  However, 
since  /.  punctatus  is  the  more  northerly  of  the  pair,  and  since  far  more  specimens 
of  it  than  of  /.  tigris  have  actually  come  to  hand,  probably  most  of  the  mackerel 
sharks  that  fisherman  so  often  see  swimming  lazily  on  the  surface  off  the  shores 
of  Northern  New  England  belong  here. 

Although  these  sharks  are  far  more  often  seen  than  captured,  we  have  definite 
record  of  the  common  mackerel  shark  at  Provincetown,  in  Massachusetts  Bay, 
off  Cape  Ann,  and  at  various  localities  along  the  Maine  coast — e.  g.,  off  Cape  Eliza- 
beth, in  Casco  Bay,  off  Monhegan,  and  even  Passamaquoddy  Bay  in  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  where,  however.  Huntsman  (1922a)  records  but  a  single  specimen.  During 
our  Grampus  cruises  we  have  seen  many  mackerel  sharks,  particularly  between  Cape 
Ann  and  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  and  off  Monhegan  Island.  This  shark  likewise  ranges 
northward  along  the  Nova  Scotian  coast  and  into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  It  may, 
in  fact,  be  described  as  common,  if  not  abundant,  and  to  be  expected  anywhere  in 
the  Gulf  of  Maine  during  the  summer.  In  winter  it  apparently  departs  (no  doubt 
for  warmer  seas),  and  it  is  during  its  southward  journey  throughout  autumn  and 
up  to  the  end  of  November  that  mackerel  sharks  are  commonest  in  the  Woods 
Hole  region,  while  at  Nantucket  they  (or  the  next  species)  are  commonest  in  spring 
when  they  are  taken  in  the  mackerel  drift  nets.  As  yet  our  knowledge  of  the 
migrations  of  this  shark  into  and  out  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  is  of  the  haziest.  Certainly, 
however,  it  visits  us  in  greater  or  less  number  annually,  and  is  most  numerous  when 
mackerel  are  plentiful. 

Habits. — The  whole  mackerel-shark  tribe,  as  contrasted  with  the  ground 
sharks,  are  strong,  active  swimmers,  leading  a  pelagic  life  near  the  surface  of  the 
high  seas,  wandering  about  over  the  ocean  in  pursuit  of  the  fishes  on  which  they 
prey,  and  often  uniting  in  small  companies,  though  they  can  hardly  be  called 
gregarious.  Like  swordfish  they  spend  much  time  at  the  surface  on  calm  days, 
when  their  triangular  back  fins,  followed  by  the  tip  of  the  caudal  fin  (the  bluntness 
of  the  former  and  the  wavy  track  of  the  latter  identify  the  shark  as  such)  may  often 
be  seen  cutting  through  the  water.  Again  and  again  we  have  sailed  up  on  sharks 
probably  of  this  species,  only  to  see  them  sound,  just  out  of  harpoon  range,  plainly 
visible  at  first  but  soon  fading  from  sight  as  they  swim  downward  with  undulating 
motion.  This  is  a  viviparous  species.  In  the  Gulf  of  Maine  gravid  females,  each 
carrying  a  pair  of  young,  have  been  taken  in  winter." 

»  Kendall,  1914,  p.  1S6. 


38  BULLETIN    OP   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHEBIES 

Food. — The  mackerel  shark  feeds  on  small  fish,  especially  on  mackerel  and  no 
doubt  also  on  herring  (which  are  an  important  article  in  the  diet  of  its  European 
congener)  as  well  as  on  such  other  schooling  fishes  as  shad  and  menhaden.  It  is 
also  known  to  eat  hake  and  squid.  We  find  no  record  of  its  eating  Crustacea, 
nor  do  fishermen  report  it  as  doing  so. 

Commercial  importance. — At  the  present  time  the  mackerel  shark  is  not  of 
any  practical  value  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  On  the  contrary  it  is  often  a  serious 
nuisance  from  its  habit  of  rolling  itself  up  in  an  inextricable  snarl  of  t'nane  when 
it  entangles  itself  in  drift  or  gUl  nets.  Many  years  ago  shark  oil  was  prized  by 
curriers,  and  the  livers  of  this  species  were  tried  out  in  considerable  quantity,  but 
this  was  never  more  than  a  minor  industry,  abandoned  before  the  middle  of  the 
past  century.  It  is  interesting  to  read,  however,  that  as  much  as  11  gallons  of  oil 
have  been  obtained  from  the  liver  of  a  single  shark  9  feet  long,  and  report  has  it 
that  the  richness  of  the  livers  in  oU  fluctuates  over  periods  of  years. 


Fig.  13. — Sharp-nosed  mackerel  shark  (/surus  ti^ris) 

12.  Sharp-nosed  mackerel  shark  {Isurixs  tigris  Atwood) 

Jordan  and  Evermann  {Isurus  dekayi  Gill),  1896-1900,  p.  48. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  36. 

Description. — This  shark  so  closely  resembles  the  common  mackerel  shark  that 
I  need  merely  point  out  the  points  of  difference.  Most  obvious  of  these  is  that 
while  in  the  latter  the  first  dorsal  originates  above  the  armpit  of  the  pectoral,  in 
I.  tigris  it  stands  altogether  behind  the  inner  corner  of  the  latter,  and  the  second 
dorsal  originates  a  short  distance  in  front  of  the  anal.  Its  snout,  likewise,  is  sharper, 
its  pectorals  narrower,  and  there  is  a  color  difference. 

Size. — About  the  same  size  as  the  porbeagle;  that  is,  growing  to  a  maximima 
length  of  about  10  feet. 

Color. — Dark  bluish-gray  or  bluish  to  ashy  brown  above,  white  below,  and 
without  the  black  spot  on  the  pectoral  fin  so  characteristic  of  the  common  mackerel 
shark. 

General  range. — Gulf  of  Maine  to  the  West  Indies. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — As  I  have  pointed  out  above,  there  is  no  know- 
ing how  many  of  the  "mackerel  sharks"  reported  by  fishermen  in  the  GuK  of  Maine 
may  actually  belong  to  this  and  not  to  the  preceding  species.  However,  not  only 
is  it  nowhere  common  so  far  as  known,  but  its  center  of  abundance  seems  to  be 


FISHES    OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  39 

south  of  Cape  Cod.  The  only  definite  Gulf  of  Maine  records  for  it,  so  far  as  we 
can  learn,  are  as  follows:  Off  Seguin  Island,  Casco  Bay,  Provincetown,  Cape 
Cod,  and  Massachusetts  Bay.  We  have  not  seen  it.  It  has  been  netted  in  Vine- 
yard Sound  as  late  in  the  season  as  December,  and  occurs  as  far  south  as  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico.     On  the  other  hand  it  is  known  to  wander  as  far  north  as  Maine. 

Habits  and  food. — This  shark  is  a  more  slender  fish  than  the  common  mack- 
erel shark — large,  powerful,  and  swift-swimming,  feeding  upon  small  fish  and 
squid.  Little  is  known  of  its  habits,  though  what  has  been  written  of  its  relative, 
/.  punctatus,  probably  applies  equally  to  /.  iigris.  Its  breeding  habits  are  not 
known. 


Fig.  14. — White  shark  (  Carcharodon  carckarias) 

13.  White  shark  (Carcharodon  carcharias  Linnaeus) 

Man-eater  shark 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  50. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  32. 

Description. — -The  white  shark  is  of  the  general  "mackerel  shark"  appear- 
ance, with  firm  lunate  tail,  the  upper  lobe  only  slightly  longer  than  the  lower, 
triangular  first  dorsal  of  moderate  size  originating  over  the  armpits  of  the  pecto- 
rals, which  are  sickle  shaped,  and  roughly  twice  as  long  as  broad.  The  second 
dorsal  and  anal  fins  are  very  small,  and  the  root  of  the  tail  bears  a  well-marked 
keel  on  either  side.  The  snout  is  pointed.  Unfortunately  there  is  no  obvious 
"field  mark"  to  distinguish  a  small  white  shark  from  the  common  mackerel  shark 
when  seen  swimming,  for  while  the  former  is  the  slimmer  fish  the  difference  in  form 
is  not  great.  Once  captured,  however,  no  confusion  could  arise,  for  instead  of  the 
slim  catlike  teeth  of  the  porbeagle  we  find  the  man-eater  best  armed  of  all  modern 
sharks,  its  teeth  large  and  triangular  and  similar  in  shape  in  the  two  jaws  though 
broadest  in  the  upper,  with  nearly  straight  cutting  edges  and  serrated  margins. 
As  a  precaution,  however,  any  wry  large,  active  shark,  upwards  of  18  feet  (3  fathoms) 
long,  with  the  tail  not  long  (out  of  ordinary  proportions)  should  be  looked  upon 
with  suspicion — it  might  prove  to  be  a  man-eater.  If  it  were  sluggish,  resting  with 
the  dorsal  fin  high  out  of  water,  it  would  no  doubt  be  a  harmless  basking  shark 
(p.  41). 

102274— 2ot 4 


40  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Size. — This  is  one  of  the  largest  sharks,  groAving,  it  is  said,  to  a  length  of  40 
feet  or  even  more.  In  the  British  Museum  there  are  the  jaws  of  a  specimen  36  feet 
long.  In  a  shark  as  large  as  this  the  teeth  are  about  3  inches  long.  A  white  shark 
12  feet  S  inches  long,  taken  near  Woods  Hole,  was  estimated  to  weigh  1,000 
pounds. 

Color. — -Back  slaty  or  leaden  gray,  shading  gradually  to  the  white  of  the  under 
parts.  In  the  porbeagle  the  transition  on  the  sides  from  dark  back  to  pale  belly 
is  more  sudden.  There  is  a  black  spot  in  the  armpit  of  the  pectoral  fin,  but  neigh- 
boring parts  of  fin  and  body  are  white.  Doi'sal,  pectoral,  and  caudal  fins  are 
darkest  at  their  rear  margins,  but  the  ventrals  are  darkest  (olive)  along  the  forward 
edge,  fading  rearward  to  white. 

General  range. — Cosmopolitan  in  tropical  and  warm-temperate  seas,  straying 
northward  at  rare  intervals  as  far  as  New  England  and  casually  to  Banquereau 
Bank  off  eastern  Nova  Scotia."    It  is  apparently  rare  every\vhere. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  only  reliable  Gulf  of  Maine  records  of 
this  iU-omened  shark  are  of  two  small  ones  mentioned  by  Storer  as  taken  by  Massa- 
chusetts fishermen  between  1820  and  1850;  one  about  13  feet  in  length  and  weighing 
about  1,500  pounds,  killed  at  Provincetown  in  June,  1848,  which  he  described 
under  the  name  C.  atwoodi;  another  captured  at  Eastport,  Me.,  in  1872;  one 
7  feet  23^  inches  long  taken  many  years  ago  in  Massachusetts  Bay  (figured  by 
Garman,  Memoirs,  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  of  Harvard  University, 
Vol.  XXXVI,  1913,  pi.  5,  figs.  5-9);  and  one  16  feet  long,  taken  in  a  trap  at  East 
Brewster,  Mass.,  October  16,  1923,  and  identified  by  Doctor  Garman.  Captain 
Atwood  -*  also  writes  that  he  saw  four  caught  in  mackerel  nets  at  Provincetown. 
Several  more  (all  rather  small)  have  been  taken  at  Woods  Hole  in  the  fish  traps,  and 
one  off  South  Amboy,  N.  J.,  on  July  14,  1916. 

So  seldom  does  this  tropical  shark  stray  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine  that  it  would 
deserve  no  more  than  the  briefest  mention  were  it  not  the  onh^  shark  likely  to 
attack  hxunan  beings.  Being  equipped  as  it  is  with  a  most  terribly  effective  set 
of  cutting  teeth,  and  strong  and  active,  the  white  shark  has  borne  an  unsavory 
reputation  as  a  man-eater  from  the  earliest  times,  and  it  was  probably  a  small 
"man-eater" — in  fact,  the  specimen  listed  above  from  South  Amboy — that  was 
responsible  for  the  shark  fatalities  along  the  New  Jersey  beach  in  July,  1916  (p.  22). 
Hence,  so  long  as  white  sharks  do  occasionally  wander  within  om-  limits  the  possi- 
bility of  similar  attacks  on  bathers  along  beaches  of  Massachusetts  is  always  open, 
if  exceedingly  remote.  So  far  as  we  can  learn,  however,  there  is  no  actual  record 
of  a  white  shark  wantonly  attacking  human  beings  in  the  Gulf  (p.  22),  but  Captain 
Atwood  tells  us  of  a  case  where  a  rather  small  one  (apparently  the  13-foot  specimen 
described  by  Storer)  turned  furiously  on  a  boat  but  was  eventually  lanced  to  death 
and  brought  into  Provincetown.  It  is  on  record,  also,  that  one  about  13  feet  long 
attacked  a  fisherman  in  a  dory  on  Banquereau  Bank  many  years  ago,  leaving  in 
the  sides  of  the  boat  fragments  of  its  teeth,  by  means  of  which  Doctor  Garman 
was  able  to  identify  the  species  to  which  the  shark  belonged.  ^° 

'■  Putnam.    Bulletin,  Essex  Institute,  vol.  6, 1S74,  p.  72.    Salem. 

'«  Quoted,  by  Goode  et  al,  1884,  p.  671. 

''1  Putnam.    Bulletin,  Essei  Institute,  vol.  6, 1874,  p.  72. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULP   OF   MAINE  41 

Habits  and  food. — So  rare  (and  fortunately  so)  is  this  shark  even  in  the  tropics 
that  practically  nothing  is  known  of  its  habits.  It  feeds  on  large  fish,  on  sea 
turtles,  and  perhaps  on  porpoises.  Off  the  California  coast  sea  lions  also  faU 
prey  to  it — vide  Jordan  and  Evermann's  account  of  a  young  sea  lion  of  100  pounds 
weight  in  the  stomach  of  a  30-foot  white  shark.  As  to  its  breeding  habits  nothing 
is  known,  though  presumably  it  is  viviparous  like  its  close  relatives. 


Fig.  15.— Basking  shark  (Cctorhinus  maiimua) 

14.  Baskiug  shark  {CetorMnus  maximus  Gunner) 
Bone  shark 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  51. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  39. 

Description. — The  basking  shark  resembles  the  other  mackerel  sharl^  in  its 
lunate  tail,  which  is  much  broader  than  long  and  with  the  lower  lobe  but  little 
shorter  than  the  upper;  in  the  presence  of  a  strong  "fore  and  aft"  keel  on  either 
side  of  the  root  of  the  tail;  in  the  fact  that  the  second  dorsal  fin  is  very  much 
smaller  than  the  first;  and  in  its  form,  tapering  in  both  directions  to  snout  and 
tail.  However,  it  is  set  apart  from  all  other  sharks  by  the  enormously  long  gill 
slits,  which  extend  nearly  right  around  the  neck,  and — even  more  significant — 
that  alone  of  all  its  tribe,  except  its  relative  the  whale  shark  (Rhinodon),  it  has 
rakers  on  its  gill  arches,  suggesting  (though  not  corresponding  to)  those  of  herring, 
menhaden,  etc.,  among  bony  fishes.  It  was  the  fancied  resemblance  of  these 
rakers  to  the  whalebone  of  the  whalebone  whales  that  suggested  the  vernacular 
name  "bone  shark"  to  the  whalemen  of  olden  times. 

Corresponding  to  its  feeding  habits,  the  mouth  of  the  basking  shark  is  very 
large,  but  its  teeth  are  very  small  though  numerous.  I  need  only  note  further  that 
the  triangular  first  dorsal  fin  stands  midway  between  pectorals  and  ventrals,  and 
though  the  back  fin  is  little  longer  in  proportion  than  that  of  the  other  mackerel 
sharks  it  rises  high  in  the  air  when  the  fish  lies  awash  on  the  surface,  as  is  its  habit — 
a  valuable  field  mark  (p.  39).  The  nose  of  large  specimens  is  of  ordinary  "shark" 
outline — short,  conical,  blimtly  pointed.  In  young  fish,  however,  up  to  12  or  13 
feet  in  length,  it  is  curiously  contracted  in  front  of  the  mouth  into  a  semicylindrical 
snout  pointed  at  the  tip. 


42  BULLETIiSr    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

Size. — The  basking  shark  grows  to  a  length  of  at  least  45  feet,  perhaps  larger. 
Several  specimens  28  to  35  feet  in  length  have  been  recorded  from  the  New  England 
coast,  and  stUl  larger  ones  have  been  reported,  but  on  doubtful  evidence. 

Color. — This  shark  is  grayish-brown,  slaty,  or  nearly  black  above.  The  under 
parts  are  usually  described  as  white,  but  the  Menemsha  specimen  recorded  by 
Allen  "  was  of  a  lighter  shade  of  slate  below  than  above,  and  one  14  feet  long 
captured  at  West  Hampton,  Long  Island,  on  June  29,  1915,-^  had  the  belly  as 
dark  as  the  back,  the  only  white  being  a  patch  underneath  the  snout  in  front  of 
the  mouth. 

General  range. — This  enormous  fish  is  usually  said  to  be  native  to  Arctic  seas, 
straying  southward  to  Portugal  on  the  one  side  of  the  Atlantic,  to  Virginia  on  the 
other  side,  and  to  California  in  the  North  Pacific.  It  would,  we  tliink,  be  more  accu- 
rate to  say  that  it  roams  the  whole  North  Atlantic  from  latitude  about  35°  north 
to  Iceland  and  northern  Norway,  Smitt  ^  having  shown  that  it  is  not,  strictly  speak- 
ing, an  Arctic  fish,  and  that  the  old  tales  of  a  tremendous  whale-eating  shark,  on 
which  Fabricius  based  his  statement  that  the  basking  shark  occurs  in  Greenland 
seas,  were  false.  It  is  also  plentiful  enough  off  the  coasts  of  Ecuador  and  Peru 
in  the  South  Pacific  to  support  a  considerable  local  fishery." 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Of  recent  years  the  bone  shark  has  been 
seen  but  seldom  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  the  list  being  as  follows:  One  28  feet  long 
was  killed  in  Maine  waters  in  1828;  one  off  Musquash  Harbor  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
in  August,  1851;  one  of  34  feet  at  Eastport  in  1839;  several  ranging  in  length 
from  25  to  35  feet,  killed  there  in  1868  and  1870;  a  considerable  number  seen  and 
several  secured  off  Cape  Elizabeth  in  1848  by  a  whaler  cruising  for  humpback 
whales;  one  of  35  to  38  feet  harpooned  but  lost  between  Boston  and  Provincetown 
in  1864;  and  one  killed  near  Provincetown  in  1835,  another  in  1836  or  1837,  a  third 
in  1839,  and  a  fourth  in  1847.  We  do  not  find  another  definite  record  of  the  bone 
shark  in  the  Guff  of  Maine  until  October  8,  1908,  when  one  18  feet  long  (measured 
by  J.  Henry  Blake)  was  taken  in  a  weir  near  Provincetown.  Two  more  have  been 
killed  there  since — one  a  22-foot  fish  on  October  9,  1909,  and  the  other  of  29  feet 
on  June  8,  1913,  both  in  the  harbor.  Mr.  Blake  also  reported  one  of  31  feet  (16 
feet  in  girth)  as  taken  at  Long  Point,  near  by,  but  the  year  is  not  recorded.  A 
small  one  of  12  to  14  feet  was  caught  at  Menemsha  Bight  on  Marthas  Vineyard 
on  August  16,  1916,  and  one  of  about  26  feet  6  inches  *  at  the  same  locality  on 
June  24,  1920.  The  bone  shark  is  so  large  a  fish  and  so  conspicuous,  thanks  to  its 
basking  on  the  surface,  that  every  specimen  visiting  the  coastwise  waters  of  the 
Guff  is  almost  certain  to  be  seen  sooner  or  later  and  to  be  harpooned.  Hence  it 
is  probably  no  commoner  there  than  the  meager  record  suggests. 

>»  Bulletin,  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  No.  24,  March,  1921,  p.  5. 
SI  This  specimen  is  described  by  Hussalcof  (Copeia,  Aug.  24, 1915,  No.  21,  pp.  25-27). 
«  Scandinarian  Fishes,  1892,  p.  U46. 

"  This  fishery  is  described  by  Stevenscn  (Report,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Fisheries  for  1902  (1904),  p.  228). 
^'  This  specimen  is  now  preserved,  mounted,  in  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  and  described  by  Allen  (Bulletin^ 
Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  No.  24,  March,  1921,  pp.  3-10),  who  collected  the  foregoing  records. 


riSHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  43 

Before  the  coming  of  the  white  man  this  great  shark  seems  to  have  been  a 
I  egnlar  inhabitant  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  which  afforded  it  an  excellent  pasture,  for 
old  tradition  has  it  that  large  numbers  were  taken  in  Massachusetts  waters  for  their 
oil  during  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  However,  the  local  stock 
soon  went  the  same  way  as  the  local  stock  of  the  North  Atlantic  right  whale — into 
the  try  pot — and  this  seems  also  to  have  been  its  fate  in  Norwegian  waters,  where  it 
was  sufficiently  abundant  to  support  a  regular  fishery  up  until  about  1820,  since 
which  time  it  has  been  killed  down  to  but  a  fraction  of  its  former  numbers.  Indeed, 
the  basking  shark  to-day  is  something  of  a  rarity  off  the  coast  of  Norway,  but  in 
other  parts  of  the  world,  particulai'ly  in  Icelandic  waters,  off  Ireland,  and  off  Peru, 
as  noted  elsewhere  (p.  42),  it  is  still  moderately  plentiful. 

Habits. — This  is  a  sluggish,  perfectly  inoffensive  fish,  helpless  of  attack  so  far 
as  its  minute  teeth  are  concerned,  and  spending  much  time  sunning  itself  on  the 
surface  of  the  water,  often  lying  with  its  back  awash,  on  its  side,  or  even  on  its  back, 
and  sometimes  loafing  along  with  the  snout  out  of  water.  Hardly  a  writer  men- 
tioning this  shark  but  tells  us  that  two  or  three  swimming  tandem,  with  the 
dorsal  fins  high  in  the  air,  are  the  basis  for  "sea-serpent"  myths.  At  times  bone 
sharks  are  gregarious,  traveling  together  in  schools.  Nothing  whatever  is  known 
of  the  breeding  habits  of  the  basking  shark. 

Food. — Next  to  its  vast  bulk  and  its  curiously  sluggish  habit,  the  most  inter- 
esting peculiarity  of  the  basking  shark  is  its  diet,  for  it  subsists  whoUy  on  minute 
Crustacea,  particularly  on  copepods,  and  on  other  tiny  pelagic  animals,  which  it  sifts 
out  of  the  water  by  means  of  its  greatly  developed  gill  rakers,  exactly  as  do  such 
plankton  feeders  as  menhaden  on  the  one  hand  and  whalebone  whales  with  their 
baleen  sieves  on  the  other. 

Commercial  importance. — Although  the  day  of  the  bone  shark  in  New  England 
waters  is  long  past,  probably  never  to  return,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  point  out  that 
it  has  always  been  hunted  whenever  encountered  by  the  sperm  whalers  from  New 
Bedford,  and  that  it  is  still  an  object  of  pursuit  off  the  coasts  of  Iceland  and  Ireland. 
It  was  and  is  valued  solely  for  its  liver  oil,  individual  fish  as  a  rule  yielding  from  80 
to  200  gallons  (average  about  125  gallons),  with  as  much  as  400  gallons  from  a  single 
liver  not  unheard  of  and  a  yield  of  GOO  gallons  reported.  The  basking-shark  fishery 
has  always  been  carried  on  with  harpoons,  the  shark  being  quite  indifferent  to  the 
approach  of  a  boat  though  it  swims  actively  and  strongly  when  struck.  Fat  ones  are 
subdued  more  easily  than  lean  ones. 


44  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

THE    SPINY  DOGFISHES.     FAMILY   SQUALID.^ 

This  group  is  characterized  and  made  easily  recognizable  by  the  presence  of 
two  dorsal  fins,  each  with  a  fixed  spine,  but  no  anal  fin,  while  the  teeth  are  alike  in 
the  two  jaws  in  some,  unlike  in  others. 

15.  Spiny  dogfish  {Squalus  acanthias  Linnseus) 

Dogfish;  Piked  dogfish;  Gkayfish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  54. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  192. 

Description. — So  rare  are  all  other  spiny  sharks  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  that  any 
little  shark  with  a  large  sharp  spine  close  in  front  of  each  dorsal  fin  caught  there  is 
practically  sure  to  be  a  "dog,"  of  which  there  are  thousands  in  the  Gulf  to  one 
of  any  other  shark.  Should  the  fish  be  uniform  dark  brown  or  black  it  might 
possibly  (but  not  probably)  prove  to  be  the  black  dogfish  (p.  52).  A  glance  at  the 
tail  fin  will  settle  the  question,  for  the  rear  margin  of  the  latter  is  deeply  notched 
near  its  tip  (fig.  19),  whereas  in  the  common  spiny  dog  its  margin  is  entire. 

This  is  a  slender  little  shark  with  tapering  but  rounded  head  and  flattened  snout. 
Its  first  dorsal  fin  stands  between  pectoral  and  ventral;  its  second  dorsal  is  about 


Fig.  16.— Spiny  dogfish  (Sgualus  acanthias).    After  Oarman 

two-thirds  as  large  as  the  first;  its  pectoral  is  triangular,  broader  at  the  base  than  it  is 
long;  the  lower  lobe  of  the  tail  fin  is  well  marked;  and  the  ventrals  are  well  forward 
of  the  second  dorsal.  The  spines  are  close  up  against  the  front  margins  of  the  two 
dorsals,  the  first  shorter  and  the  second  nearly  as  long  as  their  respective  fins  are 
high,  and  they  are  very  sharp,  as  every  fisherman  knows  to  his  cost.  The  spiny  dog 
has  no  anal  fin,  a  lack  separating  it  from  all  smooth-finned  sharks  known  from  the 
Gulf  of  Maine,  except  the  Greenland  shark  (p.  53).  There  is  a  low  fold  of  skin  on 
either  side  of  the  root  of  the  tail  back  of  the  second  dorsal  fin,  so  small,  however, 
that  there  is  no  danger  of  confusing  it  with  the  keels  of  the  mackerel  sharks.  The 
teeth  are  small,  their  sharp  points  bent  toward  the  outer  corners  of  the  mouth  and 
each  row  forming  a  continuous  cutting  edge. 

Size. — Mature  dogs  are  ordinarily  2  to  3J4  feet  long.  Mature  males  grow  to  a 
length  of  about  3  feet  and  a  weight  of  5  to  6  pounds;  females  to  3  or  3 }4  feet  and  a 
weight  of  8  pounds.  Occasionally  very  large  fat  specimens  may  reach  a  weight  of 
15  pounds. 


FISHES    OF   THE    GULF   OF   MAINE  45 

Color. — Usually  slate  colored  above  but  sometimes  brown,  with  a  row  of  small 
white  spots  on  each  side  from  the  pectoral  to  abreast  of  the  anal,  and  a  few  other 
white  spots  in  front  of  and  behind  the  first  dorsal  and  in  front  of  the  second  dorsal 
fins.  These  spots  are  most  conspicuous  in  small  fish  up  to  12  or  14  inches  in  length 
and  fade  with  growth  until  in  some  specimens  they  disappear  altogether.  It  is  gray 
to  white  below. 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic,  also  Mediterranean;  on  the 
American  coast  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  the  banks  of  Newfoundland 
south  to  Cuba.  Replaced  by  closely  allied  species  in  the  North  and  South  Pacific 
and  Indian  Oceans. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  spiny  dogfish — "dogfish"  or  "dog"  in 
common  parlance — makes  up  for  the  comparative  rarity  of  other  sharks  in  the  Gulf 
of  Maine  by  its  obnoxious  abundance.  To  mention  all  the  localities  from  which 
it  has  been  reported  there  would  be  simply  to  list  every  seaside  village  and  every 
fishing  ground  from  Cape  Cod  to  Cape  Sable.  On  the  offshore  banks,  too,  it  is 
as  familiar  as  it  is  along  the  coast.  Dogfish  are  seasonal  visitors.  In  spring  they 
strike  in  almost  simultaneously  along  the  whole  coast  from  New  England  to  North 
Carolina,  appearing  at  Cape  Lookout  in  April,  off  Long  Island  abundantly  in  May, 
and  as  early  in  the  season  on  Georges  Bank  (April-May)  as  at  Cape  Lookout.  In 
the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  the  date  of  the  first  heavy  run  of  dogfish  varies 
widely  from  year  to  year  and  from  place  to  place.  We  have  not  heard  of  them  in 
Massachusetts  Bay  before  May.  Indeed,  summer  warming  is  hardly  appreciable 
more  than  a  few  fathoms  below  the  surface  until  well  into  that  month,  so  they 
could  hardly  be  expected  earlier.  However,  according  to  reports  of  local  fisher- 
men the  period  of  freedom  may  close  there  as  early  as  the  last  half  of  the  month 
in  some  years.  In  1903,  for  example,  they  appeared  as  far  north  as  Penobscot  Bay 
by  the  middle  of  May,  and  though  as  a  rule  it  is  not  until  June  that  they  arrive  in 
numbers  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region,  it  is  sometimes  impossible  to  set  gill  or 
drift  nets  anywhere  between  Cape  Cod  and  Cape  Elizabeth  after  the  first  days  of 
that  month,  so  numerous  are  they.  In  1913  the  first  heavy  run  of  dogs  struck  Ipswich 
Bay  on  June  14,  and  they  appeared  there  at  about  the  same  date  in  1905,  but  there 
is  much  local  variation  in  this  respect.  In  1903,  for  example,  they  did  not  appear 
until  early  July  at  Provincetown,  though  swarming  a  month  earlier  in  other  parts 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  Ipswich  Bay,  and  off  Penobscot  Bay.  However,  they 
usually  strike  in  all  along  the  northern  Maine  and  west  Nova  Scotian  coasts  by  the 
end  of  June,  though  earlier  in  the  open  Bay  of  Fundy  than  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay, 
where  few  are  seen  until  late  in  July. 

West  of  Cape  Cod  (that  is,  at  Woods  Hole  and  oft"  Long  Island)  it  was  formerly 
believed  that  these  little  sharks  were  only  transients,  passing  north  in  spring,  south 
in  autumn,  which  were  the  only  seasons  when  they  were  seen  inshore  regularly. 
However,  dogs,  both  large  and  small,  are  caught  in  the  traps  of  the  Woods  Hole 
region  in  Julj^,  and  Latham's  ^^  recent  discovery  that  adult  spiny  dogfish  are  common 
in  deep  water  in  Long  Island  Sound  in  summer,  together  with  the  fact  (on  which 
he  comments)  that  young  ones  are  taken  in  great  numbers  in  the  traps  on  Long  Island 

«  Copeia,  Oct.  15,  1921,  No.  99,  p.  72. 


46 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


in  July  and  August,  is  sufficient  proof  that  while  some  of  the  fish  that  visit  the  middle 
Atlantic  coast  in  spring  may  go  north  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  others  merely  drop 
down  into  deeper  water  to  summer,  coming  inshore  again  for  a  time  in  autumn. 

Most  of  the  dogfish  take  their  departure  from  the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf  during 
October,  few  being  caught  on  the  coast  north  of  Massachusetts  Bay  after  November 
1.  Rarely,  however,  they  stay  later,  as  in  1903  (a  big  dogfish  year),  when  they 
were  abundant  along  the  outer  shore  of  Cape  Cod  as  late  as  the  third  of  the  month. 
Ordinarily  none  are  caught  within  the  Gulf  of  Maine  north  of  Georges  Bank  in 
^\^nter,  but  this,  like  most  rules,  has  its  exceptions.     In  1882,  for  example,  schools 


6000 


7500  - 

7000  - 
6500  - 
6000 

2  5500 

I— 

£  5000 

g  450  0 

3=  4000 

g  3500 


3000 
2500 
2000 
1500 
1000 
SCO 


ii. 


J_ 


_L_l 


i. 


MAR.   APML      MAY      JUNE   JULY       AUG.     SEPT.      OCT.'    NOV.      DEC. 

Fig.  17.— Numbers  of  spiny  dogfish  caught  on  certain  otter-trawling  trips  to  Georges  Bank  dtuing  the  different  months  of  1913 

were  reported  off  Portsmouth  in  February,  while  in  1913  a  few  were  caught  20  miles 
off  Cape  Ann  on  November  19  to  24,  many  near  Boon  Island  from  December  5 
to  13,  and  on  Jeffrey's  Ledge  on  December  11  and  12. 

Dogfish  appear  earlier  in  spring  and  linger  later  into  the  winter  on  Georges 
Bank  (fig.  17)  than  in  the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  there  are 
few  there  in  March,  the  earliest  definite  record  (obtained  during  the  investigations 
of  1913)  being  of  25  fish  caught  on  the  "winter  cod  ground"  east  of  the  shoals 
(longitude  about  67°,  latitude  about  41°  40')  between  the  20th  and  the  22d,  and 
of  46  from  the  same  general  region  from  the  27th  to  the  30th.     Their  numbers 


FISHES    OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  47 

increase  rapidly  in  April  on  Georges  Bank,  however,  and  they  ai(  a  pest  there 
after  the  1st  of  May,  while  the  last  half  of  June,  July,  and  August  sees  them  at  the 
height  of  abundance  at  least  on  the  portions  of  the  bank  resorted  to  by  the  otter 
trawlers  at  that  season.  Whether  by  chance  or  as  reflecting  an  actual  diminution 
in  the  stock  of  dogfish  present,  the  catches  fell  off  markedly  during  September  in 
1913,  but  considerable  numbers  were  taken  throughout  that  month.  Very  few  were 
actually  captured  by  the  trawlers  in  October,  but  there  was  a  considerable  increase 
in  November,  probably  reflecting  the  southward  passage  of  the  schools  that  had 
spent  the  summer  further  east.  A  few  were  caught  in  November  and  December, 
and  one  on  the  southern  part  of  the  bank  (latitude  about  41°,  longitude  about 
67°  30')  as  late  as  January  20  to  22.  Thus  February  is  the  only  month  when  the 
bank  is  entirely  free  of  them.  The  time  table  just  outlined  for  the  year  1913  may 
be  taken  as  typical,  for  it  corroborates  the  various  reports  of  fishermen  tabulated 
by  the  Massachusetts  Commissioners  of  Fisheries  and  Game  in  1905.  Apparently 
dogfish  reach  Browns  Bank  rather  later  than  they  do  Georges,  for  none  were  taken 
there  on  April  14  in  1913,  though  they  are  only  too  plentiful  there  in  summer.  It 
is  also  very  likely  that  they  depart  thence  rather  earlier,  though  a  few  lingered  as 
late  as  December  3  to  12  on  Western  Bank  off  Halifax  in  that  year.  Gravid  females 
have  been  described  as  arriving  before  the  males  in  spring,  but  this  remains  to  be 
confirmed. 

The  accompanying  graph  (fig.  17)  of  the  nximbers  of  dogs  taken  by  certain 
otter  trawlers  on  Georges  Bank  at  various  dates  during  the  year  1913  will  more 
graphically  illustrate  the  seasonal  fluctuations  of  this  fish  there,  with  the  reservation 
that  the  precise  catches  are  governed  not  only  by  the  abundance  of  the  stock  but 
also  by  the  precise  grounds  fished  on  and  by  the  general  success  of  the  sets. 

The  winter  home  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  dogfish  is  still  to  be  learned.  They  have 
often  been  said  to  migrate  south  to  the  Tropics,  and  it  is  certain  that  some  dogfish 
do  reach  Cuba  during  the  cold  season,  but  the  fact  that  they  appear  so  nearly  simul- 
taneously all  along  the  coast  north  of  North  Carolina  in  spring,  and  that  they  leave 
Georges  Bank  so  late  in  the  season,  with  the  discovery  of  dogfish  in  deep  water 
in  Long  Island  Sound  in  siammer  (p.  45)  argues  for  an  on-and-off  rather  than  a  long- 
shore migration,  with  the  deep  water  off  the  continental  slope  as  their  winter  home. 
This  is  corroborated  by  the  fact  that  on  February  20  to  21,  1920,  the  Albatross 
trawled  several  specimens  in  depths  of  90  and  199  fathoms  along  the  continental 
edge  off  Chincoteague,  Va.,  and  off  Delaware  Bay.  Also,  they  are  usually  so  thin 
when  they  appear  in  spring  that  they  can  feed  but  little  during  the  winter.  In 
short,  evidence  is  gradually  accimiidating  to  the  effect  that  the  seasonal  movements 
of  the  spiny  dogfish  parallel  those  of  the  mackerel  (p.  191). 

It  is  generally  beheved  that  dogfish  not  only  summer  more  regularly  in  the 
region  of  Massachusetts  Bay  now  than  of  old,  but  that  they  are  far  more  numer- 
ous there  than  during  the  first  hah  of  the  past  century.  At  Woods  Hole,  on 
the  contrarjT,  they  and  the  smooth  dogfish  were  much  more  plentiful  before  1887 
than  at  any  time  since  then.  To  a  certain  extent,  of  course,  reports  of  fluctuations 
in  abundance  from  year  to  year  must  be  discounted  as  reflecting  the  movements 


48  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

of  the  great  schools  that  may  visit  one  part  of  the  coast  one  summer  and  another 
part  the  next,  there  being  no  general  alteration  of  the  stock,  but  the  many  fishermen 
who  reported  to  the  Massachusetts  Commissioners  in  1905  were  so  unanimously  of 
the  opinion  that  dogfish  had  multiplied  steadily  for  20  to  30  years  past  as  to  point 
unmistakably  to  the  conclusion  that  the  species  as  a  whole  was  then  in  one  of  the 
periodic  upswings  characteristic  of  various  other  fishes.  Reports  from  British 
coasts  are  to  the  same  effect.  Perhaps  the  years  1904-5  marked  the  apex  of  this 
wave  of  multiplication;  at  any  rate  dogfish  were  reported  as  distinctly  less  trouble- 
some to  the  mackerel  netters  in  1913  than  in  previous  years,  and  since  that  time 
less  complaint  has  been  made  of  them,  though  it  is  too  soon  to  say  whether  a  general 
diminution  of  the  stock  is  actually  in  progress. 

Much  has  been  written  of  the  habits  of  the  spiny  dogfish,  all  to  the  effect  that 
it  has  nothing  to  recommend  it  from  the  standpoint  either  of  the  fishermen  or  of  its 
fellow  creatures  in  the  sea.  It  is  one  of  the  more  gregarious  of  our  fishes,  swimming 
in  schools  or  packs.  Swedish  fishermen  assert  that  young  dogs  school  separately 
from  their  parents,  and  it  is  certain  that  fish  of  a  size  continue  to  associate  together 
as  they  grow,  the  result  being  that  any  given  school  runs  very  even,  consisting  as  a 
rule  either  of  the  very  large  mature  females,  of  medimn-sized  fish  (either  mature 
males  or  immature  females),  or  of  small  immature  fish  of  both  sexes  in  about  equal 
numbers. '' 

Apart  from  its  general  seasonal  migratory  movements,  the  dogfish  are  governed 
by  the  movements  of  the  fishes  on  which  they  prey  and  in  pursuit  of  which  they 
roam  about,  striking  in  here  and  there  in  multitudes.  Fortunately  they  seldom 
stay  long  in  one  place,  but  there  is  seldom,  if  ever,  a  time  during  the  summer  when 
they  are  not  common  on  some  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  coast.  So  erratic 
are  their  appearances  and  disappearances  that  where  one  has  good  fishing  to-day 
he  may  catch  only  dogfish  to-morrow  and  nothing  at  all  the  day  after,  the  better 
fish  having  fled  these  sea  wolves  and  the  latter  departing  in  pursuit. 

The  dogfish  use  their  back  spines  for  defense,  curling  around  in  a  bow  and 
striking,  which  makes  them  hard  to  handle  on  the  hook.  It  is  probable,  too,  that 
the  spines  are  slightly  poisonous,  general  report  to  this  effect  being  corroborated 
by  the  fact  that  the  concave  surfaces  are  lined  with  a  glandular  tissue  resembling 
the  poison  glands  of  the  venomous  "weever"  {Trachinus  draco)?'' 

Strong,  swift-swimming,  voracious  almost  beyond  belief,  the  dogfish  entirely 
deserves  its  bad  reputation.  Not  only  does  it  harry  and  drive  off  mackerel,  herring, 
and  even  fish  as  large  as  cod  and  haddock,  but  it  destroys  vast  numbers  of  them. 
Again  and  again  fishermen  have  described  the  sight  of  packs  of  dogs  dashing  among 
schools  of  mackerel,  and  even  attacking  them  within  the  seines,  biting  through 
the  net,  ruining  the  gear,  and  releasing  such  of  the  catch  as  escapes  them. 
Often,  too,  they  bite  groundfish  from  the  hooks  of  long  lines,  take  the  baits  and 
make  it  vain  to  fish  where  they  abound.     In  Massachusetts  and  Ipswich  Bays, 

3«  Ford  (Journal  of  the  Marine  Biological  Association  of  the  United  Kingdom,  new  series,  Vol.  XH,  No.  3,  Sept.,  1921,  pp. 
468-505,  Plymouth,  England)  has  recently  published  very  interesting  notes  on  this  and  other  phases  of  the  life-history  of  the  spiny 
dogfish,  with  a  summary  of  the  earlier  statements  as  to  the  breeding  season. 

"  Dale  (Philosophical  Transactions,  Royal  Society  of  London,  series  B,  Vol,  212,  1923,  p.  27)  describes  the  spines  and  gives 
clinical  records  of  the  effects  of  wounds  inflicted  by  them. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  49 

indeed,  as  well  as  about  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  hook-and-line  fishing  is  often  actually 
prevented  during  the  period  of  summer  plenty  unless  cockles  be  used  for  bait, 
for  dogfish  do  not  take  these.  When  schools  of  dogfish  rush  headlong  into  net 
or  seine,  as  often  happens,  they  so  snarl  the  twines  that  disentanglement  and  re- 
pair may  be  the  work  of  days,  and  it  has  been  estimated  that  they  do  no  less  than 
$400,000  worth  of  damage  annually  to  fishing  gear  and  to  fish  caught  by  such 
gear  off  the  Massachusetts  coast  alone — probably  no  less  along  the  shores  of  Maine, 
so  that  in  the  aggregate  they  are  a  heavy  debit  in  the  economic  scale.  Rumor 
has  it,  even,  that  packs  of  dogfish  have  been  known  to  attack  swimmers  and  liter- 
ally bite  them  to  pieces,  but  we  can  not  vouch  for  this.  At  one  time  or  another 
they  prey  on  practically  all  species  of  Gulf  of  Maine  fish  smaller  than  themselves, 
and  squid  are  also  a  regular  article  of  diet  whenever  they  are  found.  Dogfish 
are  also  known  to  take  worms,  shrimps,  prawns,  and  crabs,  and  when  they  first 
arrive  at  Woods  Hole  from  the  south  in  May  they  are  often  found  full  of 
Ctenophores,  being  one  of  the  few  fish  that  eat  these  watery  organisms.  It  would 
be  pure  guesswork  to  attempt  to  estimate  the  actual  numerical  strength  of  the 
dogfish,  but  they  must  be  plentiful,  indeed,  when  they  can  often  be  caught  as  fast 
as  they  can  be  hauled  in,  when  line  trawls  with  1,500  hooks  have  brought  in  a 
dogfish  on  nearly  every  hook,  and  when  as  many  as  20,000  have  been  recorded  in 
a  single  draught  of  a  seine  in  British  waters. 

Breeding  habits. — -From  time  immemorial  fishermen  have  known  that  the  spiny 
dogfish  is  viviparous.  Aristotle,  indeed,  describes  its  manner  of  bearing  young. 
The  eggs  are  large,  well  stored  with  yolk,  and  during  early  stages  of  develop- 
ment those  in  each  oviduct  (the  so-called  "uterus")  are  contained  in  a  horny 
capsule  that  later  breaks  down,  leaving  the  embryos  lying  free  in  the 
"uterus"  with  which  they  have  no  placental  attachment.  Ford's  studies,  men- 
tioned above,  suggest  about  10  to  11  months  as  the  period  from  fertilization 
to  birth,  which  takes  place  when  the  young  are  9  to  12  inches  (23  to  31  cm.)  long, 
and  as  they  are  then  practically  of  adult  form  with  the  yolk  almost  wholly  ab- 
sorbed, strong  and  active,  their  chance  of  survival  is  excellent.  Ordinarily  a  female 
has  3  or  4  young  to  a  litter — sometimes  as  few  as  1  or  as  many  as  8  to  11 — and 
while  the  embryos  are  developing  in  the  uteri  a  fresh  set  of  ovarian  eggs  is  growing, 
ready  to  take  their  place.  It  has  often  been  suggested  that  the  dogfish  may  give 
birth  to  2  or  3  litters — -that  is,  upwards  of  20  pups — annually,  but  if  Ford's  estimate 
of  the  duration  of  gestation  is  correct  one  litter  per  year  would  be  the  rule.  State- 
ments as  to  the  season  at  which  the  young  are  born  are  conflicting.  At  Plymouth, 
England,  this  takes  place  from  January  until  March,  according  to  Garstang;  from 
August  until  December,  according  to  Ford.  This,  of  course,  suggests  two  dis- 
tinct breeding  seasons,  and  we  believe  that,  similarly,  among  the  dogfish  that  visit 
the  Gulf  of  Maine  some  females  give  birth  to  their  young  in  late  autumn,  others 
in  late  winter  or  early  spring.  For  the  evidence  on  which  we  base  this  view  we 
are  indebted  to  Dr.  H.  V.  Neal,  whose  acquaintance  with  dogfish  on  the  Maine 
coast  is  very  intimate.  It  has  long  been  known  that  when  the  dogs  first  appear 
on  the  Massachusetts  coast  in  May  or  June  many  of  the  females  contain  embryos 


50  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

of  some  size,  which,  as  Doctor  Neal  tells  us,  grow  to  4  to  7  inches  in  length 
by  July.  However,  during  this  same  month  other  females  caught  along  the  coast 
of  Maine  are  found  to  contain  embryos  in  very  early  stages  of  development,  from 
the  formation  of  the  germ  ring  to  a  length  of  about  4  mm.  By  September  the 
embryos  of  the  older  generation  range  from  7  to  11  inches  in  length,  some  of 
them  being  almost  ready  to  be  born,  while  those  of  the  younger  generation  (any 
given  female  contains  only  embryos  of  one  or  of  the  other  generation,  never  of 
both)  have  grown  to  an  average  of  about  17  mm.  Probably  the  older  generation 
is  born  in  October  and  November,  while  the  younger  one  winters  in  the  uterus 
of  the  mother,  to  be  born  in  spring.  Fall-bearing  females  are  then  fertilized 
again,  the  development  of  the  next  set  of  eggs  commencing  in  the  early 
winter,  while  spring-bearers  are  fertilized  in  early  summer,  which  corroborates 
11  months  as  the  known  period  of  gestation  (p.  49).  This  would  also  explain  the 
fact  that  dogfish  smaller  than  a  foot  in  length  are  never  reported  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  for  the  young  are  produced  during  the  season  when  there  are  very  few 
dogs  on  this  coast,  these  few  probably  being  immature.  In  short,  the  inner  parts 
of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  probably  do  not  serve  as  a  nursery  for  the  dogfish,  plentiful 
though  this  fish  is  there  in  summer,  but  the  young  are  born  somewhere  offshore 
and  probably  while  the  parents  are  in  deep  water.  It  seems,  however,  that  this 
seasonal  schedule  does  not  apply  west  of  Cape  Cod,  for  Latham^*  records  a  great 
abundance  of  very  young  ones  taken  in  the  traps  in  Long  Island  Sound  in  August, 
showing  that  one  generation  is  produced  there  in  midsummer.  Dogfish  only  1  foot 
long,  hence  new  born,  have  been  found  in  the  stomach  of  a  goosefish  at  Woods 
Hole  in  July  (p.  527). 

Commercial  value. — With  the  dogfish  so  destructive  to  fish  and  to  gear,  and  with 
so  many  of  them  caught  both  by  lines  and  by  otter  trawls  during  more  than  half 
the  year,  it  is  no  wonder  that  serious  efforts  have  been  made  to  utilize  them  on  a 
large  scale — to  make  them  marketable  and  a  source  of  revenue  instead  of  a  dead 
loss.  Since  this  matter  has  been  the  subject  of  discussion  elsewhere  we  need  point 
out  only  that  the  dog  is  a  far  better  food  fish  when  fresh  than  is  generally  appre- 
ciated, and  that  it  would  offer  a  tremendous  supply  of  cheap  food  were  a  satisfac- 
tory method  of  canning  it  to  be  worked  out.  Dogfish  have  also  been  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  fertilizer,  and  enough  dogfish  livers  are  brought  into  New  England 
fishing  ports  to  yield  almost  10,000  gallons  of  oil  annually,  which  is  combined  and 
sold  with  cod-liver  oil.  Up  to  the  present,  however,  dogfish  have  not  been  of 
sufhcient  value  to  compensate  for  a  hundredth  part  of  the  damage  they  do  and 
most  of  those  caught  are  thrown  back  into  the  sea.^' 

'8  Copeia,  Oct.  16,  1921,  No.  99,  p.  72. 

3"  For  further  discussion  of  the  damage  done  by  dogfish  and  of  their  commercial  possibilities,  see  the  following:  "  Report 
upon  the  damage  done  by  dogfish  in  the  fisheries  of  Massachusetts,"  Annual  Report,  Commissioners  of  Fisheries  and  Game 
[of  Massachusetts]  for  1905  (1906),  pp.  97-169;  "Aquatic  products  in  arts  and  industries,"  by  Charles  H.  Stevenson.  Report 
of  the  Commissioner,  U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XXVIII,  1902  (1904),  pp.  228-229;  Field,  1907,  pp.  12-18, 
40-19;  "Sea  mussels  and  dogfish  as  food,"  by  Irving  A.  Field.  Proceedings  of  the  Fourth  International  Fishery  Congress.  In 
Bulletin.  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol.  XXVIII.  1908  (1910),  pp.  243-257;  and  Mavor,  1921,  pp.  125-135. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  51 

16.  Portuguese  shark  (Centroscymnvs  cmlolepis  Bocage  and  Capello) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  55. 
Carman,  1913,  p.  204. 

Description. — This  shark  can  easily  be  identified  by  the  fact  that  while  its 
general  appearance — particularly  the  absence  of  anal  fin,  the  situation  of  the  ven- 
trals  far  back  under  the  second  dorsal,  and  its  rather  stout  form  and  blunt  snout — 
might  lead  a  hasty  observer  to  think  he  had  caught  a  small  Greenland  shark,  more 
careful  examination,  by  touch  if  not  by  eye,  would  reveal  a  short  spine  close  in 
front  of  each  dorsal  fin.  The  first  dorsal  is  smaller  than  in  any  of  our  sharks  except 
the  "Greenland,"  the  second  is  about  as  high  as  the  first,  and  the  ventrals  are 
larger  than  either.  The  tail  is  notably  short  and  broad  and  its  upper  lobe  is  notched. 
The  teeth  are  very  different  in  the  two  jaws — narrow,  pointed,  and  of  the  seizing 
type  in  the  upper;  broader,  oblong,  with  a  notch  on  one  side  near  the  tip,  and  forming 
a  cutting  edge  in  the  lower. 

Sise. — -Adults  run  from  3  to  4  feet  long,  as  they  are  caught.  Garman  records 
one  44  inches  long  off  the  coast  of  New  England,  but  10  inches  is  the  smallest  we 
find  mentioned. 


FiQ.  18. — Portuguese  shark  {Cevtroscymnus  ccelolepis).    After  Garman 

Color. — Described  as  deep  chestnut  brown  on  the  belly,  as  well  as  the  back. 

General  range. — This  rare  deep-water  shark,  originally  known  from  off  Portugal, 
has  since  been  taken  at  various  other  localities.^"  Its  claim  to  mention  here  rests 
on  the  fact  that  it  was  once  reported  off  Gloucester;  on  the  specimen  "taken  off 
the  coast  of  New  England,"  just  mentioned;  and  on  Goode  and  Bean's  (1896) 
statement  that  it  is  abundant  on  the  slopes  of  our  offshore  banks  at  200  fathoms 
and  more. 

Habits. — Little  is  known  of  its  habits  beyond  the  fact  that  it  is  a  deep-water 
species  regularly  caught  by  Portuguese  fishermen  with  hand  lines,  a  fishery  that 
Wright  (Annals  and  Magazine  of  Natural  History,  series  4,  Vol.  II,  1868,  p.  426) 
describes  as  follows: 

Some  600  fathoms  of  rope  were  let  out,  the  first  30  or  40  fathoms  of  which  had  fastened  to 
it  at  intervals  of  a  fathom  a  series  of  small  ropes,  on  each  of  which  was  a  large  hook  baited  with 
a  codling.  This  fishing  tackle  remained  below  for  about  two  hours,  when  they  commenced  to 
haul  it  in.  When  it  arrived  at  the  last  few  fathoms,  they  pulled  in,  one  after  another,  five  or  six 
specimens  from  3  to  4  feet  long.  The  species  was  the  Centroscymniis  ccelolepis  Bocage  and  Ca- 
pello.    These  sharks,  as  they  were  hauled  into  the  boat,  fell  down  into  it  like  so  many  dead  pigs. 

This  species  is  viviparous,  13  to  16  young  having  been  found  in  females  caught 
off  Portugal. 

"  Known  from  Portugal,  the  Mediterranean,  Madeira,  Japan,  the  Faroes,  and  recently  reported  from  Iceland  by  Ssemunds- 
son  (Videnskabelige  Meddelelser  fra  Dansk  naturhistorisk  Forening  i  Kj0benhaven  [Copenhagen],  Bind  74,  1922,  p.  167). 


52  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

17.  Black  dogfish  {CentroscyUium  fdbricii  Reinhardt) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1S96-1900,  p.  56. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  231. 

Description. — As  pointed  out  elsewhere  (p.  44),  the  notched  margin  of  the 
upper  tail  lobe  distinguishes  this  rare  shark  at  a  glance  from  the  spiny  dogfish, 
with  which  it  agrees  in  the  possession  of  a  long  pointed  spine  at  the  front  edge  of 
each  dorsal  fin,  the  second  being  longer  than  the  first.  It  differs  further  in  that  its 
dorsal  spines  are  deeply  grooved  on  each  side,  whereas  in  the  "dog"  they  are  rounded; 
in  the  location  of  the  ventral  fins,  the  rear  axils  of  which  stand  almost  directly  under 
the  front  origin  of  the  second  dorsal  instead  of  some  distance  in  front  of  it;  in  its 
small  pectorals  of  rounded  outhne;  in  the  structure  of  its  teeth,  each  of  which  is 
tridentate,  with  sharp  points ;  in  its  broad  rounded  snout ;  and  in  its  very  dark  color. 
Like  the  spiny  dogfish,  it  lacks  an  anal  fin. 

Sise. — The  specimens  so  far  described  have  ranged  from  2}4  to  3J^  feet  in 
length — that  is,  about  the  same  size  as  the  spiny  dogfish. 

Color. — Uniform  dark  bro'wn  to  black,  below  as  well  as  above. 

General  range. — Positive  records  for  this  shark  are  from  Greenland,  Iceland," 
rather  deep  water  off  the  outer  banks,  Grand  to  Georges,^  off  the  Hebrides  and 
Faroes  where  two  specimens  were  taken  by  the  Norwegian  fisheries  steamer 
Michael  Sars  in  400  to  600  fathoms,  and  from  the  North  Atlantic  (two  specimens  in 
the  British  Museum) .     But  since  Tate-Regan  *^  thinks  a  specimen  that  he  examined 


Fig.  19. — Black  dogfish  ( CentroscvlUum  fabricii).    After  Garman 

from  the  Falkland  Islands  is  identical,  while  Goode  and  Bean  (1896)  tentatively 
refer  to  it  a  young  shark  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  the  Japanese  C.  ritteri 
seems  hardly  distinguishable,  the  black  dogfish  may  prove  to  have  a  cosmopolitan 
range  in  deep  waters. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  J/aine.— Evidently  the  black  dogfish  is  very  rare  in 
the  Gulf  of  Maine,  for  it  has  so  far  been  reported  there  only  from  Georges  Bank, 
from  the  slope  off  Browns  in  200  fathoms,  and  vaguely  from  off  Gloucester,  which 
might  mean  any  of  the  fishing  grounds  between  Cape  Cod  and  Newfoundland. 
However,  it  has  been  taken  repeatedly  on  the  offshore  slopes  of  the  Nova  Scotian 
Banks  in  200  to  250  fathoms,  whence  a  number  were  brought  into  the  Bureau  of 
Fisheries  by  halibut  fishermen  many  years  ago."    Nothing  is  known  of  its  habits. 

"  Sffimundsson.    Videnskabelige  Meddelelser  fra  Dansk  naturhistorisk  Forening  i  Kj0benhaven,  Bind  74,  1922,  pp.  159-205. 

"  According  to  Garman  (I9I3),  Greenland  to  New  York. 

"  Aimals  and  Magazine  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  II,  Eighth  Series,  1908,  p.  49.    London. 

"  For  list  of  these  specimens  see  Bean  (1881,  p.  116). 


FISHES    OP   THE    GULF    OF   MAINE  53 

THE  NURSE  SHARKS.     FAMILY  SCYMNORHINID^ 

The  nurse  sharks,  like  the  spiny  dogfishes,  lack  anal  fins,  but  there  are  no 
spines  in  their  dorsal  fins  and  the  teeth  in  the  upper  jaw  are  noticeably  unlike  those 
in  the  lower. 

IS.  Greenland  shark  {Somniosiis  microcephalus  Bloch  and  Schneider) 
Nurse  shark;  Sleeper  shark;  Gurry  shark;  Ground  shark 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  57. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  241. 

Description. — The  Greenland  shark  is  notable  for  its  very  small  dorsal  fins, 
without  spines,  the  second  being  of  about  the  same  size  as  the  first,  and  for  small 
pectorals  hardly  larger  than  the  ventrals,  coupled  with  the  absence  of  an  anal  fin 
and  with  a  tail  of  more  "fishlike"  form  than  that  of  most  other  sharks  except  the 
mackerel-shark  tribe.  Bearing  these  points  in  mind,  particularly  the  absence  of 
anal  fin  and  dorsal  spines,  it  can  not  be  confused  with  any  shark  common  in  our 
Gulf.  The  location  of  the  first  dorsal — about  midway  between  pectorals  and 
ventrals — is  the  most  obvious  "field  mark"  to  distinguish  it  from  the  rare  Echino- 
rhinus  hrucus  (p.  55).     We  may  note  further  that  the  Greenland  shark  is  compara- 


FiG.  20. — Qreenland  sbark  iSomniosus  Tnicroccphatus).    After  Garman 

tively  stout  shouldered,  tapering  thence  toward  the  tail;  that  its  snout  is  blunt  and 
rounded  as  Scoresby  *^  represented  it  a  century  ago  (many  more  recent  figures  of 
it  are  caricatures  in  this  respect) ;  that  the  gill  openings  are  short  and  located  low 
down  on  the  sides  of  the  neck;  and  that  the  teeth  are  unlike  in  the  two  jaws,  being 
narrow  in  the  upper,  and  broad,  square  tipped,  and  notched  at  the  outer  corners  in 
the  lower  jaw. 

Size. — This  is  one  of  the  larger  sharks.  It  is  said  to  grow  to  a  maximum 
length  of  24  feet,  but  few,  if  any,  actually  reach  such  a  size,  18  feet  being  unusual. 
One  15  feet  long  has  been  taken  in  Cape  Cod  Bay;  another  of  133^  feet  (now  in  the 
Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology)  in  Massachusetts  Bay.  Perhaps  S  to  12  feet 
would  be  a  fair  average  for  adults;  nor  is  this  size  exceeded  often  among  the  hundreds 
annually  caught  about  Iceland  and  Greenland. 

General  range. — Arctic  seas;  south  to  Cape  Cod  in  the  western  North  Atlantic, 
and  to  France  in  the  eastern  North  Atlantic;  to  Oregon  in  the  Pacific.  It  is  the 
object  of  a  regular  fishery  in  Greenland,  Iceland,  Norway,  and  Spitzbergen. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Although  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
the  Greenland  shark  is  ever  common  in  our  Gulf  or  appears  there  other  than  as  a 

"  An  account  of  the  Arctic  Regions,  and  of  the  whale  fishery,  1820,  Vol.  II,  PI.  XV,  flgs.  3  and  4. 


54  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEKIES 

straggler  from  the  north,  its  presence  has  been  signahzed  on  several  occasions. 
Two  specimens,  for  example,  were  taken  in  the  neighborhood  of  St.  Andrews  in 
1915  (one  caught  in  a  weir  and  the  other  on  a  long  line).  It  has  also  been  reported 
off  Eastport,  SO  miles  off  Cape  Elizabeth,  near  Cape  Ann,  off  Marblehead  and 
Nahant,  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  off  Barnstable  in  Cape  Cod  Bay  (where  R.  E. 
Smith  killed  the  fish  noted  above  many  years  ago),  at  Provinceto'^vTi,  and  in  Cape 
Cod  Bay  off  the  entrance  to  the  Cape  Cod  Canal,  where  a  large  one  between  10 
and  11  feet  long  was  taken  by  a  trawler  in  April,  1924.  Although  the  localities  of 
capture  are  so  ^\^dely  scattered,  the  total  number  of  specimens  definitely  recorded 
from  the  Gulf  of  Maine  is  not  over  a  dozen.  Of  recent  years  this  has  certainly 
been  so  rare  a  shark  within  the  hmits  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  that  one  might  fish  a 
lifetime  without  seeing  it,  but  in  old  days,  when  right  whales  were  still  plentiful 
and  many  of  them  were  killed  off  the  Massachusetts  coast,  it  may  well  have  been 
more  abundant — such,  indeed,  is  the  rumor — for  in  its  northern  home  it  is  attracted 
from  afar  to  feed  on  whale,  seal,  and  narwhal  carcasses,  from  which  it  gets  one  of 
its  popular  names.  When  there  has  been  a  big  killing  of  narwhals,  such  as  falls 
to  the  lot  of  the  Eskimo  of  Disko  Bay  at  rare  intervals,  schools  of  these  great 
carrion  eaters  may  linger  in  the  vicinity  for  several  years. 

Food. — This  is  one  of  the  most  sluggish  of  sharks,  offering  no  resistance 
whatever  when  hooked,  entirely  inoffensive  "  but  extremely  rapacious,  biting  on 
anything  in  the  way  of  meat,  the  more  putrid  and  ill-smelhng  the  better.  Apart 
from  carrion,  which  can  be  available  only  at  rare  intervals,  it  feeds  on  fish  and 
seals.  Cod,  hng,  and  halibut  have  been  found  in  its  stomach,  and  an  entire  reindeer 
has  been  found  in  one.  The  specimen  from  Cape  Cod  Bay,  mentioned  above, 
contained  half  a  dozen  flounders  and  a  large  piece  bitten  out  of  the  side  of  a  seal. 
It  is  also  known  to  eat  crabs.  An  old  story  has  it  that  the  Greenland  shark  attacks 
live  whales,  but  this  is  not  confirmed  by  recent  observation  and  is  most  improbable. 
Although  so  sluggish,  apparently  it  is  able  to  catch  live  seals,  for  not  only  have 
whole  ones  been  found  in  its  stomach,  but  when  sharks  gather  seals  soon  become 
very  scarce. 

Ealits. — The  nurse  is  a  bottom  swimmer,  seldom  coming  to  the  surface  except 
in  pursuit  of  the  scent  of  carrion,  such  as  of  a  whale  being  cut  up.  In  Icelandic 
waters  it  comes  up  into  water  as  shoal  as  40  to  50  fathoms  in  winter,  but  in  sunmier 
descends  to  200  or  300  fathoms,  lying  chiefly  on  the  muddy  or  clay  bottom  of 
troughs  or  folds  in  the  sea  bottom.  In  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  then,  it  would  be  more 
apt  to  be  found  in  the  deep  basin  than  near  land. 

Breeding  Jiahits. — Nothing  definite  is  known  of  its  breeding  habits.  Its  close 
relative,  Somniosus  hrevipinna,  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  coasts  of  Portugal,  and  of 
Japan,  has  long  been  known  to  be  viviparous,  and  the  early  belief  was  that  this  also 
applies  to  the  Greenland  shark,  Faber  stating  that  its  young  are  born  in  July  and 
August.  However,  no  one  has  recently  reported  a  fetus  in  a  Greenland  shark, 
and  the  fact  that  females  often  contain  great  numbers  of  eggs  (up  to  the  size  of 

,«  Tales  to  the  effect  that  it  attacks  GreenJanders  in  their  kyaks  are  apparently  mythical,  and  Doctor  Porsild,  director  of 
the  biological  station  at  Disko,  said  that  the  Eskimos  do  not  fear  it  as  they  do  the  killer  whale;  nor  is  there  any  authentic 
instance  on  record  of  a  shark  attacking  a  human  being  about  Iceland. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE 


55 


goose  e^s)  all  at  about  one  stage  of  development,*'  has  led  to  the  common  belief 
in  Iceland  that  it  is  oviparous.  For  ourselves,  it  seems  so  unlikely  that,  of  two 
sharks  closely  alUed  in  every  way,  one  should  retain  the  fetuses  in  the  oviducts 
until  they  are  of  considerable  size  and  fully  developed,  and  the  other  lay  eggs, 
that  we  incline  to  the  belief  that  the  Greenland  shark  ■ftdll  also  prove  to  be 
viviparous. 

Commercial  importance. — Were  the  nurse  more  plentiful  in  our  waters  it  might 
be  a  useful  scavenger.  Off  Iceland  it  is  caught  for  its  liver  oil,  and  in  the  Arctic 
the  flesh  is  dried  for  dog  food.  It  is  very  interesting  to  note  in  passing  that  while 
the  meat  is  perfectly  wholesome  when  dried,  it  produces  a  sort  of  intoxicant  poison- 
ing when  eaten  fresh.*' 

THE  BRAMBLE  SHARKS.    FAMILY  ECHINORHINID^ 

The  only  living  representative  of  this  family  (it  is  represented  among  the 
tertiary  sharks)  resembles  the  nurse-shark  family  (p.  53)  in  lacking  both  anal 
fin  and  dorsal  spines,  but  its  teeth  aie  alike  in  the  two  jaws. 

19.  Bramble  shark  (EcMnorhinus  hrucus  Bonnaterre) 

Jordan  and  Evermann  {E.  spinosus),  1896-1900,  p.  58. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  243. 

Description. — As  pointed  out  above,  the  location  of  the  first  dorsal  fin,  above 
the  ventrals  instead  of  about  midway  between  the  latter  and  the  pectorals,  is 


Fki.  21.— Bramble  shark  (Echinorhinui  irucus) 

the  readiest  field  mark  to  enable  separation  of  this  form  from  the  Greenland 
shark.  Brucus  also  differs  from  the  latter  in  its  more  slender  form,  longer  gill 
slits,  and  especially  in  the  fact  that  the  teeth  are  alike  instead  of  unlike  in  the  two 
jaws. 

Size. — The  largest  (a  specimen  from  British  waters)  of  which  we  have  found 
a  record  was  9  feet  long,  and  it  has  been  credited  with  a  weight  of  400  pounds. 

"  Smitt  (Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892)  describes  one  with  "innumerable"  small  eggs  and  discusses  this  question,  and  Helbing 
(Nova  .\cta,  Kaiserlichen  Leop.-Carol.  Deutschen  Akademie  der  Naturforscher,  vol  82,  1904)  has  recently  given  a  good 
description  and  figures  of  fetuses  of  Somniosus  brevipinna  (as  Lsemargus  rostratiia),  with  a  discussion  of  the  relationship  of  this 
species  to  the  Greenland  shark  (as  L^margus  borealis). 

«  This  is  described  by  Jensen  in  "  The  Selachians  of  Greenland."  Saertryk  af  Mindeskrift  for  Jepetus  Steenstrup,  pp.  12-14, 
1914.    Translation  by  A.  H.  Clark,  Science,  New  Series,  Vol.  XLI,  Jan.-June,  1915,  p.  796. 


56  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Color. — Described  as  dark  brown  above,  with  or  without  darker  blotches; 
lower  surface  lighter  to  white. 

General  range. — Formerly  thought  to  be  confined  to  the  eastern  Atlantic,  off 
the  coasts  of  Europe  and  north  Africa,  and  to  the  Mediterranean  in  rather  deep 
water,  this  shark  has  since  been  recorded  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  Pacific, 
and  from  Australia.  Apparently,  however,  it  is  rare  everywhere,  unless  it  be  that 
the  rarity  of  capture  is  due  to  its  habit  of  living  at  considerable  depths. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — A  single  specimen  of  this  little  known  shark 
came  ashore  at  Provincetown  in  December,  1878,  and  this  stiU  remains  the  only 
record  of  it  from  the  western  Atlantic. 

Habits. — Nothing  is  definitely  known  of  its  habits  or  whether  it  is  a  regular 
inhabitant  of  the  continental  slope  at  and  below  200  fathoms,  as  its  wide  distribu- 
tion and  proclivity  for  deep  water  suggests. 

SKATES  AND  RAYS 

Skates,  with  their  disklike  outlines,  thin  as  a  shingle,  and  their  long  tails,  are 
familiar  objects  along  our  shores.  The  Gulf  of  Maine  supports  four  species  in 
great  abundance,  while  several  others  have  been  recorded  on  rare  occasions.  So 
far  as  the  local  fauna  is  concerned,  this  tribe  falls  into  three  groups — first,  the 
skates  (family  Rajidfe)  with  comparatively  short  tails  and  without  spines;  second, 
the  sting  rays  (families  Dasybatidse  and  Myliobatidse)  with  long  whipHke  tails 
armed  with  stiff  spines;  and  third,  the  torpedo  (family  Narcaciontidae) ,  interesting 
because  provided  with  electric  organs  capable  of  giving  a  strong  shock.  All  our 
common  species  belong  to  the  first  group. 

Among  skates  and  rays,  as  among  sharks,  fertilization  is  internal  and  the 
modification  of  the  posterior  edges  of  the  ventral  fins  into  rodlike  semitubular 
claspers — the  copulatory  organs — distinguishes  males  from  females  at  a  glance. 
Some  families  are  viviparous;  others  lay  eggs. 

The  common  skates  look  so  much  ahke  that  fishermen  seldom  discriminate 
between  them  but  speak  of  them  all,  large  and  small,  simply  as  "skates."  For 
this  reason  we  know  very  little  about  the  individual  differences  in  habits  between 
the  several  species.  All,  however,  live  chiefly  on  or  close  to  the  bottom,  moving 
through  the  water  by  undulations  of  the  flexible  pectoral  fins,  steering  themselves 
with  the  tail.  All  are  decidedly  omnivorous,  feeding  largely  on  the  larger 
Crustacea — shrimps,  crabs,  lobsters — as  well  as  on  mollusks,  worms,  etc.,  and  to 
a  greater  or  less  extent  on  fish.  In  the  Gulf  of  Maine  they  are  a  nuisance,  for  they 
bite  the  hook  readily  and  often  are  caught  in  great  numbers  in  otter  trawls.  To 
give  some  idea  of  their  abundance  on  the  offshore  banks  I  may  note  that  the  average 
number  of  skates  (all  species  together)  taken  on  Georges  Bank,  per  trip  of  4  to  7 
days,  on  25  trips  by  several  trawlers,  January  to  December,  1913,  was  approximately 
800,  the  largest  catch  being  4,521  skates,  the  poorest  82.  Whether  they  are  equally 
abundant  on  Browns  Bank  is  not  clear,  for  though  they  are  famiUar  enough  there,  no 
statistics  as  to  the  actual  numbers  caught  are  available.  Skates  are  as  plentiful 
inshore  as  on  the  banks,  as  appears  from  the  following  representative  catches  on 
long  lines: 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  57 

1.  13  miles  from  Gloucester,  2,540  baited  hooks.  Total  fish  caught,  540; 
skates,  65;  dogfish,  321. 

2.  15  miles  off  Monhegan,  June  24-25,  1913.  Total  fish  caught,  5,463;  skates, 
170. 

3.  20  miles  east  of  Cape  Cod,  November  11,  1913.  Total  fish  caught,  6,532; 
skates,  202. 

4.  Jeffreys  Ledge,  December  11-12,  1913.     Total  fish  caught,  3,996;  skates,  62. 
Now  and  then  a  long  line  comes  in  with  a  skate  on  almost  every  hook,  but  this 

is  unusual.  Fishermen  report  them  as  present  on  the  inshore  as  well  as  the  offshore 
fishing  grounds  throughout  the  year. 

On  our  seaboard  skates  are  salable  only  in  special  markets  and  are  of  so  Uttle 
commercial  importance  that  in  1919,  which  may  serve  as  a  representative  year, 
the  total  amount  brought  into  the  several  ports  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and 
Massachusetts  was  only  102,739  pounds,  valued  at  $550.  From  time  to  time  a 
few  have  been  utilized  as  fertilizer.     All  others  caught  are  thrown  overboard. 

All  our  common  Gulf  of  Maine  skates  are  oviparous,  laying  large  eggs  with 
blackish  or  sea-green  leathery  sheUs,  roughly  oblong  in  outline  with  a  hollow  tendril 
at  each  corner  by  which  they  cling  to  seaweeds.  The  empty  egg  sheUs — "mer- 
maids' purses" — are  common  on  our  beaches  among  the  fiotsam  along  high-water 
mark. 

While  still  in  the  egg  the  embryos  develop  temporary  external  gill  filaments 
from  the  walls  of  the  giU  clefts,  but  these  disappear  completely  after  hatching. 

Many  years  ago  Wyman  (1867)  published  some  notes  on  the  development  of 
one  of  our  local  skates  (species  not  named)  and  figured  the  newly  hatched  young, 
since  which  time  no  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  development  or  life  history  of 
any  of  the  species  that  occur  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  Probably,  however,  all  spawn 
over  a  considerable  part  of  the  year  with  an  incubation  period  of  from  4  to  8 
months,  as  is  true  of  most  of  the  European  skates.""  The  sting  rays  are  viviparous, 
but  it  is  not  likely  that  any  of  these  strays  from  the  south  breed  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine. 

It  is  easy  to  tell  a  skate  from  a  ray  (at  least  among  species  with  which  we  are 
concerned)  by  the  presence  or  absence  of  a  dorsal  spine  on  the  tail,  while  its  large 
caudal  fin  places  the  torpedo  at  a  glance,  but  identification  of  the  several  skates  is 
proverbially  difficult.  In  the  following  key  we  have  endeavored  to  facilitate  it  by 
characters  obvious  in  handhng  them  at  sea  or  on  the  dock. 

KEY  TO  GULF  OF  MAINE  SKATES  AND  RAYS 

1.  No  lopg  dorsal  spine  on  the  tail . 2 

Tail  with  long  dorsal  spines  (sting  rays) 8 

2.  Two  small  dorsal  fins,  but  no  distinct  caudal  on  the  tail  (includes  all  our  common  skates) .  3 
There  is  a  large  triangular  caudal  fin  as  well  as  the  two  dorsals  on  the  tail..  Torpedo,  p.  68 

3.  The  midline  of  the  ba«k,  immediately  over  the  backbone  behind  the  shoulders,  does  not 

bear  a  row  of  large  thorns,  though  it  may  be  flanked  by  such 4 

The  midline  of  the  back  bears  a  row  of  large  thorns  on  the  rear  part  of  the  disk,  on  the 
tail,  or  on  both 5 

<•  Clark  (Journal  of  the  Marine  Biological  Association  of  the  United  Kingdom,  New  Series,  Vol.  XII,  No.  4,  Oct.,  1922,  p.  629) 
described  the  eggs  and  young  fry  of  several  British  species. 


58  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

4.  Teeth  in  about  50  rows;  upper  surface  brown  with  dark  spots Little  skate,  p.  58 

Teeth  in  about  90  rows;  upper  surface  usually  with  two  large  whitish  eye  spots  near 

the  rear  angles  of  the  disk'" Spotted  skate,  p.  60 

5.  The  front  angle  of  the  disk  is  much  blunter  than  a  right  angle;  the  whole  upper  surface  of 

the  disk  is  more  or  less  thorny,  with  a  row  of  very  large  thorns  along  the  midline 

behind  the  shoulders Prickly  skate,  p.  62 

Front  angle  of  the  disk  is  not  blunter  than  a  right  angle;  smoother  species  with  notice- 
able thorns  only  in  restricted  patches 6 

6.  Front  angle  roughly  a  right  angle  with  the  snout  hardly  projecting;  with  stout  thorns  on 

the  midline  of  the  disk  as  well  as  of  the  taU 7 

Front  angle  more  acute  than  a  right  angle,  with  the  blunt  tipped  snout  projecting;  no 
thorns  in  the  midline  except  on  the  tail Barn-door  skate,  p.  66 

7.  Tip  of  snout  blunt;  outer  corners  of  disk  bluntly  angular;  thorns  large Brier  skate,  p.  64 

Tip  of  snout  sharp-pointed;  outer  corners  of  disk  rounded;  thorns  small 

Smooth  skate.  Raja  senta,  p.  65 

8.  No  dorsal  fins  on  tail 9 

Tail  with  a  dorsal  fin  in  front  of  spine Cow-nosed  ray,  p.  72 

9.  Tail  rounded  above,  without  a  keel Sting  ray  {Dasybatus  marinus),  p.  70 

Upper  side  of  tail,  behind  the  spine,  with  a  distinct  keel Sting  ray  (D.  haslatus),  p.  70 

THE    SKATES.     FAMILY   RAJID^ 

20.  Little  skate  {Raja  erinacea  Mitchill) 

Common  skate;  Bonnet  skate;  Summer  skate;  Hedgehog  skate;  Old  mahj; 

Tobacco  box 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  68. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  337. 

Description. — The  most  diagnostic  characters  are  small  size,  absence  of  thorns 
along  the  midline  of  the  back,  and  blunt  nose.  The  anterior  angle  of  the  disk  is 
blunter  than  a  right  angle  and  the  tip  of  the  snout  is  rounded,  with  margins  biilging 
opposite  the  eyes.  The  teeth  are  in  about  50  rows.  Females  have  thorns  scattered 
all  over  the  upper  surface  except  on  the  midline  back  of  the  shoulder  girdle,  espe- 
cially prominent  on  head,  snout,  shoulders,  and  sides  of  tail.  Males  are  less  spiny, 
but  in  both  sexes  the  spines  on  tail,  shoulders,  and  along  either  side  of  the  back 
ridge  are  especially  strong.  Males  have  bands  of  erectile  hooks  near  the  outer  cor- 
ners of  the  pectoral  fins,  presumably  for  holding  the  female.  The  outer  angles  of 
the  pectorals  are  bluntly  angular.  The  two  dorsal  fins  are  close  together;  the  tail 
is  about  half  the  total  length. 

Size. — 16  to  20  inches;  at  the  most  2  feet  in  length.  Northern  specimens 
average  larger  than  southern.     A  specimen  20  inches  long  is  about  12  inches  wide. 

Color. — ^Grayish  to  dark  brown,  or  clouded  light  and  dark  brown  above,  paler 
at  the  edges  of  pectoral  fins;  usually  with  many  small  round  darker  spots;  white  or 
grayish  below. 

General  range. — Coastal  waters  off  the  Atlantic  coast  of  America;  Nova  Scotia 
and  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  Virginia. 

Occurrence  in  tJie  Gulf  of  Maine. — This,  the  smallest  of  our  skates,  is  the  com- 
monest and  the  most  familiar  from  its  habit  of  coming  up  into  very  shoal  water  in 

^  When  this  eye  spot  is  laclving,  as  sometimes  happens,  it  may  be  necessary  to  count  the  teeth  to  separate  the  "  spotted  ' ' 
from  the  "little  "  skate. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


59 


sTommer  and  of  stranding  on  the  beaches,  where  dried  skate  carcasses  are  often  to 
be'  seen.  It  occurs  all  along  the  coasts  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  Nova 
Scotia  to  Cape  Cod,  and  much  farther  south.  It  is  very  abundant  both  on  the  New 
Brunswick  and  the  Scotian  sides  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  is  taken  everywhere  and 
anywhere  along  the  coasts  of  Maine  and  Massachusetts,  far  more  commonly,  in- 
deed, than  one  might  suspect  from  the  few  definite  records  that  have  found  their 
way  into  scientific  literature.  To  what  extent  it  enters  into  the  skate  population 
ofjthe  offshore  banks  is  as  yet  unknown. 

The  little  skate  carries  out  a  more  or  less  definite  migration  up  into  shoal  water 
in  April  and  May,  where  it  remains  throughout  the  summer,  autimin,  and  early 
winter,  to  return  again  to  somewhat  deeper  water,  say  30  to  50  fathoms,  in  Decem- 


FiG.  22.— Little  skate  (.Raja  erinacea).    After  Garman 

ber  or  January.  In  summer  it  is  perhaps  most  numerous  at  depths  of  from  5  to 
15  fathoms,  many  even  following  the  shelving  bottom  up  to  within  a  few  feet  of 
low-water  mark.  Others,  however,  lie  deeper.  It  has  been  trawled  at  25  fathoms 
even  in  midsummer,  for  example.  On  Georges  Bank  it  is  probably  to  be  found  at 
30  to  40  fathoms  throughout  the  year,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it 
ever  descends  to  any  greater  depth  than  this.  It  is  common  knowledge  that  skates 
are  most  abundant  on  sandy  or  pebbly  bottom;  however,  they  are  likewise  found 
on  mud  and  over  ledges.  They  bite  the  hook  readily,  affording  amusement  to 
vacationists. 

Food. — Little  skates  are  omnivorous.  Hermit  and  other  crabs,  shrimps, 
worms,  amphipods,  ascidians  ("sea  squirts"),  bivalve moUusks,  squid,  small  fishes, 
and  even  such  tiny  objects  as  copepods  have  been  found  in  their  stomachs.     Prob- 


60 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


ably  crabs  loom  largest  in  their  diet,  for  more  than  29  per  cent  of  the  skates  opened 
by  Field  (1907,  p.  26)  contained  them;  15  per  cent  had  bottom-dwelling  shrimps 
(Crago);  6  per  cent  had  eaten  squid.  Launce,  alewives,  herring,  cunners,  silver- 
sides,  tomcod,  silver  hake,  all  have  been  found  in  the  stomachs  of  these  skates. 

Habits. — The  spawning  habits  of  the  summer  skate  have  not  been  followed  in 
the  Gulf  of  Maine,  but  oS  southern  New  England  its  eggs  have  been  taken  as  early 
as  March  and  in  abundance  during  July,  August,  and  September,  both  [in  fish 
traps  and  in  dredges  in  a  few  fathoms  of  water.  In  all  probabihty  its  breeding 
covers  the  same  period  north  of  Cape  Cod — that  is,  eggs  are  laid  in  spring  and  earlj- 
summer,  hatching  in  late  summer  and  autumn.     The  eggs  measure  about  2  by  2J^ 


Fig.  23.— Big  skate  (Raja  diaphanis).    After  Garman 

inches,  and  the  great  majority  of  the  empty  skate  eggs  washed  up  on  the  beach 
belong  to  this  species.  Huntsman's  observations  suggest  that  young  hatched  near 
the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  descend  to  deeper  water  the  first  winter,  and  this 
probably  applies  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine  as  a  whole. 

21.  Big  skate  {Raja  diapJinnes 'MitchiH) 

Spotted  skate;  Winter  skate;  Eted  skate 

-    Jordan  and  Evermann   (Raja  ocellata  Mitchill),  1S96-1900,  p.  68. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  339. 

Discriftion. — This  skate  is  much  like  the  little  skate,  but  is  larger,  has  more 
numerous  teeth,  and  is  of  a  different  color.     The  front  angle  of  the  disk  is  much 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  61 

blunter  than  a  right  angle,  bulging  opposite  the  eyes,  and  the  tip  of  the  snout  is 
rounded.  The  teeth  are  in  from  80  to  110  rows  on  a  jaw  instead  of  in  only  about  50 
rows,  as  in  erinacea,  and  they  are  sharper  in  males  than  in  females.  The  backs  of  both 
sexes  are  rough,  with  sharp  spines  on  the  head,  around  the  eyes,  along  the  anterior 
margins  of  the  pectorals,  over  the  shoulders,  and  on  the  sides  of  the  tail,  but  the  midline 
of  the  back  behind  the  shoulders  is  free  of  spines,  at  least  in  adults.  Males  have 
rows  of  retractile  hooks  on  the  outer  parts  of  the  pectorals.  The  two  dorsal  fins 
are  close  together;  the  outer  corners  of  the  pectorals  are  bluntly  angular;  the  claspers 
in  males  reach  about  halfway  back  along  the  tail,  which  occupies  about  half  the 
total  length  of  the  fish. 

Size. — This  skate  grows  to  about  3  feet  in  length,  commonly  from  30  to  34 
inches;  specimens  32  inches  in  length  are  about  21  inches  wide. 

Color. — Light  brown  above  with  round  darker  brown  spots.  As  a  rule  there 
is  a  large  white  eye  spot  with  black  center  near  the  posterior  angle  of  the  pectoral 
fin,  and  often  two  smaller  ones  close  to  the  latter.  When  these  eye  spots  are 
present  they  serve  to  identify  this  skate  at  a  glance;  sometimes,  however,  they 
are  lacking,  in  which  case  half-grown  specimens  so  closely  resemble  the  little  skate 
that  recourse  must  be  had  to  the  number  of  teeth  to  tell  one  from  the  other.  There 
is  a  translucent  or  white  area  on  each  side  of  the  snout  in  front  of  the  eyes  and  the 
lower  surface  is  white. 

General  range. — Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  from  New  York  northward 
to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  where  it  is  common. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This,  the  second  in  size  of  our  skates,  occurs 
commonly  all  around  the  Gulf  of  Maine  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Cape  Cod.  There 
are  many  locality  records  from  the  Bay  of  Fundy  as  well  as  from  the  coasts  of 
Maine  and  Massachusetts,  and  it  probably  makes  up  a  large  proportion  of  the  skate 
population  on  Georges  Bank.  It  is  very  plentiful  in  Massachusetts  Baj',  but  so 
closely  does  a  two-thirds  grown  big  skate  resemble  the  adult  little  skate  (p.  58) 
that  it  is  often  impossible  to  tell  to  which  species  reports  refer.  It  is  said  to  come 
up  into  shoal  water  on  sandy  beaches,  but  we  have  no  first-hand  information  to 
offer  on  this  point,  and  at  Woods  Hole  it  is  never  found  in  water  shoaler  than  5  to  6 
fathoms.  South  of  Cape  Cod  the  name  "winter  skate"  is  appropriate  enough, 
for  it  is  only  during  the  cold  season  that  it  is  common  about  Woods  Hole.  Similarly, 
it  is  said  to  be  taken  in  larger  niunbers  in  winter  than  in  suimmer  in  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay  region,  though  we  can  not  verify  this.  However,  this  is  distinctly  a  mis- 
nomer in  the  northern  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  for  not  only  is  it  abundant  in 
shoal  water  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  (e.  g.,  Passamaquoddy  Bay)  from  May  to  Novem- 
ber, but  to  judge  from  temperature  this  probably  applies  to  the  whole  coast  line 
east  of  Cape  Elizabeth. 

Spotted  skates  feed  on  the  same  diet  as  do  little  skates.  Rock  crabs  and  squid 
are  their  chief  diet,  but  they  also  take  annelids,  amphipods,  shrimps,  and  razor 
clams,  and  they  prey  upon  whatever  small  fish  are  available,  the  list  at  Woods 
Hole  including  smaller  skates,  eels,  herring,  alewives,  bluebacks,  menhaden,  smelt, 
launce,  chub  mackerel,  butterfish,  cunners,  sculpins,  silver  hake,  tomcod,  and  hake." 

61  From  Vinal  Edwards'  and  Linton's  notes. 


62 


BULLETIN    or   THE   BUREAU    OF   EISHEEIES 


This  skate  is  taken  on  hook  and  line,  in  weirs,  and  in  otter  trawls.  The  breed- 
ing habits  of  this  species,  as  they  apply  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  have  not  been  traced. 
Its  egg  cases  are  little  larger  than  those  of  the  little  skates — 2J^  by  1%  inches. 

22.  Prickly  skate  {Raja  scabrata  Garman) 

Jordan  and  Evermann  (Raja  radiala  Donovan),  1896-1900,  p.  69. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  340. 

Description. — The  prickly  skate  can  be  identified  at  a  glance,  or  rather  touch, 
by  the  fact  that  the  midline  of  the  back  behind  the  shoulders,  and  of  the  tail,  is 
armed  with  a  row  of  very  stout  thorns.     As  in  the  little  and  spotted  skates,  the 


Fig.  24. — Prickly  skate  {Raja  scabrata).    After  Garman 

anterior  angle  of  the  disk  is  blunter  than  a  right  angle,  its  margin  bulging  some- 
what abreast  of  the  eyes,  and  the  tip  of  the  snout  is  blunt.  There  is  a  pair  of  large, 
hooked  tubercles  or  bucklers  on  each  shoulder,  one  in  front  of  and  one  behind  each 
eye,  as  well  as  one  behind  each  spiracle,  besides  the  mid-dorsal  row  of  14  or  more 
just  mentioned.  Smaller  thorns  occur  on  the  snout  and  are  scattered  generally 
over  the  upper  surface  of  the  pectoral  fins.  The  bases  of  the  spines  on  the  pectorals 
are  star-shaped,  a  very  diagnostic  character;  those  of  the  bucklers  shieldlike.  Males 
■  have  two  rows  of  hooked,  erectile  thorns  near  the  outer  corners  of  the  pectorals,  the 
latter  being  more  angular  than  in  either  the  little  or  spotted  skates,  while  the  two 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  63 

dorsal  fins  are  separated  by  a  definite  space  in  the  adult  but  are  confluent  in  the 
young. 

Size. — This  skate  grows  to  23^  feet  in  length,  or  slightly  larger;  males  as  small 
as  26  inches,  nearly  mature,  have  been  found.  Specimens  21  to  22  inches  long  are 
15  to  16  inches  wide. 

Color. — Brown  above,  either  uniform  or  slightly  clouded  with  Ughter  and 
darker.  Young  ones  are  spotted  with  darker  brown,  but  adults  ordinarily  lack 
these  spots.  Garman  (1913,  p.  34)  mentions  a  partial  albino,  white  above  with  a 
few  reddish-brown  and  brown  spots. 

General  range. — The  prickly  skate  is  a  northern  cold-water  fish,  its  range 
hardly  extending  west  or  south  of  Cape  Cod,  for  it  appears  but  rarely  and  at  long 
intervals  at  Woods  Hole,  nor  is  it  known  south  of  tliis.  How  far  north  it  ranges 
is  yet  to  be  determined.  It  is  plentiful  along  the  east  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  and  in 
the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  where  it  lives  indifferently  on  the  ice-cold  banks  and  in 
the  warmer  water  in  the  bottom  of  the  deep  channels,  but  it  has  not  been  recorded 
from  Labrador  north  of  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle  nor  so  far  as  we  can  learn  from  the 
eastern  shores  of  Newfoundland.  In  north  European  waters  it  is  represented  by 
an  extremely  closely  allied  if  not  identical  form  {Raja  radiata),  which  occurs  from 
the  Bay  of  Biscay  in  the  south  to  Greenland,  Spitzbergen,  and  the  White  Sea  in  the 
north. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  prickly  skate  is  usually  thought  to  be 
less  common  on  our  coast  than  either  of  the  two  species  just  mentioned,  and  it  is 
certainly  rare  in  very  shallow  water  within  our  limits;  but  it  is  frequently  taken  on 
the  New  Brunswick  side  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  in  depths  of  10  fathoms  or  deeper, 
in  20  to  30  fathoms  in  St.  Mary  Bay  (Nova  Scotia),"  while  we  ourselves  trawled 
it  (13  specimens)  in  22  and  27  fathoms  on  sandy  bottom  in  Ipswich  Bay  in  July, 
1913.  Since  it  has  also  been  recorded  from  Casco  Bay,  Ipswich  Bay,  Gloucester, 
Salem,  Nahant,  and  Provincetown,  it  evidently  occurs  generally  all  along  the 
shores  of  the  Gulf  in  moderate  depths.  Judging  from  the  considerable  depths  to 
which  its  European  relative  descends — it  has  been  trawled  down  to  450  fathoms — 
skates  caught  in  the  deeper  parts  of  the  Gulf  are  more  likely  to  belong  to  this 
than  to  either  of  the  preceding  species,  and  it  may  be  the  prevalent  skate  on  the 
oflfshore  banks.     It  has  not  been  recorded  below  about  200  fathoms  off  our  coasts. 

Habits. — Notliing  is  recorded  of  its  habits  in  the  Gulf,  nor,  so  far  as  we  can 
learn,  have  its  eggs  or  young  ever  been  definitely  recognized  there,  but  probably 
what  is  known  of  the  spawning  habits  of  its  European  representative  appUes  equally 
here,  briefly,  that  it  comes  up  from  deeper  water  into  shoal  water  in  spring  to 
spawn  there  during  the  summer,  retreating  once  more  to  greater  depths  in  winter; 
that  the  egg  case  measures  about  2V2  by  1 Y5  inches  (exclusive  of  its  tendrils) ;  and 
that  the  fry  remain  near  land  during  their  first  winter. 

Food. — The  pricldy  skate,  like  most  of  its  relatives,  feeds  indiscriminately  on 
small  fish,  ampliipods,  worms,  etc.  Such,  at  least,  is  true  of  the  European  form. 
So  far  as  we  can  learn  no  stomachs  have  been  examined  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

"  According  to  Huntsman  (1922a'). 
102274— 25t 5 


64 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


23.  Brier  skate  {Raja  eglanteria  Boso) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  71. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  341. 

Description. — The  brier,  like  the  piickl}^  skate,  is  armed  with  a  row  of  stout 
thorns  along  the  midline  of  the  back  from  shoulder  to  dorsal  fin  near  the  tip  of  tail. 
Otherwise,  however,  it  is  a  much  smoother  species  and  its  snout  is  more  acute. 
There  are  groups  of  large  spines  opposite  and  behind  the  eyes  and  on  the  sides  of 
the  tail,  with  a  pair  on  each  shoulder.     Elsewhere  the  upper  surface  of  the  disk 


Fio.  25.— Brier  skate  (,Raja  eglanteria).    Alter  Garman 

bears  only  very  small  but  very  sharp  prickles,  these  being  most  numerous  on  the 
anterior  parts  of  the  pectorals,  over  the  head  and  snout,  and  on  the  middle  of  the 
back  and  tail  among  the  larger  thorns,  whence  its  common  name.  The  males, 
we  might  add,  are  provided  with  several  rows  of  large  erectile  hooks  on  the  outer 
parts  of  the  pectorals,  which  the  females  lack.  The  snout  angle  is  roughly  a  right 
angle,  its  margin  bulging  less  opposite  the  eyes  than  in  any  of  the  blunter-nosed 


FISHES    OF    THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


65 


skates.  The  outer  corners  of  the  pectorals  are  distinctly  angular.  The  dorsal  fins 
are  separated  by  a  considerable  interval  in  which  there  are  usually  one  or  two 
spines,  instead  of  close  together  as  in  the  httle,  spotted,  and  prickly  skates. 

Size. — The  brier  skate  grows  to  a  length  of  about  2  feet.  Specimens  of  from  21 
to  22  inches  are  13  to  14  inches  wide. 

Color. — Described  as  bro'wn  above;  the  pectorals  variously  mottled,  blotched, 
and  barred  with  darker;  a  translucent  or  white  space  on  each  side  of  the  snout; 
white  below. 

General  range. — Off  the  eastern  coast  of  the  United  States  from  Cape  Cod  to 
Florida. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.— This  is  a  southern  species,  uncommon  even 
as  far  north  as  Woods  Hole  and  decidedly  rare  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  where  it  has 
been  taken  only  at  Provincetown  and  at  Gloucester,  the  latter  its  most  northerly 
outpost. 


Fig.  26.— Smooth  skate  (itaja  scnta).    After  Garman 

24.  Smooth  skate  {Raja  senta  Garman) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  71. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  338. 

Description. — This  skate  is  recognizable  by  its  sharp  snout,  the  rounded  out- 
line of  the  outer  margins  of  the  pectoral  fins,  and  by  the  fact  that  the  mid-dorsal 
line  of  thorns  runs  back  only  to  about  the  middle  of  the  tail,  where  it  dwindles  and 
disappears.  There  are  also  large  spines  on  the  front  parts  of  the  pectoral  fins,  on 
the  ridges  about  the  eyes,  and  a  group  on  each  shoulder;  otherwise  the  back  and  top 


66  *  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHEEIES 

of  tail  are  rough  with  small  spines  only,  except  that  males  have  the  usual  rows  of 
hooks  on  the  outer  parts  of  the  pectorals.  The  anterior  snout  angle  is  roughly  a 
right  angle;  the  tip  of  the  snout  itself  is  sharp  instead  of  rounded.  The  two  dorsals 
are  close  together,  not  separated  by  spines  as  in  the  brier  skate. 

Size. — The  largest  recorded  specimen  was  22 3^^  inches  long,  the  tail  being 
almost  exactly  half  the  total  length.     Its  width  was  14  inches. 

Color. — Rusty  brown  above  clouded  with  darker,  not  spotted;  no  doubt  white 
below  like  other  skates.     Young  examples  have  been  seen  with  white  spots. 

General  range  and  occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Of  the  distribution  of  this 
skate,  evidently  very  rare  in  our  Gulf,  nothing  is  known  further  than  that  speci- 
mens have  been  taken  on  LaHave  Bank  and  off  Provincetown,  on  the  strength  of 
which  it  has  usually  been  described  as  "a  deep-water  form.  Banks  of  Newfoimdland 
Cape  Cod."     Nothing  whatever  is  known  of  its  habits. 


:%■ 


/:-■ 


/  -:'  M 


^^^ 


v 


t- 


Fig.  27.— Barn-door  skate  {Raja  stabuliforis) 

25.  Barn-door  skate  {Raja  stabuliforis  Garman) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900  {Raja  Imvis  Mitchill),  p.  71. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  341. 

Description. — The  barn-door  skate  is  easily  identified  by  its  large  size,  very 
pointed  snout,  and  smooth  skin.  The  mid-dorsal  thorns  are  comparatively  small 
and 'run  only  from  the  hinder  part  of  the  back  over  the  tail;  otherwise  the  spines, 
which  are  very  small,  are  restricted  to  the  sides  of  the  tail,  top  of  the  tip  of  the 
snout,  and  to  narrow  bands  along  the  front  edges  of  the  pectoral  fins,  in  front  of  and 
between  the  eyes,  with  a  few  scattered  here  and  there  over  shoulders  and  back. 
Thus  the  whole  upper  surface  is  smoother  than  in  any  of  the  other  skates.  The 
male  is  provided  with  the  erectile  hooks  on  the  outer  parts  of  the  pectorals  common 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  67 

to  all  skates  of  this  genus.  The  anterior  angle  of  the  disk  is  sharper  than  in  other 
skates,  being  more  acute  than  a  right  angle.  The  snout  itself  is  long  but  blunt 
tipped,  the  outer  corners  of  the  pectorals  are  angular,  and  the  disk  as  a  whole  is 
diamond  or  lozenge  shaped.  The  two  dorsal  fins  are  separated  by  a  short  space, 
with  one  or  more  spines,  and  the  tip  of  the  tail  extends  farther  beyond  the  second 
dorsal  than  in  most  skates. 

Size. — The  barn-door  is  our  largest  skate,  growing  to  a  length  of  6  feet  or  even 
more.     One  of  58  inches  length  was  42  inches  wide  with  a  tail  27  inches  long.^' 

Color. — The  barn-door,  like  so  many  sea  fish,  varies  in  color.  As  a  rule  the 
upper  surface  is  bro^vn,  usually  of  a  distinctly  reddish  hue,  variously  marked  with 
small  scattered  darker  spots  or  blotches  of  varying  size,  often  with  pale  marblings  or 
waterings.  The  lower  surface  is  not  as  uniformly  pale  as  in  most  skates,  its  gray 
or  white  ground  being  shaded  with  darker  toward  the  snout  and  speckled  with  black 
over  the  abdomen. 

General  range. — ^Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 
and  the  outer  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  where  it  is  common,  to  Florida.  In  European 
seas  it  is  replaced  by  a  very  close  ally,  the  "common  skate,"  Baja  batis. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  is  a  common  fish  off  the  New  England 
coast  and  in  all  parts  of  the  Gulf.  Any  very  large  skate  taken  or  reported  there 
is  almost  certain  to  be  a  "barn-door."  Following  the  coast  around  from  east  to 
west  we  find  it  reported  as  plentiful  off  the  Nova  Scotian  shore;  it  is  knowTi  from 
St.  Mary  Bay;  is  found  very  generally  though  not  abundantly  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
and  up  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay;  is  reported  from  Eastport,  Casco  Bay,  and  generally 
along  the  coast  of  Maine;  is  known  from  various  localities  in  Massachusetts  Bay, 
where  we  have  seen  many  caught;  and  is  taken  in  abundance  by  the  trawlers  on 
Georges  Bank.^^  In  short,  it  is  to  be  expected  anywhere  in  the  Gulf.  Like  most 
other  skates,  it  is  often  taken  in  shoal  water  in  summer;  seldom  or  never  in  winter. 
Huntsman  tells  us  that  it  comes  up  into  Passamaquoddy  Bay  from  May  to  Novem- 
ber. We  took  one  nearly  5  feet  long  at  Cohasset  in  Massachusetts  Bay  in 
only  a  couple  of  fathoms  of  water  in  midsummer.  Indeed,  it  is  often  stranded 
on  the  beaches.  This  inshore  migration,  however,  does  not  involve  the  entire 
stock — witness  its  presence  in  20  to  60  fathoms  on  Georges  Bank  and  off  Cape  Cod 
throughout  the  year  and  the  fact  that  it  is  reported  by  fishermen  and  has  been 
trawled  by  vessels  of  the  bureau  below  100  fathoms  in  smnmer.  In  the  warmer 
waters  off  the  south  coast  of  New  England  it  comes  inshore  in  spring  and  autiman, 
descending  to  deeper  water  in  summer. 

Habits  and  food. — Barn-door  skates,  like  other  skates,  are  bottom  swimmers, 
preferring  smooth  to  rocky  ground,  but  the  fact  that  the  lower  surface  is  more  or 
less  pigmented  instead  of  white  suggests  that  it  hugs  the  bottom  less  closely  than  do 
other  skates.  Garman,  the  foremost  authority  on  this  group,  has  pointed  out  that 
the  spines  on  the  snout  of  this  skate  are  usually  worn  smooth,  as  though  used  to 
dig  in  the  mud  or  sand — very  likely  it  thus  obtains  the  bivalves  that  form  part  of 
its  diet.     It  also  feeds  on  worms,  various  crustaceans,  particularly  large  rock  crabs 

"  Described  by  Garman  (1913,  p.  342). 


68  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

and  lobsters,  on  squid,  and  on  fish.  Probably,  thanks  to  its  large  size,  it  is  more 
destructive  to  the  latter  than  are  any  other  skates.  At  Woods  Hole  the  list  includes 
spiny  dogfish,  alewives,  herring,  butterfish,  launce,  cunners,  tautog,  menhaden, 
sculpins,  silver  hake,  hake,  and  flatfish.  No  doubt  cod,  haddock,  etc.,  suffer  to 
some  extent  from  this  skate  on  the  offshore  fishing  grounds,  for  its  European  relative 
is  a  well-known  enemy  of  the  cod,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  our  "barn- 
door" is  less  voracious.  It  is  a  strong,  active  swimmer,  as  anyone  who  has  landed  a 
large  one  on  a  hand  line  will  agree.  It  bites  readily  on  almost  any  bait,  and  is  often 
caught  on  hand  and  long  lines  as  well  as  in  the  otter  trawl  and  in  weirs  along  shore. 

Breeding  habits. — Very  little  is  known  of  its  breeding  habits.  Probably  it 
spawns  when  in  shoal  water,  that  is,  during  the  warm  season  of  the  j^ear.  Eggs, 
probably  belonging  to  the  barn-door,  are  5}4  by  2^  inches.^^ 

Commercial  lvalue. — The  barn-door  skate  is  of  no  commercial  value  except  as 
entering  into  the  small  landings  of  skates  mentioned  on  page  57. 

\ 


^r^'" 


Fig.  28. — Torpedo  (Narcacion  nobilianus) 

THE  TORPEDOES.    FAMILY  NARCACIONTIDiE 

26.  Torpedo  {Narcacion  nohilianus  Bonaparte) 

Electric  skate;  Crampfish;  Numbfish 

Jordan  and  Evermann  (Tetranarce  occidentalis  Storer),  1896-1900,  p.  77. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  310. 

Description. — No  one  would  be  apt  to  mistake  the  torpedo  for  anj^  other  skate 
or  ray,  the  rounded  outline  of  the  disk  and  the  large  caudal  fin  identifying  it  at  a 
glance.  Furthermore,  the  skin  is  soft  and  naked,  without  the  spines  so  character- 
istic of  all  our  common  skates.  The  disk  is  roughl}'^  subcircular,  truncate  in  front, 
and  considerably  broader  than  long.     The  eyes  are  very  small  and  are  set  far  for- 

K  Doctor  Qarman  supplied  this  note. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  69 

ward.  The  two  dorsal  fins,  of  which  the  anterior  is  the  taller,  stand  at  the  forward 
end  of  the  tail,  the  anterior,  indeed,  partly  above  the  bases  of  the  ventral  fins,  and 
they  are  separated  by  an  interspace  nearly  as  long  as  the  second  dorsal  fin.  The 
tail  fin  is  of  ordinary  fish  form — triangular  and  about  three-quarters  as  long  as 
deep.  The  tail  is  shorter  than  in  the  skates — that  is,  it  occupies  only  about  one- 
third  the  total  length  of  the  fish.  The  most  interesting  feature  of  the  torpedo  is 
its  electric  organ  and  its  ability  to  give  electric  shocks  of  considerable  strength  to 
anyone  touching  it. 

Color. — Dark  chocolate  brown  above;  lower  surface  white  except  that  the  edges 
of  disk,  fins,  and  tail  are  of  the  same  dark  chocolate  tint. 

Size. — Adult  torpedoes  are  usually  2  to  5  feet  long  and  heavy  for  their  size. 
Specimens  taken  at  Woods  Hole  average  about  30  pounds,  ranging  from  4  or  5  up 
to  75  pounds.  Torpedoes  as  heavy  as  200  pounds  have  been  recorded,  and  they 
have  been  taken  up  to  170  pounds  or  more  in  Massachusetts  Bay. 

General  range. — Tropical  and  temperate  parts  of  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic; 
Maine  to  Cuba  on  the  American  coast. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — -The  torpedo  is  a  southern  fish,  which,  like 
so  many  others,  finds  the  northerly  limit  to  its  comnnon  occurrence  at  Cape  Cod. 
It  strays  past  the  cape  into  the  Gulf  of  Maine  often  enough,  however,  to  be  looked 
upon  as  a  regular,  if  rare,  summer  visitor.  It  has  been  recorded  even  as  far  east  as 
Eastport  (not,  however,  in  the  Bay  of  Fimdy),  as  well  as  at  various  other  localities 
along  the  coast  of  Maine  (e.  g.,  Williamsport,  off  Seguin  Island,  and  Casco  Bay); 
likewise  at  Cape  Ann,  in  Cape  Cod  Bay,  near  Provincetown,  and  along  the  outer 
shores  of  Cape  Cod,  so  it  would  be  no  surprise  to  find  it  anyAvhcre  along  our  shores. 
It  has  also  been  reported  from  Georges  Bank.  Most  of  the  records  date  back 
many  years.  It  is  said  to  have  been  unusually  common  in  the  year  1819  and  for 
four  or  five  years  thereafter.  Again  in  1845  about  a  dozen  came  ashore  or  were 
otherwise  taken  near  Provincetown.  It  is  as  apt  to  be  found  in  our  Gulf  now  as 
then,  for  one  was  seined  off  Seguin  in  aliout  1880,  another  was  caught  on  a  long 
line  set  from  the  Grampus  on  LaHave  Bank  in  the  siunmer  of  1890,  one  was  taken 
in  a  trap  at  Wood  Island  near  Cape  Elizabeth  in  1894,  and  torpedoes  were  collected 
by  Dr.  W.  C.  Kendall  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  at  several  localities  along  the  coast 
of  Maine  in  1896.  West  of  Cape  Cod  it  is  much  mere  numerous,  appearing  not 
uncommonly  trom  May  to  November  about  Woods  Hole. 

Breeding  and  halits. — The  torpedo,  like  others  of  its  tril)e,  is  a  bottom  fish.  It 
feeds  chiefly  on  small  fish  and  to  some  extent  on  Crustacea.  Probably  it  does  not 
succeed  in  breeding  in  the  cold  waters  of  the  Gulf,  but  at  Woods  Hole  it  has  been 
found  to  contain  nearly  ripe  eggs  by  the  end  of  June.  It  is  viviparous,  the  embryos 
having  been  figured  by  Garman  (1913,  pi.  01). 

Commercial  value. — Nowadays  the  torpedo  is  of  no  commercial  value,  but 
years  ago  before  the  use  of  kerosene  oil  was  general  its  liver  oil  was  considered 
equal  to  the  best  sperm  for  illuminating  purposes. 


70  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEATJ   OF   PISHEBIES 

THE  STING  RAYS.    FAMILIES  DASYBATID^  AND  MYLIOBATID^ 

27.  Sting  ray  (Dasyhatus  marinus  Klein) 

Stingaree;  Clam  cracker 

Jordan  and  Evernaann  (Dasyatis  centrura  Mitchill),  1896-1900,  p.  83. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  382. 

Description. — The  most  characteristic  features  of  the  sting  ray  are  the  very 
long  whiplike  tail  without  dorsal  fins  and  the  strong  saw-toothed  spines  that  the 
tail  bears  on  its  dorsal  surface.  The  disk  is  roughly  quadrangular,  one-fourth 
wider  than  long,  with  the  anterior  corner  much  blunter  than  a  right  angle,  the 
anterior  and  posterior  margins  nearly  straight,  and  the  lateral  corners  bluntly 
angular.  The  ventral  fins  are  relatively  much  shorter  than  in  the  common  skates. 
The  tail  is  more  than  twice  as  long  as  the  disk,  rounded  above  and  tapering  regu- 
larly to  a  very  narrow  tip.  The  spines,  of  which  there  are  from  one  to  several,^' 
are  situated  about  one-fifth  of  the  way  back  along  the  tail.  Young  sting  rays  are 
smooth-skinned,  but  adults  bear  scattered  tubercles  on  the  middle  and  hind  parts 
of  the  back  and  on  the  back  and  sides  of  the  tail,  which  become  more  and  more 
numerous  as  the  ray  grows. 

Size. — Maximum  length,  including  the  tail,  about  12  feet. 

Color. — The  general  ground  tint  varies  according  to  the  background. 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  tropical  and  temperate  Atlantic,  north  on 
the  American  coast  to  Cape  Cod,  and  (according  to  Smith  ")  not  known  south  of 
Cape  Hatteras. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  only  claim  of  the  sting  ray  to  mention 
here  is  that  it  has  been  recorded  from  Chatham,  on  the  outer  shore  of  Cape  Cod,  and 
that  it  is  said  to  have  been  seen  on  the  shoaler  parts  of  Georges  Bank.  It  has 
no  real  status  as  a  Gulf  of  Maine  fish,  where  it  appears  only  as  a  waif  from  the 
south,  though  common  enough  as  far  east  as  Woods  Hole,  where  it  appears  in 
June  or  early  July.  Beware  of  handling  any  skate  with  a  long  whiplike  tail  lest 
it  prove  a  sting  ray,  for  its  spine  is  a  dangerous  weapon. 

Breeding  habits. — The  sting  rays  are  viviparous. 

28.  Sting  ray  {Basylatus  Tiastatus  DeKay) 

Jordan  and  Evermann  {Dasyatis  hastata  DeKay),  1896-1900,  p.  83. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  391. 

Description. — This  ray  so  closely  resembles  D.  marinus  that  we  need  only 
point  out  that  the  tail  bears  a  low  keel  on  its  dorsal  surface  behind  the  spines 
instead  of  being  rounded  above  as  in  its  relative. 

General  range. — Atlantic  coast  of  America,  Cape  Cod  to  Brazil. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  southern  sting  ray  is  mentioned  here 
because  recorded  many  years  ago  from  Chatham  on  Cape  Cod. 

M  There  are  three  in  a  specimen  figured  by  Garman  and  two  in  one  we  have  examined. 

"  The  fishes  of  North  Carolina,  by  Hugh  M.  Smith.    North  Carolina  Geological  and  Economic  Survey,  Vol.  II,  1907,  p.  44. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


71 


FiQ.  29.— sting  ray  (Dasybatus  marinus).    After  Qarman 
102274— 25t 6 


72  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

29.  Cow-nosed  ray  {Rhinoptera  quadriloba  LeSiieur) 

Jordan  and  Evermann  (Rhinoptera  bonasus  Mitchill),  1896-1900,  p.  90. 
Garman,  1913,  p.  444. 

Description. — The  cow-nosed  ray  and  all  its  close  relatives  are  of  such  charac- 
teristic batlike  outline,  with  head  so  peculiar  and  teeth  so  different  from  those  of  our 
other  Gulf  of  Maine  skates  and  rays,  thatonceseen  they  are  never  apt  to  be  mistaken 
for  anything  else.  The  anterior  angle  of  the  disk  is  much  blunter  than  a  right  angle; 
the  outer  corners  of  the  pectorals  are  acute,  pointed,  and  their  posterior  margins 
distinctly  concave.  The  ventral  fins  are  comparatively  very  small,  longer  than 
wide,  reaching  but  a  short  distance  back  of  the  posterior  corner  of  the  pectorals. 
There  is  a  single  small  dorsal  fin  originating  a  short  distance  back  of  the  bases  of 
the  ventrals,  and  Lnamediately  back  of  it  stands  a  stout  spine.  The  tail  is  hardly 
twice  as  long  as  the  disk,  whiplike  and  tapering  to  a  very  slender  tip.     The  cranimn 


Fig.  30. — Cow -nosed  ray  (Rhinoptera  quadriloba).    After  Garnian 

of  the  cow-nosed  ray  is  raised  above  the  general  level  of  the  disk  with  the  large 
eyes  set  lateral  instead  of  dorsal,  and  in  front  of  the  fins  instead  of  far  back  as  in 
other  skates  and  rays.  Its  teeth  are  flat  and  arranged  like  the  bricks  or  tiles  in  a 
pavement  in  a  manner  more  easily  figured  than  described. 

Size. — The  cow-nosed  ray  grows  to  a  length  of  about  7  feet.  In  one  about 
3314  inches  in  total  length  the  disk  was  25  inches  long  by  32  J^  inches  broad.^' 

Color. — Brown  above;  white  below,  except  toward  the  outer  corners  of  the 
pectoral  fins  where  it  is  brownish. 

General  range. — ^Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States,  Nantucket  to  Florida. 

»'  Described  liy  Radclifie  (Bulletin,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol.  XXXIV,  1914  (1916),  p.  279). 


FISHES   OF   THE   QVLF    OF   MAINE  73 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  cow-nosed  ray  has  even  less  claun  to  be 
called  a  Gulf  of  Maine  fish  than  have  the  sting  rays  just  mentioned,  for  while  it 
is  often  taken  in  the  traps  at  Woods  Hole — 145  in  one  day  on  one  occasion — and 
is  recorded  from  Nantucket,  it  has  never  actually  been  seen  east  or  north  of  Cape 
Cod. 

Chimseroids.     Subclass  Holocephali 

THE    CHIMiERAS.     FAMILY    CHIM-ERID^ 

The  chimseras  find  their  nearest  affinities  in  the  sharks  but  are  separated  from 
the  latter  by  many  important  anatomic  characters,  the  most  obvious  of  which  are 
the  facts  that  there  is  no  spiracle,  there  is  but  one  gill  opening  on  either  side,  the  tail 
is  symmetrical,  and  the  gills  are  fringelike  and  free  at  the  tips  like  those  of  bony 
fishes.  In  general  aspect  the  chimseras  remotely  suggest  the  grenadiers  (p.  467), 
but  are  easily  separable  from  them  by  the  location  of  the  ventral  fins,  which  are 
set  far  ^back  uiider  or  behind  the  tips  of  the  pectorals;  by  the  fact  that  the  fin  on 
the  back  is  separated  by  a  deep  notch  into  dorsal  and  caudal  portions;  by  the  very 
small  eye;  and  by  the  large  size  of  the  pectoral  fins,  to  list  only  the  most  obvious 
differences.  There  is  no  danger  of  confusing  them  with  any  other  Gulf  of  Maine 
fishes,  so  curious  is  their  appearance. 


Fia.  31.— Chimsera  (Chimscra  affinis', 

30.  Chimaera.     {Chimsera  affinis  Capello) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  95. 

Description. — The  chimtera  is  deepest  (one-seventh  to  one-eighth  as  deep  as 
long)  just  behind  the  gills,  tapering  gradually  backward  to  a  weak  slender  tail,  and 
is  very  soft  bodied.  The  head  is  short,  its  dorsal  profile  oblique  and  prolonged  into 
a  short,  soft,  conical  knob  above  the  mouth.  The  forehead  of  the  male  bears  a 
curious  cartilaginous  hook,  armed  with  recurved  prickles  on  its  lower  surface,  which 
probably  serve  to  clasp  the  female.  The  mouth  is  inferior  in  position,  relatively 
small,  the  upper  jaw  with  four,  the  lower  with  two,  flat  plates,  set  edgewise,  in  place 
of  teeth,  and  with  thick  fleshy  hps.  The  gill  openings  are  vertical,  set  low  down 
on  the  sides  of  the  neck,  and  each  is  covered  with  a  flap  of  skin  paralleling  the 
gill  covers  of  bony  fishes. 

There  are  two  distinct  dorsal  fins.  The  first  of  these  originates  over  the  gill 
opening,  is  triangular,  about  as  high  as  long,  and  supported  at  its  anterior  margin 
by  a  stout  spine  that  is  free  at  the  tip.  The  second  dorsal  is  separated  from  the 
first  by  a  space  that  probably  varies  in  length,  and  is  less  than  half  as  high  as  the 


74  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

first,  with  straight  margin.  The  small  caudal  fin  is  demarked  from  the  second  dorsal 
by  a  deep  notch;  it  is  lanceolate  in  outline,  terminates  rearward  as  a  short  whipUke 
filament,  and  extends  a  short  distance  forward  on  the  ventral  surface  of  the  trunk, 
there  being  no  separate  anal  fin.  The  ventrals  and  pectorals  are  both  triangular 
and  pointed,  the  latter  being  much  the  larger  and  reaching  back  nearly  to  the  point 
of  origin  of  the  ventrals.  In  the  male  the  lower  part  of  each  ventral  fin  is  modified 
as  a  trifid  clasping  organ.  The  skin  is  smooth,  or  perhaps  shghtly  prickly,  the 
lateral  Une  well  developed,  ramifying  in  several  branches  over  the  head. 

This  species^"  is  a  close  ally  of  the  well-known  chimasra  of  north  Eiu'opean 
seas  (C.  monstrosa),  but  is  distinguishable  from  it  by  the  facts  that  it  has  no  separate 
anal  fin,  that  there  is  a  considerable  free  space  between  its  two  dorsal  fins,  that  the 
outline  of  the  second  dorsal  fin  is  straight,  that  its  caudal  filament  is  much  shorter, 
and  that  its  pectorals  hardly  reach  back  to  the  ventrals. 

Color. — ^Leaden  all  over. 

Size. — Maximum  length  about  3  feet. 

General  range. — Not  uncommon  on  the  continental  slope  of  North  America 
from  the  latitude  of  Cape  Cod  northward,  in  300  to  more  than  900  fathoms. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — We  mention  the  chimjera  here  because  one 
(or  more)  was  brought  in  from  Georges  Bank  some  time  between  1877  and  1880.°° 
It  would  be  no  surprise  to  find  them  on  the  seaward  slope  of  the  bank,  for  halibut 
fishermen  have  often  caught  them  off  LaHave  and  the  more  easterly  banks.  One 
has  even  been  found  in  the  harbor  of  Noank  (Conn.),  but  there  is  no  record  of  it  in 
the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

Habits  and  food. — Nothing  whatever  is  known  of  the  habits  of  this  chimaera; 
little  more  of  the  northern  Eui'opean  species  except  that  it  is  a  groimd  fish,  omniv- 
orous, eating  small  fish,  mollusks,  Crustacea,  echinoderms,  and  worms,  and  that  it 
produces  large  eggs  with  horny  oval  cases,  bearing  threadlike  filaments. 

The  bony  fishes.     Subclass  Teleostomi 

THE  STURGEONS.     FAMILY  ACIPENSERID.S 

The  sturgeons — the  only  Gulf  of  Maine  representatives  of  the  ganoid  fishes — 
share  with  the  sharks  an  uneven  tail  with  the  vertebral  column  extending  out  into 
the  upper  lobe,  but  there  is  no  danger  of  taking  one  for  a  shark  as  there  is  but  one 
gill  opening  on  each  side,  and  the  gills  are  inclosed  by  bony  gill  covers. 

31.  Sturgeon  {Acipenser  sturio  Linnaeus) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  105. 

Description. — Sturgeons  are  easily  distinguished  from  all  our  other  salt-water 
fishes  by  the  fact  that  the  head  is  covered  by  bony  plates  united  by  sutures,  and 
the  skin  is  armored  by  a  row  of  large  bony  shields  or  bucklers  along  the  mid-back, 

-  *•  This  flsh  is  generally  considered  identical  with  a  chimaera  taken  ofl  the  coast  of  Portugal,  hence  the  choice  of  the  specific 
ame  affims  instead  of  plumbea,  by  which  the  chimaera  of  North  American  waters  was  first  known. 
•* Report,  U.  S.  Commission  of  Fisheries,  1879  (1872).  p.  788. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  75 

with  two  rows  on  each  side,  while  the  tail  is  of  the  "shark  type,"  that  is,  with  the 
iixis  bent  upward  and  upper  lobe  much  longer  than  the  lower,  and  the  nose  is  long 
and  curiously  depressed. 

Each  buckler  bears  a  longitudinal  keel  and  spine,  those  of  the  dorsal  series 
being  much  larger  than  the  others.  On  the  average  there  are  about  11  (10  to  16) 
bucklers  in  the  dorsal  row,  28  (26  to  34)  in  each  upper  lateral  row,  and  9  to  14  in 
each  lower  lateral  row.  The  dorsal  row  extends  from  over  the  gill  cover  to  the  dorsal 
fin;  the  upper  lateral  from  the  corner  of  the  gill  opening  back  to  the  base  of  the  tail 
fin;  the  lower  lateral  row  from  immediately  behind  the  pectoral  fin  to  the  ventral 
fin,  and  again  from  the  latter  to  the  anal  fin.  The  single  rather  small  triangular 
dorsal  fin  is  far  back,  its  hind  edge  over  that  of  the  still  smaller  anal.  The  ventrals 
are  likewise  far  back.     The  pectorals  are  set  almost  as  low  as  the  plane  of  the  belly. 

The  body  is  elongate,  comparatively  slender  and  more  or  less  pentagonal  in 
cross  section  owing  to  the  rows  of  bucklers,  instead  of  rounded  as  in  most  bony 
fishes.  In  large  fish  the  snout  is  about  one-third  the  total  length  of  the  head  (longer, 
comparatively,  in  small  ones),  depressed  below  the  level  of  the  forehead,  and  nearly 
flat  beneath.  The  mouth,  which  is  situated  on  the  under  side  of  the  snout,  is  small 
and  toothless  (except  in  larval  stages),  with  protractile  lobed  lips,  and  there  are 
four  pointed  barbels  in  a  row  across  the  lower  surface  of  the  snout  in  front  of  the 
mouth. 


Fig.  32. — Sturgeon  (AcipeiiseT  stand) 

Color. — Olive  greenish  or  bluish  gray  above  (in  some  seas  reddish  above), 
gradually  fading  on  the  sides  and  changing  rather  abruptly  below  the  upper  lateral 
row  of  shields  to  the  white  of  the  belly. 

Size. — The  sturgeon  is  a  very  lai'ge  fish,  specimens  as  long  as  18  feet  having 
been  recorded  from  Europe  and  from  New  England;  nor  are  10-foot  cows  uncom- 
mon to-day  in  the  Delaware  River,  where  sturgeons  are  more  plentiful  than 
they  are  anywhere  in  New  England.  As  a  rule  adults  taken  there  run  from  6 
to  10  feet  in  length,  with  about  7  feet  as  the  maximum  for  the  males.  Females 
weigh  up  to  350  pounds  or  more,  while  males  average  about  65  pounds  in  weight. 
Sturgeons  (male  and  females  together)  averaged  about  120  pounds  in  the  Kennebec 
during  the  years  when  the  fishery  was  carried  on  there.  The  fact  that  a  fish  between 
11  and  12  feet  long,  taken  near  Helgoland  in  the  North  Sea,  weighed  623  pounds 
will  give  an  idea  of  the  weight  they  sometimes  attain. 

General  range .^Yioth.  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic,  from  Scandinavia  to  the 
Mediterranean  on  the  European  coast  and  from  the  St.  Lawrence  River  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  American  coast." 

"  Also  recorded  by  Prince  from  Hudson  Bay  (Report  ol  the  sixty-seventh  meeting  of  the  British  Association  lor  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  held  at  Toronto  in  August,  1897,  p.  687) . 


76  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  sturgeon,  like  the  salmon,  shad,  and  ale- 
wife,  is  anadromous,  spending  most  of  its  life  and  making  most  of  its  growth  in  the 
sea  or  in  bays  and  estuaries,  but  running  up  the  larger  rivers  to  spawn.  During 
its  sojourn  in  salt  water  it  may  be  expected  anjrwhere  oflE  the  coasts  of  the  Gulf  of 
Maine.  There  is  definite  record  of  it  at  sundry  localities  on  both  sides  of  the 
Bay  of  Fundy;  in  Penobscot  Bay;  Casco  Bay;  at  the  mouth  of  the  Piscataqua 
River;  on  the  Boar's  Head — Isles  of  Shoals  fishing  ground,  where  several  of  from 
3  to  4  feet  were  taken  in  the  gill  nets  during  April  and  May,  1913;  both  outside  and 
in  Boston  harbor;  off  Provincetown;  and  off  Truro  on  Cape  Cod.  It  is  well  known 
in  the  St.  John,  Penobscot,  Kennebec,  and  Merrimac  Rivers,  and  has  even  been 
taken  some  distance  up  as  small  a  stream  as  the  Charles  River.  In  fact,  sturgeon 
once  entered  practically  every  stream  of  any  size  emptying  into  the  GuK  of  Maine. 
Writing  of  Massachusetts  in  1634,  Wood  (1634,  p.  37)  described  the  sturgeon  as 
"all  over  the  countrey,  but  best  catching  of  them  be  upon  the  shoales  of  Cape 
Codde  and  in  the  river  of  Merrimacke,  where  much  is  taken,  pickled,  and  brought 
for  England,  some  of  these  be  12,  14,  and  18  foote  long." 

It  is  only  the  comparative  rarity  of  the  sturgeon  in  the  GuK  of  Maine  that 
limits  its  commercial  importance  in  the  tributary  rivers.  In  the  year  1919  a  total 
of  20,227  pounds  was  landed  in  Maine  and  Massachusetts.  Supposing  each  car- 
cass to  have  weighed  50  pounds  (a  very  low  estimate) ,  this  means  a  total  of  400 
fish  at  the  most. 

In  former  years,  when  our  rivers  were  less  obstructed  and  the  stui'geons  more 
plentiful,  a  fishery  was  intermittently  maintained  in  the  Kennebec,  but  as  far 
back  as  the  year  1880  the  catch  for  the  year  was  only  250  fish  yielding  12,500  pounds 
of  meat.  So  far  as  we  can  learn  the  open  GuK  has  never  supported  a  sturgeon 
fishery,  the  few  taken  there  being  picked  up  accidentaUy  in  drKt  nets,  traps,  or 
weirs."' 

Habits. — Although  much  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  sturgeon  in  other 
parts  of  the  world  because  of  its  great  economic  importance,  knowledge  of  its 
movements  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  is  of  the  scantiest.  The  large  adult  fish  enter 
the  mouths  of  our  rivers  sometime  late  in  the  spring  in  company  with  the  salmon, 
shad,  and  alewives,  slowly  working  theu-  way  upstream  beyond  tidewater  before 
they  deposit  their  eggs.  Spawning  takes  place,  so  far  as  known,  in  May,  June, 
and  perhaps  as  late  as  July.  Such,  at  least,  is  its  season  in  north  European  waters, 
and  what  little  is  on  record  of  its  movements  in  northern  New  England  is  of  the 
same  tenor.  It  has  been  suggested  that  some  may  spawn  in  brackish  water,  with 
which  the  fact  that  females  with  large  eggs  have  been  taken  about  Woods  Hole  in 
June  and  July  (that  is,  at  the  height  of  the  spawning  season),  is  in  accord. 

A  single  female  fish  may  produce  as  many  as  2,400,000  eggs,  which  hatch  in 
about  a  week  "^  after  fertilization.  Judging  from  European  experiences  with 
artificially  reared  sturgeon  of  this  species,  the  larvae  may  be  expected  to  reach  a 
length  of  12  mm.  within  five  days  after  hatching;  16  to  17  mm.  at  two  weeks;  20  mm. 
at  four  weeks;  and  4  to  53^  inches  at  two  months. 

81  The  short-nosed  sturgeon  (.AcipeiiscT  bTevirostrum  LeSueur)  was  reported  from  Boston  harbor  and  from  Hockport,  Mass., 
many  years  ago,  but  it  is  probable  that  the  specimens  in  question  were  small  common  sturgeons. 

"  Ryder  (Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  VIII,  1888  (1890),  p.  231)  has  given  an  account  of  thespawning  habi  I : 
and  early  development  of  the  sturgeon. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  77 

The  old  fish  return  to  the  sea  after  spawning,  but  as  yet  we  have  no  idea  how 
many  years  in  succession  a  given  fish  may  spawn  or  to  what  age  sturgeons  live. 
Apparently  some  of  the  young  fish  take  to  the  sea  at  one  year  while  others  live  for 
two  or  three  years  in  the  rivers  in  which  they  are  hatched ;  for  while  sperlets  of  from 
5  to  6  inches  in  length  are  found  at  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware  River,  as  well  as  in  the 
Elbe  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,"**  and  in  the  North  Sea,  young  sturgeon  as 
long  as  18  to  20  inches  are  taken  in  winter  both  in  the  Delaware  and  in  the  Merrimac 
Rivers.  Three  marked  fish  in  the  Elbe  were  found  to  have  grown  as  follows: 
The  first  from  17  to  38  cm.  from  June  17  until  the  following  April;  the  second  from 
43 H  to  64  cm.  from  April  9  until  the  followdng  December;  and  the  third  not  at  all 
from  November  until  the  following  February,  suggesting  that  the  sturgeon,  like 
many  other  fishes,  makes  most  of  its  growth  during  the  warm  months.  By  the  time 
they  have  reached  a  length  of  3  feet  or  so  all  sturgeons  are  either  in  the  sea  or 
about  the  river  mouths,  and  few  of  them  become  sexually  mature  until  they  grow  to 
about  4  feet  or  more  in  length.  How  long  a  period  is  covered  by  this  growth  is  not 
known,  but  immature  fish  of  from  3  to  4  feet  in  length  are  common  about  Woods 
Hole  throughout  the  summer  season,  at  the  time  w"hen  the  lai-ger  ones  are  in  the 
rivers  spawning.  We  have  yet  to  learn  how  far  oft'shore  sturgeons  stray.  They 
certainly  descend  to  at  least  25  fathoms,  for  they  have  been  caught  on  cod  and  had- 
dock lines  at  that  depth  in  Scandinavian  waters. 

The  sturgeon  is  a  bottom  feeder,  most  abundant  on  sandy  ground  (such,  at 
least,  being  the  case  in  the  North  Sea) ,  swimming  slowly  to  and  fro  when  at  peace 
but  capable  of  darting  ahead  like  an  arrow  on  occasion,  and  frequently  coming  up  to 
the  surface  to  jump  clear  of  the  water.  Though  so  sluggish  that  it  usually  offers 
no  resistance  when  netted,  large  ones  are  very  strong.  An  old  North  Sea  proverb 
has  it  that  leaping  sturgeons  and  dancing  girls  are  both  hard  to  hold ! 

The  adult  sturgeon  is  a  mud  grubber,  rooting  in  the  sand  or  mud  with  its  snout 
like  a  pig  (the  barbels  serving  as  organs  of  touch) ,  as  it  noses  up  the  worms  and  mol- 
lusks  on  which  it  feeds  and  which  it  sucks  into  its  toothless  mouth  with  considerable 
amounts  of  mud.  It  also  consumes  small  fishes,  particularly  sand  launce.  Small 
ones,  while  living  about  estuaries  and  river  mouths,  subsist  on  amphipod  and  isopod 
Crustacea.  Sturgeon,  like  salmon,  eat  little  or  nothing  when  running  upriver  to 
spawn. 

THE    EELS.     FAMILIES    ANGUILLID.ffi,    SYNAPHOBRANCHIDiE,    LEPTOCEPHALIDiE, 
SIMENCHELYID.ffi,  AND  NEMICHTHYID.aE 

Eels  have  no  ventral  fins;  scales  are  either  absent  or  so  small  as  to  be  hardly  visi- 
ble; their  fins  are  soft  without  spines;  the  gill  openings  are  very  small;  the  vertebrae 
extend  in  a  straight  line  to  the  tip  of  the  tail;  and  a  single  fin  runs  over  the  back  and 
forward  on  the  belly  with  no  separation  into  dorsal,  caudal,  and  ventral  portions. 
There  are  several  other  fishes  of  eel-like  form  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  viz,  the  hags  and 
lampreys,  rock  eel  (Pholis),  snake  blenny  (Lumpenus),  wryniouth  (Crypta- 
canthodes),  eel  pout  (Zoarces),  and  sand  eel  (Ammodytes),  but  the  jawless,  sucker- 

"  Prince  records  a  6-inch  sturgeon  from  Hudson  Bay  (Report  or  the  sixty-seventh  meeting  or  the  British  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science,  held  at  Toronto  in  August,  1897,  p.  687) . 


78  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OP   FISHEKIES 

like  mouth  of  the  first  two  separates  them  at  a  glance  from  the  true  eels,  wliile  in  all 
the  rest  either  there  is  a  well-marked  separation  between  anal  and  caudal  fins, 
ventral  fins  (large  or  small)  are  present,  or  the  dorsal  fin  is  spiny,  not  soft. 

Only  four  true  eels  are  known  from  the  Gulf  of  Maine:  The  commion  eel  (p.  78), 
the  slime  eel  (p.  83),  the  conger  (p.  8(3),  and  the  snipe  eel  (p.  88),  which  fall  into  four 
different  families  according  to  American  usage.  Most  European  students,  however, 
put  the  first  three  (with  many  other  species)  into  one  family  (the  Anguillidse),  and 
the  snipe  eel  and  its  relatives  in  a  second  (the  Nemicthyidfe).  A  fifth  species,  the 
long-nosed  eel  (a  deep-water  form),  is  to  be  expected  in  the  deepest  parts  of  the  GuK 
though  it  has  not  been  recorded  there  as  yet.  The  group  likewise  includes  the  trop- 
ical morays  and  sundry  deep-sea  forms,  some  of  them  exceedingly  bizarre  in 
appearance. 

Common,  conger,  and  slime  eels  look  much  alike,  but  are  separated  from  one 
another  by  the  size  of  the  mouth  and  by  the  relative  lengths  of  the  fins.  In  the  snipe 
eels  the  two  jaws  are  prolonged  into  a  very  long  slender  beak,  recalling  that  of  a 
silver  gar,  the  tail  is  whiplike,  the  neck  noticeably  slimmer  than  the  head,  and  the 
general  form  extremely  slender. 

KEY   TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   EELS 

1.  Both  jaws  are  prolonged  into  a  long  slender  bill Snipe  eel,  p.  88 

The  jaws  are  not  bill-like,  the  snout  being  short  and  blunt 2 

2.  The  anal  fin  originates  well  in  front  of  the  point  of  origin  of  the  dorsal Long-nosed  eel,  p.  84 

The  anal  fin  originates  behind  the  point  of  origin  of  the  dorsal 3 

3.  The  dorsal  fin  originates  far  behind  the  tip  of  the  pectoral Common  eel,  p.  78 

The  dorsal  fin  originates  close  behind  the  tip  of  the  pectoral 4 

4.  Mouth  large,  gaping  back  as  far  as  the  middle  of  the  eye;  very  strong  and  active 

Conger,  p.  86 

Mouth  small,  falling  short  of  the  eye;  soft,  slimy,  and  feeble Slime  eel,  p.  83 

32.  Eel  {Anguilla  rostrata  LeSueur) 

American  eel;  Common  eel;  Silver  eel;  Feesh-water  eel 

Jordan  and  Evermann  {A.  chrysypa  Rafinesque),  1896-1900,  p.  348. 

Description. — In  the  common  American  eel  the  dorsal  fin  originates  far  behind 
the  pectoral,  this  character  being  of  itself  a  suflicient  field  mark  to  distinguish  it 
from  the  conger,  from  which  it  also  differs  in  that  the  lower  jaw  projects  beyond  the 
upper  or  at  least  equals  it  in  length,  and  that  its  eyes  are  small  and  round.  Further- 
more, it  develops  scales  after  it  is  about  3  or  4  years  old,  though  these  are  so  small 
that  they  might  be  overlooked.  Like  the  conger,  however,  it  has  a  pointed  snout, 
a  large  mouth  gaping  back  to  or  past  the  middle  of  the  eye,  and  gill  slits  set  horizontal 
on  the  sides  of  the  neck,  their  upper  corners  abreast  of  the  center  of  the  base  of  the 
pectoral  fin.  It  is  very  closely  related-  to  the  European  eel  {Anguilla  vulgaris), 
but  has  fewer  vertebra  (about  107  as  compared  with  about  114  or  115). 

Size. — Eels  are  said  to  grow  to  4  feet  in  length  and  to  163/^  pounds  in  weight. 
Full-grown  females  average  only  about  2  to  3K  feet,  however,  and  males  are 
smaller.  Any  eel  more  than  18  inches  long  would  probably  be  a  female,  and  one 
more  than  24  inches  in  length  would  certainly  be  one. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


79 


Color. — The  color  varies  widely  with  the  bottom  on  which  the  eel  lives.  As  a 
rule  it  is  dark  muddy  or  olive-brown  above,  more  or  less  tinged  with  yellow  on  the 
sides;  the  lower  siu^ace  paler  brown  and  yellower,  with  dirty  yellowish-white^belly. 

General  range. — The  area  of  distribution  of  the  eel  is  peculiar.  It  lives  most 
of  its  life  and  makes  most  of  its  growth  in  the  estuaries  and  fresh  rivers  tributary 


a 


7i&^*^ 


Fig.  33.— Common  eel  (AnguUla  Tostrata) 

a,  Adult.    6,  Leptocephalus  stage,  49  millimeters,    c,  Leptocephalus  stage,  55  millimeters.    After  Schmidt,    d,  Leptoceph- 
alus  stage,  58  millimeters.    After  Schmidt,    e,  Transformation  stage,  61  millimeters.    After  Schmidt. 

to  the  east  coast  of  America,  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  south  to  the  GuK  of 
Mexico  and  to  Brazil,  and  is  common  in  the  West  Indies  and  at  Bermuda.  It 
moves  out  to  sea  to  spawn,  however,  as  described  hereafter  (p.  81). 


80  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  occurrence  of  the  eel  around  the  periphery 
of  our  Gulf  can  be  described  in  the  one  word — "universal."  From  Cape  Sable  on 
the  east  to  Cape  Cod  on  the  west  there  is,  we  believe,  not  a  single  stream  mouth, 
muddy  estuary,  or  tidal  marsh  into  which  fresh  water  empties  but  supports  eels 
to  some  extent.  They  run  up  every  stream,  large  or  small,  from  which  they  even- 
tually find  their  way  into  the  ponds  at  the  headwaters  unless  barred  by  insurmount- 
able barriers  such  as  very  high  falls.  Eels  are  even  caught  in  certain  ponds  without 
outlets. 

Habits. — Up  to  very  recently  the  life  history  of  the  eel  remained  a  mystery, 
for  although  the  fact  that  the  young  "elvers"  run  up  into  fresh  water  in  spring 
while  adults  journey  downstream  in  autumn  has  been  common  knowledge  for 
centm'ies,  and  while  a  host  of  myths  grew  up  to  explain  the  utter  absence  of  ripe 
eels  of  either  sex,  either  in  fresh  water  or  along  the  seacoast,  it  was  not  until  a  few 
years  ago  that  the  riddle  of  its  breeding  place  was  solved.  Now  we  know  that 
both  the  American  and  the  European  eel  lives  a  life  that  is  just  the  antithesis  of 
that  of  the  salmon,  shad,  or  alewife,  and,  thanks  chiefly  to  the  persevering  re- 
searches of  the  Danish  scientist,  Johannes  Schmidt,  the  spa^vning  grounds  of  both 
eels  have  been  discovered  and  the  history  of  their  larvse  traced."^  Briefly,  the 
life  history  of  the  eel  is  as  follows: 

The  young  "elvers"  appear  along  our  shores  in  spring  when  they  average 
from  2  to  3J^  inches  in  length.  As  yet  we  have  little  data  on  the  exact  date  of 
arrival,  but  they  have  been  taken  as  early  as  March  at  Woods  Hole  and  in  April 
in  Passamaquoddy  Bay.  The  fact  that  elvers  run  up  the  streams  emptying  into 
Narragansett  Bay  from  mid-April  until  mid-May,  and  that  Welsh  observed  a 
tremendous  run  in  Little  River,  near  Gloucester,  on  May  5,  1913,  suggests  that 
they  may  be  expected  in  the  mouths  of  most  Gulf  of  Maine  streams  late  in  spring. 
In  the  Bay  of  Fundy  region,  however,  probably  owing  to  the  dilatory  warming  of 
the  local  streams,  they  are  found  ascending  streams  during  the  summer.  The 
run  in  one  stream  may  last  for  a  month  or  more,  while  it  may  last  only  for  a  few 
days  in  another.  Even  at  this  early  stage  there  is  a  noticeable  habit  of  segregation, 
some  remaining  in  tidal  marshes  and  other  estuarine  situations  while  many  go  into 
fresh  water,  and  some  of  them  ascend  the  larger  rivers  for  tremendous  distances. 
It  is  now  generally  believed  that  only  the  females  run  up  above  the  head  of  tide — 
that  is,  that  any  eel  caught  in  fresh  water  is  a  female — but  the  evidence  on  which 
this  assumption  rests  is  none  too  conclusive,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  American 


It  is  no  wonder  that  the  ability  of  the  elvers  to  surmount  obstacles  on  their 
journey  upstream  is  proverbial,  for  they  clamber  over  falls,  up  dams,  etc.,  and 
even  work  their  way  up  over  damp  rocks  as  Welsh  saw  them  doing  in  Little 
River,  where  they  were  so  plentiful  on  May  5  and  7,  1913,  that  he  caught  1,500 

"  The  life  history  of  the  eel  is  presented  in  more  detail  than  is  possible  here  by  Schmidt  (Philosophical  Transactions,  Royal 
Society  of  London,  Series  B,  Vol.  CCXI,  1922  (1923),  pp.  179-208,  summarized  in  Nature,  Vol.  CX,  July-December,  1922, 
p.  716),  and  by  Cunningham  (Natm-e,  Vol.  CXIII.  January-June,  1924,  p.  199).  See  also  Schmidt  (Rapports  et  Proces-Verbau.x, 
Conseil  Permanent  International  pour  I'E-xploration  de  la  Mer,  Vol.  V,  No.  4, 1906,  pp.  137-204.  pis.  7-13),  and  tor  a  popular  exposi- 
tion of  the  subject,  Smith  (National  Geographic  Magazine,  Vol.  XXIV,  No.  10,  October,  1913,  p.  1140). 


FISHES   OF   THE    GULF    OF    MAINE  81 

in  one  scoop  of  a  small  dip  net  and  545  with  a  few  "grabs"  of  his  bare  hand.  Elvers 
in  equal  multitudes  have  often  been  described  in  other  streams — American  as  well 
as  European.  Eels  can  live  out  of  water  so  long  as  to  give  rise  to  the  story  that 
they  often  travel  overland,  but  there  is  no  positive  evidence  for  tliis,  which  leaves 
their  presence  in  certain  ponds  having  neither  outlet  nor  inlet  (a  fact  often  attested) 
something  of  a  mystery. 

In  a  general  way  it  is  true,  as  has  so  commonly  been  said,  that  eels  seek  muddy 
bottom  and  still  water,  but  this  is  not  always  so,  as  large  ones  are  only  too  common 
in  swift-flowing,  sandy  trout  streams  on  Cape  Cod.  The  fact  is  that  they  can 
live  and  thrive  wherever  food  is  to  be  had,  and  they  are  at  home  in  high  tempera- 
tures as  well  as  in  low  ones.  Occasionally  an  eel  is  caught  off  the  open  coast,  but 
this  is  unusual. 

No  fish  is  more  omnivorous  than  the  eel;  no  animal  food,  living  or  dead,  is 
refused,  and  its  diet  in  any  locality  depends  less  on  choice  than  on  what  is  available. 
Small  fish  of  many  varieties,  shrimps,  crabs,  lobsters,  and  smaller  Crustacea, 
together  with  refuse  of  any  kind — for  they  are  scavengers — make  up  the  bulk  of 
the  diet  in  salt  estuarine  and  bracldsh  water.  Being  very  greedy,  any  bait  will  do  to 
catch  an  eel.  As  every  fisherman  knows,  they  are  chiefly  nocturnal  in  habit, 
usually  Ij^ng  buried  in  the  mud  by  day  to  venture  abroad  by  night,  but  eels, 
large  and  small,  are  so  often  seen  swimming  about  and  so  often  bite  the  hook  by 
day  that  this  can  not  be  laid  down  as  a  general  rule. 

Although  very  rapacious,  the  eel  grows  slowly,  the  winter  rings  on  its  scales 
(these  do  not  appear  until  it  is  3  or  4  years  old — one  larval  year  and  two  or  three 
in  fresh  water)  having  shown  that  in  the  case  of  the  European  species  full  grown 
adults  are  from  5  to  20  years  old,  depending  on  food  supph^,  etc.  This  is  corrobo- 
rated for  the  American  species  by  the  fact  that  Dr.  H.  M.  Smith,  former  Commis- 
sioner of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  found  a  female  on  the  way  down 
the  Potomac  to  be  in  her  twelfth  year.  The  smallest  mature  males  are  about  11 
to  12  inches  long;  females  18  inches  long.  TNIien  fully  grown,  the  female  eels, 
traveling  mostly  at  night,  drop  downstream  at  the  approach  of  sexual  maturity, 
which  takes  place  inthe  fall.  They  and  the  maturing  males  that  have  been  living  in 
the  river  mouths,  bays,  and  estuaries  now  cease  feeding;  the  color  of  the  back  changes 
from  olive  to  almost  black,  while  the  ventral  side  turns  silvery  and  the  eyes  of  the 
males  grow  to  t^vice  their  previous  size.  Both  males  and  females  then  move  out 
to  sea.  It  is  not  until  after  they  reach  salt  water  that  the  ovaries  mature.  In 
fact  no  perfectly  ripe  female  eel  and  only  one  ripe  male  (of  the  European  species) 
has  ever  been  seen.  So  little  is  the  life  history  of  the  eel  understood  by  om*  fisher- 
men that  we  wish  again  to  emphasize  the  undoubted  fact  that  no  eel  ever  spawns 
in  fresh  water. 

The  eel  drops  wholly  out  of  sight  when  once  it  leaves  the  shore ; ''°  no  one 
knows  how  deep  it  swims — whether  singly   or  in  companies — but    it   certainly 

"Large  eels,  on  their  seaward  journey,  have  occasionally  been  caught  by  otter  trawlers  in  the  western  part  of  the  British 
channel,  but  we  know  of  no  such  occurrence  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 


82  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

joiirneys  out  beyond  the  continental  slope  into  the  oceanic  basin  before  depositing 
its  eggs.  From  the  captures  of  its  youngest  larvae  Schmidt  has  been  able  to  outline 
the  chief  spawning  center  of  the  American  species  as  from  latitudes  20°  to  30°  N. 
and  from  longitudes  60°  to  78°  W. — that  is,  east  of  Florida  and  the  Bahamas  and 
south  of  Bermuda,  whUe  it  may  spawn  (always  in  deep  water)  much  farther  north. 

Our  eel  spawns  in  midwinter,  thus  occupying  one  to  two  months  in  its  journey 
from  the  coast  to  the  spawning  ground,  for  Schmidt  found  very  young  larvae  (7 
to  8  mm.)  in  February.  Eels,  like  Pacific  salmon,  die  after  spawning,  the  evidence 
of  this  being  that  no  spent  eels  have  ever  been  seen  and  that  large  eels  have  never 
been  known  to  run  upstream  again.  Smith  suggests  that  they  probably  jellify 
and  disintegrate,  as  does  the  conger.  Eel  eggs  have  not  been  seen,  but  certainly  they 
are  provided  with  an  oU  globule,  as  this  is  present  both  in  unripe  ovarian  eggs  and  in 
the  vestiges  of  the  yolk  sac  of  the  youngest  embryos.  Eels  (European)  are  among 
the  most  prolific  of  fish,  ordinary  females  averaging  five  to  ten  miUion  eggs  and  the 
largest  ones  certainly  fifteen  to  twenty  million.  The  larval,  so-caUed  "lepto- 
cephalus"  stage  (figs.  336,  c,  and  d),  as  with  aU  eels,  is  very  different  in  appearance 
from  the  adult,  being  ribbonlike  and  perfectly  transparent,  with  small  pointed 
head  and  very  large  teeth,  though  it  is  generally  believed  that  it  takes  no  food 
until  the  time  of  metamorphosis.  These  leptocephali,  which  live  near  the  surface, 
have  been  found  off  oiu-  coasts  as  far  north  as  the  Grand  Banks,  but  never  east  of 
longitude  50°.  Inasmuch  as  the  breeding  areas  of  the  American  and  European 
eels  overlap,  not  the  least  interesting  phase  of  the  lives  of  the  two  is  that  the  larvae 
of  the  American  species  should  work  to  the  western  side  of  the  Atlantic  and  the 
Eiuropean  to  the  eastern  side,  and  that  no  specimen  of  the  former  has  ever  been 
taken  in  Europe  or  of  the  latter  in  America. 

The  American  species  takes  only  about  a  third  as  long  as  the  European  to 
pass  through  the  larval  stage,  that  is,  hardly  a  year  as  against  two  to  three  years. 
The  leptocephali  reach  their  full  length  of  60  to  65  mm.  by  December  or  January, 
when  metamorphosis  to  the  "elver"  takes  place,  in  which  the  most  obvious  changes 
are  a  shrinkage  in  the  depth  and  length  of  the  body  but  an  increase  in  thickness  to 
cylindrical  form,  loss  of  the  larval  teeth,  and  total  alteration  in  the  aspect  of  head 
and  jaws,  while  the  digestive  tract  becomes  functional.  It  is  not  until  they  approach 
our  shores,  however,  that  the  adult  pigmentation  develops  or  that  the  elver  begins  to 
feed,  a  change  that  is  accompanied  by  a  second  decrease  in  size.  How  such  feeble 
swimmers  as  the  leptocephali  find  their  way  in  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  land 
remains  a  mystery.  It  seems  certain,  however,  that  all  the  young  eels  bound  for 
the  Gulf  of  Maine  complete  the  major  part  of  their  metamorphosis  while  stiU  far 
offshore,  not  only  because  we  have  never  taken  a  leptocephalus  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
in  all  our  tow-nettings,  but  (and  this  is  more  significant)  because  the  Albatross 
towed  three  young  eels  in  the  so-called  "glass  eel"  stage,  54  to  59  mm.  long — that 
is,  of  practically  adult  form  but  still  transparent — during  her  spring  cruise  in  1920, 
one  of  them  on  Georges  Bank,  March  11;  a  second  on  Browns  Bank,  April  16;  and 
one  in  the  western  basin  of  the  Gulf  off  Cape  iVnn,  February  23.     Evidently  they 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  83 

were  intercepted  on  their  way  in  to  land,  and  since  all  three  were  on  the  surface  we 
may  take  it  that  "glass  eels,"  like  leptocephali,  keep  to  the  uppermost  water 
layers  during  their  journey. 

Schmidt  has  suggested  that  the  American  eel  is  not  as  plentiful  in  actual 
numbers  as  the  European,  arguing  from  the  facts  that  its  larvse  have  not  proven 
so  common  on  the  high  seas  and  that  the  American  catch  of  eels  (about  2,000  tons) 
is  but  a  fraction  as  large  as  the  European  catch  (10,000  tons  annually).  It  is  not 
safe  to  draw  any  conclusions  from  the  statistics,  as  the  jimerican  catch  is  limited 
more  by  the  fact  that  eels  are  not  much  in  demand  than  by  the  available  stock. 
Eels  are  regularly  caught  in  numbers  in  muddy  bays  and  in  estuaries  at  the  mouths 
of  rivers  all  along  the  shores  of  the  Gulf,  the  catch  for  1919  being  as  follows: 

Pounds 

Nova  Scotia  shore 16,  700 

New  Brunswick 8,  000 

Coast  of  Maine 305,050 

Coast  of  New  Hampshire 2,  000 

Massachusetts  (including  south  shore  of  Cape  Cod  to  Buzzards  Bay) 239,  991 

This  suggests  a  total  of  about  400,000  pounds  for  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  The  greater 
part  o£  the  catch  is  made  by  nets  and  eelpots,  with  spears  a  close  second,  eel  spear- 
ing being  carried  on  chiefly  in  late  autumn  and  winter  in  tidal  creeks  and  marshes. 


v^  -^'Tfi^    ;>- 


Fig.  34 — Slime  eel  iSivicnchelys  parasiticus) 

33.  Slime  eel  {Simenchelys  parasiticus  Gill) 

Snub-nosed  eel 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1S96-1900,  p.  349. 

Description. — The  most  diagnostic  charactei's  of  the  slime  eel — its  eel-like  form, 
snub  nose,  long  dorsal  fin,  and  sliminess — have  already  been  mentioned  (p.  78). 
It  is  stouter  and  more  sway-bellied  than  the  common  eel,  very  soft,  and  with  a  more 
tapering  tail.  The  dorsal  fin  originates  a  very  short  distance  behind  the  tip  of  the 
pectoral  when  the  latter  is  laid  back  against  the  body,  and  the  anal  runs  forward  on  the 
lower  surface  almost  to  the  vent,  which  is  situated  about  midway  of  the  body.  The 
head  is  much  shorter  than  in  either  e,el  or  conger;  the  mouth  very  small,  gaping  back 


84  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHEEIES 

only  about  half  way  to  the  foi-ward  edge  of  the  eye,  with  upper  and  lower  jaws  of 
equal  length  and  each  armed  with  a  single  series  of  small,  close-set  cutting  teeth. 
The  gill  openings  are  very  small,  and  instead  of  being  transverse  and  on  the  sides 
of  the  neck  as  in  the  common  eel  they  are  longitudinal  and  lower  down  on  the  surface 
of  the  throat. 

Size. — About  2  feet  long. 

Color. — Dark  brown,  with  belly  but  little  paler  than  back,  though  usually  more 
or  less  silvery. 

General  range. — The  continental  slope  and  slopes  of  the  offshore  banks,  from 
abreast  of  the  eastern  end  of  Long  Island  to  the  Newfoundland  Banks,  in  depths 
ranging  from  200  to  more  than  900  fathoms;  also  in  deep  water  about  the  Azores. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — So  far  as  we  can  learn  there  is  no  definite 
record  of  the  snub-nosed  eel  actually  within  the  southern  rim  of  the  Gulf.  Oiu* 
only  first-hand  experience  with  it  was  on  the  slope  south  of  Nantucket  lightship 
in  July,  1908,  where  we  captured  21  in  the  Monaco  deep-sea  trap  in  455  fathoms. 
It  must  be  extremely  abundant  along  that  zone,  however,  for  so  many  to  find  their 
way  into  the  trap  in  as  short  a  set  as  two  hours.  It  has  been  recorded  so  often  in 
water  as  shoal  as  200  fathoms  that  it  may  be  expected  in  the  bottom  of  the  Eastern 
Channel  and  in  the  southeastern  deeps  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  ■ 


Fig.  35. — Long-nosed  eel  (Synaphobranchjts  f.innatus) 

Habits. — It  is  partly  parasitic  in  habit,  burrowing  into  the  bodies  of  halibut 
and  other  large  fish,  under  which  circumstances  a  considerable  number  of  specimens 
have  been  brought  in  by  fishermen.  Very  likely  it  was  common  inshore  in  old  days 
when  halibut  were  plentiful  there.  It  also  lives  independently  on  the  bottom. 
Beyond  this  little  is  known  of  its  manner  of  life  and  nothing  of  its  breeding  habits. 
We  may  add  from  experience  that  it  is  as  slimy  as  a  hag — dripping  with  sheets  of 
mucus  when  draAvn  out  of  the  water. 

34.  Long-nosed  eel  (Synaphobranchus  pinnatus  Gronow) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  351. 

Description. — This  deep-sea  species  is  a  typical  eel  in  general  appearance  but 
is  readily  identifiable  by  the  facts  that  while  its  dorsal  fin  originates  about  as  far 
back,  in  relation  to  the  length  of  the  fish,  as  in  the  common  eel  (p.  78),  its  point  of 
origin  is  behind  the  vent  instead  of  in  front  of  it,  and  that  the  anal  fin  originates 
considerably  in  front  of  the  dorsal  fin  instead  of  behind  it,  as  is  the  case  in  all  other 
Gulf  of  Maine  eels.  Furthermore,  its  mouth  is  much  wider,  gaping  far  back  of  the 
eye,  and  its  snout  is  pointed.     The  most  interesting  anatomic  characteristic  of  this 


PISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  85 

eel  is  that  its  gill  openings,  which  open  longitudinally  on  the  lower  side  of  the  throat 
(in  the  common  eel  and  in  the  conger  they  are  situated  on  the  sides  of  the  neck) , 
join  together  at  the  front  end  to  make  what  apparently  is  a  single  V-shaped  aperture, 
though  actually  they  are  separate  within. 

Color. — Described  as  uniform  brown,  darkest  below,  with  the  vertical  fins 
darker  behind,  pale-edged  in  front,  and  the  inside  of  the  mouth  blue  black. 

Size. — -The  largest  of  89  specimens  measured  by  Goode  and  Bean  (1883,  p. 
187)  was  nearly  22  inches  (545  mm.)  long,  the  smallest  about  9  inches  (221  mm.)  in 
length.     CoUett  °'  mentions  one  26  inches  (675  mm.)  in  length  from  the  Azores. 

General  range. — -This  deep-water  species  is  of  very  wide  distribution,  having 
been  taken  near  Madeira,  off  Brazil,  off  Morocco,  near  the  Cape  Verdes,  about  the 
Azores,  and  at  many  localities  off  the  east  coast  of  North  America  from  the  Grand 
Banks  of  Newfoundland  on  the  north  to  the  latitude  of  South  Carolina;  likewise 
about  the  Philippines  and  in  Japanese  waters.  Most  of  the  captures  have  been 
from  depths  of  300  to  1,000  fathoms. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  eel  has  not  actually  been  reported 
within  the  geographic  limits  of  the  Gulf  but  is  to  be  expected  in  the  eastern  channel 
and  possibly  above  150  fathoms  along  the  slopes  of  Georges  Bank,  for  fishermen 
have  caught  them  in  water  as  shallow  as  this  off  La  Have  Bank  on  the  one  hand,  while, 
on  the  other,  specimens  have  been  trawled  in  168  and  129  fathoms  off  southern  New 
England  by  the  Fish  Hawk  and  Albatross.  So  many  of  them  have  been  brought 
in  by  fishermen  °'  from  deep  water  off  the  fishing  banks  to  the  eastward  of  longitude 
65°,  and  so  many  have  been  trawled  along  the  continental  slope  thence  west- 
ward'"j  that  this  eel  must  be  one  of  the  commonest  of  fishes  below  150  to  200  fathoms 
from  the  Grand  Banks  to  abreast  of  New  York. 

Habits. — Nothing  is  known  of  its  habits  except  that  it  is  a  ground  fish,  that  the 
readiness  with  which  it  bites  proves  it  predaceous,  and  that  specimens  in  spawning 
condition  have  been  taken  in  summer.'"  In  its  development  this  species  passes 
through  a  "leptocephalus"  stage  even  more  slender  than  that  of  the  conger  (p.  88)."" 

•'  Rfisultats  des  Campagnes  Scientiflques  du  Prince  de  Monaco,  Part  10,  1896,  p.  164.    Monaco. 

*B  Many  such  instances  are  listed  in  the  Report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries  for  1879  (18S2),  p.  787 

•>  Goode  and  Bean,  1883,  p.  187. 

™  The  "leptocephalus"  larvae  of  the  long-nosed  eel  are  described  and  figured  by  Schmidt  (Rapports  et  Proces-Verbaui, 
Conseil  Permanent  International  pour  I'Exploration  de  la  Mer,  Vol.  V,  No.  4,  1906,  PI.  IX,  figs.  4-6;  and  Meddelelser  fra 
Kommissionen  for  Havunders0gelser,  Vol.  Ill,  Part  1,  1913,  p.  14,  pi.  2,  figs.  1-4. 


86 


BULLETIN    OP   THE   BUREAU   OP  PISHEEIES 


35.  Conger  (Leptocephaliis  conger  Linnseus) 
Sea  EEL 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  354. 
Description. — The  readiest  characters  by  which  to  distinguish  the  conger  from 
other  eels  are  noted  above — notably  the  origin  of  the  dorsal  fin  above  or  only  very 
slightly  behind  the  tip  of  the  pectoral  when  the  latter  is  laid  back,  the  rather  long- 
pointed  snout,  the  large  mouth  cleft  back  at  least  as  far  as  the  middle  of  the  eye,  and 
the  scaleless  sldn.     There  are  also  skeletal  differences  between  this  and  the  common 
eel,"  and  it  has  many  more  vertebras.     The  conformation  of  the  tip  of  the  snout 


■f^W:':  ';\;_4^jj^,;jy^^^>v^^ 


Fia.  36.— Conger  eel  (Leptocephalus  conger) 

a,  Adult,    b,  Egg.    c,  Larva,  9  millimeters,    d.  Larva,  10.2  millimeters,    e,  Leptocephalus  stage,  142  millimeters.    After 
Schmidt. 

likewise  serves  to  identify  the  conger,  for  its  upper  jaw  usually  projects  beyond  the 
lower,  whereas  in  the  eel  the  reverse  is  true,  or  at  least  the  lower  equals  the  upper. 
Furthermore,  the  eyes  of  the  conger  are  oval  and  larger  than  the  round  eyes  of  the 
common  eel.  We  need  only  add  further,  to  give  an  idea  of  the  proportions  of  the 
conger,  that  the  distance  from  tip  of  snout  to  dorsal  fin  is  about  one-fifth  of  the  total 
length,  the  length  of  the  snout  one-fourth  that  of  the  head,  length  of  pectorals 
one-thii'd  to  one-fourth  of  the  distance  from  the  dorsal  fin  to  tip  of  snout,  and  that 
the  body  is  of  the  snake-like  form  characteristic  of  eels  in  general. 


''  For  an  account  of  these  see  Smitt  (Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892). 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  87 

Size. — The  female  conger  grows  to  an  enormous  size,  certainly  to  a  length  of 
4}4  to  8  feet,  the  heaviest  creditably  reported"  weighing  128  pounds  (58  kilos). 
In  European  seas  50  to  60  pounders  are  not  imusual,  and  25  to  30  pounders  are  usual, 
but  few  of  this  size  are  caught  off  New  England.  Males  are  very  much  smaller, 
perhaps  never  more  than  2J4  feet  long.  Congers  taken  near  Block  Island  range 
from  4  to  6  feet  in  length;  the  larger  ones  taken  at  Woods  Hole  usually  weigh  8  to 
12  pounds. 

Color. — Grayish-brown  above,  sometimes  of  a  reddish  tinge,  sometimes  so  dark 
as  to  be  almost  black;  paler  on  the  sides;  dingy  white  below. 

General  range. — The  conger  is  cosmopolitan  in  the  warmer  parts  of  the  Atlantic 
where  it  is  known  as  far  north  as  Scandinavia  on  the  eastern  side  and  Cape  Cod  on 
the  western  side.     It  also  occiu-s  in  the  western  Pacific  and  Indian  oceans. 

Occurrence  in  the  Oulf  of  Maine. — Tlie  Gulf  of  Maine  lies  north  of  the  regular 
range  of  the  conger,  which  is  extremely  rare  there.  The  curious  bandlike  "lep- 
tocephalus"  larva  of  the  conger  has  been  taken  at  Cherrjrfield  and  at  Old  Orchard 
in  Maine,  and  at  Nahant  in  Massachusetts  Bay — a  total,  however,  of  only  six 
specimens,  all  of  which  were  collected  more  than  a  half  century  ago — and  A.  H. 
Clark,  of  the  United  States  National  Museum,  informs  us  that  he  found  large  numbers 
of  leptocephalus  larvte,  perhaps  belonging  to  the  conger,  on  the  beach  at  Man- 
chester, Mass.,  in  the  summer  of  1898  or  1899.  The  only  other  positive  record  for 
this  species  in  the  GuK  of  Maine  is  for  North  Truro  on  Cape  Cod — whether  adult  or 
larva  was  not  stated — nor  have  we  ourselves  ever  seen  or  heard  of  an  adult  conger 
north  of  the  cape.  It  is  more  plentiful  west  and  south  of  Cape  Cod,  being  taken 
at  Woods  Hole  from  July  into  the  autmnn,  and  common  about  Block  Island  from 
August  until  November.'* 

Habits. — Although  the  conger  is  rare  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  its  breeding  habits  are 
sufficiently  remarkable  to  deserve  brief  mention.  It  is  now  well  established  that 
this  species,  like  the  common  eel,  breeds  but  once  during  its  life  and  then  perishes. 
Ripe  congers  are  never  caught  on  hook  and  line,  for  they  cease  to  feed — hence  to 
bite — for  some  time  previous,  but  males  kept  in  aquaria  have  repeatedly  been  known 
to  become  fully  ripe,  females  nearly  so,"  and  then  invariably  dying,  the  ripening  of 
the  sexual  products  being  accompanied  by  changes  in  the  shape  of  the  head,  loss  of 
the  teeth,  and  a  jollification  of  the  bones,  while  the  eyes  of  the  males  become  enor- 
mous and  the  females  are  much  distended  by  the  ovaries.  It  is  probable  that  the 
conger  ripens  off  the  coast  of  New  England  in  summer;  in  captivity  they  have 
been  kno^\^l  to  do  so  every  month  in  the  year  except  October  and  November. 

The  conger,  like  the  common  eel,  moves  out  from  the  coast  to  spawn,  for  its 
young  larvae  have  never  been  taken  inshore,  but  if  the  eggs  described  below  actually 
belonged  to  this  species,  as  is  generally  accepted,  then  the  New  England  stock 
travels  out  only  to  the  edge  of  the  continental  shelf  for  the  pm-pose  and  does  not 
fare  forth  to  far  distant  parts  of  the  Atlantic  Basin  as  does  the  common  eel. 

''  Day:  The  Fishes  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  Text  and  Atlas,  1880.    London  and  Edinborough. 

"  Local  reports  of  congers  do  not  necessarily  relate  to  the  true  conger,  for  the  eel  pout  (p.  378),  which  is  fairly  common  in  the 
Gulf,  is  often  misnamed  thus. 

"  Cunningham  (Journal,  Marine  Biological  Association  of  the  United  Kingdom,  Vol.  U,  new  series,  1891-92,  pp.  16-42)  gives 
an  interesting  account  of  this  and  other  phases  of  the  life  history  of  the  conger. 


88  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OP   FISHERIES 

The  conger  is  an  extremely  prolific  fish,  the  number  of  eggs  a  female  may  produce 
having  been  estimated  as  high  as  from  3  to  6  millions.  Conger  eggs  have  never  been 
identified  with  absolute  certainty,  but  a  considerable  nimiber  of  large  pelagic  eggs 
towed  by  the  Grampus  (presumably  on  the  surface)  over  the  tilefish  groimds  30 
miles  south  of  Nantucket  lightship  on  July  31,  1900,  probably  belonged  to  this 
species,  the  larvoB  hatched  from  them  undoubtedly  being  eels  while  the  eggs  them- 
selves were  as  certainly  not  those  of  the  common  eel.  These  eggs  (fig.  36b)  were 
2.4  to  2.75  mm.  in  diameter  with  1  to  6  oil  globules,  one  invariably  much  larger  than 
the  others.  Tliey  hatched  in  from  two  to  three  days  in  the  Woods  Hole  hatchery, 
suggesting  a  total  incubation  period  of  four  to  five  days  at  the  prevailing  summer 
temperature. 

It  has  long  been  knoAvn  that  the  conger,  like  the  common  eel,  passes  through 
a  peculiar  ribbonlike  larval  stage — the  so-called  "  leptocephalus  "  stage — very  broad 
and  thin  and  perfectly  transparent,  with  a  very  small  head.  In  fact  the  first 
"leptocephalus"  ever  seen  (about  1763)  was  the  larval  conger,  but  although  its 
true  identity  was  suspected  it  was  not  until  1886,  when  the  famous  French  zoologist, 
Delage,"  actually  reared  one  through  its  metamorphosis  at  the  biological  station 
at  Roscoff,  that  the  identity  of  this  larva  was  definitely  established.  The  lep- 
tocephalus of  the  conger  is  relatively  more  slender  than  that  of  the  common  eel,  and 
it  can  always  be  identified  (imder  a  lens)  by  the  fact  that  its  vertebra3  and  muscle 
segments  are  far  more  numerous  (153  to  159  or  more,  as  against  only  about  107  in 
the  American  eel  and  about  114  in  the  European  eel),  and  that  they  grow  to  a 
length  of  150  to  160  mm. 

The  duration  of  the  larval  period  of  the  conger  is  not  known.  The  process  of 
metamorphosis  consists  essentially  in  a  thickening  and  narrowing  of  the  body,  an 
enlargement  of  the  head,  the  formation  of  the  swun  bladder  and  the  permanent 
teeth,  and  the  pigmentation  of  the  skin,  a  change  that  occupied  about  two  months 
(May  to  July)  in  the  case  of  Delage's  specimen.  At  its  completion  his  young 
conger  was  9.3  centimeters  (3.6  inches)  long." 

36.   Snipe  eel  {Nemichihys  scolopaceus  Richardson) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  369. 

Description. — ^The  snipe  eel  is  made  easily  recognizable  by  its  extremely  slender 
body  (the  fish  may  be  75  times  as  long  as  deep),  with  its  tail  tapering  to  a  thread, 
and  by  its  bill-like  jaws,  which  are  equall}'  elongate,  the  upper  one  curving  upward 
but  the  lower  nearly  straight.  The  head  is  much  deeper  than  the  neck,  with  a 
large  eye.  The  dorsal  fin  originates  in  front  of  the  pectoral,  the  anal  about 
abreast  of  the  tip  of  the  latter,  and  both  run  back  to  the  tip  of  the  tail.  There 
has  been  some  confusion  in  the  published  accounts  and  illustrations  as  to  these  two 
fins,  for  while  Vaillant "  shows  both  about  as  Ifigh  throughout  their  length  as  the 

"  Coraptes  Rendus  hebdomadaires  des  s&nces  de  I'Academie  des  Sciences,  vol.  103,  1886,  p.  698.    Paris. 

"  Schmidtlein  (Mittheilungen  aus  der  Zoologischen  Station  zu  Neapel,  Band  I,  1879,  p.  135)  speaks  of  young  "congers"  at 
Naples  in  April  as  hardly  one-third  as  long  as  this,  a  discrepancy  suggesting  that  they  may  actually  have  belonged  to  one  of  the 
Muraenoid  eels. 

"  Poissons.  Expeditions  Scientiflques  du  Travailleur  et  du  Talisman,  Pendant  les  Annte  1S80,  1881,  1882,  1883  (1888), PI. 
Vir,  figs.  2  and  2a.    Paris. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


89 


fish  is  deep,  Goode  and  Bean  (1896,  pi.  46,  fig.  170)  picture  the  dorsal  as  much 
higher  than  the  anal  (the  artist  evidently  having  transposed  the  two  fins) ,  whereas 
Brauer  '°  represents  the  anal  as  approximately  twice  as  high  as  the  dorsal  and  the 
latter  as  soft  rayed  in  its  anterior  and  posterior  portions  but  composed  of  short 
thornlike  spines  over  its  central  third.  In  two  specimens  taken  off  New  England 
and  now  in  the  collections  of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  the  fins  are  as 
follows : 

Dorsal,  soft  rayed  and  nearly  as  high  as  the  body  is  deep  for  its  first  half; 
back  of  that  it  consists  of  a  series  of  very  short,  stiff  jays  that  extend  to  the  tip  of 
the  tail. 

Anal,  soft-rayed  throughout  its  length  and  about  as  high  as  the  body  is  deep, 
tapering  to  almost  nothing  on  the  tail. 

In  part  the  confusion  has  been  due  to  the  rather  fragmentary  state  in  which 
these  deep-water  fish  usually  arrive  on  board,  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  probable 
that  two  distinct  species  have  been  confused  under  the  name  scotopaceus,  as  Brauer 


Fig.  37. — Snipe  eel  (Nemicbthys  scolopaceus) 

suspected.  Both  jaws  and  the  roof  of  the  mouth  as  well  are  thickly  studded  with 
small  sharp  teeth. 

Color. — -Described  as  pale  to  dark  brown  above  with  the  belly  and  anal  fin 
blackish  after  preservation.  Judging  from  experience  with  other  deep-sea  fishes 
and  from  Brauer's  plate  (which,  however,  may  be  another  species),  we  suspect  that 
in  life  it  is  chocolate  brown  above  and  velvety  black  below. 

Size. — Maximum  length  about  3  feet. 

General  range. — The  snipe  eel  has  been  taken  in  the  South  Atlantic,  near  Ma- 
deira, off  the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  off  West  Africa,  in  the  Pacific  north  of  New 
Guinea,  and  in  deep  water  at  many  stations  off  the  east  coast  of  North  America 
between  latitudes  31°  and  42°,  longitudes  65°  and  75°. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — One  specimen  taken  from  the  stomach  of 
a  codfish  caught  on  Georges  Bank  in  45  fathoms  is  the  only  Gulf  of  Maine  record, 
but  several  have  been  taken  in  depths  of  from  300  to  2,000  fathoms  seaward  from 
the  bank. 

Habits. — Although  commonly  spoken  of  as  a  "deep-sea"  fish,  this  species  is 
undoubtedly  an  inhabitant  of  the  mid  depths,  not  of  the  bottom,  and  judging  from 
the  occurrence  of  other  black  fishes  it  probably  finds  its  upper  limit  at  100  to  200 

"  Die  Tiefsee-Fische.    Wissenschattliche  Ergebnisse  der  Deutschen  Tietsee-Eipedition,  1898-1899  (1900),  Band  XV,  Teill 
p.  126,  pi.  9,  flg.  1. 


90  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

fathoms.  Nothing  further  is  known  of  its  habits,  but  Mowbray's  '"  recent  capture 
near  Bermuda  of  a  snipe  eel  clinging  by  its  jaws  to  the  tail  of  a  large  red  snapper 
has  suggested  the  possibility  that  this  is  a  regular  habit  of  this  curious  species. 

THE  TARPONS  AND   HERRINGS.     FAMILIES  ELOPID^ffi)  AND   CLUPEIDJE  «' 

The  Elopidre  are  very  closely  allied  to  the  true  herrings  (Clupeidae),  from 
M'hich  they  differ  in  having  an  elongate,  bony,  interjugular  plate  on  the  throat 
between  the  branches  of  the  lower  jaw.  There  are  only  about  five  species,  all  of 
them  tropical. 

The  herrings  (Clupeidce)  are  soft-finned  fishes  wholly  lacking  spines,  with 
one  short  dorsal  fin,  deeply  forked  tails,  ventral  fins  situated  on  the  abdomen 
far  behind  the  pectorals,  small  teeth,  deep  compressed  bodies,  and  large  scales 
that  slip  off  at  a  touch.  They  are,  perhaps,  the  most  familiar  of  northern  sea 
fishes  and  certainly  are  the  most  abundant  in  number  of  individuals.  Seven  spe- 
cies of  herring  occur  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine — the  round  herring  and  hickorj'  shad, 
very  rare;  the  sea  herring,  alewlfe,  blueback,  and  shad,  regular;  and  the  men- 
haden, irregular  in  its  occurrence.  Among  these  the  round  herring,  shad,  men- 
haden, and  sea  herring  are  named  at  a  glance,  but  the  others  resemble  one  another  so 
closely  that  they  are  often  confused  even  by  the  fishermen  who  constantly  handle 
them. 

KEY   TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   TARPONS  AND   HERRINGS 

1.  Last  dorsal  ray  not  elongate 2 

Last  dorsal  ray  elongate Tarpon,  p.  91 

2.  Belly  rounded Round  herring,  p.  91 

Belly  compressed,  its  edge  sharp 3 

3.  Head  (tip  of  snout  to  edge  of  gill  cover)  not  more  than  one-fourth  the  total  length  of 

the  fish;  free  margins  of  scales  rounded 4 

•  Head  very  large,  occupying  nearly  one-third  the  total  length  of  the  fish;  free  margins 
of  scales  fluted  instead  of  rounded Menhaden,  p.  118 

4.  Tip  of  upper  jaw  deeply  notched,  inclosing  tip  of  lower  when  mouth  is  closed 

Shad,  p.  113 

Tip  of  the  upper  jaw  is  not  notched,  or,  if  notched,  the  lower  jaw  projects  considerably 
beyond  the  upper  when  the  mouth  is  closed 5 

5.  Edge  of  the  belly  is  hardly  serrated,  though  sharp;  the  general  form  is  comparatively  shal- 

low; there  is  a  cluster  of  teeth  on  the  midline  of  the  roof  of  the  mouth.  Sea  herring,  p.  92 
Edge  of  belly  is  strongly  serrated;  general  form  deep;  there  are  no  teeth  in  the  midline 
of  the  roof  of  the  mouth 6 

6.  The  lining  of  the  belly  is  pale  gray 7 

Lining  of  belly  is  black  or  dark  blotched Blueback,  p.  110 

7.  Head  occupies  about  one-fourth  of  total  length  of  fish;  lower  jaw  projects  consider- 

ably beyond  upper;  general  profile  tapers  toward  the  rather  pointed  head  as  well  as 

the  tail Hickory  shad,  p.  105 

Head  occupies  hardly  one-fifth  of  total  length  of  fish;  lower  jaw  hardly  projects  beyond 
upper;  body  deep  and  heavy  forward Alewife,  p.  107 

"  Copeia,  No.  108,  July,  1922,  p.  49. 

"  The  ladyfish  (Elops  saurus  Linnaeus),  a  tropical  species  that  would  reach  the  Gulf  of  Maine  as  a  stray  only,  has  been  re- 
ported by  Halkett  (1913,  p.  45)  at  Black's  Harbor,  Charlotte  County,  New  Brunswick,  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy, 
but  the  specimen  in  question,  which  was  7  inches  long  and  not  in  very  good  condition,  differed  in  some  respects  from  published 
descriptions  of  this  species,  hence  its  identity  is  doubtful. 


PISHES   OF   THE    GULF    OP   MAINE  91 

37.  Tarpon  {Tarpon  ailanticus  Cuvier  and  Valenciennes) 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  409,  fig.  177. 

Description. — The  tarpon  is  herringlike  in  general  form  and  appearance,  but  it 
is  made  easily  recognizable  by  the  fact  that  the  last  ray  of  the  dorsal  fin  is  greatly 
elongated,  its  free  portion  being  as  long  as  or  longer  than  the  fin  is  high,  and  by  the 
presence  of  the  bony  interjugular  plate  mentioned  above  in  the  characterization  of 
the  family  to  which  it  belongs.  Furthermore,  the  anal  fin  of  the  tarpon  is  deeply 
falcate;  that  of  all  Gulf  of  Maine  herrings  rhomboid  in  outline.  The  ventral  fins, 
which  are  situated  under  or  behind  the  dorsal  fin  in  herrings,  alewives,  shad,  and 
menhaden,  are  considerably  in  front  of  the  dorsal  fin  in  the  tarpon,  while  the  lower 
jaw  of  the  latter  projects  relatively  further,  its  scales  are  relatively  lai^er,  and  its 
caudal  fin  is  relatively  wider. 


Fig.  38.— Tarpon  ( Tarpon  ailanticus) 

Color. — Bright  silvery  all  over,  the  back  darker  than  the  belly. 

Size. — Tarpon  grow  to  a  length  of  6  to  S  feet  (longest  recorded,  8  feet  2  inches). 

General  range. — Tropical  and  subtropical  coasts  of  America,  from  Brazil  to  Long 
Island,  casually  to  Cape  Cod,  and  to  Nova  Scotia,  where  it  has  been  recorded 
twice — off  Isaacs  Harbor  and  in  Harrigan  Cove.*^  Its  chief  center  of  abundance 
is  in  the  West  Indies,  about  Florida,  and  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — ^A  specimen  5J^  feet  long,  taken  at  Province- 
town  on  July  25,  1915,'^  is  the  only  record  of  the  tarpon  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  which 
it  reaches  only  as  an  accidental  straggler  from  the  south. 

38.  Round  herring  {Etrumeus  teres  DeKay) 

Stradine 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  420. 

Description. — The  most  diagnostic  feature  of  this  fish  among  herrings  is  that  its 
belly  is  rounded  and  not  sharp  edged.  It  is,  furthermore,  the  most  elongate  of  our 
hen-ings,  its  body  being  only  one-sixth  as  deep  as  long,  thus  suggesting  a  smelt  in 
its  general  outline.     Its  dorsal  fin,  too,  stands  wholly  in  front  of  the  ventrals  instead 

>'  Halkett,  1913,  p.  45. 
"  Radcliffe,  1916,  p.  3. 


92 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 


of  over  the  latter,  as  in  herring,  alewives,  and  shad,  and  there  are  fewer  anal  fin 
raj'S  (only  about  13,  whereas  the  herring  has  about  17,  the  alewife  about  19,  and 
the  shad  about  21)  than  any  of  the  latter. 


Fig.  39. — Round  herring  {Etrumeus  tere 

Color. — ^Olive  green  above  with  silvery  sides  and  belly. 

Size. — Eight  to  ten  inches. 

General  range. — Atlantic  and  Gulf  of  Mexico  coasts  of  the  United  States; 
occasionally  common  as  far  north  as  Woods  Hole,  but  very  rarely  straying  past 
Cape  Cod. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  only  published  Gulf  of  Maine  records  for 
this  southern  fish  are  from  Eastport,  where  the  newspapers  reported  it  in  1908,  and 
from  Jonesport,  Me.,  but  the  collection  of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology 
also  contains  two  specimens  from  Provincetown. 

39.  YL^rving  {Clupea  harengus 'Lma.siViS) 

Labrador  herring;  English  herring;  Sea  herring;  Sardine;  Sperling;  Brit 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  421. 

Description. — This  herring  is  typical  of  its  family  in  form,  with  bo^ly  so  com- 
pressed that  it  is  much  deeper  than  thick,  moderately  pointed  nose,  large  mouth 
situated  at  the  tip  of  the  snout,  and  lower  jaw  projecting  beyond  the  upper,  which 
is  not  notched  at  the  tip  (in  shad  it  is  so  notched,  p.  113),  sharp-edged  belly,?and 
deeply  forked  tail.     The  dorsal  fin  stands  over  the  small  ventrals,  its  origin  about 


Fig.  40.— Herring  (Clupea  harengns) 


midway  the  length  of  the  body.  The  scales  are  large,  their  rear  margins  "roimded 
and  so  loosely  attached  as  to  slip  off  at  a  touch.  There  is  no  adipose  fin,  its'absence 
at  once  distinguishing  herrings  from  any  of  the  salmon  tribe.     The  dorsal  and  anal 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  93 

fins  have  no  true  spines  nor  is  there  a  lateral  line.  The  anatomical  character 
separating  the  sea  herring  from  the  several  alewives  (genus  Pomolobus)  is  the 
presence  of  an  oval  patch  of  small  teeth  on  the  vomer  bone  in  the  center  of  the  roof 
of  the  mouth  in  the  former,  but  even  without  this  test  a  practiced  eye  can  separate 
herrings  from  alewives  at  a  glance  by  the  comparatively  shallow  bodies  of  the 
former  and  the  deeper  outlines  of  the  latter,  a  difference  better  shown  in  the  illustra- 
tions. Furthermore,  the  sharp  midline  of  the  belly  is  but  weakly  serrate  in  the 
herring,  while  in  the  alewives  it  is  saw-toothed. 

Size. — Herring  grow  to  a  length  of  about  17  inches. 

Color. — Deep  steel  blue  or  greenish  blue  on  the  back  with  green  reflections; 
the  sides  and  belly  silvery;  the  change  from  dark  belly  to  pale  sides  often  marked  by 
a  greenish  band.  The  gill  covers  sometimes  glisten  with  a  golden  or  brassy  gloss; 
indeed,  fish  just  out  of  the  water  are  iridescent  all  over  with  different  hues  of  blue, 
green,  and  violet,  beauties  that  soon  fade,  however,  leaving  only  the  dark  back  and 
silvery  sides.  The  ventral  and  anal  fins  are  transparent  white;  the  pectorals,  how- 
ever, are  dark  at  the  base  and  along  the  upper  edge;  the  caudal  and  dorsal  dark 
grayish  or  shading  into  green  or  blue. 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic.  Off  the  European  coast  the 
herring  ranges  north  to  Norway,  Spitzbergen,  and  the  White  Sea,  as  well  as  to  Ice- 
land and  Greenland;  south  to  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar.  On  the  American  coast  it 
is  known  as  far  north  as  northern  Labrador ;  regularly  and  commonly  as  far  south  as 
Block  Island,  though  most  abundant  north  of  Cape  Cod ;  and  it  is  occasionally  seen 
at  Cape  Hatteras  in  winter.  It  is  replaced  by  a  close  ally  (C.  pallasii)  in  the  North 
Pacific. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  herring  is  probably  the  most  numerous 
fish  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  as  it  is  in  the  North  Atlantic  generally.  To  list  the  locali- 
ties where  it  has  been  recorded  would  be  to  mention  every  hamlet  along  the  coast 
from  which  fishing  boats  put  out,  for  it  is  universal  at  one  season  or  another  around 
the  whole  coast  line  of  the  Gulf  as  well  as  offshore.  Off  most  parts  of  the  coast, 
however,  the  appearance  of  schools  of  herring,  large  or  small,  is  distinctly  a  seasonal 
phenomenon,  and  inasmuch  as  its  on  and  off  shore  migrations  are  intimately  bound 
up  with  the  phenomena  of  reproduction  and  growth  a  brief  consideration  of  these 
may  precede  the  more  detailed  discussion  of  its  occurrence. 

Breeding  habits. — ^o  much  study  has  been  devoted  to  the  natural  history  of  the 
herring  by  European  zoologists,  as  well  as  by  Moore  (1898)  and  Huntsman  (1919,  and 
unpublished  notes)  in  our  own  Gulf,  and  by  Lea  ^*  in  more  northern  Canadian 
waters,  that  we  have  very  good  knowledge  of  its  breeding  habits  in  general  and  of 
its  early  growth.     This  may  be  briefly  summarized  as  follows: 

It  has  long  been  known  that  the  eggs  of  the  herring  sink  to  the  bottom,  where, 
by  means  of  their  coating  of  mucus,  they  stick  in  layers  or  clumps  to  the  sand  or 
clay,  seaweeds,  stones,  or  any  other  objects  they  chance  to  settle  on.  They  are 
often  found  massed  on  net  warps,  anchors,  and  anchor  rodes.  The  eggs  are  1  to  1.4 
mm.  in  diameter,  depending  on  the  size  of  the  pai'ent  fish  and  also,  perhaps,  on  the 
local  race  of  fish  involved.     Females — again  according  to  their  age  and  size — 

"  Age  and  growth  ot  the  herrings  in  Canadian  waters.    Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919)  pp.  75-164. 


94 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


deposit  from  20,000  to  upwards  of  40,000  eggs,  averaging  about  30,000.  In  sexually 
mature  herrings,  just  before  spawning  commences,  the  genital  organs  are  so  large 
as  to  make  up  about  one-fifth  the  total  weight  of  the  fish.  The  period  of  incubation 
is  governed  by  temperature — European  students  tell  us  that  it  requires  as  long  as 
40  days  at  38.3°  F.,  1.5  days  at  44°  to  46°  F.,  and  11  days  at  50°  to  51°  F.,  while 
experiments  on  the  Massachusetts  coast  by  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries  gave  10  to 
12  days  in  the  temperature  prevailing  there  in  autumn.  Ten  to  fifteen  days  might 
be  stated'as  kn  average  for  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 


Fig.  41. — Eggs  of  the  herring  ( Clupea  barengus)  attached  to  seaweed,    .\fter  Ehrenbaurn 

Spawning  grounds  in  the  Oulfof  Maine. — Herring  spawn  all  along  the  shores  of 
the  Gulf  of  Maine  wherever  the  bottom  is  suitable,  from  Grand  Manan  on  the  east 
to  Cape  Cod  on  the  west,  as  well  as  along  the  western  shores  of  Nova  Scotia,  as, 
for  instance,  about  the  Trinity  Ledges  (an  important  breeding  ground),  thougli 
whether  as  universally  there  we  have  not  been  able  to  learn.  Probably  the  most 
productive  spawning  ground  within  the  limits  of  the  Gulf  is  at  the  mouth  of  the 
■  Bay  of  Fundy,  particularly  about  Grand  Manan.  At  present,  according  to  Hunts- 
man, herring  spawn  only  locally,  e.  g.,  at  Minas  Basin,  in  the  inner  part  of  the  bay. 


FISHES    OF   THE   GUIiF    OF    MAINE  95 

From  there  westward  the  presence  of  spawning  herring  has  been  recorded  in  Machias 
Bay,  about  Jonesport,  at  Mount  Desert,  in  Frenchmans  Bay,  among  the  islands  at 
the  moutli  of  Penobscot  Bay  (Swans,  Isle  au  Haut,  and  Matinicus  *^),  in  Casco  Bay, 
and  especially  about  Wood  Island,  a  few  miles  south  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  which  has 
long  been  known  as  the  resort  of  tremendous  breeding  schools.  Herring  also  spawn 
off' the  beaches  along  the  western  shore  of  the  Gulf — Ipswich  Bay,  for  example, 
about  Cape  Ann,  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  about  Provincetown,  along  Cape  Cod,  in 
the  Woods  Hole  region,  near  No  Mans  Land,  and  about  Block  Island,  which  is  the 
southern  breeding  limit.  Spawning  takes  place  both  along  the  shore  line  and  generally 
on  the  various  reefs  and  shoals  that  lie  from  5  to  25  miles  off  the  coast  of  Maine, 
a  habit  betrayed  by  the  eggs  "  that  are  found  adhering  to  rodes  of  vessels  and  boats 
engaged  in  the  cod  and  haddock  fisheries."*"  Indeed,  as  Moore  suggests,  it  may 
well  be  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  herring  of  our  coasts  are  hatched  on  these 
offshore  shoals.  We  find  no  definite  record  of  herring  spawning  on  Georges  or 
Browns  Banks,  nor  is  it  likely  that  they  do  so  on  the  muddy  bottoms  of  the  deeper 
basins  of  the  Gulf.  Herring  spawn  chiefly  on  hard,  rocky,  pebbly,  gravelly,  or 
sandy  bottoms,  to  some  extent  on  clay,  and  probably  never  on  soft  mud. 

Depth  of  spawning. — Herring  are  not  loio'iMi  to  spawn  in  the  httoral  zone  in  our 
Gulf  west  of  Grand  Manan  (possibly  the  spring-spawming  fish  may  have  done  so 
of  old  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy),  nor  is  the  spawn  ever  cast  up  on  the  New  England 
beaches  by  the  surf,  a  fate  that  often  overtakes  it  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 
Both  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and  along  the  coasts  of  Maine  and  Massachusetts  eggs 
are  deposited  cliieflr  from  a  depth  of  2  or  3  down  to  30  fathoms.  Wliile  no  absolute 
depth  limits  can  be  established  it  is  not  likeh'  that  our  Gulf  of  Maine  herring  ever 
spawn  below  75  fathoms  (in  Scandinavian  waters  herring  occasionally  spawn  down 
to  even  100  fathoms),  for  to  do  so  would  involve  the  deposition  of  the  eggs  on  soft 
mud  bottom,  where  they  would  be  in  danger  of  smothering. 

Season  of  spawning. — It  has  long  been  known  that,  according  to  locality,  the 
herring  spa^vn  in  spring,  summer,  or  autumn,  or  in  both  spring  and  autumn,  as,  for 
example,  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  it  is  established  that  both  spring-spawning 
and  summer-fall  spawning  schools  of  herring  formerly  existed  in  the  Baj'  of  Fundy. 
These  spring  spawners  visited  both  the  south  (Nova  Scotian)  side  of  the  bay  from 
Brier  Island  at  its  mouth  in  as  far  as  Digby  Gut,  and  the  St.  Andrews  region  on  the 
New  Brunswick  shore  near  the  mouth  of  the  bay,  spawning  there  during  April  and 
May.  However,  they  were  never  very  numerous  except  in  restricted  localities  and 
have  now  vanished,  temporarily  at  least.  Spring-spawning  as  well  as  autumn- 
spawning  herring  were  likewise  reported  to  us  by  the  fishermen  along  the  west  coast 
of  Nova  Scotia,  though  this  we  have  not  been  able  to  verify.  Other  than  tliis,  spring 
spawners  are  neither  recorded  nor  rumored  anywhere  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

According  to  Moore  the  breeding  schools  arrive  in  June  at  Grand  Manan, 
which  may  fairly  be  termed  the  premier  spawning  ground,  to  spawn  from  then  until 

8«  According  to  fishermen's  reports,  says  Moore,  spawning  herring  were  unknown  at  Matinicus  until  18S0;  since  then  the 
neighborhood  has  been  a  productive  spawning  ground. 
"•  Moore  (1898,  p.  40-3). 

102274— 25t 7 


96 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHEKIES 


late  in  the  fall,  with  the  heaviest  runs  in  July,  August,  and  the  first  part  of  September, 
though  Doctor  Huntsman  writes  that  in  1917  the  season  lasted  only  from  early 
August  to  early  October.  In  Machias  Bay,  near  by,  hei'ring  spawn  at  about  the  same 
season,  that  is,  from  mid-July  until  the  end  of  September.  Passing  thence  westward 
we  find  the  breeding  period  progressively  later  and  shorter — mid-August  imtil 
October  about  Petit  Manan  and  near  Mount  Desert;  mid-September  until  the  end 
of  October  near  Casco  Bay  and  off  Wood  Island ;  September  20  until  about  Novem- 
ber 1  in  Ipswich  Bay;^'  the  month  of  October  in  Massachusetts  Bay;  while  west  of 


Fig. 42. — Larval  stages  of  the  herring  (Clupea  harengas).    After  Ehrenbaum 
a.  Newly  hatched,  7  millimeters.    6.  10  millimeters,    c.  19  millimeters,    d.  29  millimeters,    e.  Fry,  41  millimeters. 

Cape  Cod  the  herring  do  not  begin  to  spawn  until  mid  or  late  October,  with  the  major 
production  of  eggs  about  the  1st  of  November.  Thus,  while  spawTiing  occupies 
three  months  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  it  lasts  hardly  longer  than  one 
month  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  GuK  besides  commencing  some  three  months 
later  in  the  j'ear. 

Temperature  at  which  spawning  taTces  place. — Thanks  to  the  considerable  num- 
bers of  serial  observations  taken  in  the  Gulf  by  the  Grampus  during  the  past  10 
years  and  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  hj  the  Biological  Board  of  Canada,  it  is  now  possible 
to  estabhsh  the  temperature  at  which  herring  spawn  in  our  waters  more  closely  than 

«  Allen.    Memoirs,  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  vol.  8,  No.  2,  1916,  p.  201,  jUe  E.  R  Haskell,  of  Ipswich,  Mass. 


FISHES   OF   THE    GULF    OF    MAINE  97 

Moore  was  able  to  do  it.  Doctor  Huntsman  has  informed  us  that  on  the  Grand 
Manan  ground  (where  the  temperature  is  kept  practicallj^  uniform,  verticalh',  b}' 
the  violent  tides)  herring  begin  spawning  when  the  water  warms  to  about  46°  to 
47°  F.  The  temperature  there  rises  to  only  about  48°  at  5  to  20  fathoms  depth  at 
the  height  of  the  breeding  season.  Near  Eastport,  too,  the  average  range  of  tem- 
perature from  the  surface  down  to  5  fathoms  is  only  about  44.6°  to  52°  for  July, 
August,  and  the  first  half  of  September,  while  a  comparison  of  our  temperature 
records  with  the  breeding  season  at  different  locaUties  shows  that  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  Gulf  practically  all  spawning  is  carried  out  in  temperatures  of  46°  to  52°.  In 
the  southern  part  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  along  the  shores  of  Cape  Cod,  M'here 
autumnal  cooling  of  the  surface  waters  is  not  as  rapid  as  farther  north,  herring  may 
spawn  in  slightly  warmer  water,  say  up  to  53°  or  55°.  The  Gulf  of  Maine  herring 
spaA\'n  in  rather  low  salinities  (such,  indeed,  characterize  the  coastal  zone  as  a 
whole  as  compared  with  the  North  and  Norwegian  Seas) ,  the  most  saline  water  in 
which  it  is  known  to  spa-\vn  witliin  our  limits  being  not  salter  than  33  per  mille,  the 
freshest  probably  about  31.9  per  mille.  They  never  spawn  in  brackish  water  ^ntllin 
the  limits  of  the  Gulf,  although  known  to  do  so  in  the  almost  fresh  water  of  the 
mouths  of  certain  European  rivers. 

LarvEe  of  the  herring  family  are  extremely  slender  and  can  easily  be  distin- 
guished from  all  other  young  Gulf  of  Maine  fish  of  similar  form  (e.  g.,  launce,  smelt, 
or  rock  eel)  by  the  location  of  the  vent,  which  is  so  far  back  that  it  lies  close  to  the 
base  of  the  tail,  but  it  requires  critical  examination  to  distinguish  our  several 
clupeoids  from  one  another  in  their  early  stages. 

The  sea  herring  is  about  5  to  6  mm.  long  at  hatching,  with  a  small  yolk  sac  that  is 
absorbed  by  the  time  a  length  of  about  10  mm.  is  reached.  The  dorsal  fin  is  formed 
at  15  to  17  mm.;  the  anal  at  about  30  mm.;  the  ventrals  are  visible  and  tail  well 
forked  at  20  to  35  mm.;  and  at  about  40  mm.  the  little  fish  begins  to  look  like  a 
herring. 

According  to  Huntsman's  observations  fry  produced  on  the  Grand  Manan 
spawning  grounds  in  late  summer  and  early  autumn  grow  to  a  length  of  17  to  20 
mm.  by  the  end  of  November  or  first  of  December,  but  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  the  rate  of  growth  slackens  during  the  winter  season,  not  only  from 
studies  made  elsewhere  but  because  we  have  taken  fry  only  26  to  50  mm.  long  in 
March  and  April  (p.  100),  while  young  herring  50  to  60  mm.  long  are  abundant  in 
the  St.  Andrews  region  in  June.  These  yearlings  grow  to  about  90  to  125  mm.  at 
the  end  of  their  first  year  of  life,  fish  of  that  size,  presumably  of  the  previous  autumn 's 
hatch,  being  abundant  in  the  fall  of  the  year  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  This  works 
out  at  an  average  growth  of  about  10  mm.  per  month  for  the  warm  half  of  the  year, 
which  corresponds  fairly  closely  with  the  rate  at  Woods  Hole  where,  according 
to  Smith,  young  herring  spawned  in  October  and  early  November  are  7  mm.  long 
in  January,  25  to  32  mm.  in  May,  65  to  76  mm.  in  August,  and  76  to  125  mm.  in 
their  first  autumn.  In  Norwegian  waters,  too,  according  to  Hjort,  the  herring  is 
about  125  mm.  long  at  the  end  of  its  first  year  of  life,^^  and  North  Sea  herring  are 

88  Huntsman  (1919)  believed  he  could  recognize  spring  as  well  as  autumn-spawned  herring  fry  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and 
credits  them  with  a  length  of  about  90  mm.  by  the  first  and  150  mm.  by  the  second  winter.  This,  however,  would  seem  to  call 
or  confirmation,  it  being  unlikely  that  herring  now  spawn  in  the  Bay  in  spring  (p.  95). 


98  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

about  100  inin.  long  when  1  year  old.  On  the  average,  then,  a  yearling  is  between 
S}4  and  5  inches  long. 

Subsequent  growth. — The  herring  has  proved  a  particularly  favorable  object 
for  ago  and  growth  studies  based  on  the  structure  of  the  scales,  a  method  of  investi- 
gation that  has  led  to  a  great  advance  in  the  knowledge  of  the  life  histories  of  many 
of  our  important  food  fishes  during  the  past  20  years  So  easily  are  herring  scales 
interpreted,  thanks  to  their  distinct  summer  and  winter  rings, '"  that  confidence  can 
be  placed  in  the  age-determinations  of  the  many  thousands  of  herrings  that  have  now 
been  examined  and  in  the  correlations  between  age  and  size  resulting  therefrom,  thit 
phase  being  better  known  for  the  herring  than  for  any  other  fish.  Without  enter- 
ing into  this  subject,  which  would  lead  us  far  afield,  we  may  poiat  out  that  herring 
not  only  grow  at  different  rates  and  that  the  contrast  between  the  rapid  growth  of 
sunmaer  and  the  slow  growth  of  the  winter  is  greater  or  less  in  different  seas,  but 
that  in  some  localities  herring  grow  rapidly  when  young  and  slowly  thereafter, 
while  in  others  they  may  grow  slowly  at  first  but  sustain  a  more  even  growth  to 
old  age,  a  contrast  of  this  sort  obtaining  between  the  herrings  of  the  Magdalen 
Islands  and  of  the  west  coast  of  Newfoundland."" 

The  Dogger  Bank  herring  in  the  North  Sea  (to  mention  a  couple  of  European 
examples  only)  approximate  4  inches  in  length  at  the  end  of  the  first  year,  83^  to  9 
inches  at  the  end  of  the  third,  lO]/i  uiches  at  the  end  of  the  sixth,  and  11J4  to  12 
inches  at  the  end  of  the  ninth  year  of  life,  though  with  considerable  variation  due, 
no  doubt,  to  varying  food  supply  and  to  the  general  suitability  of  the  conditions 
under  which  they  live.  According  to  Hjort  °'  Norwegian  herring  spawned  in  the 
year  1899  and  examined  at  10  years  of  age  exhibited  the  following  growth:  33^ 
inches  at  1  year,  734  inches  at  3  yeai-s,  11 34  inches  at  6  years,  123^  inches  at  9  yeare, 
and  about  12%  inches  at  10  years.  From  this  it  is  evident  that  they  did  not  grow 
90  fast  as  the  North  Sea  fish  at  first,  but  attained  the  same  size  at  6  to  9  years  of  age. 

Huntsman  (1919)  credits  the  Bay  of  Fundy  herring  with  about  the  same  growth — 
4  inches  at  the  end  of  its  first  and  10  inches  at  the  end  of  the  third  year — as  the 
Dogger  Bank  fish,  maldng  most  of  their  growth  from  May  to  September.  Probably 
the  growth  period  lasts  a  month  later  in  the  southern  parts  of  our  Gulf.  In  Nor- 
wegian watei's  it  has  been  found  that  herring  grow  from  April  to  September  only, 
remaining  practically  stationary  in  length  from  October  imtil  March. "- 

Size  at  maturity. — According  to  Moore,  who  examined  thousands  of  fish 
about  Eastport,  herring  rarely  spawn  when  less  than  93^  inches  long,  usually  not 
until  they  are  10  to  103^  inches,  with  most  of  the  spa^smers  12  to  13  inches  long. 
This  he  interpreted  to  mean  that  some  few  spawn  when  only  2  or  3  years  old — 
most  of  them,  however,  first  at  4  years  or  older — to  continue  spawning  annuallj' 

'»  See  Einar  Lea  (Age  and  growth  of  the  herrings  in  Canadian  waters.  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919,)  pp. 
75-164)  for  an  account  of  age-determination  by  analysis  of  the  scales,  as  it  applies  to  the  herring. 

»»  Hjort,  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919),  pp.  xi-xiviii,  and  Lea,  /lid.,  pp.  75-164. 

•'  Conseil  Permanent  International  pour  I'Exploration  de  la  Mer,  Rapports  et  Proces-Verbaux,  Vol.  XX,  1914,  228  pp. 
3  pis.    Copenhague. 

•'  Lea,  Einar;  A  study  on  the  growth  of  herrings.  Conseil  Permanent  Internatonal  pour  I'Exploration  dela  Mer,  Publica- 
tions de  Circonstance  No.  61  (1911),  pp.  35-57.  Hjort,  Johan;  Fluctuations  in  the  great  fisheries  of  northern  Europe,  viewed  in 
the  light  of  biological  research.  Conseil  Permanent  International  pour  I'Exploration  de  la  Mer,  Rapports  et  Proces-Verbaux, 
Vol.  XX,  1914,  228  pp.,  3  pls.    Copenhague. 


FISHES    OF    THE    GULF   OF   MAINE  99 

thereafter  as  long  as  they  live.  In  Norwegian  waters,  too,  a  few  spawn  at  3,  many 
at  4,  and  the  majority  at  5  years  of  age  and  upwards;  some  few,  indeed,  not  until 
6  years.     Herring  as  old  as  20  years  have  been  seen,  and  they  may  live  even  longer. 

Success  of  reproduction. — The  maintenance  of  the  stock  of  any  fish  and  its 
relative  abundance  from  year  to  year  depends  less  on  how  many  fish  spawn  in  any 
locality  than  on  how  many  of  the  resultant  fry  survive.  The  many  age  analyses 
made  of  herring  of  different  sizes  and  from  various  seas  have  proven  that  while  in 
some  years  a  very  large  crop  of  young  fish  is  produced,  in  others  hardly  any  are 
obtained  even  in  favorable  nurseries.  Apparently  this  applies  more  to  the  northern 
than  to  the  southern  breeding  grounds — to  some  extent,  however,  to  all — the  result 
being  that  the  fish  spawned  in  some  one  favorable  breeding  season  may  dominate 
the  herring  schools  over  large  areas  for  many  years  or  imtil  another  good  breeding 
year  produces  another  large  crop.  In  Norwegian  waters,  for  example,  few  herring 
were  raised  in  1903  but  so  many  were  produced  in  1904  that  fish  of  that  year  pre- 
dominated in  the  catches  for  the  next  six  yeare  at  least. 

Unfortunately  information  along  this  line  is  yet  unavailable  from  the  Gulf 
of  Maine. °'  No  doubt  similar  fluctuations  occur  in  the  crop  there,  too,  for 
Lea"'  found  that  fully  50  per  cent  of  the  herring  taken  at  West  Ardoise  and 
Lockport  on  the  outer  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  in  1914  belonged  to  the  year-class 
spawned  in  1911,  whereas  on  the  west  coast  of  Newfoundland  fish  hatched  in  1904 
dominated  the  spring  catches  of  1914  and  1915.  Various  explanations,  such  as 
abundance  or  scarcity  of  microscopic  plankton,  favorable  or  unfavorable  tempera- 
ture or  salinity,  etc.,  have  been  proposed  to  account  for  this,  aU  of  which  may  enter 
in,  for  while  it  is  during  the  first  few  weeks  of  life  that  the  herring  is  most  vulnerable 
it  is  also  possible  that  the  conditions  under  which  the  parent  fish  lived  for  the  year 
preceding  spawning  may  influence  the  fate  of  the  fry.  Whatever  the  explanation, 
the  fact  that  such  fluctuations  do  occur  from  year  to  year  in  the  stock  of  fry  reared 
is  of  the  greatest  practical  interest  to  all  concerned  with  the  sea  fisheries,  as  evi- 
dence that  variations  existing  in  the  stock  of  herring,  and  consequently  in  the  catch, 
are  due  more  to  the  success  or  failm-e  of  reproduction  than  to  depletion  by  over 
fishing. 

Seasonal  movements  of  herring  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  life  of  the  herring 
may  be  divided,  roughly,  into  three  stages  correlated  with  differences  in  distribu- 
tion and  seasonal  movements.  First,  the  young  and  "sardine";  second,  the  imma- 
ture "fat";  and  third,  the  mature  "spawn."  When  the  little  herring  reach  an  age 
of  about  2  years  and  a  length  of  190  to  200  mm.  they  begin  to  accumulate  large 
amounts  of  fat  among  the  body  tissues  and  viscera  during  their  period  of  active 
growth  in  the  warm  months  of  the  year,  and  lose  this  fat  in  winter  and  at  the 
approach  of  sexual  matiu-ity.  We  can  bear  witness — the  fact  is  well  known  to 
fishermen — that  the  "fat"  stage  is  as  characteristic  of  American  waters  as  of 
European,  where  "fat"  herring  are  the  objects  of  extensive  fisheries. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  most  of  the  herring  larvje  hatch  and  pass  the  first  couple 
of  months  of  their  existence  at  a  time  of  year  (September  to  February)  when  we 

"  Herring  studies  had  been  one  ot  Mr.  Welsh's  major  undertaking.^. 
"  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919),  p.  131,  flg.  38. 


100  BULLETIN    OP   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

have  made  few  hauls  in  the  coastal  waters  of  their  nativity,  we  have  taken  very 
few  smaller  than  20  mm.  long  in  our  tow  nets.  The  largest  catch  was  in  Gloucester 
Harbor  where  larv£e  of  only  9  to  11  mm.  (spawned  but  a  few  weeks  previous) 
swarmed  on  October  24,  1916.  Huntsman,  however,  has  been  able  to  follow  the 
migrations  of  September-spawned  herring  off  Grand  Manan,"^  his  general  and  we 
believe  justifiable  conclusion  being  that  for  a  short  time  the  larva  are  carried  passively 
in  the  water,  resulting  in  a  drift  to  the  southwest,  with  the  set  out  of  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  at  a  rate  of  about  2  miles  per  day,  but  that  they  turn  back  and  make  head- 
way against  the  current  (technically  become  "contranatant")  when  no  more  than 
18  mm.  long.'"' 

Probably  the  young  herring  sink  down  into  the  water  a  few  fathoms  deep 
during  their  fii'st  winter  to  escape  the  extreme  chilling  of  the  surface  stratum,  while 
our  tow  nettings  afford  evidence  that  before  the  following  spring  they  become  very 
widely  dispersed  over  the  Gulf,  for  during  March  and  April  of  1920  we  took  odd 
specimens  at  localities  as  generally  distributed  as  the  neighborhood  of  Cashes 
Ledge,  the  northern  and  eastern  parts  of  Georges  Bank,  the  north  Channel,  off 
Seal  Island  and  Yarmouth  (Nova  Scotia),  off  Lurcher  Shoal,  off  Machias,  Me., 
both  near  land  and  out  over  the  deep  basin,  near  Boothbay,  and  near  the  Isles  of 
Shoals.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  majority  of  any  particular  body  of  fry 
hatched  together  remain  near  their  birthplace,  for  not  only  may  little  herring  be  taken 
just  outside  the  Bay  of  Fundy  in  winter  (though  they  desert  its  estuaries  then), 
but  they  reappear,  grown  to  a  length  of  2  to  3  inches,  along  our  entire  shore 
line  in  myraids  with  the  advent  of  spring.  This  reappearance  takes  place  about 
the  middle  of  April — sometimes  as  early  as  the  last  of  March — in  Massachusetts 
Bay;  in  April  and  May  along  the  eastern  coast  of  Maine,  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and 
on  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia.  East  of  Penobscot  Bay  generally,  and  particu- 
larly about  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  "sardine"  size  herring  from  3  to 
8  inches  long,  including  1  and  2  year  olds,  maybe  expected  in  abundance  all  summer, 
though  the  schools  wander  and  are  so  local  in  their  appearances  and  disappearances 
that  they  may  swarm  in  one  bay  while  sought  in  vain  a  few  miles  away.  In  the 
southwestern  part  of  the  Gulf,  however,  as  exemplified  by  Massachusetts  Bay, 
it  is  probable  (though  not  yet  proven)  that  yearlings  do  not  appear  until  several 
months  later  than  the  fish  of  2  to  3  inches  hatched  the  preceding  autumn,  for  while 
these  are  reported  as  more  or  less  abundant  throughout  the  spring,"  especially  in 
such  partially  inclosed  waters  as  Provincetown  Harbor  and  Plymouth  and  Duxbury 
Bays,  they  apparently  move  out  again  during  the  early  part  of  summer,  being  far 
less  plentiful  in  June  than  in  April  and  May,  and  it  is  not  until  late  July  or  August 
that  "sperhng"  of  5  to  7  inches  (fish  in  then-  second  summer)  appear  in  numbers 
off  the  Massachusetts  coast. 

Even  in  a  region  as  small  as  Massachusetts  Bay  wide  local  variation  obtains 
in  the  abundance  and  time  of  appearance  of  the  "sperling."  At  Provincetown.  for 
example,  they  may  be  expected  in  schools  plentiful  enough  to  be  worth  "torching" 

w  Doctor  Huntsman  allows  us  to  quote  from  unpublished  notes. 
■  »  This  requires  confirmation,  as  Doctor  Huntsman  remarks  in  his  notes. 
•'  Being  too  small  for  bait,  and  there  being  no  sardine  factories  on  Massachusetts  Bay,  no  attention  is  paid  to  the  smallest 
herring  there,  and  consequently  little  is  known  about  them  during  their  first  spring  and  summer. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  101 

any  time  after  mid-July.  At  Cohasset,  however,  near  the  head  of  the  Bay,  this 
seldom  happens  before  September,  but  we  ourselves  have  seen  "sperling"  very 
plentiful  there,  singly  and  in  small  companies,  in  July  and  August. 

During  the  autiunn  these  two  year  classes  (the  fish  in  their  first  year  have 
grown  to  a  length  of  3  or  4  inches;  those  in  their  second  year  to  7  to  9  inches  by 
September)  together  with  the  large  spa-\vning  adults  are  very  abundant  all  around 
the  shore  line  of  our  Gulf,  but  they  begin  to  thin  out  after  the  middle  of  October, 
and  when  mnter  sets  in  the  fish  that  are  then  1  and  2  years  old  move  out  into 
deeper  water  once  more,  few  being  taken  after  early  December.  Proliabh^  they 
winter  mostly  on  the  bottom,  for  schools  are  very  seldom  reported  on  the  surface 
then,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  bulk  of  them  travel  far,  for  herring 
of  all  sizes  are  to  be  found  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  all  mnter  and  are  even  caught 
occasionally  in  the  weirs  near  Eastport  as  late  as  February,  being  seen  again  as 
early  as  March  and  April. 

It  is  during  the  third  summer,  when  the  Gulf  of  Maine  herring  is  past  the 
"sardine"  or  "sperling"  stage  and  has  not  yet  reached  spawning  age,  that  least  is 
known  about  its  movements.  It  is  now  "fat"  and  termed  a  "sea"  or  "summer" 
herring  locally.  Our  "fat"  herring  lie  offshore  more  than  do  the  younger  fish,  and 
although  numbers  of  them  are  taken  in  the  weirs  and  traps  all  along  the  coast  there 
seems  to  be  no  definite  run  of  them  inshore.  On  the  other  hand  they  are  often 
met  far  at  sea,  and  it  is  generally  taken  for  granted  that  the  schools  of  herring 
encountered  out  in  the  open  Gulf  in  summer  bfelong  to  this  category,  for  when  a 
mackerel  seiner  picks  up  svich  a  school  "^  the  fish  usually  are  very  fat  and  show  no 
signs  of  approaching  sexual  maturity. 

Some  years' these  "summer"  herring,  weighing  about  1  pound  and  very  fat 
(locally  they  are  called  "spawn"  herring,  but  this  is  an  error),  are  taken'in  the  traps 
at  Provincetown  for  a  week  or  so  about  mid-April.  They  are  met  at  about  the 
same  time  off  Gloucester  (in  1915  they  were  reported  8  to  15  miles  off  Cape  Ann  on 
the  17th),  and  they  are  said  by  the  fishermen  to  work  eastward  thereafter,  being 
found  off  Seguin  in  May  and  June  and  off  Mount  Desert  in  late  summer.  As  a 
rule  few  of  them  are  taken  inside  the  islands,  but  these  "fat"  herring  came  right 
into  the  harbor  of  Boothbay  about  May  14  in  1914.  Fishermen  universallj^  agree 
that  they  follow  the  coast  only  as  far  east  as  Mount  Desert  Rock,  hence  it  is  prob- 
able that  they  pass  the  late  summer  and  early  autumn  offshore  in  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  Gulf,  after  which  they  drop  out  of  sight. 

The  large  mature  herring  (in  the  fourth  summer  and  older)  live  some  distance 
offshore  during  most  of  the  year  and,  as  European  experience  suggests,  near  bottom, 
coming  inshore  only  to  spawn,  for  they  are  neither  caught  along  shore  nor  seen 
schooling  on  the  surface  except  for  a  brief  period  before,  during,  and  after  the 
spawning  season.  Since  they  are  to  be  found  throughout  the  year  in  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  however,  it  is  not  probable  that  they  travel  far.  The  date  of  their  appear- 
ance on  the  coast  depends  not  only  on  the  date  v/hen  spa^vning  commences  (p.  96), 
but  to  some  extent  on  purely  geographical  conditions,  for  they  show  about  the 

ss  Many  events  of  this  sort  have  been  reported.    For  example,  a  large  catch  of  fat  summer  herring  was  made  on  Georges 
Bank  and  reported  to  the  Massacliusetts  Commissioners  in  the  midsummer  of  1901. 


102  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

off-lying  islands  some  time  before  they  make  their  way  up  the  bays,  two  or  three 
weeks  earlier,  for  instance,  at  Grand  Manan,  Jonesport,  and  about  Mount  Desert 
Island  than  within  Machias  Bay.  At  Isle  au  Haut,  at  the  eastern  entrance  of 
Penobscot  Bay,  and  at  Castine,  within  tne  Bay,  they  appear  some  time  after  the 
middle  of  July,  but  not  until  the  end  of  that  month  or  the  first  of  August  at 
Matinicus,  while  tlioy  are  not  to  be  expected  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region 
imtU  the  last  week  in  September.  By  October  they  are  in  full  force  all  along  the 
shore  of  the  Gulf  from  Cape  Cod  to  Grand  Manan,  and  are  equally  widespread,  if 
less  abundant,  inshore  in  November,  occasionally  being  reported  in  December  and 
even  later.  It  is  probable  that  as  the  fish  spawn  out  they  move  out  promptly  from 
the  spawning  grounds  into  deep  water,  for  but  few  recently  spent  fish  are  taken  in 
the  Weil's. 

Summary. — The  young  herring  1  and  2  years  of  age  come  inshore  early  in 
spring  and  spend  the  summer  and  autumn  on  the  New  England,  New  Brunswick, 
and  Nova  Scotian  coasts;  the  sexually  mature  herring  come  in  onh'  to  spawn,  while 
the  "fat"  immature  herring  as  a  rule  summer  in  the  deeper  M'ater  outside  the  outer 
islands. 

A  question  often  asked  but  which  can  not  yet  be  answered  in  a  satisfactory  way 
is  "jiist  where  do  the  Gulf  of  Maine  herring  winter?"  In  the  case  of  the  spring 
spawners  that  formerly  inhabited  the  Bay  of  Fundy  the  wintering  ground  apparently 
lay  between  Grand  Manan  and  the  neighboring  mainland  of  New  Brunswick,  where 
a  considerable  Avinter  fishery  was  formerly  carried  on.  Probably  the  autumn 
spawners,  both  young  and  adult,  merely  descend  into  deeper  water  to  winter,  as 
is  the  case  in  European  waters,  but  how  far  or  how  deep  the  great  body  of  them  go 
is  not  known.  It  has  been  proven,  however,  that  herring  of  practically  all  ages 
remain  in  the  open  Bay  of  Fundy  throughout  the  cold  season,  and  the  abundance 
in  the  deeper  v/ater  layers  of  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Gulf  of  pelagic  euphausiid 
shrimps,  a  favorite  herring  food,  suggests  this  as  a  rich  winter  pasture  for  them. 

Herring  on  the  offshore  hanlcs. — Very  little  is  known  about  the  status  of  the 
herring  on  the  offshore  banks.  Occasionally  schools  (invariably  proving  to  be 
"fat"  if  captured)  are  encountered  on  Georges  Bank  and  in  the  deep  water  to  the 
north  of  it  (p.  101).  During  the  early  years  of  the  Georges  Bank  cod  fishery  (about 
the  middle  of  the  past  century)  great  schools  of  herring  were  seen  there  and  the 
fishermen  made  a  regular  practice  of  setting  herring  drift  nets  for  bait,  but  the 
facts  that  the  beam  trawlere  very  seldom  catch  herring  there  (then  only  an  odd 
fish)  and  that  the  stomachs  of  cod  and  haddock  caught  on  the  Bank  seldom  if  ever 
contain  herring,^'  is  evidence  that  no  great  body '  of  the  latter  seeks  the  Bank  for 
wintering. 

Since  sperling  are  unknown  on  Georges  Bank — a  fact  commented  on  by  Storer 
long  ago — it  seems  that  herring  seldom  move  so  far  out  to  sea  until  they  are  2 
years  old. 

^  W.  F.  Clapp  found  no  herrinp  in  many  cod  and  haddock  stomachs  from  Georges. 

'  During  the  beam  trawler  investigations  of  1913  herring  were  reported  for  almost  every  month  in  the  year,  never,  however, 
more  than  a  dozen  or  so  fish  on  any  trip,  and  usually  only  one  or  two. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  103 

Food. — The  herring  is  a  plankton  feeder.  When  first  hatched,  and  before  the 
disappearance  of  the  yolk  sac,  the  larva  (European)  feed  on  larval  gastropods,  diatoms, 
peridinians,  and  crustacean  larvae,  but  they  soon  begin  taking  copepods,  and  after 
they  are  12  mm.  long  depend  on  them  exclusively  for  a  time,  particidarly  onj^the 
little  Pseudocalanus  elongatus}  As  they  grow  older  they  feed  more  and  more  on 
larger  prey,  turning  to  the  larger  copepods  and  amphipods,  pelagic  shrimps,  and 
decapod  crustacean  larvse.  Examination  of  1,500  stomachs'  showed  that  adult 
herring  near  Eastport  were  living  solely  on  copepods  and  pelagic  shrimps,  fish 
less  than  4  inches  long  depending  on  the  former  only  while  the  larger  herring  were 
eating  both.  When  feeding  on  copepods  herring  swim  open-mouthed,  often  with 
their  snouts  at  the  surface,  crossing  and  recrossing  in  their  tracks  and  evidently 
straining  out  the  minute  crustaceans  by  means  of  their  branchial  sieves,  a  straining 
apparatus  of  coarser  mesh  than  that  of  the  menhaden  and  consequently  capturing 
larger  plankton  and  letting  the  microscopic  plants  pass  through. 

When  feeding  on  euphausiids,  as  we  ourselves  have  often  seen  them  engaged 
and  with  which  the  large  fish  are  often  gorged,  they  pursue  the  individual  shrimps, 
which  often  leap  clear  of  the  water  in  their  eft'orts  to  escape.  Even  in  winter 
when  shrimp  are  rarely  seen  on  the  surface  Moore  found  them  an  important  article 
in  the  diet  of  the  herring,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  local  appearances  and 
disappearances  of  schools  of  large  fish  in  the  open  Gulf  are  connected  with  the 
presence  or  absence  of  shrimp.  In  the  Gulf  of  Maine  these  pelagic  shrimp  (euphau- 
siids) are  taken  by  hen"ing  in  preference  to  any  other  food,  and  are  voluntarily 
selected  from  among  the  hosts  of  copepods  by  such  fish  as  are  large  enough  to 
devour  them.  Even  when  both  shrimp  and  copepods  abound,  however,  a  few  of 
the  larger  fish,  as  well  as  the  smaller,  will  usually  be  foimd  full  of  copepods,  though 
most  of  them  are  packed  with  shrimp,  and  in  the  absence  of  shrimp  (which  are  seldom 
abundant  west  of  Mount  Desert  except  during  brief  periods)  copepods  are  the  chief 
dependence  of  all  our  herring,  large  and  small.  Such,  for  instance,  is  the  case  at 
Woods  Hole,  where  copepods  had  been  the  chief  diet  of  almost  all  the  herring 
examined  by  Doctor  Linton  during  the  summer  of  1918,  and  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  they  actually  select  copepods  in  preference  to  other  small  floating 
organisms,  for  they  are  often  found  packed  with  them  at  times  and  places  when 
the  tow  nets  reveal  the  presence  of  a  great  variety  of  other  animals.  In  European 
seas  the  amphipod  genus  Euthemisto  is  also  an  important  food  for  herring,  hence 
it  is  to  no  hesitancy  to  capture  them  that  the  absence  of  Euthemisto  from  the 
herring  stomachs  examined  by  Moore  and  by  us  is  due,  but  to  the  comparative 
scarcity  of  this  large  active  crustacean  in  the  coastwise  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

In  defaidt  of  an  abundant  supply  of  Crustacea,  and  sometimes  even  when 
these  are  plentiful,  herring  feed  on  whatever  molluscan  larvse,  fish  eggs,  Sagittae, 
pteropods,  annelids,  etc.,  the  water  contains,  even  on  objects  as  small  as  tintinnids 
and  Halosphsera,  but  the  smaller  microscopic  plants,  either  diatonr  or  Peridinian, 
are  never  found  in  the  stomachs  of  herring  more  than  15  to  20  mm.  long,  probably 

'  The  diet  of  the  young  herring  in  the  English  Channel  has  been  described  by  Lebour  in  a  series  of  paper.s,  especially  in  Journal, 
Marine  Biological  Association  of  the  United  Kingdom,  Vol.  XII,  September,  1921,  pp.  458-16V.    Plymouth. 
J  Moore,  1898,  p.  402. 

102274— liot S 


104  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

because  their  gill  rakers  are  not  fine  enough  to  retain  them.  Although  herring 
normally  are  not  fish  eaters,  small  launce,  silversides,  and  the  young  of  their  own 
species  have  been  found  in  them  at  Woods  Hole. 

Unfortunately  the  particular  species  of  copepods  on  which  Gulf  of  Maine 
and  Woods  Hole  herring  gorge  have  not  been  identified,  but  we  might  guess  that 
Calanus,  with  Pseudocalanus,  Acartia,  and  Centropages  predominate,  while  at 
its  times  of  abundance  Temora  no  doubt  looms  large  in  the  diet  of  the  herring 
here  as  it  does  in  the  Irish  Sea,  and  Euchseta  offers  a  rich  food  supply  when  the 
schools  seelv  the  deep  waters  of  the  basin  where  these  mammoth  copepods  abound. 

Enemies. — The  herring  is  the  best  of  all  bait  in  the  Gulf.  Naturally,  then, 
it  is  preyed  upon  by  all  kinds  of  predaccous  fish,  especially  by  cod,  pollock,  haddock, 
silver  hake,  mackerel,  salmon,  dogfish  and  other  sharks.  Silver  hake  in  particular 
often  drive  schools  of  herring  right  up  on  our  beaches,  where  pursued  and  pursuers 
alike  strand  on  the  shoaling  bottom.  The  finback  whales  also  devour  them  in  great 
quantities,  and  the  common  squid  (Ommastrephes)  destroys  multitudes  of  the 
young  sardines. 

Destruction  hy  natural  causes. — The  herring  is  a  very  "tender"  fish,  prover- 
bially prone  to  wholesale  destruction  by  stranding  on  beaches  during  storms  and 
by  pollution  of  the  water.  Many  instances  of  this  kind  have  been  reported. 
Allen,*  for  example,  saw  young  herring  in  windrows  for  miles  on  the  strand  at  Rye 
Beach  in  August,  1911.  A  slaughter  of  herring,  more  instructive  because  the  exact 
course  of  events  was  followed,  occurred  at  Cohasset,  on  the  south  shore  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  in  October,  1920.  On  the  .5th  of  that  month  a  large  school  of  Sper- 
ling, 4  to  5  inches  in  length,  ran  up  the  harbor  (which  is  nearly  landlocked),  prob- 
ably driven  in  by  silver  hake  (at  least  so  local  fishermen  said),  were  trapped  there 
by  the  falling  tide,  and  stranded  on  the  mud.  So  numerous  were  they  that  the 
flats  were  entirely  covered  with  them  and  it  was  estimated  that  20,000  barrels  of 
fish  perished.  During  the  next  few  days  the  fish,  alternately  covered  and  uncov- 
ered by  the  tide,  decayed  and  in  spite  of  tidal  circulation  so  fouled  the  water  that 
lobsters  died  in  the  floating  cars.  On  the  10th  there  was  a  second  but  smaller  run 
of  herring,  and  on  the  15th  a  run  as  large  as  the  first  occurred,  the  newcomers 
dying  soon  after  they  entered  the  harbor.  Altogether,  it  was  estimated  that 
50,000  barrels  of  fish  perished,  of  which  over  90  per  cent  were  sperling,  5  to  10  per 
cent  were  large  adults,  and  a  few  were  small  mackerel  and  silver  hake,  besides 
large  numbers  of  smelt.  By  the  last  half  of  October,  when  I  saw  them,  the  flats 
were  silvery  with  herring  scales  at  low  tide,  and  the  residents  about  the  harbor 
found  the  stench  almost  imbearable.  During  the  winter  months  the  fish  entirely 
decomposed  and  the  water  purified  itself.  In  north  European  waters  vast  quanti- 
ties of  herring  spawn  are  likewise  cast  up  on  the  beaches  every  year  to  perish. 

Annual  fluctuation  in  the  supply  of  herring. — Many  times  during  the  past  75 
years  the  complaint  has  been  made  that  the  herring  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  are 
diminishing  in  number,  but  Moor'  898),  who  sifted  many  sources  of  information, 
concluded  (we  believe  rightly)  that  t  ere  had  been  no  general  decrease  in  the  abundance 

<  Memoirs,  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  vol.  8,  No.  2,  1916,  p.  202. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  105 

of  young  herring  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  up  to  that  time,  though  the 
numbers  of  herring  visiting  any  given  locaUty  on  our  coast  and  the  duration  of 
their  stay  vary  widely  from  year  to  year.  As  far  back  as  the  period  from  1837  to 
1857  Massachusetts  Bay  saw  a  marked  diminution  of  the  local  supply  of  herring 
followed  shortly  by  its  reestablishment  in  fuU  strength,  and  any  particidar  locality — 
for  instance  the  Eastport  region  or  Wood  Island — would  no  doubt  show  similar 
ups  and  downs  from  year  to  year  or  over  periods  of  years.  Local  spawning  grounds, 
too,  may  be  abandoned  for  a  term  of  years — a  very  common  occurrence.^  The 
fact  that  the  catch  varies  widely  from  year  to  year  is  not  governed  altogether  by 
the  abundance  of  the  fish  themselves,  for  sundry  economic  factors  enter  in,  and 
except  for  the  disappearance  of  the  spring  spawners  from  the  Bay  of  Fundy  no 
general  alteration,  one  way  or  another,  far-reaching  enough  to  have  impressed 
itself  unmistakably  on  those  chiefly  concerned,  has  taken  place  in  the  herring 
supply  of  the  Gulf  in  recent  years.  In  short,  Capt.  John  Smith's  (1616,  p.  188) 
account  of  the  herring  applies  as  well  to-day:  "The  savages  compare  the  store  in 
the  sea  with  the  hairs  of  their  heads,  and  surely  there  are  an  incredible  abundance 
upon  this  coast." 

In  the  year  1919  more  than  110,000,000  pounds  of  herring  were  caught  in  the 
Gulf,  about  3,400,000  pounds  being  taken  on  the  Nova  Scotia  shore,  10,415,000 
on  the  New  Brunswick  shore,  86,700,000  off  the  Maine  coast,  and  10,800,000  off 
Massachusetts.  Since  at  least  80  per  cent  of  the  total  catch  consisted  of  "sardines," 
that  is,  of  fish  of  only  a  few  ounces  weight,  the  toll  taken  can  not  have  been  less 
than  half  a  billion  fish.  Unfortunately,  however,  present  plenty  is  no  guaranty  of 
permanent  abundance,  for  the  history  of  the  herring  fisheries  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Atlantic,  where  the  record  runs  back  for  centuries,  has  been  a  succession  of 
periods  of  plenty  and  of  scarcity  since  the  earliest  times. 

40.  Hickory  shad  {Pomolohus  mediocris  Mitchill) 

Fall  herring  ;  Shad  herring 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  425. 

Description. — The  hickory  shad  is  distinguishable  from  the  common  sea  herring 
by  the  absence  of  vomerine  teeth,  its  very  deep  belly,  upper  jaw  notched  at  the  tip, 
and  the  fact  that  its  outline  tapers  toward  both  snout  and  tail  in  side  view  (fig.  43). 
A  hickory  shad  13}^  inches  long  is  about  4  inches  deep,  while  a  herring  of  that 
length  is  only  3  inches  deep.  Furthermore,  in  the  hickorj^  shad  the  lower  jaw 
projects  much  more  than  in  the  herring  and  the  dorsal  fin  originates  nearer  the 
snout  than  the  tail,  whereas  in  the  herring  it  is  about  midway  of  the  length  of  the 
body  though  the  difference  in  this  respect  is  not  great.  One  is  more  likely  to  con- 
fuse this  fish  with  the  alewives,  which  resemble  it  in  the  great  depth  of  the  body.  It 
can  be  distinguished  from  the  blueback  by  the  color  of  the  lining  of  the  beUy,  which 

'  Moore,  1S98,  p.  430. 


106 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


is  pale  gray  instead  of  black,  and  there  is  also  a  slight  difference  in  outline,  the  hickory 
shad  being  the  deeper  of  the  tM^o,  with  a  more  tapering  head,  its  lower  jaw  projecting 
relatively  farther.  The  hickory  shad  is  distinguishable  from  the  common  alewife 
(in  which  the  hning  of  the  belly  is  Hkewise  gray)  by  tapering  fonv^ard  from  its  greatest 
depth,  whereas  the  latter  is  heavy  bodied  foi-ward  of  the  doreal  and  ventral  fins,  as 
well  as  by  its  sharp  head,  longer  jaw,  smaller  dorsal  fin,  only  about  one-half  as  many 
gih  rakers  (about  30  on  the  first  gill  arch),  and,  under  favorable  circumstances,  by 
its  color,  being  faintly  marked  on  the  sides  with  longitudinal  stripes.  The  projecting 
lower  jaw  of  the  hickory  shad  marks  it  off  from  tlie  shad. 

Size. — This,  next  to  the  shad,  is  the  largest  of  our  anadromous  herrings,  growing 
to  a  length  of  2  feet  and  a  weiglit  of  23/^  pounds. 

General  range. — Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  from  the  Bay  of  Fundy  to 
Florida,  running  up  into  fresh  water  to  spawn. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gvlfof  Maine, — The  hickory  shad  is  a  more  southern  fish  than 
either  of  the  alewives,  the  Gulf  of  Maine  marking  the  extreme  northern  limit  to 
its  range.     So  far  as  known,  it  does  not  breed  in  any  of  the  rivers  north  of  Cape 


.KSfi^ 


Fig.  43. — Hickory  shad  (Fomolobus  mediocris) 

Cod  and  is  so  rare  a  fish  within  its  limits  that  although  recorded  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  (Huntsman  doubts  this  record),  from  Casco  Bay,  off  Portland, 
at  the  mouths  of  various  I'ivers  in  Maine  where  odd  lish  are  taken  from  time  to  tune 
by  gill-netters,  in  Boston  Harbor,  at  Provincetown,  and  at  North  Truro  in  Massa- 
chusetts, we  have  not  seen  a  single  specunen  among  the  thousands  of  herring  and 
alewives  that  have  passed  through  our  hands.  West  of  Cape  Cod,  however,  it  is 
much  more  plentiful,  being  common  from  spring  throughout  summer  and  early 
autumn  at  Woods  Hole,  where  as  many  as  3,500  have  been  taken  at  a  single  lift  of 
one  trap.  In  1919  the  Massachusetts  catch  of  hickory  shad,  practically  all  from  the 
.south  coast,  amounted  to  12,800  pounds. 

Habits. — Nothing  is  known  of  the  liabits  of  the  hickory  shad  in  the  sea  to  differ- 
entiate it  from  its  close  relatives,  the  alewives,  except  that  it  is  more  of  a  fish  eater, 
as  might  be  expected  from  its  large  mouth  and  strong  jaws.  Launce,  anchovies, 
cunners,  herring,  scup,  silversides,  and  other  small  fish,  squid,  fish  eggs,  and  even 
small  crabs,  as  well  as  sundry  pelagic  Crustacea,  have  been  found  in  the  stomachs  of 
hickory  shad  at  Woods  Hole  by  Vinal  Edwards. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GX7U   OF   MAINE  107 

41.  Alewife  {Pomolobus  pseudoharengus  Wilson) 

Gaspereau;    Sawbelly;    Kyak;    Branch    herring;    Fresh- water    herring; 

Grayback 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  426. 

Description. — The  lack  of  vomerine  teeth  distinguishes  the  alewife,  with  its 
brethren,  the  hickory  shad  (p.  105)  and  blueback  (p.  110),  from  the  sea  herring,  but 
even  without  the  slight  examination  of  the  mouth  which  determination  of  this  point 
entails,  it  is  distinguishable  at  a  glance  from  it  by  the  greater  depth  of  its  body, 
which  is  three  and  one-third  times  as  long  as  deep — an  alewife  of  13^  inches  being 
about  4  inches  deep  while  a  herring  has  a  depth  of  only  3  inches.  Furthermore,  the 
alewife  is  much  more  heavily  built  forward  than  is  the  herring,  and  the  serrations  of 
the  midline  of  its  belly  are  much  stronger  and  sharper — hence  the  local  name  "saw- 
belly" — so  much  so  that  a  practiced  hand  can  separate  herring  from  alewives  in  the 
dark.     The  most  useful  distinction  between  the  alewife  and  the  blueback  is  the  fact 


Fig.  44. — Alewife  (Pomolobiis  pseudoha'engvs) 

that  the  hning  of  the  belly  is  pale  in  the  former  and  black  in  the  latter.  Alewives 
are  distinguished  from  young  shad  by  the  projection  of  the  tip  of  the  lower  jaw 
beyond  the  upper  when  the  mouth  is  closed,  and  by  the  fact  that  the  outline  of  the 
edge  of  the  lower  jaw  is  deeply  concave  in  the  alewife  and  nearly  straight  in  the  shad. 

Color.— The  alewife,  like  the  herring,  is  dark  green  blue  above,  darkest  on 
the  back,  paler  and  silvery  on  sides  and  belly.  Usually  there  is  a  dusky  spot  on 
either  side  just  behind  the  margin  of  the  gill  cover  (lacking  in  the  herring)  and  in 
large  fish  the  upper  side  may  be  faintly  striped  with  dark  longitudinal  lines.  In 
life  the  sides  are  iridescent  with  lines  of  green  and  violet. 

Size. — The  alewife  grows  to  a  length  of  about  1  foot,  adults  averaging  about  10 
inches  long  and  slightly  more  than  half  a  pound  in  weight;  16,400,000  taken  in  New 
England  in  1898  weighing  about  8,800,000  pounds. 

General  range. — -Nova  Scotia  and  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  south  to  the  CaroUnas, 
running  up  into  fresh  water  to  spawn. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — When  the  white  man  crossed  the  Atlantic 
probably  there  was  no  stream  from  Cape  Sable  to  Cape  Cod  but  saw  its  annual  run 


108  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

of  alewives  unless  they  were  baiTed  by  impassable  falls  near  the  mouth.  In  the 
words  of  an  eyewatness,  "experience  hath  taught  them  at  New  Plymouth  that  in 
April  there  is  a  fish  much  like  a  herring  that  comes  up  into  the  small  brooks  to  spawn, 
and  when  the  water  is  not  knee  deep  they  will  presse  up  through  your  hands,  yea, 
thow  you  beat  at  them  with  cudgels,  and  in  such  abundance  as  is  incredible."  " 

During  the  past  two  centuries,  however,  its  numbei-s  have  declined  and  its 
range  has  been  restricted,  both  by  actual  extirpation  from  certain  streams  by  over- 
fishing, by  the  pollution  of  the  river  waters  by  manufacturing  wastes,  and  by  the 
erection  of  dams  that  it  can  not  pass.  However,  the  alewife  is  still  a  familiar  fish 
all  along  our  coast, ^  and  yields  an  abundant  catch  in  many  of  om-  streams.  Ale- 
wives  are  taken  commonly  about  Yarmouth,  Nova  Scotia,  and  they  are  locally 
abundant  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  e.  g.,  in  Minas  Channel  in  the  Annapolis  Basin  as 
well  as  at  other  localities  farther  up  the  bay,  with  large  runs  in  the  St.  John  River ; 
and  passing  along  the  coast  of  Maine  we  find  them  entering  both  the  large  river 
systems  and  their  tributaries  and  innumerable  small  streams,  the  one  requirement 
being  that  these  shall  lead  to  ponds.  At  Boothbay  Harbor,  for  instance,  a  con- 
siderable stock  of  alewives  annually  runs  up  to  spawn  in  Campbell's  Pond,  a  small 
body  of  water  dammed  off  from  the  harbor  and  reached  by  a  short  fishway  only  15 
feet  long.     Perhaps  this  is  our  shortest  alewife  stream. 

Alewives  also  breed  in  many  ponds  lying  back  of  barrier  beaches,  which  they 
enter  through  artificial  cuts  opened  on  purpose.  To  show  how  catholic  the  alewife 
is  in  its  choice  of  rivers  we  may  point  out  that  in  1896,  when  the  fishery  was  the 
subject  of  inquuy  by  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries,^  catches  large  enough  to  be  worth 
special  notice  were  reported  from  the  mouths  of  the  St.  Croix,  Dennys,  Machias, 
Medomak,  Penobscot,  St.  George,  Pemaquid,  Damariscotta,  and  Kennebec  Rivers, 
from  Casco  Bay,  and  from  sundry  other  shore  localities  in  Maine,  from  the  Pis- 
cataqua  River  system  in  New  Hampshire,  the  mouth  of  the  Merrimac,  and  from 
Cape  Cod  Bay  in  Massachusetts  north  of  Cape  Cod,  but  few  alewives  now  ascend 
the  Merrimac,  so  polluted  is  it  and  obstructed  by  dams,  though  fishways  recently 
constructed  now  allow  some  to  ascend  beyond  Lowell,  Mass.  In  1921  Belding 
found  them  still  running  in  only  about  12  streams  on  the  Gulf  of  Maine  coast  of 
Massachusetts  (and  very  few  in  these)  out  of  27  streams  that  formerly  supported 
considerable  alewife  fisheries.  The  fact  that  in  1896,  5,832,900  were  caught  along 
the  coast  and  river  mouths  of  Maine,  526,500  in  New  Hampshire,  2,677,972  as  the 
combined  catch  of  the  Merrimac  River  and  of  Cape  Cod  Bay,  suggesting  a  total  of 
not  less  than  3,000,000  for  Massachusetts  north  of  Cape  Cod,^  i.  e.,  at  least  9,300,- 
000  (in  actuality  probably  considerably  more  than  10,000,090)  alewives  of  market- 
able size  from  the  western  and  northern  shores  of  the  Gulf,  will  illustrate  the 
numerical  strength  of  this  fish.     This  does  not  include  the  yield  of  tlie  Bay  of  Fundy 

«  Capt.  Charles  Whitborne.  in  "The  True  Travels  of  Capt.  John  Smith,"  etc.,  1616,  vol.  2,  p.  250. 
'  Belding  (1921)  has  given  a  very  instructive  report  on  the  alewife  in  Massachusetts. 
» Smith,  H.  M.    Report,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  1898  (1899),  pp.  31-43. 

•  The  total  alewife  catch  for  Massachusetts  was  about  10,000.000  flsh,  but  most  of  these  were  from  the  streams  emptying  on 
Ibo  other  side  of  Cape  Cod. 


FISHES    OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  109 

nor  of  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  for  which  no  precise  statistics  are  available. 
Large  though  these  figures  are,  however,  and  numerous  though  the  alewives  seem 
when  crowding  into  streams,  they  make  but  a  sparse  population  as  compared  to  the 
sea  herring  when  spread  over  the  Gulf.  For  example,  in  the  year  1920  seiners  and 
drift-netters  fishing  offshore  brought  into  Boston,  Gloucester,  and  Portland  only 
31,650  pounds  of  alewives  and  bluebacks  combined,  as  contrasted  with  4,000,000 
pounds  of  lierring.'" 

Habits. — The  first  alewives  appear  early  in  April  in  the  few  streams  tributary 
to  Massachusetts  Bay  that  they  still  frequent,  but  the}'^  are  seldom  seen  in  Maine 
rivers  or  in  the  St.  John  until  late  April  or  early  May,  a  difference  in  date  probably 
depending  on  the  temperature  of  the  water.  Thereafter  successive  runs  follow 
(the  last  half  of  May  seeing  the  heaviest)  until  well  into  June.  In  191.5,  for 
example,  alewives  appeared  in  Campbell's  Creek  at  Boothbay  Harbor  on  April  20, 
and  were  stiU  running  as  late  as  May  20,  by  which  date  spent  fish  on  their  return 
trip  to  salt  water  were  passing  those  coming  in.  During  the  early  runs  sometimes 
one  sex  predominates,  sometimes  the  other,  but  as  a  rule  tlie  late  runs  consist 
chiefly  of  males  and  these  greatly  outnumber  the  females  on  the  spawning  grounds. 

The  alewife  spa^vns  in  ponds,  never  in  running  streamy,  each  female  depositing 
from  60,000  to  100,000  eggs,  according  to  her  size."  Spawning  lasts  only  a  few 
days  for  each  group  of  fish,  taking  place  at  a  temperature  of  55°  to  60°,  the  spent 
fish  running  downstream  again  soon  after  spawning,  some  commencing  this  return 
journey  as  early  as  May.  Incubation  occupies  6  days  at  a  temperature  of  60°. 
Tlie  young  alewives,'^  which  are  about  5  mm.  long  when  hatched,  growing  to  15  mm. 
when  a  month  old,  soon  begin  to  work  their  way  downstream,  successive  com- 
panies of  fry  moving  out  of  the  pond  and  down  with  the  current  throughout  the 
simimer.  They  have  been  seen  descending  as  early  as  June  15  and  by  autumn, 
when  2  to  4  inches  long,  the  young  alewives  have  all  found  their  way  down  to  salt 
water.  Thenceforth  the  alewife  lives  in  the  sea  until  sexually  mature  and  very 
little  is  known  about  its  habits  or  migrations.  As  every  fisherman  knows,  it  is  as 
gregarious  as  the  herring,  fish  of  a  size  congregating  in  schools  of  thousands  of 
individuals  (we  find  record  of  40,000  fish  caught  in  one  seine  haul  in  Boston  Harbor) 
and  apparently  any  school  holds  together  during  most  of  its  sojourn  in  salt  water. 
At  times,  however,  alewives  are  caught  mixed  with  menhaden,  herring,  or  blue- 
backs.  Although  alewives,  immature  and  adult,  are  often  picked  up  in  abundance 
in  weirs  here  and  there  along  the  coast,  it  seems  that  most  of  them,  like  the  "fat" 
herring  (p.  101),  keep  outside  the  islands,  and  the  fact  that  odd  alewives  were  re- 
ported from  Georges  Bank  in  March,  June,  and  August,  1913  (39,  indeed,  were 
taken  on  one  trip) ,  and  a  few  caught  in  the  trawls  in  the  South  Channel  in  Novem- 
ber, proves  that  they  may  wander  far  offshore.  The  alewife,  like  the  herring,  drops 
out  of  sight  in  winter,  but  probably  it  simply  moves   offshore  then,  living  near 

w  This  takes  no  account  of  the  tremendous  shore  catch  of  herring  mentioned  on  p.  105. 

"  The  average  number  of  eggs  in  644  females  taken  in  the  Potomac  was  102,800.  (Smith,  H.  M.  North  Carolina  Qeological 
and  Economic  Survey,  Vol.  II,  1907,  pp.  1-449.    Raleigh.) 

"  The  development  of  the  eggs,  larv.il  stages,  and  young  fry  are  described  by  Ryiler  (Report,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Fish  and 
Fisheries,  1885  (1887),  p.  505)  and  by  Prince  (1907.  p.  95). 


110  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHEHIES 

the  bottom  like  the  latter,  for  Huntsman  (1922a,  p.  10)  reports  its  young  at 
Campobello  Island,  Bay  of  Fundy,  in  December  and  March. 

The  rate  of  growth  of  the  alew'ife  during  its  sojourn  in  the  sea  has  not  been 
studied,  but  experiments  in  stocking  ponds  with  alewives  long  ago  led  to  the  con- 
clusion that  they  attain  sexual  maturity  at  3  or  4  years  of  age.  This  has  been 
confirmed  on  many  occasions  in  recent  years,  for  it  has  proved  easy  to  restock 
suitable  streams  with  alewives  by  planting  adult  spawners  at  the  proper  season  in 
the  ponds  which  they  drain,  as  has  been  done  in  many  localities  in  Massachusetts. 
In  the  third  year  after  the  "plant,"  and  not  until  then,  tlie  progeny  appear  in  the 
stream.  The  success  of  such  restocldng  operations,  moreover,  has  demonstrated 
that  the  "parent  stream"  theory — that  is,  that  alewiyes,  like  shad,  return  to  spaA\Ti 
in  the  stream  in  which  they  were  hatched — is  correct.  We  have  no  record  in  historic 
times  of  their  having  spontaneously  adopted  a  stream  previously  barren  of  them. 

Alewives  retiu-n  to  the  sea  immediately  after  spawning  (the  old  'belief  that 
they  spawn  but  once  and  then  die  has  no  foundation),  the  spent  fish  on  their  return 
jom-ney  to  salt  water  being  familiar  sights  in  every  alewife  stream.  After  spaA\Ti- 
ing  they  are  thin,  but  we  have  seen  spent  alewives  that  had  already  put  on  con- 
siderable fat  taken  from  a  trap  at  ProvincetowTi  as  early  in  the  season  as  July  16 
in  1915. 

Food. — The  alewife,  like  the  herring,  is  chiefly  a  plankton  feeder,  copepods, 
amphipods,  shrimps,  and  appendicularians  being  the  chief  diet  of  specimens  exam- 
ined b}'  Vinal  Edwards  and  Linton  at  Woods  Hole.  However,  they  also  take 
small  fish,  such  as  herring,  eels,  launce,  cunners,  and  their  own  species,  as  well  as 
fish  eggs.  Unlike  the  herring,  alewives  often  contain  diatoms  even  when  adult. 
Alewives  fast  when  they  are  running  upstream  to  sjjawn,  but  when  the  spent  fish 
reach  brackish  water  on  their  return  they  feed  ravenously  on  the  shrimp  that  abound 
in  the  tidal  estuaries  and  which  they  can  be  seen  pursuing. 

Commercial  imporUince. — Alewives  are  excellent  food  fish,  preferred  by  many 
to  the  sea  herring,  and  a  favorite  bait  for  cod,  haddock,  and  pollock.  They  are  of 
considerable  commei'cial  importance  among  the  minor  fisheries.'' 

42.  Blueback  {Pomolobus  aestivalis  MitchiU) 
Alewife;  Glut  herring;  Summer  herring;  Blackbellt;  Kyack 

Jordan  and  Evennann,  1896-1900,  p.  426. 

Description. — Bluebacks  and  alewives  are  often  confused;  even  experienced 
fishermen  who  recognize  the  existence  of  the  two  separate  fish  can  not  always  tell 
them  apart,  so  closely  do  they  resemble  one  another  in  general  appearance.  There 
is  one  infalhble  mark,  however,  that  distinguishes  the  "blackbelly"  not  only  from 
the  alewife  but  from  the  liickory  shad  and  herring  as  well,  and  that  is  that  the  lining 
of  its  belly  is  black,  or  at  least  black-spotted,  instead  of  smoky  gray  as  in  its  relatives. 
Apart  from  this  we  need  state  only  that  it  is  a  slightly  more  slender  fish  than  the 

13  For  a  brief  period  during  the  war  alewife  scales  commauded  a  high  price  for  use  in  the  maufacturo  of  artificial  pearls. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GUIiF   OF   MAINE 


111 


Fig.  46.— Blucback  {Pomolobus  ^stivalis) 
a,  Adult.    6,  Egg.    c.  Larva,  newly  hatched,  3.6  millimeters,    d.  Larva,  4  days  old,  5.2  millimeters,    c,' Fry,  30  mUlimeters 


112  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUBEAU    OF   FISHERIES 

alewife  (its  body  three  and  one-half  times  as  long  as  deep),  though  differing  so  little 
in  this  respect  that  the  two  probably  intergrade;  that  the  fins  are  lower  (here,  again, 
the  difference  is  so  slight  as  to  be  hardly  dependable);  its  eyes  are  smaller;  and  its 
back  is  rather  darker  blue;  but,  we  repeat,  to  make  certain  which  fish  is  in  hand 
open  it,  glance  at  the  belly  Uning,  and  no  doubt  will  i-emain. 

Size. — The  blueback  is  of  about  the  same  size  as  the  ale^^^fe.  It  grows  to  a 
length  of  about  a  foot  and  averages  about  a  half  pound  in  weight  when  mature. 

Color. — Dark  blue  above,  the  sides  and  belly  silvery,  with  coppery  reflections  at 
least  in  some  waters. 

General  range. — This  is  a  more  southern  fish  than  the  alewife,  occurring  off  the 
Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  from  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and  Nova  Scotia  to  Florida. 
It  is  more  mmierous  south  than  north  of  Cape  Cod,  and  like  the  alewife  spends  the 
greater  part  of  the  year  in  salt  water  but  runs  up  into  brackish  and  fresh  water  to 
spa^vn. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Although  Massachusetts  fishermen  have 
recognized  the  existence  of  two  distinct  species  of  alewives  at  least  since  1816, 
it  is  difficiilt  to  arrive  at  a  just  idea  of  the  abundance  and  migrations  of  this  fish 
in  the  Gulf,  because  when  "bluebacks"  are  reported  they  sometimes  turn  out  to 
be  alewives,  while  we  have  heard  the  latest  run  of  alewives  called  bluebacks  even 
in  streams  where  the  true  blueback  also  occurs.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  schools 
of  the  latter  are  to  be  expected  anj^where  between  Cape  Sable  and  Cape  Cod,  for 
we  have  seen  them  freshly  caught  at  Yarmouth  on  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia; 
they  are  not  uncommon  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  Huntsman  having  had  specimens 
from  St.  John  Harbor  and  Shubenacadie  River;  they  are  definitely  reported  from 
the  St.  Croix  River,  from  Eastport,  Bucksport,  Dennys  River,  Casco  Bay,  Small 
Point,  Freeport,  and  sundry  other  localities  along  the  coast  of  Maine,  and  are  taken 
generally  around  the  shores  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  including  Cape  Cod.  Large 
numbers  of  bluebacks  are  sent  to  market,  schools  often  being  seined  off  the  Maine 
coast  outside  the  islands  during  summer  and  early  autumn.  These  are  mostly  the 
2-year-old  fish,  not  yet  sexually  mature,  judging  from  the  fact  that  they  are  usually 
reported  as  very  fat.  Weirs  also  make  la^ge  catches  of  bluebacks  from  time  to  time, 
and  we  have  seen  thousands  of  them  taken  from  a  trap  near  Gloucester  in  June. 
How  far  offshore  the  bluebacks  may  wander  is  unknown.  A  few  fish  were  reported 
under  this  name  from  Georges  Bank  during  the  investigation  of  1913,  but  whether 
they  were  actually  bluebacks  or  alewives  is  doubtful.  It  is  sufficiently  established 
that  the  blueback  appears  in  our  streams  two  weeks  to  a  month  later  than  the 
alewife,  and  that  in  streams  frequented  by  both  the  later  runs  are  bluebacks  and 
the  earher  ones  are  alewives.  In  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  at  least,  it  is  apparently  confined 
as  a  spawner  to  brackish  ponds  connected  with  the  ocean  and  to  the  larger  rivers,'* 
nor  does  it  run  far  above  tide  water. 

Habits. — -The  spawning  habits  of  the  blueback  do  not  differ  in  any  important 
particular  from  those  of  the  alewife,  except  that  it  does  not  spawn  until  the  water 

"  Along  the  south  shore  ot  Massaehasetts,  tor  instance  about  the  head  of  Buzzards  Bay,  bluebacks,  like  alewives,  ran  up 
small  streams. 


FISHES    OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


113 


is  much  warmer — -70°  to  75°  instead  of  55°  to  60°.^^  No  exact  information  as  to 
the  time  of  spawning  in  northern  New  Enghxnd  rivers  is  available.  About  Woods 
Hole  this  takes  place  in  early  summer  in  small  ponds  with  an  outlet  to  salt  water, 
most  of  the  females  being  spent,  a  few  females  and  many  males  ripe,  and  others  of 
both  sexes  still  unripe  in  July.  The  eggs  are  about  1  mm.  in  diameter,  sink  like 
those  of  the  alewife,  and  are  adhesive.  Incubation  occupies  only  about  50  hours  at 
a  temperature  of  72°,  the  newly  hatched  larvae  averaging  3.5  mm.  in  length  but 
growing  ^vithin  24  hours  after  hatching  to  4  mm.,  with  the  greater  part  of  the  yolk 
sac  already  absorbed.  Within  a  month  they  are  30  to  50  mm.  long,  and  already 
show  most  of  the  diagnostic  characters  of  the  adult.  Evidently  the  young  soon 
find  their  way  down  to  the  sea,  for  bluebacks  of  50  mm.  have  been  seined  in  abun- 
dance in  Rhode  Island  waters  late  in  July.  Notliing  whatever  is  known  of  their 
rate  of  growth  there.  The  spent  fish,  like  alewives,  return  to  sea  shortly  after 
spawning.  Probably  these  are  the  bluebacks  taken  at  Woods  Hole  and  north  of 
Cape   Cod  in  September  and  October.     The  winter  home  of  our  bluebacks  is 


~yyii 


'*"*^, 


ITi. 


^^^^7 


Fig.  46.^AduIt  shad  {Aiasa  sapidissima) 

unknown;  probably,  like  their  relative  the  sea  herring,  they  move  out  from  land 
and  pass  the  cold  season  near  the  bottom. 

We  need  only  note  further  that  the  blueback  is  as  gregarious  as  the  herring  or 
alewife;  that  it  is  equally  a  plankton  feeder,  subsisting  chiefly  on  copepods  and 
pelagic  shrimp,  as  well  as  on  young  launce  and,  no  doubt,  on  other  small  fish  fry. 
In  commercial  use  no  distinction  is  made  on  our  coast  between  the  blueback  and 
the  more  abundant  alewife — it  is  equally  useful  for  bait  and  human  food. 

43.  Shad  (Alosa  sapidissima  Wilson) 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  4'27. 

Description. — ^The  shad  resembles  the  alewife  in  the  fact  that  its  body  is  much 
deeper  than  thick  and  that  its  belly  is  sharp  edged  with  bony  serrations.  In  all 
respects  it  is  a  typical  herring,  with  soft  rayed  dorsal  and  anal  fins  of  moderate  size, 
the  former  situated  above  the  ventrals  and  weU  forward  of  the  middle  of  the  bodv. 


"  The  early  development  and  larval  stages  of  the  blueback  are  described  by  Euntz  and  Radclifle  (1918,  pp.  87-134) . 


114  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

It  has  a  deeply-forked  tail  and  large  and  very  easily  loosened  scales.  Unlike  the 
sea  herring,  however,  the  shad  has  no  vomerine  teeth — adults,  indeed,  have  no 
teeth  at  all,  although  young  shad  have  small  ones  in  the  jaws  which  may  persist 
imtil  the  fish  is  a  foot  or  more  long.  It  is  easily  recognized,  being  the  deepest 
bodied  of  our  herrings,  a  third  as  deep  as  long,  and  further  marked  among  its  relatives 
by  the  fact  that  the  upper  jaw  is  deeply  notched  at  the  tip  with  the  end  of  the  lower 
jaw  fitting  into  the  upper  when  the  mouth  is  closed.  The  mouth,  too,  opens  back 
farther  than  in  the  alewives,  and  the  edge  of  the  lower  jaw  is  straight,  not  concave, 
as  in  the  latter.  The  under  jaw  does  not  project  noticeably  beyond  the  upper,  as  in 
the  alewives  and  especially  in  the  hickory  shad.  Furthermore,  the  lining  of  the 
shad's  belly  is  white — neither  gray  as  in  the  herring  and  alewife  nor  black  as  in  the 
blueback. 

Size. — The  shad  is  the  largest  of  herrings  that  regularlj'  visit  our  Gulf,  growing 
to  a  length  of  2^  feet.  Adult  males  rim  in  weight  from  IJ^  to  6  pounds;  females 
from  3}^  to  8  pounds.  Shad  are  occasionally  reported  up  to  12  pounds,  and  the 
older  writers  mention  them  as  heavy  as  14  pounds,  but  none  so  large  has  been 
credibly  reported  in  the  Gulf  of  late  5'ears. 

Color. — Dark  bluish  or  greenish  above,  white  and  silvery  on  sides  and  belly, 


Fig.  47  — Larva  of  the  shad  (Alosa  sapidissima),  17  days  old 

with  a  dusky  spot  close  behind  the  rear  edge  of  the  gill  cover,  and  frequently  with 
several  indistinct  dusky  spots  in  one  or  two  longitudinal  rows  behind  it. 

General  range. — -Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 
to  Florida,  and  represented  by  a  close  ally  or  variety  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It 
also  has  been  successfully  introduced  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  the  United  States. 
It  runs  up  rivers  into  fresh  water  to  spawn. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — When  the  first  settlers  arrived  in  New  England, 
they  found  seemingly  inexhaustible  multitudes  of  shad  annually  running  up  all  the 
larger  rivers  and  many  of  the  smaller  streams  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Florida,  with  the 
tributaries  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  hardlj^  less  productive  than  the  Hudson  or  Delaware; 
but  as  one  stream  after  another  was  rendered  impassable,  or  at  least  very  difficult  for 
the  fish  to  ascend,  by  the  construction  of  dams  near  the  mouths,  the  local  stock  of 
shad  has  diminished  until  now  the  Gulf  of  Maine  stock  is  but  a  shadow  of  its  former 
abimdance,  a  fact  more  than  one  writer  has  taken  a  melancholy  pleasure  in  lament- 
ing. Since  it  is  the  present  status  of  the  shad  with  which  we  are  now  concerned, 
the  following  table  of  the  shrinking  catch  in  the  Merrimac  will  be  a  sufficient  illus- 
tration of  this  depletion." 

"  From  Stevensen  (1899). 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


115 


Year 

Number 
of  shad 
caught, 
reported, 
or  esti- 
mated 

Year 

=»= 

Number 
of  shad 
caught, 

reported, 
or  esti- 
mated 

1789                                                            

830,000 

540, 000 

365,  000 

60, 000 

1.942 

2,139 

130 

1888 

None. 

1889 

18 

1835 

1S90-1S9C                 

None. 

1865 

1893 

2,020 

1871  1873  faveraeel 

1894  ...                   

2,750 

1880                                                                             .-  - 

1895 - ----      -- 

94 

1896 

7 

The  only  Gulf  of  Maine  rivers  to  which  shad  resort  regularly  at  the  present 
time  are  the  Annapolis,  '•Petit  Codiac,  Shubenacadie,  and  St.  John,  tributary  to  the 
Bay  of  Fundy,  and  the  St.  Croix,''  Pleasant,  Harrington,  Penobscot,  and  Kenne- 
bec Rivers  ''  in  Maine.  In  the  year  1896,  290,122  shad  were  reported  as  caught  in 
the  Kennebec  system;  900  in  the  Pleasant;  300  in  the  Harrmgton  River;  only  114 
in  the  Penobscot  and  12  in  the  St.  Croix;  100  in  the  Piscataqua;  and  7  in  the  Merri- 
mac.  Since  then  the  stock  has  fallea  even  lower,  for  in  1919  the  catch  in  Washing- 
ton County,  Me.,  which  includes  the  St.  Croix,  Pleasant,  and  Harrington  Rivers, 
was  only  400  pounds,  say  100  fish,  assuming  them  to  average  4  pounds,  with  only 
131  pounds  (30  to  40  lish)  taken  in  the  Penobscot  River,  3,121  pounds  (700  to  SOO 
fish)  in  Penobscot  Bay,  and  178,434  pounds  (about  4.5,000  fish)  from  the  Kennebec, 
its  tributary  estuaries  and  neighboring  shore  line  (Sagadahoc  and  Lincoln  Counties), 
that  is,  only  about  one-sixth  as  many  as  in  1896.  In  1919  the  total  inshore  and 
offshore  catch  for  American  fishermen  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  north  of  Cape  Cod  was 
about  460,000  pounds  (about  115,000  fish).  No  statistics  are  available  for  the  few 
shad  caught  in  the  Baj^  of  Fundy  that  year,  but  in  1916-17  the  catch  of  shad  in 
the  Bay  of  Fundy  was  about  365,000  pounds,  with  about  9,000  pounds  more  along 
the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia. 

The  shad  in  salt  water. — The  life  of  the  shad  in  salt  water  has  long  been  con- 
sidered something  of  a  mystery,  but  evidence  gradually  accumulates  to  the  effect 
that  its  movements  there  are  analogous  to  those  of  the  herring,  and  that  it  does  not 
perform  the  extensive  north  and  south  migrations  with  which  it  was  formerly 
credited. 

Commencing  with  the  spent  shad  on  their  return  to  the  sea  ''  we  find  the 
New  Brunswick  fish  (no  doubt  the  Nova  Scotian,  also)  making  their  way  to  the 
head  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  on  their  return  to  the  sea  to  fatten  until  they  become 
the  "  fall  shad  "  that  are  locally  considered  the  choicest  of  fish.  Large  spent  shad — 
presumably  fish  that  have  spawned  in  the  Kennebec — are  regularly  caught  in 
September  and  October  about  Mount  Desert,  where  they  have  been  the  object  of 


"  The  St.  Croix  formerly  supported  a  large  stock  of  shad.  For  8  or  9  years  prior  to  1915  none  came,  but  shad  were  again 
fairly  plentiful  in  1915  to  1916,  according  to  investigations  made  by  H.  F.  Taylor  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries. 

'8  Shad  have  been  entirely  extirpated  from  the  Saco,  where  they  were  formerly  plentiful. 

"  The  following  notes  are  based  largely  on  reports  by  reliable  fishermen  and  on  our  own  observations,  which  we  have  gathered 
from  catches  during  our  several  years'  work  on  the  New  England  coast. 


116  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

a  consillerable  frozen-tish  industry  of  late,^°  as  well  as  near  the  Isles  of  Shoals  and 
off  York  Beach  in  August,  vrhile  it  has  long  been  known  that  shad  are  present  40 
to  50  miles  at  sea  off  the  Maine  coast  throughout  the  autumn.  A  southward 
movement  of  these  Bay  of  Fundy  and  Kennebec  spawners  is  the  most  reasonable 
explanation  for  the  3"early  presence  off  Cape  Ann,  from  mid-October  until  into 
December,^'  of  large  shad  running  from  13^  up  to  10  pounds  (averaging  about  5 
pounds),  that  is,  fish  that  have  spawned  during  the  preceding  summer.  As  a  rule 
they  are  not  abundant;  sometimes,  however,  the  pollock-netters  make  large  hauls 
of  them,  as  in  the  autumn  of  1915,  when  135,000  poimds  of  these  large  fish  were 
caught  near  Gloucester.  Sometime  in  December  the  large  shad  vanish,  where 
they  winter  still  being  a  matter  for  conjecture.  Probably  they  sink  and  move  out 
beyond  the  limits  of  extreme  winter  chilling,  which  may  lead  them  to  the  central 
basin  of  the  Gulf,  a  suggestion  yet  to  be  confirmed  by  actual  captures  of  shad  in 
winter  but  in  line  with  the  prevalent  view  that  the  shad  of  the  middle  and  south 
Atlantic  coasts  of  the  United  States  move  offshore  to  pass  the  cold  season  on  the 
bottom.  The  young  shad  of  the  year,  produced  in  southern  rivers,  are  believed  to 
winter  near  the  mouths  of  their  parent  streams  and  this  probably  applies  to  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  also. 

The  mature  shad  with  ripening  sexual  organs  reappear  off  the  western  shores 
of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  in  April  and  May,  when  a  few  are  picked  up  by  haddock- 
netters  between  Cape  Ann  and  Portland;  most  often  about  Boon  Island  and  the 
Isles  of  Shoals."  So  few  shad  now  frequent  the  Merrimac  that  it  is  probable  these 
"spring  shad"  are  bound  north  to  the  Kennebec  River  or  Bay  of  Fimdy.  Except 
for  odd  belated  individuals  the  mature  shad  are  all  in  the  rivers  or  at  least  close  to 
their  mouths  by  the  10th  or  15th  of  June,  not  to  reappear  in  the  sea  until  July  or 
August  (p.  116). 

Schools  of  small  immature  shad  from  a  foot  long  and  half  a  pound  in  weight 
up  to  2  or  2J^  pounds,  not  yet  of  breeding  age,  that  is,  corresponding  to  the  "fat" 
herring  2  or  3  years  old,  are  reported  every  year  at  Provincetown  for  a  short  period 
in  June,  are  sometimes  taken  in  the  weirs  at  Beverly  and  Manchester  in  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  in  June,-^  and  are  met  with  more  or  less  commonly  all  summer  off 
Cape  Ann  and  thence  eastward,  which  corroborates  the  general  belief  of  local 
fishermen  that  they  move  north  and  east  toward  the  Bay  of  Fundy  as  the  summer 
advances  just  as  the  "fat"  herring  do  (p.  101).  However,  instead  of  keeping  off- 
shore these  immature  shad  (which,  like  herring  of  corresponding  age,  are  very  fat) 
congregate  in  the  bays  of  the  Maine  coast,  even  running  up  into  brackish  estuaries 
though  never  into  fresh  water.  In  Casco  Bay,  for  example,  where  they  have  long 
been  fished  for,  64,490  pounds  of  shad  (probably  "fat"  fish)  were  caught  in  1896, 
though  by  1919  the  local  catch  had  dwindled  to  only  about  12,000  pounds  (not  over 

»  About  250,000  pounds  have  been  brought  into  the  local  freezers  yearly  from  1913  to  1915. 

"  It  has  also  been  suggested  that  these  fish  are  migrants  from  the  south,  visiting  the  rich  plankton  pastures  of  the  Gulf  for 
food,  an  interesting  possibility  that  the  evidence  yet  at  hand  can  neither  prove  nor  disprove. 

'"  A  series  of  shad  from  that  region  examined  by  Welsh  at  various  dates  (April  25  to  May  17, 1913)  averaged  precisely  5  pounds, 
both  sexes  represented,  and  all  with  well-developed  sexual  organs. 
-     "  Numbers  of  shad  about  14  inches  in  length  were  caught  in  the  traps  at  Magnolia  and  Beverly  from  June  20  to  July  6, 1921. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  117 

5,000  fish,  assuming  an  average  of  2]/^  pounds).     They  have  also  been  reported  in 
abundance  near  Cape  Ann,  off  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  near  Boothbay  Harbor,  and  at. 
Herring  Cove  near  Eastjiort,  Me. 

Summary. — The  evidence  at  hand  suggests  that  shad,  like  herring,  spend 
the  first  winter  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  in  v/hich  they  are  hatched;  that  for 
two  or  three  years,  as  immatures,  they  roam  our  coast  in  summer,  wintering  some- 
where offshore;  and  that  finally,  as  mature  breeding  fish,  they  come  inshore  in  spring, 
run  up  rivers  from  April  to  June  to  breed,  return  promptly  thereafter  to  the  sea  to 
pass  the  late  summer  and  autumn,  fattening  near  the  surface  not  far  from  land, 
and,  like  herring,  they  winter  offshore  in  deep  water. 

Food. — The  shad,  like  other  herrings,  is  primarily  a  plankton  feeder.  We 
have  found  shad  taken  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  in  summer  packed  full  of  copepods 
(chiefly  Calanus),  and  the  stomach  contents  of  fish  from  the  Nova  Scotian  coast 
of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  examined  by  Willey  (1923,  p.  11)  consisted  chiefly  of  the 
copepod  genera  Acartia  and  Temora  Avith  other  smaller  ones,  Mysid  shrimps,  and 
the  larval  stages  of  barnacles.  Shad  are  also  known  to  feed  as  greedily  on  the 
pelagic  euphausiid  shrimps  as  herring  do,  on  fish  eggs,  and  even  on  bottom-dwelling 
amphipods,  showing  that  at  times  they  forage  near  the  ground.  They  are  not 
known  to  eat  fish. 

Breeding  habits.^* — It  is  now  sufficiently  established  that  on  their  spawning 
migration  shad  return  year  after  year  to  the  same  general  region,  sound,  or  estuary; 
and  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  where  so  few  rivers  can  now  serve  as  spawning  grounds, 
this  necessarily  means  to  the  same  stream,  the  date  when  the  sexually  mature  shad 
enter  fresh  water  being  governed  by  the  temperature  of  the  streams — that  is,  when 
the  river  water  has  warmed  to  50°  to  55°.  Consequently  the  shad  "run"  cor- 
respondingly later  in  the  year  passing  from  south  to  north  along  the  coast.  Thus 
the  run  commences  in  Georgia  in  January;  in  March  in  the  waters  tributary  to 
Pamlico  and  Albemarle  Sounds;  in  April  in  the  Potomac;  and  in  May  and  June  in 
northern  streams  generally  from  the  Delaware  to  Canada.  In  the  Kennebec, 
according  to  Atkins  (1887),  the  first  sliad  appear  late  in  April,  with  the  main  run 
in  May  and  June;  the  first  ripe  females  are  caught  the  last  week  in  May  and  they 
begin  to  spawn  about  June  1,  most  of  them  doing  so  during  that  month,  a  few 
in  July,  and  possibly  an  occasional  fish  as  late  as  August.  Probably  these  dates 
applied  equally  to  the  Merrimac  in  the  good  old  days  when  shad  were  plentiful  there, 
but  the  season  begins  somewhat  later  in  the  St.  John,  as  might  be  expected,  with 
the  fish  running  from  mid-May  until  the  end  of  June. 

The  fish  select  sandy  or  pebbly  shallows  for  spawning  ground.  On  the  average, 
females  produce  about  30,000  eggs,  though  in  the  case  of  very  large  fish  as  many 
as  156,000  have  been  estimated.  After  spawning  the  spent  and  very  emaciated 
fish  at  once  begin  their  return  journey  to  the  sea.  In  the  Kennebec  they  are  first 
seen  on  their  way  down  about  June  20  and  constantly  thereafter  throughout  July; 
in  the  St.  John  spent  fish  are  running  down  in  July  and  August.     According  to 

"  Accounts  of  the  breeding  habits  of  the  shad  have  been  given  by  Ryder,  Report  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries, 
1885  (1887);  by  Prince  (1907);  and  in  the  Manual  of  Fish  Culture.  1900. 


118  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BXJEEAU    OF   FISHERIES 

Atkins  they  begin  feeding  before  reaching  salt  water  and  recover  a  good  deal  of  fat 
before  moving  out  to  sea. 

The  eggs  are  transparent,  pale  pink  or  amber,  and  being  semibuoyant  and 
not  sticky  like  those  of  other  river  herrings  they  roU  about  on  the  bottom  with 
the  current.  The  period  of  incubation  is  from  5  to  10  days  in  the  temperatures 
prevailing  in  June  in  the  Kennebec  and  St.  John  Rivers,  having  been  found  by 
experiment  to  be  as  follows: 

Water  temperature  Period  of  incubation 

74°  F.  (23.3°  C.) 70  hours,  or  about  3  days. 

64°  F.  (17.8°  C.) . 109  hours,  or  about  4H  days. 

57°  F.  (13.9°  C.) 148  hours,  or  about  6  days. 

54°  F.  (12.2°  C.) 408  hours,  or  about  17  days. 

The  larvfe  are  about  9.5  mm.  long  at  the  time  of  hatching,  growing  to  15.5 
mm.  by  the  ninth  day  with  disappearance  of  the  yolk  sac.  At  21  to  28  days  the 
fins  are  fully  developed  and  the  fry  have  attained  a  length  of  about  20  mm.  Shad 
larvae  much  resemble  herring,  being  extremely  slender  with  the  vent  almost  as  far 
back  as  the  base  of  the  tail. 

The  young  shad  remain  in  the  rivers  until  fall  when,  at  a  length  of  1}4  to 
43^  inches  and  resembling  their  parents  in  appearance,  they  move  down  to  salt 
water.  The  length  attained  by  the  shad  during  its  first  autumn  depends  on  the 
date  of  hatching.  In  the  rivers  of  Maine  the  fry  may  be  as  long  as  5  to  7  inches 
by  the  first  week  in  November;  even  larger  (6  to  8  inches)  in  New  York  streams. 

Nothing  definite  is  known  of  the  rate  of  growth  of  the  shad  after  it  leaves  its 
parent  river;  presumably,  however,  it  grows  little  during  the  first  winter  but  is  about 
a  foot  long  by  the  second  autumn.  It  is  supposed  to  mature  at  about  the  same  age 
as  the  alewife^S  or  4  years 

44.  Menhaden  (Brevoortia  tyrannus  Latrobe) 

POGY 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  433. 

DescHption, — This  fish  is  universally  called  "pogy"  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  but 
no  less  than  30  common  names  are  in  use  south  of  Cape  Cod.  Like  all  our  other 
herrings  it  is  flattened  laterally,  has  a  sharp-edged  belly,  and  is  as  deep  propor- 
tionally as  the  shad  (body  three  times  as  deep  as  long),  though  when  the  fish  are 
fat  the  general  form  is  altered.  The  very  large  scaleless  head,  which  occupies 
nearly  one-third  of  the  total  length  of  the  body,  gives  the  menhaden  an  appear- 
ance so  distinctive  that  it  is  not  apt  to  be  mistaken  for  any  other  Gulf  of  Maine 
fish.  It  is  likewise  distinguishable  from  all  its  local  relatives  by  the  fact  that  the 
rear  margins  of  the  scales  are  vertical — not  rounded  as  in  the  more  typical  herrings — 
and  edged  with  long  comblike  teeth  instead  of  being  smooth.  The  dorsal  fin, 
furthermore,  originates  slightly  behind  the  ventrals  and  is  thus  posterior  to  the 
latter  for  the  whole  length,  whereas  in  herring,  alewives,  and  shad  it  stands  directly 
over  the  ventrals.     We  need  only  point  out  further  that  the  pogy  is  toothless,  its 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


119 


tail  deeply  forked,  its  ventral  fins  very  small,  its  dorsal  and  anal  of  moderate 
size,  its  mouth  large  and  gaping  back  as  far  as  the  hind  margin  of  the  eye,  and 
that  the  tip  of  its  lower  jaw  projects  beyond  the  upper. 


Fig.  48. — Menbaden  (Brcioortia  tyrannus) 
a,  Adult,    b.  Egg.    c,  Larva,  newly  hatched,  4.5  millimeters,    d,  Fry,  23  millimeters,    c,  Young  flsh,  33  millimeters. 

Size. — Adult  menhaden  average  12  to  15  inches  in  length,  and  from  two-thirds 
to  1  pound  in  weight.  One  18  inches  long  was  taken  at  Woods  Hole  in  1876,  and  a 
fish  20  inches  long  has  been  reported. 


120  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

Color. — Dark  blue,  blue  gray,  or  blue  brown  above,  with  silvery  sides,  belly, 
and  fins,  and  a  strong  yellow  or  brassy  luster.  There  is  a  conspicuous  dusky  spot 
on  each  side  close  back  of  the  gill  opening;  with  a  varj^ing  number  of  smaller  dark 
spots  behind  it. 

General  range. — Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Brazil. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  Gulf  of  Maine  is  the  northerly  limit  of 
range  of  the  menhaden;  St.  Mary  Bay  on  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  is  its 
most  easterly  outpost.  Prior  to  about  1850  the  pogy  seems  not  to  have  been  un- 
common at  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy;  it  was,  indeed,  reported  by  Perley 
(1852)  as  far  up  the  bay  as  St.  Jolm,  and  fishermen  spoke  of  it  as  abundant  near 
Eastport  up  to  1845  or  1850.  Since  then,  however,  it  seems  to  have  abandoned 
Fundian  waters  altogether  "  except  for  an  occasional  straggler,  and  very  few 
menhaden  have  been  noticed  east  of  Mount  Desert  and  Jonesport  of  late  years. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  aspect  of  the  occurrence  of  the  menhaden  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  is  that  it  fluctuates  tremendously  in  abundance  from  year  to 
year,  periods  of  great  plenty  alternating  with  periods  of  scarcity  or  entire  absence 
from  our  waters.  Thus  1845  was  a  "big  year,"  while  in  1847  pogies  were  very 
scarce.  Then  for  some  years  prior  to  1875  they  were  tremendously  abundant  off 
the  coasts  of  Massachusetts  and  Maine  every  summer,  and  a  considerable  men-, 
haden  fishery  grew  up  on  the  Maine  coast.  Since  then  the  local  stock  has  under- 
gone the  most  violent  fluctuations  imaginable,  of  which  abundant  testimony  is  to 
be  found  in  the  files  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries.  Thus  very  few  menhaden  were 
taken  in  the  Gulf  during  the  cold  summer  of  1877  until  September  and  October, 
when  they  were  reported  as  about  as  abundant  as  normal.  Practically  none 
appeared  north  of  Cape  Cod  in  the  year  1879,  as  striking  an  abandonment  of  a 
considerable  area  by  a  fish  previously  abundant  there,  perhaps,  as  has  taken  place 
within  recent  times. 

For  the  next  six  years  menhaden  were  so  scarce  along  the  coast  of  Maine  that 
when  odd  ones  were  picked  up  in  the  weirs  or  were  seined  it  caused  cornment  (in 
1883,  for  instance,  a  few  were  reported  to  the  bureau  but  no  schools  were  seen), 
and  many  people  thought  they  had  gone  for  good;  but  in  1886  they  were  once  more 
reported  abundant  off  Maine  and  Massachusetts,  while  in  1888  they  were  so  plenti- 
ful as  far  east  as  Frenchmans  Bay  that  the  menhaden  fisheries  were  revived. 
Menhaden  were  as  plentiful  in  Maine  waters  in  1889  as  they  had  ever  been,  with 
more  than  10,000,000  pounds  taken  there,  and  they  were  still  so  numerous  in  1890 
that  four  fertilizer  factories  were  established  and  nearlj^  90,000,000  fish  were  taken 
during  the  season.  This  period  of  abundance  was  short-lived,  however,  less  than 
half  as  many  fish  being  caught  in  Maine  waters  (about  41,000,000)  in  1891  as  in 
1890,  while  few  menhaden  were  taken  or  seen  north  of  Cape  Cod  in  1892.  In  1894, 
however,  the  fish  were  once  more  sufficiently  abundant  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  for  a 
single  steamer  to  seine  about  1,000,000  fish  off  the  Kennebec  during  July  and  the 
first  weeks  of  August,  and  582,131  fish  were  taken  in  Boston  Harbor  in  10  days' 
fishing  during  the  last  half  of  that  month. 

"  According  to  Huntsman  (1922a)  one  was  taken  in  St.  John  Uarbor  in  .\ugust,  1919. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  121 

During  the  period  1895  to  1897  menhaden  were  scarce  in  the  Gulf,  but  abundant 
again  in  1898,  about  7,000,000  pounds  being  taken  along  the  Maine  coast.  In  1902 
the  Maine  catch  fell  to  only  about  300,000  pounds.  In  1903,  however,  they  were 
again  reported  as  very  abundant  north  of  Cape  Cod,  especially  in  Boston  Harbor; 
but  from  1904  to  1921  menhaden  were  rare  north  of  Cape  Cod,  and  some  years  a 
few  schools  were  seined  in  Massachusetts  and  on  the  Maine  coast  while  during 
other  summers  very  few  were  seen.  After  20  years  of  scarcity,  however,  they 
reappeared  in  great  abundance  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  Gulf  in  the  sunmier 
of  1922,  and  by  the  first  week  in  August  many  schools  had  been  seen  along  the  outer 
shore  of  Cape  Cod.  Eighteen  steamers  fished  successfully  for  some  weeks  in  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  and  menhaden  were  reported  as  plentiful  at  least  as  far  north  as 
Boothbay  Harbor,  where  about  2,500  barrels  were  frozen.  The  fact  that  upwards 
of  1,500,000  pounds  were  landed  by  the  larger  fishing  vessels  besides  what  the  small 
boats  brought  in  will  give  some  idea  of  their  abundance  in  the  'Gulf  during  the 
summer  in  question,  but  no  large  schools  were  reported  east  of  Boothbay  Harbor. 

The  appearance  of  menhaden  in  such  abundance  in  the  Gulf  after  so  many 
years'  absence  prompted  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  to  send  the  steamer  Halcyon  to 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  August  for  an  investigation  of  this  phenomenon.  ,V 
preliminary  examination  of  the  towings  revealed  the  presence  of  much  greater 
quantities  of  diatoms  than  is  usual  at  that  season,  showing  that  the  fish  found  a 
better  pasture  in  Massachusetts  Bay  than  in  any  summer  since  1912,  but  this 
evidence  hardly  warrants  the  definite  conclusion  that  it  was  an  unusually  rich 
food  supply  that  attracted  them  past  Cape  Cod. 

The  menhaden  is  a  summer  fish  with  us,  all  reports  agreeing  that  in  its  years 
of  plenty  it  appears  about  mid-May  in  Massachusetts  Bay  and  during  the  last 
weeks  of  May  or  the  first  part  of  June  off  the  Maine  coast,  and  that  more  and  more 
continue  to  appear  for  a  month  after  the  first  fish  arrive.  Fogies  are  most  abundant 
during  July,  August,  and  in  early  September,  after  which  few  are  seen.  Most  of 
them  depart  from  the  coast  of  Maine  by  the  middle  of  October,  and  from  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  region  by  early  November,  while  by  the  middle  of  that  month  it 
would  be  unusual  to  find  a  single  menhaden  along  these  shores. 

The  universal  belief  among  fishermen  that  the  seasonal  appearance  and  dis- 
appearance of  menhaden  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  result  from  a  definite  migration  from 
the  south  around  Cape  Cod  in  the  spring  and  a  return  journey  in  the  autumn 
is  probably  well  founded,  for,  unlike  the  herring,  it  is  a  warm-water  fish,  and  our 
study  of  the  temperature  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  corroborates  earlier  observations  to 
the  effect  that  it  never  appears  in  spring  until  the  coastwise  water  has  warmed  to 
50°  or  more,  or  in  abundance  until  the  temperature  is  several  degrees  higher  than 
this,  which  is  in  accord  with  Bean's  (1903)  experience  that  menhaden  will  not 
survive  in  an  aquarium  if  the  water  chills  below  50°.  No  doubt  it  is  the  falling 
temperatm-e  of  autumn  that  forces  the  menhaden  to  leave  the  bays  of  northern 
New  England. 

It  is  generally  believed  that  the  Gulf  of  Maine  fish  round  Cape  Cod  and  travel 
westward  in  their  autimin  migrations-'  as  far  as  the  eastern  end  of  Long  Island, 

2«  Smith,  1896,  p.  299. 


122  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

wliere  they  have  been  thought  to  leave  the  coast  and  proceed  directly  out  to  sea, 
but  this  is  not  established  nor  is  their  winter  home  known. 

The  menhaden  usually  hug  the  shore  in  summer,  most  of  the  catch  being  taken 
inside  our  bays,  in  the  outer  harbors,  or  at  the  farthest  not  over  half  a  dozen  miles 
from  land,  and  though  this  rule  has  its  exceptions — some  j'ears  they  congregate 
chiefly  as  much  as  40  to  50  miles  oiTshore,  1878  being  an  instace  in  point — we  have 
heard  no  report  of  menhaden  in  the  central  part  of  the  Gidf  or  on  Georges  Bank. 

In  menhaden  years  the  fish  occur  all  along  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
from  Cape  Cod  to  Penobscot  Bay,  even  to  Mount  Desert,  but  their  chief  centers 
of  abundance  always  lie  in  Massachusetts  Bay  within  a  mile  or  so  of  land,  par- 
ticularly off  Barnstable  and  in  the  mouths  of  Boston  and  Salem  Harbors,  in  Casco 
Bay,  among  the  islands,  and  thence  to  Penobscot  Bay. 

Breeding  habits.-'' — Menhaden  spa\vn  all  along  the  eastern  coast  of  the  United 
States  as  far  north  as  the  southern  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  the  breeding  season 
varying  with  latitude.  Thus  spa^vning  occurs  in  late  fall  and  early  winter  on  the 
south  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts,  but  oft'  the  middle  Atlantic  States  menhaden  spawn 
in  summer  and  through  the  autumn,  while  captures  of  eggs  and  of  larviB  about 
Woods  Hole  prove  that  spawning  takes  place  there  chiefly  in  June  and  continues 
until  well  into  October.  The  menhaden  is  equally  a  summer  spawner  in  the  Gulf 
of  Maine,  where  spent  fish  and  others  approaching  maturity  have  been  reported 
during  July  and  August.  Up  to  the  present,  however,  we  have  found  no  eggs  in  our 
tow-nettings  north  of  Cape  Cod  (though  yoimg  fry  were  taken  in  abundance  in 
Casco  Bay  in  October,  1900),  probably  because  our  work  has  been  carried  on  during 
a  series  of  poor  menhaden  seasons. 

Menliaden  eggs  are  buoyant  and  resemble  those  of  the  European  pAcliavd  (Clupea 
pilchardiis),  but  are  easily  distinguished  from  the  eggs  of  any  other  Gulf  of  Maine  fish 
by  their  large  size  (1.5  to  1.8  mm.  in  diameter),  broad  perivitelline  space,  small  oil 
globule  (0.15  to  0.17  mm.),  and  very  long  embryo.  Incubation,  as  Welsh  found  by 
experiment,  is  very  rapid  (less  than  48  hours) .  The  newly  hatched  larvae  are  4.5  mm. 
in  length,  growing  to  5.7  mm.  in  four  days  after  hatching.  The  dorsal  and  caudal 
fins  first  become  visible  at  a  length  of  9  mm. ;  at  23  mm.  all  the  fins  are  well  developed; 
at  33  mm.  scales  are  present;  and  at  41  mm.  the  fry  show  most  of  the  characters  of  the 
adult  though  their  eyes  are  proportionately  much  larger.  The  youngest  larvae 
much  resemble  young  herring,  but  the  fins  are  formed,  the  tail  becomes  forked,  and 
the  body  deepens  at  a  much  smaller  size,  a  menhaden  of  20  mm.  being  as  far  advanced 
in  development  as  a  herring  of  35  mm.,  which  makes  it  easy  to  distinguish  the  older 
larvae  of  the  two  fish. 

Welsh  concluded  from  examination  of  great  numbers  of  fry  and  from  measure- 
ments and  scale  studies  of  fish  of  various  ages  that  menhaden  spawned  in  summer 
(which  would  apply  to  most  of  the  fry  produced  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine)  are  6  to  8  cm. 
(234  to  3}4  inches)  long  their  first  winter  and  average  slightly  more  than  16  cm. 
(about  6J^  inches)  the  second  winter,  while  faU-spawned  fish  are  3  cm.  (134  inches) 
and  about  13  cm.  (about  5  inches)  long  in  their  first  and  second  winters,  respectively, 
-with  every  gradation  between  the  two,  depending  on  the  precise  season  when  the 

"'  Tbe  breeding  habits  ot  the  menhaden  are  described  by  Kuntz  and  EadoliiTe  (1918,  p.  1191  . 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  123 

fish  are  spawned.  Sexual  maturity  is  apparently  attained  in  the  season  following  the 
third  winter,  and  a  few  of  the  older  fish  that  he  examined  showed  as  many  as^9  to  10 
winter  rings  on  the  scales. 

Wlien  the  menhaden  first  arrive  on  our  coasts  in  spring  they  are  thin,  but  they 
put  on  fat  so  rapidly  that  while  the  average  yield  of  oil  per  1,000  Gulf  of  Maine 
fish  was  about  12  gallons  for  the  whole  summer  season  of  1894,  it  rose  to  143/^  gallons 
for  Boston  Harbor  fish  in  August  and  to  16  or  18  gallons  in  September.  It  is 
generally  accepted,  furthermore,  that  fish  taken  on  the  New  England  coast  always 
average  larger  and  fatter  than  those  caught  farther  south. 

Food. — The  menhaden,  formerly  thought  to  subsist  on  mud,  is  now  known  to 
feed  chiefly  on  microscopic  plants,  particularly  diatoms,  and  on  the  smallest  Crus- 
tacea.^* These  it  sifts  out  of  the  water  with  a  straining  apparatus  in  the  shape 
of  successive  layers  of  pectinated  gill  rakers  as  efficient  as  our  finest  nets.  Men- 
haden feed,  as  Peck  described,  by  swimming  with  the  mouth  open  and  the  gill 
openings  spread,  and  we  have  often  seen  specimens  in  the  aquarium  at  Woods 
Hole  doing  this.^°  The  mouth  and  pharyngeal  sieve  act  exactly  as  a  tow  net, 
retaining  whatever  is  large  enough  to  enmesh  with  no  voluntary  selection  of  par- 
ticular plankton  units.  The  prey  thus  captured,  as  appears  from  the  stomach 
contents,  includes  small  annelids,  various  minute  Crustacea,  schizopod  and  decapod 
larvsB,  rotifers,  etc.,  but  as  a  rule  these  are  greatly  outnumbered  by  the  sundry 
unicellular  plants,  particularly  by  diatoms  and  peridinians.  At  a  given  locality 
the  food  eaten  parallels  the  general  plankton  content  of  the  water,  except  that 
none  of  the  larger  animals,  on  the  one  hand,  nor  the  verj'  smallest  organisms  (that 
is,  certain  infusoria),  on  the  other,  appear  in  the  stomachs  of  the  fish.  The  men- 
haden, in  short,  parallels  the  whalebone  whales  in  its  mode  of  feeding,  except  that 
its  diet  is  finer  because  its  filter  is  closer  meshed.  Peck  has  calculated  from  obser- 
vations on  the  living  fish  that  an  adult  menhaden  is  capable  of  filtering  between 
6  and  7  gallons  (about  24  to  28  liters)  of  water  per  minute,  and  while  the  fish  do 
not  feed  continuously  this  will  give  some  measure  of  the  tremendous  amount  of 
water  sifted  and  of  plankton  required  to  maintain  the  hordes  in  wliich  these  fish 
appear.  The  abundance  of  microscopic  plants  in  the  water  of  bays,  estuaries,  etc., 
has  often  been  invoked  to  explain  the  concentration  of  menhaden  close  to  the  shore. 

Enemies. — No  wonder  the  menhaden,  fat  and  oily,  swimming  as  it  does  in 
great  schools  of  closely  ranked  individuals  and  helpless  to  protect  itself,  is  the 
prey  of  every  predaceous  animal  that  swims,  and  that  the  havoc  wreaked  on  it  by 
other  fish  has  often  been  described.  Whales  and  porpoises  devour  them  in  large 
numbers;  sharlcs  are  usually  seen  following  the  pogy  schools;  pollock,  cod,  silver 
hake,  and  swordfish  all  take  their  toll  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  as  do  weakfish  and 
bluefish  south  of  Cape  Cod.  Tuna,  or  "horse  mackerel,"  kill  great  numbers,  but 
the  worst  enemy  of  all  is  the  bluefish,  and  this  is  true  even  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
during  periods  when  both  bluefish  and  menhaden  are  plentiful  there  (p.  239).  Not 
only  do  these  pirates  devour  millions  of  menhaden  every  summer  but  they  kill  far 

"  For  a  detailed  account  of  the  food  and  of  the  branchial  sieve  of  the  menhaden,  see  Peck  (Bxilletin,  United  States  Fish  Com- 
mission, Vol.  XIII,  1S93  (1S94),  pp.  113-124,  pis.  1-8.    Washington). 

"  Apparently  Ehrenbaura  (as  quoted  by  BuUen,  Journal,  Marine  Biological  Association  of  the  United  Kingdom,  Vol. 
IX,  1910-13,  pp.  394-403.  Plymouth)  was  not  acquainted  with  the  habits  of  the  menhaden  when  he  wrote  to  the  effect  that  no 
fish  eat  plankton  indiscriminately  or  habitually  swim  about  with  open  mouth  when  feeding. 


124  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUKEAU    OF   FISHERIES 

more  than  they  eat.  Besides  the  toll  taken  by  these  natural  enemies,  menhaden, 
like  herring,  often  strand  in  myriads  in  shoal  water  either  in  their  attempt  to  escape 
their  enemies  or  for  other  reasons,  to  perish  and  pollute  the  air  for  weeks  with  the 
stench  of  their  decaying  carcasses. 

Habits. — The  menhaden,  like  the  herring,  almost  invariably  travels  in  schools 
of  thousands  of  individuals,  swimming  closely  side  by  side  and  tier  above  tier  when, 
as  Goode,  et  al.  (1884,  p.  571)  so  graphically  write,  "one  may  see  their  glittering 
backs  beneath,  and  the  boat  seems  to  be  gliding  over  a  floor  inlaid  with  blocks  of 
silver."  In  calm  weather  menhaden  come  to  the  surface,  where  fishermen  recog- 
nize the  identity  of  the  schools  by  the  ripple  they  make.  W.  F.  Clapp  has  described 
the  visible  difference  between  menhaden,  herring,  and  mackerel,  as  follows: 

Pogie.'!,  like  herring,  make  a  mvich  more  compact  disturbance  than  mackerel,  which  are 
often  much  scattered.  Fogies  make  a  much  bluer  and  heavier  commotion  than  herring,  which 
hardly  make  more  of  a  ripple  than  does  a  light  breeze  passing  over  the  water.  Besides,  the  indi- 
vidual pogies  or  herring  seldom  show  themselves,  whereas  mackerel  often  break  the  surface  with 
their  heads  while  swimming. 

It  is  chiefly  on  warm,  still,  sunny  days  that  the  menhaden  come  to  the  sur- 
face— sinking  in  bad  weather — and  they  are  said  to  come  up  more  often  on  the 
flood  tide  than  on  the  ebb.  It  is  also  said — but  this  we  can  not  vouch  for — that 
the  fish  work  inshore  on  the  flood  tide  and  offshore  on  the  ebb. 

Commercial  imporfance. — Conmiercially  the  menhaden  is  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant of  our  American  fishes— not  for  the  table,  but  for  the  manufacture  of  oil  and 
fertilizer'"' — but,  as  pointed  out  above  (p.  120),  it  is  only  in  certain  years  that  a  large 
catch  is  made  north  of  Cape  Cod.  The  fact  that  the  total  value  of  menhaden 
products  in  the  year  1912  was  $3,690,155  will  give  an  idea  of  the  magnitude  of 
the  industry.  Practically  the  entire  catch  of  menhaden  is  taken  with  purse  seines; 
they  never  bite  a  baited  hook.  Menhaden  are  used  to  a  very  limited  extent  for 
food,  but  so  oily  a  fish  is  never  likely  to  become  popular. 

THE   ANCHOVIES.     FAMILY   ENGRAULIDID.^ 

The  anchovies  are  small  herringlike  fishes,  readily  distinguishable  from  the 
latter  by  the  fact  that  the  mouth  is  not  only  very  much  larger  and  gapes  much 
farther  back,  but  is  inferior  in  situation  rather  than  terminal,  and  is  overhung 
by  the  upper  jaw,  which  projects  like  a  short  piglike  snout  in  some  species.  Only 
one  anchovy,  a  straggler  from  the  south,  is  known  to  occur  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

45.  Anchovy  {Anclwvia  mitchilli  Cuvier  and  Valenciennes) 

Whitebait 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  446. 

Description. — The  only  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes  with  which  one  might  confuse  the 
anchovy  are  young  herring,  smelt,  or  silversides,  but  it  may  easily  be  distinguished 
from  the  former  by  the  wide  mouth,  as  just  noted,  by  the  fact  that  the  upper  jaw 
overhangs  the  lower  instead  of  vice  versa,  by  its  much  larger  eye,  by  the  relative 


"  For  an  account  of  the  status  of  the  menhaden  industry  in  1912,  see  Qreer  (Appendix  lU,  Report,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of 
Fisheries,  1914  (1915),  27  pp.). 


FISHES    OF    THE    GULF    OF    MAINE 


125 


positions  of  the  fins,  the  dorsal  being  altogether  behind  instead  of  over  the  ventrals, 
•nath  the  latter  originating  close  behind  the  tips  of  the  pectorals  when  these  are 
laid  back  against  the  body,  by  its  much  longer  anal  fin,  and  by  the  fact  that  the 
belly  is  rounded  instead  of  sharp  edged.  The  lack  of  an  adipose  fin  back  of  the 
dorsal  is  sufHcient  to  separate  anchovy  from  smelt  at  a  glance,  while  the  silversides 
(Menidia)  has  two  dorsal  fins  instead  of  only  one.  The  anchovy  has  large,  thin, 
easily  detached  scales  and  a  deeply  forked  tail.  Its  body  is  about  four  times  as 
long  as  deep,  and  compressed,  while  the  tip  of  the  upper  jaw  or  "snout"  is  shorter 
than  in  most  of  its  immediate  relative^. 


Fig.  40,— Egg 


•  /  ■„ 


Fig.  50.— Larva,  10  millimeters 


m»- 


Fig.  61.— Adult 
ANCHOVy  (Anchovia  mitchilU) 

Color.— The  anchovy  is  a  whitish  silvery  translucent  little  fish,  its  most  charac- 
teristic marking  being  an  ill-defined  silvery  band  scarcely  wider  than  the  pupil  of 
the  eye  runmng  from  the  gill  opening  back  to  the  caudal  fin.  There  are  also  many 
dark  dots  on  body  and  fins. 

Size. — Two  and  one-half  to  four  inches  long. 

General  range.— Coast  of  the  United  States  from  Maine  to  Texas,  chiefly  west 
and  south  of  Cape  Cod. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.— The  anchovy  is  mentioned  here  because  it 
has  been  taken  in  Casco  Bay  and  at  Provincetown.  It  has  no  real  place  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  fauna,  being  a  southern  fish  that  rarely  strays  past  Cape  Cod,  though 
it  is  abundant  about  Woods  Hole  and  thence  westward  and  southward.     Stragglers 


126  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

may  be  expected  most  often  in  the  Gulf  in  midsummer  since  it  appears  from  May  to 

October  in  southern  New  England  waters.     Sandy  beaches  and  the  mouths  of 

rivers  are  its  chief  resorts. 

Habits. — An  accoimt  of  its  embryology  and  larval  development  is  given  by 

Kuntz." 

THE    SALMONS.     FAMILY    SALMONID.E 

The  salmons  are  soft^rayed  fishes  with  no  spines  in  any  of  the  fins,  with  the 
ventrals  situated  on  the  abdomen  far  behind  the  pectorals,  and  with  a  fleshy  rayless 
"adipose"  fin  on  the  back  behind  the  rayed  dorsal  fin,  the  presence  of  this  adipose 
fin  and  its  location  separating  them  from  all  other  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes  except  the 
smelt  family,  the  pearlsides  (p.  151),  and  the  viper  and  lancet  fishes  (p.  155).^^  The 
rounded  noses,  stout  bodies,  and  nearly  square  tails  of  the  salmons  mark  them  at  a 
glance  from  the  sharp-nosed,  slender,  forked-tailed  smelts;  the  absence  of  phos- 
phorescent organs  distinguishes  them  from  the  pearlsides,  while  the  viper  and  lancet 
fishes  are  of  quite  different  general  aspect.  At  the  present  time  three  salmons  ^^ 
occur  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  one  of  which — the  sea  trout — resorts  to  tidal  estuaries 
at  the  mouths  of  a  few  of  our  streams,  while  a  second — the  humpback  salmon — has 
recently  been  introduced  from  the  Pacific  coast  (the  success  of  the  experiment  is 
still  in  doubt),  leaving  the  Atlantic  salmon  alone  as  a  characteristic  inhabitant  of 
the  open  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

KEY  TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   SALMONS 

1.  Anal  fin  long,  with  14  to  17  rays Humpback  salmon,  p.  126 

Anal  fin  short,  with  less  than  13  rays 2 

2.  Scales  so  small  as  to  be  hardly  visible;  back  with  vermiculate  markings;  teeth  on  roof 

of  mouth  confined  to  a  group  in  front Sea  trout,  p.  138 

Scales  large  enough  to  be  easily  visible;  back  without  vermiculate  markings;  a  row  of 
teeth  runs  back  along  the  midline  of  the  roof  of  the  mouth Salmon,  p.  130 

46.  Humpback  salmon  iOncorhynchus  gorhuscha  Walbaum) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  47S. 

Description. — The  humpback  is  of  the  familiar  salmon  outline  while  living  in  the 
sea,  the  body  being  deeper  than  thick  but  with  rounded  belly.  (See  fig.  52,  p.  129.) 
The  head  is  naked  but  the  body  is  covered  with  scales  large  enough  to  be  seen  easily. 
Its  dorsal  fin  stands  about  midway  of  the  body  above  the  ventrals,  and  the  flaplike 
adipose  fin  is  over  the  rear  end  of  the  anal.  In  all  this  it  agrees  so  closely  with  the 
Atlantic  salmon  that  the  two  might  easily  be  confused  were  it  not  that  the  anal  fin 
of  the  humpback  invariably  has  14  or  more  rays  while  that  of  the  Atlantic  sahnon 
has  only  about  9 .  The  male  humpback,  Uke  all  the  Pacific  salmons  and  to  a  lesser  degree 
the  Atlantic  salmon,  undergoes  a  very  noticeable  change  in  form  in  the  spawning  season , 
when  the  body  deepens  and  develops  a  prominent  hump  in  front  of  the  dorsal  fin, 
while  the  jaws  elongate  and  become  hooked  at  the  tip  and  the  teeth  increase  in  size. 

"  Bulletin,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol.  XXXIII.  1913  (1915),  p.  13. 

"  Sundry  other  deep-sea  fishes  have  adipose  fins. 

"  A  specimen  of  one  of  the  whiteflshes  (probably  Coregonun  quadrilateral^  Richardson)  was  taken  in  the  mouth  of  the  Sissibou 
River,  St.  Mary  Bay,  September,  1919  (Uuntsman,  1922a,  p.  U),  straying  down  from  fresh  water.  Whiteflsh  are  recognizable 
by  the  presence  of  an  adipose  fin,  a."!  in  the  true  salmons,  but  a  very  small  mouth  and  compressed,  herringlike  rather  than  salmon- 
like body. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  127 

Color. — While  in  the  sea  the  back  and  tail  of  the  humpback  are  bottle  green 
with  poorly  defined  black  spots.  These  spots  are  particularly  conspicuous  on  the 
tail,  where  they  are  oval  in  outline  and  as  much  as  a  third  of  an  inch  across  the  long 
diameter.  These  large  oval  spots  on  the  tail  form  one  of  the  most  distinctive  marks 
whereby  the  humpback  can  be  distinguished  from  all  other  salmon.  Its  sides  and 
belly  are  silvery,  with  a  faint  pinkish  tinge.  Young  humpbacks  are  unique  among 
salmon  in  being  of  practically  adult  coloration  without  "smolt"  marks  (p.  133). 

Size. — The  humpback  is  the  smallest  of  the  Pacific  salmons  and  is  much  smaller 
than  the  Atlantic  salmon,  adults  averaging  only  about  b}4,  pounds  in  weight  and 
20  to  25  inches  in  length,  males  running  up  to  about  11  and  females  to  73^  pounds. 

General  range. — Pacific  coast  and  rivers  of  North  America  and  Asia,  from 
Oregon  northward  on  the  American  side.  This  is  the  most  abundant  salmon  in 
Alaska.     It  runs  up  fresh  rivers  to  spawn,  which  it  does  but  once  and  then  dies. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.— The  history  of  the  introduction  of  this 
west  coast  salmon  to  New  England  waters  is  as  follows: 

In  the  autumn  of  1913  a  large  consignment  of  humpback  eggs  was  shipped  to 
the  Craig  Brook  and  Green  Lake  (Me.)  hatcheries,  and  the  approximately  7,000,000 
fry  and  fingerlings  hatched  therefrom  were  distributed  in  the  Penobscot,  Andro- 
scoggin, Damariscotta,  Dennys,  Pleasant,  Union,  Medomak,  Georges,  and  St.  Croix 
Rivers.  A  year  later  some  5,000,000  more  young  fish  were  liberated.  A  third 
plant  was  made  in  1915,  a  fourth  of  6,235,808  fingerlings  in  1916,  and  a  fifth  of 
about  1,000,000  in  the  Dennys  and  Pembroke  Rivers  in  1917.^*  The  results  of  this 
attempt  at  acclimatization  were  first  seen  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1915  when 
fishermen  along  the  Maine  coast  reported  large  numbers  of  mature  humpbacks. 
Furthermore,  humpbacks  ran  in  the  Dennys  River  (where  many  were  caught)  from 
August  15  until  September  24,  and  some  probably  spawned  there,  for  the  bodies  of 
spent  fish  were  seen  drifting  downstream.  Himipbacks  again  entered  the  rivers  of 
eastern  Maine,  particularly  the  Pembroke  and  Dennys,  with  a  few  reported  from  the 
Penobscot,  St.  Georges,  Medomak,  and  St.  Croix,  during  August,  September,  and 
October,  1917,  the  result  of  the  plant  of  1915.  In  the  Dennys  alone  at  least 
2,000  matm-e  fish  were  seen  and  many  averaging  about  5  pounds  and  one  as  heavy 
as  10  pounds  9  ounces  were  caught.  Definite  information  for  1918  is  lacking, 
but  even  larger  numbers  entered  the  Dennys  and  Pembroke  Rivers  in  the  autumn 
of  1919  than  in  1917,  with  smaller  runs  in  the  Penobscot,  Machias,  St.  Croix,  and 
Medomak  Rivers,  and  humpbacks  were  caught  in  weirs  in  Passamaquoddy  and 
Cobscook  Bays  near  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  Enough  spawned  in  the 
Dennys  and  Pembroke  Rivers  that  year  for  the  fish-culturists  of  the  Bureau  of 
Fisheries  to  artifically  fertilize  half  a  million  eggs. 

In  1920,'^  too,  adult  fish  wei-e  taken  in  the  weirs  in  Penobscot  Bay,  and  some 
time  during  the  summer  of  1921  one  fish  was  caught  in  a  weir  as  far  from  its  native 
river  as  LanesviUe,  Mass.  (near  Cape  Ann),  whence  it  was  forwarded  to  the  Massa- 
chusetts commissioners  as  reported  by  C.  E.  Grant,  of  Gloucester. 

"  More  detailed  accounts  of  the  successive  plantings  will  bo  found  in  the  annual  reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  Fisheries 
for  the  years  1914  to  1920. 

"  Reported  catch,  Washington  County,  Me.,  1920,  310  pounds. 

102274— 25 1 9 


128  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BTJEEATJ    OF   FISHERIES 

The  experiment  has  gone  far  enough  to  prove  that  the  humpback  can  live  and 
grow  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  during  its  normal  period  of  marine  existence  and  find 
its  way  back  to  the  home  streams  as  the  time  of  sexual  maturity  draws  near. 
Whether  it  can  multiply  to  any  considerable  stock,  or  even  maintain  itself  by  na- 
tural reproduction  -without  the  aid  of  artificial  propagation  in  the  few  Maine  rivers 
open  to  it,  remains  to  be  seen.  Brief  experience  Avith  it  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  sug- 
gests that  the  local  run  vnll  take  place  in  late  summer  and  early  autimin  as  is  the 
case  in  Alaska. 

Habits. — The  humpback  runs  up  small  streams  indifferently,  whether  or  not 
lakes  occur  in  their  courses.  After  it  enters  fresh  water  it  feeds  no  more,  and  its 
digestive  organs,  like  those  of  all  Pacific  salmons,  shrivel  up  and  atrophy  while 
the  changes  in  form  of  body  and  jaws,  so  characteristic  of  the  breeding  male  (p.  126), 
take  place.  The  skin,  too,  thickens  and  becomes  so  spongy  that  the  scales  are 
entirely  concealed.  The  humpback  spawns  very  soon  after  it  enters  the  rivers,  and 
though  it  reaches  the  spawning  grounds  in  fairly  good  condition  (except  for  a  loss 
of  fat),  the  fins  of  both  sexes  soon  become  frayed,  the  skin  rubs  off  the  jaws,  bases 
of  fins,  and  other  prominent  places,  the  tails  of  the  females  are  worn  down  to  the 
quick,  fungus  attacks  these  open  wounds  as  well  as  the  gills  and  eyes,  and  when  the 
last  eggs  and  milt  are  deposited  the  spent  and  exhausted  fish  finally  die.  No  hmnp- 
back  ever  survives  the  operation  of  spawning. 

Spawning  takes  place  in  the  faU  at  temperatures  of  54°  to  60°  F.  As  soon  as 
the  yolk  sac  of  the  young  humpback  is  absorbed  and  it  is  able  to  swim  (which  is 
about  the  time  the  ice  breaks  up  in  spring)  it  runs  dovm  to  the  sea.  During  their 
first  months  in  salt  water  the  fry  linger  near  the  mouths  of  the  home  streams, ^° 
where  they  feed  chiefly  on  copepods  and  other  small  crustaceans,  on  pteropods, 
and  on  insects  that  drift  downstream  with  the  current,  and  occasionally  on  fish  fry. 
After  they  are  5  or  6  inches  long  they  move  out  into  deep  water,  and  very  little  is 
known  of  their  habits  and  wanderings  thereafter  until  they  reappear  on  the  coast 
as  adults  to  breed.  Large  humpbacks  have  been  found  full  of  pelagic  Crustacea 
and  launce,  evidence  that  they  subsist  on  a  mixed  plankton  and  fish  diet,  the  former 
probably  predominating.  No  humpback  has  ever  been  known  to  take  a  trolled 
spoon  or  baited  hook. 

McMurrich  "  (in  1912)  and  Gilbert'*  (in  1913)  have  proved  by  their  studies 
of  its  scales  that  the  humpback  invariably  lives  in  the  sea  through  one  summer,  a 
winter,  and  well  into  the  secOnd  summer,  and  then  comes  in  to  spawn. 

Commercial  importance. — The  humpback  is  an  excellent  food  fish  when  taken 
in  salt  water  and  would  be  a  valuable  addition  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  but  it  becomes 
worthless  soon  after  entering  fresh  water.'' 

>«  We  owe  to  Chamberlain  (Bureau  of  Fisheries  Document  No.  627,  Report,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Fisheries,  1906,  112  pp.. 
Pis.  I-V)  the  little  we  know  of  the  habits  of  the  young  humpback. 

"  Proceedings  and  Transactions,  Royal  Society  of  Canada,  Third  Series,  Vol.  VI,  May,  1912  (1913),  Section  IV,  pp.  9-28. 

M  Bulletin,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol.  XXXII,  1912  (1914),  pp.  3-22,  Pis.  I-XVII.    Washington. 

39  The  Pacific  "Chinook"  salmon  (Oncorhynchus  tschawytscha)  was  introduced  in  the  Merrimac  River  system  by  the  Com- 
missioners of  Fisheries  and  Game  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts  in  1916,  but  the  plant  seems  to  have  been  a  failure,  for  no  adults 
w<re  reported  in  1920,  the  year  they  would  have  been  expected  to  return  from  the  sea  as  mature  fish. 


FISHES    OF    THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


129 


V 


I 


130  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

47.  Salmon  (Salmo  solar  Linnaeus) 
Atlantic  salmon;  Sea  salmon;  Parr;  Smolt;  Grilse;  Kelt 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  486. 

Description.- — ^The  Atlantic  salmon  is  a  more  slender  and  graceful  fish  than  the 
humpback — about  one-fourth  as  deep  as  long,  deepest  below  the  dorsal  fin,  whence 
it  tapers  toward  both  head  and  tail.  It  is  oval  in  cross  section.  Its  head  is  small 
(about  one-fifth,  or  less,  of  the  total  length,  not  counting  caudal  fin),  its  nose  is 
pointed,  the  eye  rather  small,  and  its  mouth  gapes  back  to  below  the  eye.  The 
dorsal  fin  (about  11  rays)  stands  about  midway  between  the  tip  of  the  snout  and 
base  of  tail  fin;  the  ventrals  are  under  its  rear  end.  The  anal  is  similar  in  form  to 
the  dorsal  but  with  only  about  9  rays  (7  to  10  have  been  recorded),  whereas  the 
humpback  has  14  or  more.  In  adults  the  tail  is  only  very  slightly  emarginate; 
almost  square  in  large  fish.  In  fish  only  one  year  at  sea,  however  ("smolts"  and 
"grilse"),  it  is  more  forked. 

Teeth. — ^The  teeth  afford  the  most  certain  distinction  between  small  salmon 
and  the  New  England  sea  trout  (Salvelinus,  p.  138),  for  in  the  former  the  roof  of  the 
mouth  is  armed  not  only  with  a  cluster  in  front  but  with  a  row  of  stout  conical 
teeth  running  back  along  its  midline,  easily  felt  with  the  finger,  whereas  the  sea 
trout  has  the  anterior  group  only.  Old  salmon  sometimes  lose  these  "vomerine" 
teeth,  but  the  large  size  of  the  fish  identifies  them  at  a  glance. 

Scales. — The  scales  are  large- — a  diagnostic  feature  for  small  fish — those  of  the 
sea  trout  being  hardly  visible  (p.  139). 

Color.- — While  in  the  sea  the  salmon  is  silvery  all  over,  with  brownish  back  and 
marked  on  head,  body  (chiefiy  above  the  lateral  hue) ,  and  fins  with  numerous  small 
black  crosses  and  spots. 

Weight  of  salmon  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  largest  salmon  we  find  mentioned 
was  an  English  fish  of  83  pounds.  None  even  approaching  this  size  is  recorded  from 
our  side  of  the  Atlantic,  where  a  50-pounder  is  unusual,  though  fish  of  40  pounds 
weight  are  not  uncommon  in  some  of  the  larger  rivers  emptying  into  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence.  In  the  Penobscot  and  St.  John  Rivers  very  few  fish  reach  40  pounds 
and  30-pounders  are  rare,  the  usual  run  being  10  to  12  pounds.  Taking  one  river 
with  another,  large  and  small,  10  pounds  may  be  set  as  a  fair  average  of  the  mature 
Gulf  of  Maine  fish.  With  due  allowance  for  individual  and  seasonal  variation  a 
2-foot  fish  wUl  weigh  about  6  pounds;  one  of  3  feet,  16  to  20  pounds. 

General  range. ^Coastal  waters  of  both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic  to  within  the 
Arctic  Circle,  entering  rivers  to  spawn.  On  the  American  coast  salmon  formerly 
ran  up  all  suitable  rivers  from  northern  Labrador  to  the  Housatonic  River  in  Con- 
necticut and  possibly  the  Hudson  also. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — When  the  white  man  first  came  to  New 

England  he  found  salmon  in  every  large  stream  not  barred  by  impassable  falls 

-from  Cape  Sable  to  Cape  Cod;  that  is,  all  the  Nova  Scotian  and  New  Brunswick 

rivers  tributary  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  and  the  following  rivers  in  New  England: 

St.    Croix,    Dennys,   Orange,    East    Machias,    Machias,    Pleasant,    Narraguagus, 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  131 

Union,  Penobscot,  St.  George,  Medomak,  Sheepscot,  Androscoggin,  Kennebec, 
Royal,  Presumpscot,  Saco,  Mausam,  Piscataqua,  and  Merrimac.*"  Since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  past  century,  however,  one  New  England  river  after  another  was  so 
obstructed  by  dams  that  by  1887  salmon  regularly  entered  the  St.  Croix,  Dennys, 
East  Machias,  Machias,  Penobscot,  Sheepscot,  Kennebec,  and  Androscoggin  only. 
The  Kennebec  was  still  an  important  salmon  river  as  late  as  1895,  but  at  present  the 
Penobscot  and  Dennys  alone  see  a  regular  run,  though  odd  salmon  still  enter  other 
streams.  Along  the  Canadian  shores  of  our  Gulf  a  few  salmon  still  run  in  the 
Tusket,  Salmon,  and  Annapolis  Rivers,  many  in  the  Shubenacadie  River  in 
Nova  Scotia,  some  in  the  Petit  Codiac,  and  great  numbers  in  the  St.  John  in  New 
Brunswick,  the  latter  still  being  a  famous  salmon  river,  while  odd  fish  are  seen  in 
the  St.  Croix  now  that  the  sawdust  pollution  is  not  as  bad  as  formerly. 

The  fate  of  the  salmon  in  the  Merrimac"  typifies  its  history  in  the  rivers  from 
which  it  is  now  barred.  Salmon  spawned  plentifully  in  the  upper  tributaries  of  the 
stream  in  question,  especially  the  Pemigewasset,  as  late  as  1793  (in  1790  the  run  was 
so  abundant  in  the  lower  river  that  60  to  100  a  day  was  the  usual  catch  with  a  90- 
yard  seine  near  the  mouth  at  Amesbury),  but  from  that  time  on,  with  the  construc- 
tion of  one  dam  after  another,  the  run  of  salmon  steadily  dwindled  until  in  1847  the 
completion  of  the  dam  at  Lawrence  completely  barred  the  upper  reaches  of  the  river. 
For  some  years  thereafter  salmon  congregated  below  this  dam  in  spring  and  summer 
vainly  endeavoring  to  surmount  it,  but  since  1859  or  1860,  by  which  date  the  last 
salmon  hatched  above  had  lived  its  span  of  life,  there  has  been  no  run  of  salmon  in  the 
Merrimac  nor  have  any  spawned  there  with  the  possible  exception  of  a  few  lifted 
over  the  dam  by  hand.  Nevertheless  a  few  salmon  have  been  seen  and  caught  in 
the  lower  Merrimac  year  after  year.  There  were,  indeed,  enough  of  these  fish  to 
yield  a  supply  of  eggs  for  artificial  hatching  up  to  1893,  but  attempts  at  restocking 
by  this  means  have  proved  vain  and  will  uatil  proper  fishways  are  provided  at  all 
the  dams.  In  1896  there  seems  to  have  been  what  almost  might  be  described  as  a 
"run" — for  salmon  were  seen  leaping  below  the  Lawrence  dam  nearly  every  day 
from  June  10  to  July  25,  often  10  or  20  at  a  time,  and  a  few  were  lifted  over — but 
this  proved  merely  a  flurry,  for  only  a  few  were  seen  in  1898,  6  only  (at  Lowell)  in 
1899,  7  in  1900,  11  in  1901,  and  since  then  not  a  single  Atlantic  salmon  has  been 
credibly  reported  in  the  Merrimac,  although  the  director  of  the  Massachusetts  Divi- 
sion of  Fisheries  and  Game  has  made  special  inquiry  of  the  local  wardens."  Nor 
is  it  likely  that  salmon  would  still  run  in  the  Penobscot  were  it  not  for  the  artificial 
propagation  carried  on  there  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  so  seriously 
is  the  river  obstructed. 

The  early  extirpation  of  salmon  from  so  many  New  England  rivers  naturally 
residted  in  a  great  change  in  the  distribution  of  salmon  in  the  open  Gulf,  clearly 
reflected  in  the  catch.  Thus  in  1889  more  than  150,000  pounds  (about  15,000 
fish)  were  taken  in  the  weirs  and  traps  along  the  Maine  coast  and  in  its  river  mouths 

"  Atkins  (1887,  p.  679)  has  collected  much  information  on  the  local  history  of  salmon  in  northern  New  England. 
"  Lyman  and  Reed,  1866,  pp.  3-41. 

"  One  or  two  small  "salmon"  that  have  been  caught  were  probably  landlocked,  running  down  from  tributaries  stocked  with 
this  fish. 


132 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


(more  than  seven-eightlis  of  this  in  or  about  the  approaches  to  the  Penobscot 
Eiver),  while  as  recently  as  1905  the  catch  for  Maine  was  more  than  86,000  pounds 
(of  this  74,000  pounds,  or  6,378  fish,  were  from  the  Penobscot),  but  by  1919  the 
Maine  catch  had  fallen  to  little  more  than  20,000  pounds  with  only  odd  fish  taken 
off  Massachusetts.  As  70  to  90  per  cent  of  the  Maine  catch  comes  from  Penobscot 
River  or  Bay,  the  following  table  of  salmon  caught  there  since  1905  is  pertinent:  ^^ 


Year 

Number 
offish 

Pounds 

Year 

Number 
offish 

Pounds 

1896 --- 

6,404 
3,226 
6,821 
4,859 

80,225 
42,560 
86,055 
67,  470 

1905 - -- 

6,378 
1,653 
1,322 
1,593 

74,158 

1898 

1918                              

17, 212 

1901..- 

1919 

13,567 

1903 

1920                                           -- 

15, 135 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  actually  more  salmon  to-day  in  the  Canadian 
waters  of  the  Gulf  than  there  were  30  years  ago,  thanks  to  wise  measures  of  con- 
servation such  as  limiting  netting  at  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  and  keeping  them 
free  of  access  by  fishways  at  the  dams;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  it  is  safe  to  set  the 
total  yearly  catch  for  the  whole  Gulf  as  50  per  cent  larger  now  than  during  the 
period  about  1890,  as  appears  from  the  following  statistics: 


Locality- 

1889' 

1916-17 ' 

Locality 

1889  > 

1916-17 ' 

Nova  Scotian  shores  of  the  Qulf  of  Maine 

Pounds 
74,  523 
156,  5TS 

43,  500 

Pounds 
264,  900 
381,  500 

83, 400 

Pounds 
152, 740 

139 

Pounds 
'  20,  000 

New  Bnmswick  shore  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 
New  Brunswick  rivers  tributary  to  the 
■Ray  nf  FnnHy 

Coast  of  Massachusetts  north  of  Cape 
Cod     

MOO 

1  The  Canadian  and  United  States  returns  for  1889  are  directly  comparable,  both  being  for  the  calendar  year,  but  the  Canadian 
returns  for  1916-17  were  for  the  fiscal  year  Mar.  31  to  Mar.  31. 
'  The  Canadian  catch  was  larger  the  year  previous. 
3  Approximate. 

A  catch  of  250,000  to  300,000  pounds  (about  25,000  to  30,000  fish)  may  now  be 
expected  annually  along  the  Canadian  shores  and  in  the  Canadian  rivers  of  the 
Gulf;  in  New  England  waters  less  than  20,000  pounds.  Fishery  by  modern  methods 
no  doubt  would  have  yielded  a  very  much  larger  total  in  past  times  when  the  fish 
ran  in  all  the  New  England  rivers. 

Although  no  salmon  now  spawn  south  of  the  Penobscot  a  few  are  still  taken  every 
Slimmer  in  the  weirs  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region.  Up  to  about  1895  Cape 
Cod  Bay  annually  yielded  a  number  of  large  fish  weighing  up  to  25  pounds  or  more, 
as  well  as  many  young  smolts  of  about  6  inches  (p.  133),  with  1892  as  a  particularly 
productive  year.  A  few  fish  were  taken  yearly  about  Cape  Ann,  also,  and  in  Cape 
Cod  Bay  until  about  1908.  Thereafter  the  Massachusetts  catch  fell  practically  to 
nil.  In  some  seasons  an  odd  fish  or  two  was  reported  from  one  place  or  another  in 
the  Massachusetts  Bay  region,  other  years  none  at  all,"  imtil  1917  when  perhaps 
150  small  salmon  of  from  2  to  5  pounds  were  caught  by  the  mackerel  gill-netters  in 
Ipswich  Bay  and  off  Thachers  Island  during  November  and  early  December. 

"  Radcliffe,  1921,  p.  146. 

"  For  further  data  on  salmon  in  Massachusetts  waters  see  the  annual  reports  of  the  Massachusetts  commissioners  since  1902. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  133 

Life  history. — -It  is  no  wonder  that  the  life  of  as  noble  a  fish  as  the  salmon  has 
been  the  subject  of  much  scientific  study  and  that  a  whole  literature  has  grown  up 
about  it.  As  everybody  knows  the  salmon  lives  the  greater  part  of  its  life  and  makes 
most  of  its  growth  in  the  sea  but  spawns  in  fresh  water.  In  Gulf  of  Maine  rivers 
this  happens  in  October  and  early  November  on  sandy  or  gravelly  bottom  far 
upstream,  the  females  smoothing  a  shallow  trough  and  covering  the  eggs  with 
gravel.  The  large  (6  to  7  mm.)  thick-shelled  eggs  lie  loose  on  the  bottom  and 
develop  so  slowly  in  the  low  temperature  of  winter  that  hatching  does  not  take  place 
until  late  in  the  following  April  or  early  in  May.  The  newly  hatched  larvae  are  15 
to  18  mm.  (0.6  to  0.7  inch)  long,  and  carry  a  tremendous  large  yolk  sac  for  about 
six  [weeks,  hiding  among  the  pebbles  of  the  spawning  bed  and  taking  no  food. 
When  the  yolk  sac  is  absorbed  the  little  fish  begin  to  swim  and  feed.  These  little 
salmon,  known  as  "parr,"  soon  assume  a  brilliant  coat  with  10  or  11  dark  trans- 
verse bars  alternating  with  bright  red  spots,  much  like  a  young  trout. 

Parr  live  in  fresh  water  for  longer  or  shorter  periods,  according  to  locality  or  to 
other  factors  not  well  imderstood.  In  the  rivers  tributary  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
probably  most  of  them  remain  two  winters  and  two  summers,  running  down  to  sea 
the  third  summer,  but  some  may  seek  salt  water  toward  the  end  of  the  second 
summer  (when  1)^  years  old),  as  is  the  rule  in  rivers  tributary  to  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence.  Parr  may  be  moving  downstream  any  time  from  late  spring  to  autimm, 
but  in  Gulf  of  Maine  streams  most  of  them  probably  make  the  journey  in  June  and 
July,  being  then  5  to  6  inches  long.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  possible  that  some  may 
linger  in  fresh  water  until  3,  4,  5,  or  even  6  years  of  age,  as  is  known  to  happen  in 
Norway.  An  occasional  male  parr  may  even  become  sexually  mature  before  visit- 
ing the  sea  at  all. 

As  they  near  tidewater  the  parr  put  off  their  barred  and  spotted  pattern  to 
assmne  the  silvery  coat  worn  by  the  salmon  during  Ms  sojourn  in  the  sea.  They 
are  then  known  as  "smolts."  After  they  reach  salt  water  they  are  found  for  a 
time  about  the  shores  of  estuaries  and  in  river  mouths.  No  doubt  the  little  salmon, 
too  small  to  sell,  that  are  caught  in  summer  and  autumn  in  weirs  at  Matinicus 
Island  come  from  the  Penobscot  a  month  or  two  previous,  but  they  leave  the  coast 
in  autumn  and  little  is  known  of  their  movements  during  the  first  winter.  Smolts 
from  7  to  12  inches  in  length  have  occasionally  been  taken  in  drift  nets  in  Nor- 
wegian waters  and  in  the  North  Sea  with  herring,  mackerel,  and  other  fish,  sug- 
gesting that  they  follow  and  prey  upon  the  shoals  of  the  latter,  but  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  they  move  far  offshore.  However  this  may  be,  they  grow 
so  rapidly  on  the  abxmdant  diet  the  sea  affords  that  they  usually  reach  a  length  of 
at  least  16  inches  and  weigh  anywhere  from  IJ-^  to  7  or  more  pounds  by  the  fol- 
lowing spring  when  they  reappear  on  the  coast.  They  are  now  termed  "grilse," 
distinguishable  from  the  older  fish  by  a  more  forked  tail,  more  slender  form,  smaller 
head,  thinner  scales,  and  rounded  and  more  numerous  spots  that  are  bluish  rather 
than  black.  Some  of  the  male  "grilse"  become  sexually  mature,  and  although 
fewer  female  salmon  mature  until  older,  "gi-Use"  of  tliis  sex  (fish  only  one  year  at 
sea)  accompany  the  males  and  the  older  mature  fish  up  the  rivers.  '  In  northern 
Canadian  streams  gi'ilse  are  very  abundant.     This  is  also  the  case  in  the  St.  Johns 


134  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

but  for  some  unknown  reason  it  appears  that  so  few  fish  return  to  fresh  water  along 
the  coast  of  Maine  untQ  older  that  in  past  times  when  there  was  still  a  good  run  of 
salmon  not  more  than  3  or  4  grilse  to  70  adults  were  taken  in  the  St.  Croix,  and  not 
more  than  1  to  500  in  the  Dennys  and  Penobscot  Rivers. 

Salmon,  like  most  other  northern  sea  fish,  make  most  of  their  growth  diu-ing 
the  siunmcr.  In  summers  when  they  spawn  they  hardly  grow  at  all,  but  unlike 
the  herrings,  cod,  etc.,  all  mature  salmon  do  not  spawn.  Hence  the  size  of  a 
salmon  depends  more  on  the  number  of  times  it  has  spawned  than  on  its  age. 
Some  males,  as  just  remarked,  spawn  after  one  year  at  sea;  most  of  them,  and 
many  females,  after  two;  while  other  fish  stay  at  sea  for  three,  four,  or  even  five 
years  without  spawning,  meanwhile  growing  to  a  great  size,  and  it  is  probable 
that  all  the  exceptionally  large  fish  are  maidens  entering  fresh  water  for  the  first 
time.  On  the  other  hand  salmon  that  commence  spawning  at  an  early  age  and 
spa^vn  every  year  never  grow  large,  for  the  yearly  growth  is  hardly  more  than  enough 
to  make  up  for  the  loss  during  the  sojoiirn  in  the  river.  Salmon  rarely  live  more 
than  eight  or  nine  years  or  spawm  more  than  three  or  four  times.  Many  (particu- 
larly, the  very  large  fish)  spawn  but  once,  others  annually,  and  others  at  intervals 
of  two  or  three  years.  It  follows  from  this  that  large  salmon  are  to  be  fo\md  in 
the  sea  throughout  the  year,  though  fewer  of  them  in  summer  when  the  spawning 
fish  are  absent  about  their  reproductive  duties  than  in  \\'inter  when  the  whole 
stock,  except  for  the  parr  and  a  few  spent  fish  to  be  mentioned  later,  is  assembled 
there. 

Food. — The  salmon  is  purely  carnivorous  and  very  voracious,  feeding  alto- 
gether on  live  bait,  chiefly  on  fish  and  crustaceans.  Among  the  former  launce, 
herring,  capelin,  smelt,  small  mackerel,  small  sculpins,  and  even  flatfish  have  been 
described  as  entering  into  its  diet,  with  the  first  three  its  favorites.*^  Comeau,*"  for 
example,  speaks  of  launce  and  capelin  as  having  been  the  chief  cUet  of  thousands 
of  salmon  that  he  opened  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  In  the 
Baltic  a  hook  and  line  fishery  is  carried  on  for  salmon  with  herring  as  bait,  and 
occasionally  they  have  been  taken  on  herring-baited  cod  trawls  off  the  Maine 
coast,  while  herring  up  to  5  inches  in  length  have  been  found  in  salmon  stomachs 
about  Eastport.  Sand  fleas  (Gammarus)  rank  with  launce  and  herring  in  impor- 
tance as  salmon  food  in  the  North  and  Baltic  Seas,  while  fish  entering  the  Penobscot 
have  been  found  full  of  "shrimp"  (probably  euphausiids) .  Salmon  are  also 
credited  with  eating  crabs. 

Most  of  the  large  salmon,  like  the  smolts,  disappear  from  the  inmiediate 
neighborhood  of  the  coast  in  winter,  but  probably  the  main  body  does  not  go  far 
to  sea,  for  they  are  regularly  caught  near  land  in  the  Baltic  in  winter  by  the  hook 
and  fine  fishery  just  mentioned,  nor  is  it  unusual  for  a  few  salmon  to  be  picked  up 
about  Massachusetts  Bay  at  that  season,  evidence  strengthened  by  the  fact  that 
salmon  appear  about  the  river  mouths  so  soon  after  the  ice  goes  out  in  spring  that 
they  can  not  have  come  from  any  great  distance.     With  odd  fish  entering  the  rivei 

«  Eichelbaum  (Conseil  Permanent  International  pom  I'Exploration  de  la  Mer,  Rapports  et  Proces-Verbaiu,  Vol.  XXI 
1916,  p.  &4)  examined  the  contents  of  the  stomachs  of  many  salmon  from  the  Baltic  and  North  Seas. 
«  Life  and  Sport  on  the  North  Shore,  by  Napoleon  A..  Comeau.    440  pp.,  iUus.,  1909.     Quebec. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  135 

mouths  in  winter  (as  has  often  been  reported)  and  with  kelts  (p.  136)  on  their  way 
down,  salmon  are  to  be  found  in  the  large  rivers  in  every  month  in  the  year,  as  has 
long  been  known  for  the  Penobscot. 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  Gulf  of  Maine  salmon  regularly  descend 
to  any  great  depth,  winter  or  summer.  On  the  contrary,  the  weirs,  gill  nets,  etc., 
which  yield  so  many  in  various  regions,  are  all  operated  in  shoal  water  (the  Baltic 
hook-and-line  fishery  is  carried  on  at  about IJ^ fathoms);  but  the  fact  that  salmon 
are  caught  occasionally  on  cod  trawls  in  the  Gulf  is  proof  that  at  least  some  go  as 
deep  as  25  fathoms  or  more,  while  diet  proves  they  not  only  feed  pelagically,  as 
when  pursuing  herring,  but  near  if  not  actually  on  bottom,  where  alone  they  could 
find  Gammarus  in  abundance. 

The  view  now  generally  held  that  the  whole  body  of  salmon,  whether  or  not 
destined  to  breed  that  season,  moves  inshore  in  spring  no  doubt  applies  as  well  to 
the  Gulf  as  to  other  seas.  Only  fish  approaching  sexual  maturity  (irrespective  of 
age),  and  the  immature  female  ''grilse"  already  mentioned,  run  far  up  into  the 
rivers,  all  others  remaining  in  salt  water  or  at  most  not  rvmning  above  the  head  of 
tide,  as  has  often  been  remarked.  This  vernal  journey  toward  the  coast  takes  place 
long  before  the  spawning  season,  odd  fish  even  entering  the  Penobscot  in  March  or 
earlier,  and  salmon  are  to  be  expected  in  its  lower  reaches  after  the  first  week  of 
April.  Fish  apparently  coming  in  from  sea  are  taken  off  the  mouth  of  Penobscot 
Bay  through  May  and  June  and  into  early  July,  corresponcUng  to  the  fact  that  the 
chief  runs  in  the  Penobscot  River  itself  occur  in  May  and  June,  with  a  few  fish 
entering  even  later.  Salmon  enter  the  Nova  Scotian  rivers  beginning  late  in  April, 
and  the  New  Brunswick  streams  tributary  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy  from  May  on. 
In  the  Shubenacadie  grilse  are  said  to  run  from  August  until  late  in  autumn. 
We  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  more  definite  dates  for  the  St.  John  Eiver. 

A  good  deal  of  discussion  has  centered  about  the  question  as  to  whether  the 
earliest  fish  stay  in  fresh  water  from  then  until  spawning  time,  a  matter  of  sLx 
months,  or  whether  there  is  more  or  less  movement  in  and  out  of  the  river  mouths 
at  the  beginning  of  the  season.  Probably  the  latter  view  is  correct,  at  least  for  the 
smaller  streams,  but  it  seems  safe  to  say  that  after  the  run  is  well  under  way  in  late 
May  or  early  June  no  fish  return  to  the  sea  until  autimin.  Tagging  experiments 
carried  out  in  Canadian  rivers  have  yielded  the  very  interesting  infoi-mation  that  no 
matter  when  a  salmon  runs  upstream  one  year,  it  may  do  so  either  early  or  late  the 
next." 

Wliether  or  not  salmon  feed  in  fresh  water  has  been  a  muchmootedquestionon 
which  we  have  no  first-hand  information  to  contribute.  Certainly,  most  students 
and  practical  anglers  believe  that  salmon  feed  little  in  fresh  water  and  not  at  all  as 
the  spawning  season  approaches,  though  they  may  occasionally  snap  up  a  minnow 
or  other  tempting  morsel  while  still  fresh  run.  The  maturing  salmon  of  both  sexes 
lose  their  silvery  sheen  in  fresh  water  during  the  summer  months,  to  take  on  a  dull 
brownish  or  reddish  hue,  while  the  belly  suffuses  with  some  tint  of  red,  large  black 
spots  develop,  and  the  male  not  only  becomes  variously  mottled  and  spotted  mth  red 
ororange,buthisjawselongate,thelowerbecomingsohooked  that  only  the  tips  come 

"  Fifty-fitth  Annual  Report  of  the  Fisheries  Branch,  Department  of  Marine  and  Fisheries,  Canada.  1921-22  (1922),  p.  19. 
102274—25} 10 


136  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHEEIES 

together.  His  body  becomes  slab-sided,  his  fins  thicken,  and  his  skin  is  covered 
witli  slime,  \mtil  altogether  he  is  but  a  disgusting  caricature  of  the  beautiful  creature 
that  came  in  from  the  sea. 

Salmon  run  far  upstream — for  more  than  two  hundred  miles  in  the  larger  rivers 
such  as  the  St.  John.  SpawTiing,  which  occupies  the  fish  from  5  to  12  days,  takes 
place  in  late  October  and  early  November  in  Penobscot  and  St.  John  waters;  proba- 
bly at  the  same  time  in  Nova  Scotian  streams.  Most  of  the  spent  fish — now 
known  as  "kelts" — return  at  once  to  the  sea  after  spawning,  this  being  true  of  all 
grilse  kelts  and  of  adult  fish  in  small  rivers.  Probably  most  of  the  large  salmon 
that  were  formerly  taken  during  the  winter  in  Belle  Isle  Bay,  about  30  miles  above 
the  mouth  of  the  St.  John  River  at  the  head  of  tide,  were  kelts,  for  they  have  been 
described*^  as  improving  in  condition  ^Tith  the  advance  of  the  season  on  a  bountiful 
diet  of  small  fish.  Some  nonbreeding  fish  seem  also  to  have  wintered  there,*'  how- 
ever, held  by  the  same  attraction.  In  large  rivers,  however,  some  of  the  kelts 
linger  over  ^vinter,  taking  little  food  but  nevertheless  improving  somewhat  in  con- 
dition, to  go  back  to  salt  water  (if  they  survive,  which  many  of  them  do  not,  for 
spa\\"ning  leaves  them  verj'  thin  and  exhausted)  the  follo's^'ing  spring,  when  a  few 
such  are  caught  among  the  sea-run  fish  that  they  pass  on  their  way  downstream. 
None  of  these  late  kelts  spawn  the  following  autiunn;  annual  spawners  are  to  be 
sought  among  those  that  run  down  immediately  after  spawning  and  thus  have  time 
to  recuperate  in  the  sea.  Correspondingly  it  has  been  found  that  a  far  larger  pro- 
portion of  the  fish  in  small  streams  than  in  large  are  annual  spawners.  And  here  we 
find  one  even  if  not  the  only  reason  for  the  well-known  fact  that  sahnon  invariably 
average  smaller  in  the  former  than  in  the  latter,  for  kelts  returning  to  the  sea  im- 
mediately after  spawning  have  less  opportunity  to  grow  (though  they  recover  condi- 
tion sufficiently  to  spawn  again  the  follomng  simimer)  than  such  as  await  the 
spring  to  go  downstream,  and  that  spend  a  whole  year  at  sea  instead  of  one  winter 
only  between  two  successive  spawnings.  This,  however,  does  not  account  for  the 
fact  that  it  is  almost  invariably  in  large  rivers  that  the  very  large  maiden  fish,  four 
or  more  years  old,  are  taken,  nor  can  we  subscribe  to  the  oft-advanced  explanation 
that  smolts  from  large  rivers  wander  farther  out  to  sea  than  do  those  from  small 
ones  and  hence  are  longer  in  returning  thence,  for  once  in  the  salt  water  of  the  open 
sea,  salmon  are  subject  to  similar  surroundings,  irrespective  of  the  size  of  their 
parent  streams. 

The  distribution  of  the  catch  of  salmon  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  yields  a  glimpse  of 
the  movements  of  the  fish  there.  To  begin  with,  so  few  are  caught  near  Cape  Sable 
that  there  can  be  no  general  movement  around  the  Cape  by  the  fish  that  spawn  in  the 
rivers  of  the  outer  coast  of  Nova  Scotia.  The  precise  locations  where  salmon  are 
taken  in  St.  Mary  Bay  (16,400  pounds,  or  about  1,600  fish,  in  1916-17)  suggest 
that  the  fish  follow  its  southern  and  not  its  northern  shore  on  their  journeys  in  and 
out.^"  Statistics  of  much  larger  catches  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  corroborate  Hunts- 
man's (1922a)  suggestion  that  on  leaving  the  rivers  they  follow  the  coast  (New 

"  Phair.    Forest  and  Stream,  Vol.  XXX,  1888,  p.  291. 
"  Harding,  Jas.  A.    Ibid.,  Vol.  XXXVI,  Feb.,  1891,  p.  68. 
"  A  few  are  also  taken  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tusket. 


FISHES    OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  137 

Brunswick  or  Nova  Scotia,  as  it  happens)  for  some  distance  out  toward  the  mouth 
of  the  bay  and  then  scatter,  to  return  again  in  spring  by  the  same  route.  Thus, 
to  go  more  into  detail,  very  few  are  caught  on  the  Nova  Scotian  side  between  the 
entrance  to  St.  Mary  Bay  and  Digby  Gut,  but  fish  on  their  way  to  the  Shubena- 
cadie  River  system  from  the  sea  yield  an  abundant  harvest  as  they  follow  the  shores 
of  Annapolis  and  Kings  Counties  (the  Annapolis  River  also  yields  a  few  fish  in  its 
lower  course,  as  well  as  an  odd  one  occasionally  in  the  Annapolis  Basin).  Salmon 
similarly  en  route  to  the  St.  John,  the  premier  Gulf  of  Maine  river,  strike  the  coast 
about  Point  Lepreau  (about  23  miles  west  of  the  St.  John),  supporting  an  important 
fishery  from  there  to  the  mouth  of  the  river ;  but  very  few  St.  John  River  salmon  can 
go  up  the  Bay  of  Fundy  after  they  leave  the  river,  for  hardly  any  are  taken  on  the 
New  Brunswick  shore  east  of  its  mouth  except  for  small  catches  made  off  the 
Petit  Codiac  River  near  its  head,  the  product  of  the  local  run  in  that  stream.  A 
similar  trend  of  salmon  out  toward  the  southwest  and  back  along  shore  in  the  oppo- 
site direction  seems  to  obtain  on  the  coast  of  Maine,  for  only  an  occasional  fish, 
probably  the  product  of  the  Dennys  River,  is  caught  east  of  Mount  Desert,  while 
several  times  as  many,  which  may  safely  be  credited  to  the  Penobscot,  are  caught 
along  the  stretch  of  coast  line  from  Penobscot  Bay  to  Cape  Elizabeth. 

On  the  whole,  the  salmon  may  be  looked  upon  as  rather  a  local  fish  in  these 
waters;  probably  few  of  them  stray  very  far  from  the  streams  to  which  they  resort 
for  spawning,  nor  is  it  likely  that  many  of  the  St.  John  River  or  Minas  Basin  fish 
ever  venture  far  outside  the  Bay  of  Fundy  into  the  open  Gxilf.  Perhaps  a  50-mile 
radius  would  encircle  the  wanderings  of  the  majority  except,  perhaps,  in  winter, 
when  we  know  noticing  of  their  comings  or  goings.  Marked  salmon,  however,  occa- 
sionally have  been  known  to  make  long  migrations  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
while  fish  marked  in  Nova  Scotia  have  been  taken  in  Newfoundland.  Proof 
that  salmon  may  stray  equally  far  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  is  afforded  by  the  yearly 
captures  near  Cape  Ann  and  in  Massachusetts  Bay  of  fish  that  must  have  come 
from  at  least  as  far  as  the  Penobscot  River,  if  not  from  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  by 
the  fact  that  odd  salmon,  either  strays  from  the  Gulf  or  (less  likely)  the  product  of 
the  periodic  attempts  to  restock  the  Hudson,  are  caught  almost  every  year  about 
Marthas  Vineyard;^'  wliile  odd  salmon,  probably  of  the  latter  parentage,  have  been 
taken  in  the  pounds  along  the  New  Jersey  coast.  Even  young  fish  may  travel  for 
considerable  distances  during  their  first  summer  at  sea,  since  "smolts"  so  small 
that  they  must  have  run  down  to  salt  water  but  a  few  months  previous,  and  for 
which  no  nursery  existed  nearer  than  the  Penobscot,  have  been  taken  in  Cape  Cod 
Bay  in  October  (p.  132).  No  salmon  has  ever  been  creditably  reported  more  than 
about  25  miles  from  the  nearest  land  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  and  therefore  the  100- 
fathom  contour  incloses  practically  the  entire  range  of  the  species  there. '^ 

A  question  closely  bound  up  with  the  migrations  of  the  salmon  in  the  sea  is: 
What  proportion  of  them  return  year  after  year  to  spawn  in  the  very  rivers  in  which 
they  were  hatched?    It  has  been  demonstrated  by  a  variety  of  evidence,  especially 

"  Notably  in  the  spring  of  1918  when  about  75  (including  large  fish  up  to  35  pounds)  were  taken  at  Gay  Head  and  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Woods  Hole. 

''  Smith  (1895,  p.  99)  records  one  caught  50  miles  at  sea  oti  the  coast  of  Delaware. 


138 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


by  the  recapture  of  tagged  fish,  that  the  majority  of  salmon  do  so  return  year  after 
year,  a  thesis  generally  known  as  the  "parent  stream  theory."  However,  since 
marked  fish  have  occasionally  been  retaken  in  strange  rivers,  as  noted  above,  and 
since  odd  salmon  appear  yearly  in  certain  streams  where  none  have  been  hatched  for 
many  years — in  the  Merrimac,  for  instance — it  is  equally  certain  that  the  "parent 
stream"  theory  does  not  always  hold.  Probably  the  truth  of  the  matter  is  that 
while  the  great  bulk  of  the  fish  never  strays  far  and  thus  readily  returns  to  the 
home  stream,  wanderers  that  chance  to  be  in  the  physical  state  leadmg  to  maturity 
when  they  come  inshore  in  the  spring  enter  any  large  unpolluted  stream  they 
encounter,  however  far  from  home. 

Enemies. — No  doubt  when  they  first  go  to  sea  the  smolts  fall  prey  to  any  large 
predaceous  fish — they  have,  indeed,  been  found  in  the  stomachs  of  pollock — but 
after  one  or  two  years'  sojourn  in  salt  water  salmon  are  so  heavy  and  strong  that 
only  fish  as  large  as  tuna,  swordfish,  or  the  larger  sharks  can  menace  them.  Their 
worst  enemy  is  the  harbor  seal,  which  is  a  common  denizen  of  the  northeastern 
coasts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 


Fig.  51. — Brook  trout  {Salvdinus  fontinalis) 

48.  Brook  trout  {Salvelinus  fontinalis  Mitchill) 

Sea  trout;  Salter 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1895-1900,  p.  506. 

Description. — Although  brook  trout  vary  widely  in  general  form  in  different 
streams,  when  taken  in  salt  water  they  are  usually  salmonlike  in  shape — that  is, 
with  stout  bodies  usually  about  one-fourth  as  deep  as  long  and  tapering  gracefully 
to  a  small  head.  Tlae  nose  of  a  trout,  however,  is  blunter  than  that  of  a  salmon,  and 
its  head  is  longer  in  proportion,  the  total  length  of  the  fish  (not  coimting  the  caudal 
fin)  being  about  four  and  one-half  times  that  of  the  head,^^  while  its  mouth  (gaping 
back  of  the  eye)  is  relatively  larger.  The  general  arrangement  of  the  fins,  including 
the  "  adipose,"  parallels  that  of  the  salmon,  but  the  ventral  fins  stand  under  the  mid- 
dle of  the  dorsal — that  is,  they  are  farther  forward  in  relation  to  the  latter  than  in 
its  larger  relative.  All  the  fins,  too,  are  relatively  larger,  particularly  the  ventrals. 
As  a  rule  the  anal  has  one  fewer  ray  (usually  8) ,  but  the  number  of  dorsal  rays 
.(about  11)  is  the  same.  The  tail  of  the  sea  trout  is  less  forked  than  that  of  a  young 
salmon  of  equal  size. 

•'  Some  trout  are  even  longer  headed. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  139 

Examination  of  the  teeth  is  the  most  positive  means  of  distinguishing  trout  (in 
European  terminology  this  is  a  "charr")  from  sahnon  smolt,  for  the  vomerine  teeth 
of  the  trout  are  confined  to  a  cUister  near  the  front  of  the  roof  of  the  mouth  instead 
of  extending  back^vard  in  a  row  along  its  midhne  as  they  do  in  the  salmon.  Further- 
more, the  scales  of  the  trout  are  so  tiny  as  hardly  to  be  visible  while  those  of  the 
salmon  are  easily  seen. 

Color. — Trout  living  in  salt  water  are  colored  very  differently  from  their  fresh- 
water brothers,  for  they  almost  wholly  lack  the  yellow  and  red  tints  so  conspicuous 
on  the  latter  but  are  invariably  silvery.  Sea-run  fish  are  steel  blue  or  bottle  green 
on  the  back,  with  cheeks  and  sides  silvery  like  a  salmon  and  with  a  wliite  belly.  The 
sides  above  the  lateral  line  are  more  or  less  dotted  with  pale  yellow  spots,  but  the 
dark  vermiculate  markings  so  characteristic  of  the  fresh-water  brook  trout  are 
hardly  to  be  seen  on  the  trunk,  though  evident  as  wavy  crossbars  on  the  dorsal  and 
on  the  corners  of  the  caudal  fins.  Below  the  level  of  the  lateral  line  the  sides  and 
flanks  are  strewn  with  small  pale  vermilion  dots  but  the  ventral  fins  are  plain  white, 
or  at  most  the  pink  edging  so  conspicuous  in  trout  caught  in  fresh  water  is  faint. 

General  range. — Eastern  North  America,  north  to  Labrador,  west  to  Minnesota, 
and  southward  along  the  Allegheny  Mountains  to  Georgia. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Trout  are  plentiful  in  many  of  the  river 
systems  and  smaller  streams  that  empty  into  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  In  some  of  these 
some  of  the  trout  seek  salt  water  after  the  breeding  season,  to  remain  there  over 
the  winter.  This  applies  particularly  to  the  brooks  that  flow  through  the  sands 
of  Cape  Cod,  several  of  those  on  its  southern  slope  being  famous  for  their  sea-trout 
fishing.  These,  however,  lie  outside  our  present  province  and  at  present  only  a 
couple  of  small  streams  on  the  Massachusetts  Bay  side  of  the  cape  still  support  a 
race  of  trout  that  rim  doMoi  to  the  sea.  Sea  trout  seem  to  be  unknown  between 
Cape  Cod  and  Cape  Elizabeth,  imless  possibly  in  one  or  two  streams  tributary  to 
Ipswich  Bay.  Without  a  local  knowledge  more  intimate  than  we  boast  we  can  not 
say  how  generally  sea  trout  may  now  exist  in  the  streams  in  eastern  Maine,  but 
according  to  Evermann  (1905a,  p.  105)  trout  inhabit  the  tidal  portions  of  many  of  the 
brooks  that  empty  into  Casco  Bay.  Huntsman  found  no  definite  evidence  of  trout 
in  salt  or  brackish  water  on  the  New  Brunswick  side  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  but  local 
inquiry  has  elicited  the  information  that  there  are  fish  of  this  habit  in  a  few  streams — 
notably  in  Salmon  River — on  the  north  and  west  coasts  of  Nova  Scotia,  where  in 
the  past  many  streams  formerly  held  sea  trout  but  have  long  since  been  fished  out. 

Anatomically  and  specifically  the  "sea  trout"  is  indistinguishable  from  the 
ordinary  brook  trout; ^^  they  are  simply  fish  that  have  the  habit  of  running  down 
to  salt  water,  and  even  in  streams  free  of  access  to  the  sea,  cold  enough  throughout 
their  lengths,  and  harboring  these  "salters"  (as  they  are  called  on  Cape  Cod), 
most  of  the  trout  never  leave  fresh  water.  All  who  have  given  special  attention 
to  our  sea  trout  are  agreed  on  this.  It  is  still  an  open  question  whether  the  habit 
is  hereditary  or  whether  it  is  acquired  independently  by  each  individual  fish. 
Personally,  we  incline  to  the  first  view,  chiefly  because  sea  trout  are  slow  in  reestab- 
lishing themselves  in  any  stream  once  they  are  brought  to  a  low  ebb  by  hard  fishing. 

'*  There  is  another  species  of  sea  trout  in  northern  Canadian  waters,  very  plentiful  along  the  coast  of  northern  Labrador. 


140  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

The  trout  that  follow  this  habit  grow  so  much  more  rapidly  on  the  abundant  rations 
the  salt  estuaries  provide  than  do  most  of  their  relatives  that  remain  in  the  brook 
that  sea  fish  run  up  to  from  1  to  3  pounds  in  weight  in  streams  where  the  fresh- 
water trout  seldom  exceed  half  a  pound. 

On  Cape  Cod  the  sea  trout  go  down  to  salt  water  in  November  immediately 
after  spawning,  winter  there,  and  begin  to  run  in  again  in  April,  all  being  once  more 
in  brackish  or  fresh  water  by  mid-May.  In  the  Nova  Scotian  streams  tributary  to 
the  Bay  of  Fundy  it  is  said  that  they  do  not  appear  untQ  later  in  spring  (we  can  not 
vouch  for  this).  While  in  salt  water — at  least  along  Cape  Cod — the  trout  feed 
chiefly  on  shrimps,  mimimiohogs  (Fundulus),  and  other  small  fish.  Trout  never 
stray  far  from  the  stream  mouths  in  the  Gulf.  So  close,  indeed,  do  they  hang  that 
we  have  never  head  of  the  capture  of  a  single  one  outside  the  tidal  creek  or  estuary 
into  which  its  home  stream  empties.     Hence  trout  have  no  place  "  in  the  fish  fauna 

of  the  open  Gulf. 

THE    SMELTS.     FAMILY   ARGENTINID.S 

The  smelts  are  small  salmons  in  all  essential  respects,  except  that  the  stomach 
is  simply  a  sac  with  few  or  no  pyloric  coeca,  whereas  in  their  larger  relatives 
of  the  salmon  family  there  are  large  numbers  of  such  coeca.  However,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  look  so  deeply  among  the  few  species  proper  to  the  Gulf  to  tell  if  a 
fish  be  smelt  or  very  young  salmon,  for  the  former  all  have  pointed  noses  and  are 
of  slender  form,  whereas  the  yoimg  of  our  three  salt-water  salmons — humpback, 
Atlantic,  and  sea  trout — are  stouter  bodied  with  rounded  noses.  In  most  cases, 
too,  the  shape  of  the  tail  alone  would  suffice  to  separate  smelt  from  salmon  smolt, 
for  in  the  latter  it  is  never  as  deeply  forked  as  in  the  former,  though  considerably 
emarginate  instead  of  square  as  in  the  adult  salmon. 

Three  smelt  fishes  occur  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine — the  smelt  (very  common), 
capelin  (a  sporadic  visitor  from  the  north),  and  argentine  (rare,  but  perhaps  occur- 
ring more  regularly  than  actual  recorded  captures  suggest). 

KEY  TO   GULF   OF  MAINE   SMELTS 

1.  Dorsal  fin  situated  far  behind  pectorals 2 

Dorsal  fin  originates  over  the  tip  of  pectorals Argentine,  p.  147 

2.  Upper  jaw  almost  as  long  as  lower;  teeth  large;  there  is  a  group  of  strong  fangs  on  the 

tongue;  pectoral  fins  have  12  rays  or  fewer Smelt,  p.  143 

Lower  jaw  much  longer  than  upper;  teeth  so  small  as  hardly  to  be  visible;  no  fangs  on 
tongue;  pectoral  fins  have  15  to  20  rays Capelin,  p.  140 

49.  Capelin  {Mallotus  viUosus  Miiller) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  520. 

Description. — The  capelin  is  an  even  slenderer  fish  than  the  smelt,  its  body  being 

only  about  one-seventh  to  one-eighth  as  deep  and  about  one-twelfth  as  thick  as 

long,  except  in  the  case  of  females  with  the  abdomen  distended  with  spawn;  it 

-is  of  nearly  imiform  depth  from  gill  cover  to  anal  fin,  whereas  the  smelt  is  usually 

deepest  about  its  mid  length  (at  least  if  the  fish  is  fat) ,  which  gives  the  two  species 

"  Trout  are  occasionally  taken  about  Woods  Hole  in  the  nets  in  winter. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


141 


characteristically  different  aspects.  The  head  of  the  capelin  is  pointed  like  that  of 
the  smelt,  the  mouth  gaping  back  to  below  the  center  of  the  very  large  eye  with  the 
tipof  the  lower  jaw  projecting  noticeably  beyond  the  upper.  The  scales  are  minute — • 
much  smaller  than  those  of  the  smelt  and  more  numerous  (about  200  per  row  on 
the  sides  of  the  body) — its  teeth  so  small  as  to  be  hardly  visible  to  the  naked  eye, 
and  the  tongue  fangs,  so  characterisitc  of  the  smelt  (p.  144),  are  lacking  here.  The 
outline  of  the  adipose  fin  likewise  helps  separate  capelin  from  smelt,  for  in  the  former 
it  is  low  and  about  half  as  long  as  the  anal,  while  in  the  latter  it  is  short  and  high. 
The  pectoral  of  the  capelin  is  likewise  broader,  with  15  or  more  rays. 

The  capelin  exhibits  a  pronounced  sexual  dimorphism,  males  having  much  the 
longer  pectoral  fins,  and  the  base  of  the  anal  is  elevated  on  a  pronounced  hump, 
whereas  it  follows  the  general  outline  of  the  belly  in  the  female.  In  the  males,  too, 
a  longitudinal  row  of  scales  immediately  above  the  lateral  line  and  another  along 
each  side  of  the  belly  are  not  only  pointed  and  distinctly  larger  than  the  other 


Fig.  5.5— Adult 


Fig.  56.— Larva,  23  mOlimetDi'S.    After  Schmidt 
C.\PELIN  (Maltolus  cillosus) 

scales  but  become  very  elongate  at  spawning  time,  forming  four  ridges  very  evident 
when  the  fish  is  taken  in  the  hand. 

Color. — The  capelin,  like  the  smelt,  is  transparent  olive  to  bottle  green  above, 
but  its  sides  are  uniformly  silvery  below  the  lateral  line  and  the  scales  are  dotted 
at  the  margins  with  minute  dusky  specks  (in  the  smelt  there  is  a  distinct  silvery 
band  on  each  side) ;  the  belly  is  white  and  at  spawning  tune  back  and  head  darken. 

Size. — Capelin  are  seldom  more  than  63^  to  73^  inches  long. 

General  range. — Boreal — Arctic  seas,  south  to  the  coast  of  Maine  ^'  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  of  America. 

Occurrence  in  the  Qulf  of  Maine. — The  capelin  is  a  sub-Arctic  fish  that  occurs 
at  irregular  intervals  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  chiefly  on  its  eastern  side,  as  might 
be  expected  of  a  visitor  from  the  north. 

"  According  to  Jordan  and  Evermann  the  capelin  finds  its  southern  limit  at  Cape  Cod,  but  we  find  no  actual  records  of  its 
occurrence  farther  south  than  here  mentioned. 


142  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

"The  capelin  (Mallotus  villosus)",  ^v^ites  Doctor  Huntsman,"  "is  endemic 
around  Newfoundland  and  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  In  the  latter  region,  at 
least,  it  occurs  abundantly  only  in  limited  areas,  which  shift  somewhat  from  year 
to  year.  It  occurs  periodically  in  similar  limited  areas  farther  south.  The 
southeastern  corner  of  Cape  Breton  is  the  center  of  such  an  area,  where  large 
quantities  were  taken  in  1917.  Halifax  is  the  center  of  another  area,  where,  however, 
it  is  more  rare.  In  1916  it  was  abundant  at  Sambro,*near  Halifax.  The  next  area 
is  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  where  they  have,  exceptionally,  been  taken  in  large  quanti- 
ties at  long  intervals." 

Apparently  a  period  of  this  sort  occurred  about  the  middle  of  the  past  century, 
for  Perley,  writing  in  1852,  reported  it  from  a  number  of  points  in  the  neighborhood 
of  St.  John,  New  Brunswick.  It  seems  then  to  have  disappeared  and  for  many 
years  thereafter  was  unknown  anywhere  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  but  it  reappeared  in  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  in  May,  1903,  when  it  was  common,  and  a  few  were  again  taken  off  Pas- 
samaquoddy  Bay  in  that  same  month  of  1915.^^  This  was  the  prelude  to  a  period 
of  local  abundance,  for  capelin  were  noticed  among  the  herring  taken  in  the  weirs 
of  the  Passamaquoddy  Bay  region  in  October,  1916,  becoming  so  plentiful  by 
the  end  of  November  that  one  catch  of  3,000  pounds  of  fish  consisted  of  2,000 
pounds  of  capelin  and  only  1,000  of  herring.  They  were  also  reported  at  various 
localities  along  the  New  Brunswick  coast  at  that  time.  Probably  they  persisted 
locally  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  throughout  the  winter  of  1916-17,  for  in  the  following 
Ma}^  and  June  large  numbers  of  capelin  appeared  in  Minas  Basin.  We  find  no 
record  of  capelin  within  the  limits  of  the  bay  in  1918,  but  not  only  were  they  taken 
again  in  50  fathoms  of  water  off  Passamaquoddy  Bay  in  January,  February,  and 
March,  1919,  but  they  appeared  with  smelts  a  month  later  as  far  west  as  the  Pe- 
nobscot River,  penetrating  far  inland.  Since  then  none  have  been  seen  in  the  Gulf 
of  Maine. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  capelin  no  doubt  invades  the  Gulf  from  the  east, 
it  is  unknown  along  the  western  shores  of  Nova  Scotia  between  Cape  Sable  and 
the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  Evidently  it  travels  directly  north  until  caught 
up  in  the  cul-de-sac  of  the  bay  on  the  rare  occasions  when  it  rounds  the  cape,  which 
is  in  line  with  other  evidence  to  the  effect  that,  once  past  Cape  Sable,  the  general 
entrant  track  of  visitors  from  the  north  lies  some  distance  off  the  Nova  Scotian 
coast. 

Habits. — Although  the  capelin  is  not  regularly  endemic  as  far  south  as  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  it  may  breed  locally  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  on  the  rare  occasions  when 
it  persists  there  for  more  than  one  year.  It  spawns  in  salt  water  (unlike  its  close 
relative  the  smelt,  which  is  anadromous),  depositing  its  eggs  on  sandy  bottom 
along  shore  from  just  below  tide  mark  down  to  35  or  40  fathoms,  where  they  stick 
together  in  clusters  like  herring  eggs.  Many  accounts  have  appeared  of  the  multi- 
tudes of  capelin  that  gather  along  northern  coasts  at  this  time. 

*"  Quoted  from  a  letter.  g 

It  Huntsman  (1922a,  p.  12)  and  Kendall  (1917,  pp.  2S-30,  and  1919,  pp.  70-71)  give  details. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


143 


In  north  European  seas  capelin  spawn  from  April  until  July;  we  have  found 
them  spawning  along  the  coast  of  Labrador  in  multitudes  in  July  in  1900.  Prob- 
ably April  and  May  would  cover  such  spawning  as  occurs  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 
The  spawning  act  has  been  described  variously.  According  to  Lanman  (1874, 
p.  225)  each  female  is  accompanied  by  two  males  that  crowd  her  between  them. 
The  eggs  are  reddish  and  about  1  mm.  in  diameter,  while  the  larvae  are  about  7  mm. 
long  at  hatching.  Larvse  only  8  mm.  in  length  have  entirely  absorbed  the  yolk, 
the  rudiments  of  the  doi'sal  and  anal  fins  are  visible  at  14  mm., while  at  23  imii. 
the  adipose  fin  can  be  distinguished,  the  fin  rays  are  formed,  and  the  little  capelin 
is  easily  recognizable  as  such. 

The  capelin  so  seldom  appears  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  that  we  need  state  of  its 
habits  merely  that,  unlike  the  smelt,  it  is  a  fish  of  the  high  seas  frequently  encoun- 
tered far  out  from  land;  it  never  enters  fresh  water;  comes  inshore  only  to  spawn 
and  then  as  a  rule  moves  out  again;  travels  in  vast  schools  at  spawning  time, 


Fig.  57.— AdiUt 


Fig.  5S.— Fry,  26  millimeters 
SMELT  (Osmerus  moTdai) 

when  it  often  strands  on  the  beach  in  countless  multitudes;  and  that  it  is  the 
chief  bait  fish  of  Arctic  seas,  preyed  upon  by  whales  and  every  predaceous  fish, 
particularly  by  cod.  Capelin  themselves  feed  chiefly  on  small  crustaceans,  partic- 
ularly copepods,  euphausiid  shrimps,  and  amphipods.     It  is  also  known  to  devour 


its  own  eggs. 

DO 


We  can  bear  witness  that  it  is  a  delicious  little  fish  on  the  table. 


60.  Smelt  (Osmerus  mordax  Mitchill) 
Salt-water  smelt;  Icefish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  523. 

Description. — The  smelt  is  distinguishable  from  aU  other  fish  common  in  our 
waters  by  its  slender  form,  long  pointed  head,  the  presence  of  a  small  but  evident 


144 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


adipose  fin  standing  above  the  rear  part  of  the  anal,  and  a  deeply  forked  tail. 
The  capelin  and  argentine  alone  among  the  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes  share  this  combi- 
nation of  characters  with  the  smelt,  but  the  latter  is  distinguishable  from  the  argen- 
tine at  a  glance  by  the  location  of  its  dorsal  fui  above  instead  of  in  front  of  the  ven- 
trals  and  by  its  larger  mouth,  while  the  large,  fanglike  teeth  of  the  smelt's  tongue, 
its  larger  scales  (of  which  there  are  about  75  rows  on  the  sides,  all  alike  in  the  two 
sexes),  its  shorter  adipose  fin,  its  narrower  pectoral  &a,  and  the  facts  that  its  lower 
jaw  projects  but  slighlty  beyond  the  upper  and  that  its  scales  slip  off  very  easUy, 
obviate  all  danger  of  confusing  it  with  the  capelin.  The  body  of  the  smelt  is  only 
about  one-fifth  as  deep  as  long  (exclusive  of  caudal  fin),  with  broadly  rounded  back 
but  compressed  enough  to  be  egg-shaped  in  cross  section.  It  is  deepest  about  its 
mid  length,  tapering  thence  toward  the  head  as  toward  the  tail  (at  least  in  fat  fish), 
whereas  the  capehn  is  of  nearly  uniform  depth  from  giU  opening  to  anal  fin  (p.  140). 
Its  mouth  gapes  back  of  the  eye. 

Printed  accoimts  of  the  smelt  usually  credit  it  with  a  peculiar  "cucumber" 
odor,  and  smelt  fishermen  often  speak  of  a  trace  of  this,  but  it  is  so  faint  that  I  have 
never  noticed  it  though  I  have  caught  and  handled  many.^' 

Color. — Transparent  olive  to  bottle  green  above,  the  sides  a  paler  cast  of  the 
same  hue  but  each  with  a  broad  longitudinal  silvery  band.  The  belly  is  silvery, 
while  the  fins  and  body  are  more  or  less  flecked  with  tiny  dusky  dots.  This  color 
pattern  is  shared  by  another  slender  little  fish,  the  silverside  (Menidia,  p.  179), 
but  as  the  latter  has  two  large  dorsal  fins  there  is  no  danger  of  confusing  the  smelt 
with  it. 

Size. — Smelt  grow  to  a  maximum  length  of  about  13  or  14  inches.  Few  larger 
than  a  foot  long  are  seen,  however,  and  adults  run  only  about  7  to  9  inches.  Accord- 
ing to  size  and  fatness  smelt  weigh  from  1  to  6  oimces. 

General  range. — East  coast  of  North  America  from  eastern  Labrador  and  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  southward  regularly  to  New  Jersey,  and  reported  to  Vir- 
ginia, running  up  into  streams  and  rivers  to  spawn. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  smelt  is  a  familiar  little  fish  around 
the  entire  coast  line  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  but  varies  greatly  in  abimdance  from 
place  to  place  according  to  the  accessibility  of  streams  suitable  for  spawning,  from 
which  it  seldom  wanders  far  alongshore.  Smelt  are  stiU  very  abundant  all  around 
the  inner  parts  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  its  tributary  harbors,  though  many  of 
the  local  streams  are  barred  to  them  now;  thence  northward  and  eastward,  too, 
along  the  coast  of  Maine,  as  illustrated  by  the  following  report  of  commercial 
catches  from  the  several  coast  counties  of  that  State  in  1919: 


County 

Number  of 
pounds 

County 

Number  of 
pounds 

York  . 

8,000 
136,202 
74,230 
53,500 

Knox       -        .- ._        

71,100 

Waldo-   - 

41,800 

Sagadahoo   . 

Hancock-      -    

91,835 

17,850 

'  Tbe  European  smelt  (0.  eperlanus)  smells  so  strong  that  it  is  not  held  in  very  high  esteem. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  145 

Smelt  are  also  found  very  generally  along  both  the  New  Brunswick  and  the 
Nova  Scotian  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  but  to  judge  from  Canadian  fishery 
statistics  they  are  far  more  plentiful  near  the  mouth  of  the  bay  and  on  the  Nova 
Scotian  side  than  anywhere  on  the  New  Brunswick  shore ""  or  farther  up  the  bay, 
where  only  a  few  hundred  pounds  are  caught  annually.  Smelts  are  also  plentiful 
on  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  facing  the  open  Gulf,  as  is  reflected  in  a  catch 
of  almost  58,000  pounds  for  Yarmouth  County  in  1916-17. 

The  adult  smelts  return  to  salt  water  immediately  after  spawning,  to  spend 
the  summer  either  in  the  estuary  into  which  the  stream  in  which  they  spa^vn 
empties  or  in  the  sea  close  by.  On  the  Massachusetts  coast  north  of  Cape  Cod 
all  the  spent  fish  have  left  fresh  Avater  by  the  middle  of  May,  in  some  years  earlier. 
On  the  Maine  coast,  too,  a  good  proportion  of  the  spent  fish  are  in  salt  water  by 
the  first  week  in  May,  for  we  have  seen  a  bushel  of  large  smelt  taken  in  a  weir  at 
Cutler  (near  the  mouth  of  the  Grand  Manan  Channel)  as  early  as  May  4.°' 

The  summer  habitat  of  the  smelt  varies  off  different  parts  of  the  coast  of  the 
Gulf  depending  on  the  summer  temperature  of  the  water  and  perhaps  on  the  food 
supply.  In  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region  and  along  the  southern  coast  of  Maine 
most  of  them  desert  the  harbors  and  estuaries  during  the  warmest  season,  prob- 
ably, however,  moving  out  only  far  enough  to  find  cool  water  at  a  few  fathoms 
depth.  A  few  may  be  found  in  harbors  through  the  summer,  however.  Smelt, 
for  instance,  are  caught  in  Cohasset  Harbor  throughout  the  summer  in  some 
years,  but  not  in  others;  and  east  of  Penobscot  Bay,  where  the  surface  temperature 
does  not  rise  as  high  as  it  does  off  Massachusetts,  smelt  are  to  be  found  in  the 
harbors,  bays,  and  river  mouths  all  summer,  when  they  are  sometimes  taken  in 
numbers  in  the  weirs.  The  smelts  are  always  confined  to  a  very  narrow  zone 
along  shore,  for  none  has  ever  been  reported  more  than  a  mile  or  two  from  land 
or  at  more  than  a  few  fathoms  depth.  Though  confined  to  shoal  water,  the  schools 
(which  are  mostly  composed  of  individuals  of  one  size  and  are  probably  the  product 
of  a  single  hatching)  live  pelagically,  not  on  the  bottom. 

Food. — The  smelt  is  predaceous.  Most  authorities  describe  it  as  feeding  on 
small  crustaceans,  which  is  correct  so  far  as  it  goes  for  shrimp  (decapods)  are 
probably  its  favorite  food  and  they  are  certainly  the  best  smelt  bait,  but  small 
fish  also  form  an  important  item  in  its  diet.  We  have,  for  example,  found  smelts 
taken  in  the  Sheepscot  Kiver  in  May  packed  full  of  young  herring,  and  have  caught 
many  on  small  mummichogs  (Fundulus),  while  at  Woods  Hole  cunners,  anchovies, 
and  aleA\dves  have  been  identified  from  smelt  stomachs. °^  The  Woods  Hole  diet 
list  also  includes  shellfish,  squid,  annelid  worms  (Nereis),  and  crabs,  but  even  as 
greedy  a  fish  as  the  smelt  ceases  to  feed  during  its  spawning  visits  to  fresh  water. 

Breeding  liabits. — The  adult  smelt  all  gather  in  harbors  and  brackish  estuaries 
early  in  autumn,  smelt  fishing  with  hook  and  line  being  in  full  swing  by  October, 
and  by  the  time  the  first  ice  forms  in  December  some  of  them  have  run  as  far  as 
the  head  of  tide.     The  smelt  winter  between  the  harbor  mouths  and  the  brackish 

'"The  catch  in  1916-17  was  115,000  pounds  tor  Annapolis  and  Digby  Counties,  Nova  Scotia,  wtiile  tor  Charlotte  County, 
New  Brunswick,  it  was  only  7,100  pounds. 

'•  Atkins  (1887)  gives  much  interesting  information  on  the  smelt  in  Maine. 
"  Vinal  Edwards's  notes. 


146  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHERIES 

water  fartiier  up — that  is,  in  the  same  zone  as  the  sea  trout  (p.  140) — the  maturing 
fish  commencing  their  spawning  migration  into  fresh  water  as  soon  as  the  streams 
warm  to  the  required  degree  in  spring.  Temperature  observations  by  the  Massa- 
chusetts Commission  show  that  the  first  smelt  appear  on  the  spawning  beds  in 
Weir  River,  a  stream  emptying  into  Boston  Harbor,  when  the  temperature  of  the 
water  rises  to  about  40°  to  42°.  About  Massachusetts  Bay  this  may  take  place 
as  early  as  the  first  or  as  late  as  the  last  week  in  March,  depending  on  the  forward- 
ness of  the  season  and  on  the  particular  stream  in  c[uestion.  The  chief  production 
of  eggs  is  in  temperatures  of  50°  to  57°,  and  spawning  is  completed  there  by  about 
the  10th  or  15th  of  May,  year  in  and  year  out.  East  of  Portland  smelt  seldom 
commence  to  run  before  April,  to  continue  through  May  as  just  noted.  In  the 
colder  streams  on  the  southern  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  they  do  not 
spawn  until  June,  but  along  the  southern  New  England  coast  south  of  Cape  Cod, 
on  the  other  hand,  they  may  commence  as  early  as  February. 

As  a  rule  smelt  do  not  journey  far  upstream.  Many  go  only  a  few  hundred 
yards  above  tidewater,  whether  the  stream  be  small  or  large,  while  some  even 
spaAvn  in  slightly  brackish  water,  as  in  certain  ponds  back  of  barrier  beaches  (e.  g., 
Straits  Pond,  Cohasset,  Mass.),  but  flooding  with  salt  water,  which  sometimes 
happens,  kills  the  eggs. 

The  eggs  average  1.2  .mm.  (0.05  inch)  in  diameter  and  sink  to  the 
bottom,  where  they  stick  in  clusters  to  pebbles,  to  each  other,  or  to  any  stick, 
root,  grass,  or  water  weed  they  chance  to  touch.  According  to  the  Manual  of 
Fish  Culture  a  female  weighing  as  little  as  2  ounces  will  produce  between  40,000 
and  50,000  eggs;  70,000  eggs  have  been  taken  from  a  fish  73^  inches  long."^  The 
eggs  of  the  closely  allied  European  smelt  (Osmerus  eperlanus)  hatch  in  8  to  27  days, 
according  to  temperature.  Probably  the  incubation  period  of  the  American  fish 
is  the  same,  for  smelt  eggs  are  reported  as  hatching  in  13  days  at  the  Palmer 
(Mass.)  hatchery.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  rate  of  growth  of  our 
smelt  differs  much  from  that  of  the  European  (that  is,  to  a  length  of  1^  to  2^ 
inches  by  the  fu'st  autumn). 

The  precise  season  when  young  smelt  go  down  to  the  sea  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
streams  is  yet  to  be  learned;  probably  early  in  summer. 

Most  of  the  smelt  evidently  do  not  spa%vn  until  they  have  passed  a  winter,  a 
summer,  and  a  second  winter  in  salt  water. 

The  smelt  has  proved  a  favorable  fish  for  artificial  hatching  and  at  present  large 
numbers  of  fry  are  so  produced  j'early  in  Massachusetts,  the  eggs  being  taken  in 
Weir  River,  just  mentioned.  It  has  proved  possible  to  reestabhsh  smelt  by  intro- 
ducing the  eggs  or  fry  into  streams  from  wliich  it  has  been  extirpated.  For  example, 
good  smelt  fishing  was  reported  in  "  Poorhouse  Brook,"  Saugus,  a  tributary  of  Boston 
Harbor,  three  years  after  the  stream  was  stocked  with  eggs,  and  attempts  on  Long 
Island  have  been  similarly  successful.  It  is  the  prevaihng  opinion  that  smelt  are 
now  increasing  in  Massachusetts.  To  maintain  the  stock  is  simply  a  question  of 
providing  spawning  grounds  of  sufficient  extent  or  of  making  up  for  the  lack  of  such 
by  artificial  propagation. 

"  Eice.    Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Fisheries  of  Maryland,  1S78. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


147 


The  commercial  importance  of  the  smelt,  one  of  our  very  best  fish,  is  consid- 
erable, but  from  a  dollars  and  cents  standpoint  its  sporting  value  to  the  coastwise 
inhabitants  of  New  England  is  probably  greater,  for  smelt  fishermen  flock  to  the 
harbors  and  stream  mouths  throughout  the  autumn.  For  instance,  as  many  as  2,326 
people  have  been  counted  fishing  at  one  time  about  Houghs  Neck  in  Boston  Harbor 
alone,  and  this  same  sort  of  thing  is  to  be  seen  up  and  down  the  coast.  So  plentiful 
are  the  fish  on  occasion  and  so  greedily  do  they  bite,  especially  on  the  flood  tide, 
that  it  is  usual  to  number  the  catch  about  Massachusetts  Bay  by  the  dozens 
rather  than  by  the  individual  fish.  Slii'imp  are  the  best  bait,  bloodworms  (Nereis) 
second  best,  small  minnows  or  clams  a  poor  third,  and  smelt  have  also  been  taken  on 
a  small  red  artificial  fly  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 

I 


^^<^'^^ 


a.  Adult,    6,  : 


Fig.  59. — Argentina  (Argentina  silni) 
After  Schmidt,    c,  Larva,  23  millimeters.    After  Schmidt. 


d.  Fry,  45  millimeter.s.    After  Schmidt. 


51.  Argentine  {Argentina  silus  Ascanius) 
Herring  smelt 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1S96-1900,  p.  526. 

Description. — The  argentine  is  a  smeltlike  little  fish  with  the  pointed  nose, 
deeply  forked  tail,  and  slender,  compressed  body  characteristic  of  the  family,  but  it 
has  much  larger  eyes — a  character  no  doubt  associated  -with  its  deep-water  home — 
than  either  smelt  or  capelin;  its  mouth  is  much  smaller,  not  gaping  back  even  as  far 
as  the  eye;  and  its  dorsal  fin  stands  wholly  in  front  of  the  ventrals,  instead  of  above 
them  as  in  both  its  near  relatives.  These  characters,  together  with  the  presence  of 
an  adipose  fin  above  the  anal  that  it  shares  only  with  smelt,  capelin,  the  salmon 


148  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BL'REAi:   OF   FISHEEIES 

tribe,  and  certain  oceanic  species  such  as  the  pearlsides,  among  common  Gulf  of 
Maine  fishes,  serve  to  separate  it  at  a  glance  from  any  other  species  likely  to  be 
found  within  the  limits  of  the  Gulf  .°^ 

In  the  argentine,  as  in  the  smelt,  the  body  (about  one-fifth  as  deep  as  long) 
tapers  toward  both  head  and  tail,  but  its  sides  are  so  flat,  its  back  and  belly  so 
broadly  rounded,  that  it  is  nearly  rectangular  in  cross  section  instead  of  oval.  Its 
scales,  too,  are  larger  than  those  of  the  smelt,  there  being  only  60  to  70  rows  along 
the  lateral  line.  The  adipose  fin  is  very  small  and  the  jaws  are  toothless,  though  the 
palate  and  tongue  are  armed  with  small  teeth. 

Color. — We  have  never  seen  a  freshly  taken  adult,  and  its  color  is  variously 
described  by  different  authors.  All  agree,  however,  that  the  back  is  brownish  or 
olivaceous,  the  sides  silvery  or  with  iridescent  golden  or  brassy  luster,  and  the 
belly  white.     The  adipose  fin  is  said  to  be  yellow."^ 

Size. — The  argentine  is  a  larger  fish  than  the  smelt  or  the  capelin,  growing 
to  a  length  of  about  18  inches. 

General  range. — North  Atlantic,  usually  in  water  as  deep  as  80  to  300  fathoms, 
chieflj'  on  the  European  side  where  it  is  known  from  northern  Norway  south  to  the 
northern  part  of  the  North  Sea. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  argentine  has  seldom  been  taken  in  our 
waters.  Eecords  have  been  published  for  Belfast  and  for  Biddeford  Pool,  Me.,  and 
we  collected  two  specimens  on  the  Grampus — the  first,  of  49  mm.,  taken  in  the  clos- 
ing net  at  35  fathoms,  S3  miles  south  of  Mount  Desert  Kock  on  August  14, 1912,  and 
the  second,  of  38  mm.,  one  year  later,  from  an  open  haul  from  85  fathoms  nearby, 
which  completes  the  list.  Probably  it  is  more  common  in  the  deeps  of  the  Gulf 
than  these  few  captures  suggest,  for  on  April  17,  1920,  a  haul  from  200  meters  in  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  Gulf  yielded  43  eggs  unmistakably  of  argentine  parentage. 

Halnts. — Nothing  is  known  of  the  life  of  the  herring  smelt  in  our  Gulf,  and 
little  enough  is  known  of  it  in  Scandinavian  waters,  where  it  is  sometimes  caught  on 
deep-set  lines  baited  with  herring  or  mussels,  and  where,  like  other  deep-sea  fishes, 
it  is  occasionally  swept  up  to  the  surface  by  some  upwelUng  of  the  water,  to  drift 
there  helplessly.  It  certainly  begins  spawning  as  early  as  April  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine, 
and  judging  from  European  experience  it  probably  continues  aU  summer.  Although 
buoyant,  the  eggs  float  in  the  deeper  water  layers,  seldom  rising  to  the  surface. 
They  are  among  the  largest  of  buoyant  eggs  (3  to  3.5  mm.  in  diameter),  with  flat  oil 
globule  (0.95  to  1.16  mm.)  and  vacuolated  yolk.  Newly  hatched  larvie  averaging 
about  7.5  mm.  long  have  a  large  yolk  sac,  but  at  a  length  of  12  mm.  this  has  been 
absorbed  and  a  line  of  spots  has  appeared  along  the  belly.  The  ruchments  of  the 
dorsal  and  anal  fins  are  visible  at  28  mm.,  and  by  the  time  the  Httle  fish  has  reached 
45  mm.  the  fin  rays  are  formed,  the  anus  has  traveled  forward,  and  the  forked  out- 
line of  the  tail  is  apparent,  but  it  is  not  until  the  larva  is  about  50  mm.  long  that 
the  ventral  fins  appear. 

**  There  is  a  second  argentine  in  Scandinavian  waters,  but  it  is  not  known  on  our  side  of  the  Atlantic. 
"  For  an  eicellent  account  of  the  argentine  see  Smitt  (Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892). 


FISHES   OP    THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  149 

THE  LANTERNFISHES.     FAMILY  MYCTOPHID^ 

The  most  diagnostic  external  characters  of  the  lanternfishes  are  their  large 
eyes  (situated  close  to  the  tip  of  the  blunt  snout),  wide  mouths  gaping  back  beyond 
the  eye,  one  soft-rayed  dorsal  fin,  a  deeply  forked  tail,  and  the  presence  of  a  series 
of  phosphorescent  organs  as  conspicuous  pale  spots  along  the  sides.  Some  of  them 
have  an  adipose  fin  on  the  back  behind  the  dorsal  fin,  but  others  lack  this.  When 
present,  this  fin  is  so  small  and  fragile  that  it  is  apt  to  be  destroyed  by  the  rough 
treatment  the  fish  receive  in  the  tow  net,  in  which  they  are  usually  taken.  Among 
GuK  of  Maine  fishes  they  most  nearly  resemble  the  anchovy  (p.  124),  pearlsides 
(p.  151),  and  cyclothone  (p.  153) ;  but  they  are  readily  distinguished  from  the  first 
of  these  by  the  presence  of  phosphorescent  organs  and  by  the  fact  that  the  snout 
does  not  project  beyond  the  mouth,  from  the  second  by  their  much  wider  mouths, 
and  from  the  third  by  their  much  larger  eyes. 

They  are  among  the  commonest  fishes  on  the  high  seas,  where  they  live  at  a 
considerable  depth  by  day  but  often  rise  to  the  surface  at  night,  and  a  number  of 
them  (especially  of  the  genus  Myctophum)  have  been  taken  along  the  continental 
slope  abreast  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  Hence  one  species  or  another  may  be  expected 
to  stray  in  over  the  banks  if  not  into  the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf. 

The  mmaber  and  arrangement  of  the  phosphorescent  organs  offer  the  readiest 
means  of  identification  within  the  family,  and  should  a  lanternfish  be  taken  to 
which  the  following  account  does  not  apply,  we  refer  its  captor  to  Goode  and  Bean 
(1896)  and  to  Brauer  ""  or,  better,  suggest  that  it  be  submitted  to  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Fisheries  to  be  named. 

52.  Lanternfish   {Mtho'prora  effulgens  Goode  and  Bean) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  566. 

Description. — This  curious  little  oceanic  fish  suggests  the  pearlsides  (p.  151)  in 
the  presence  of  an  adipose  fin  and  of  well-developed  phosphorescent  organs,  but  its 
mouth  is  much  wider  (it  gapes  back  of  the  eye),  its  eye  is  even  larger  and  situated 
close  to  the  end  of  the  nose,  and  the  dorsal  profile  of  its  head  is  very  convex.  There 
is  a  very  large  and  noticeable  phosphorescent  organ  covering  the  entire  tip  of  the 
snout,  including  the  margin  of  the  orbit,  and  extending  down  over  the  edge  of  the 
upper  jaw,  to  which  there  is  no  parallel  in  the  pearlsides  or  in  any  fish  regularly 
inhabiting  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  There  are  also  a  number  of  small  phosphorescent 
spots  arranged  along  the  lower  sides  and  on  the  lower  siu'face  as  shown  in  the  illustra- 
tion." 

The  arrangement  of  the  fins  (all  of  which  are  soft)  is  essentially  the  same  as  in 
the  pearlsides  except  that  the  dorsal  (about  15  rays)  and  anal  (about  16  rays)  stand 
relatively  farther  forward  while  the  pectoral  and  adipose  fins  are  proportionately 
smaller  and  the  caudal  fin  is  more  deeply  forked. 

Color. — The  color  has  not  been  described.  Probably  it  is  black  or  at  least  of 
some  dark  shade,  with  the  phosphorescent  organs  pale  blue  or  green. 

»  Die  Tiefsee-Fische.    Wissenschaftliche  Ergebnisse  der  Deutschen  Tiefsee-Expedition,  1898-99  (1906),  Band  XV,  Teil  I. 
"  The  structures  along  the  lateral  line  shown  in  the  illustration  are  large  scales,  not  phosphorescent  organs. 


150 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF    FISHERIES 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  151 

General  range  and  occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  species  is  undoubtedly 
oceanic  and  only  a  stray  within  the  limits  of  the  Gulf,  but  one  specimen  has  been 
found  in  the  stomach  of  a  cod  caught  on  Browns  Bank.°^ 

FAMILY    STOMIATID^«» 

This  family  includes  a  large  number  of  soft-rayed  oceanic  fishes  of  the  mid-depths 
and  of  the  most  diverse  appearance,  all  of  them  with  well  developed  phosphores- 
cent organs,  very  large  eyes,  large  mouths,  a  lower  jaw  projecting  beyond  the  upper, 
and  with  teeth  in  both  jaws.  Some  have  and  others  lack  the  adipose  fins,  but  in  all 
of  them  the  ventrals  are  inserted  far  back  on  the  abdomen.  They  differ  from  the 
herrings  and  salmons  in  the  structure  of  the  skull.  Only  one  species,  the  pearlsides 
(p.  151),  has  been  recorded  more  than  once  or  is  to  be  expected  except  as  a  stray 
in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  but  two  others  have  been  taken  there  casually. 

53.  Pearlsides  {Maurolicus  pennanti  Walbaum) 
Pearlfish;  Lanternfish 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  526. 

Description. — The  presence  of  an  adipose  fin  between  dorsal  and  caudal, 
togetherwith  phosphorescent  organs,  distinguishes  the  pearlsides  (fig.  61,  p. 150)  from 
all  other  fish  that  occur  regularly  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  This  is  a  flat-sided,  large- 
headed  little  fish,  its  body  (about  one-fifth  as  deep  as  long,  excluding  caudal  fLn) 
deepest  forward  of  the  ventral  and  dorsal  fins,  its  eye  very  large,  its  lower  jaw  pro- 
jecting, its  mouth  large  but  oblique,  and  both  its  jaws  armed  with  minute  teeth. 
The  dorsal  fin  (about  11  or  12  rays)  stands  above  the  space  between  ventrals  and 
the  anal,  which  is  longer  than  the  dorsal.  The  adipose  fin  (both  of  Woods  Hole  '" 
and  of  Noi-wegian^'  examples)  is  low  and  long,  much  as  in  the  capelin."  The 
caudal  fin  is  broad  and  slightly  forked. 

The  pearlsides  has  been  described  as  scaleless,  but  this  is  not  correct,  for  both 
Scandinavian  and  Woods  Hole  specimens  have  been  found  to  be  clothed  with  large 
but  extremely  thin  transparent  scales.     There  is  no  definite  lateral  line. 

The  most  interesting  and  diagnostic  feature  of  the  pearlsides  is  the 
presence  of  a  series  of  phosphorescent  organs  or  luminous  dots  situated  as  follows: 
First,  12  pau's  along  the  belly  between  pectoral  and  ventral  fins,  followed  by  5  or  6 
from  ventral  to  anal,  and,  after  a  gap,  by  24  or  25  between  the  center  of  the  anal  fin 
and  the  base  of  the  caudal  fin,  all  these  together  forming  a  practically  continuous 
row  on  each  side  of  the  belly  from  tliroat  to  tail.  Second,  a  row  of  larger  spots 
shghtly  higher  up  on  each  side,  6  from  chin  to  pectoral  fin,  9  thence  backward  to 
the  ventrals.  Third,  a  group  of  6  low  down  on  each  side  of  the  cheek  and  throat; 
likewise  a  spot  in  front  of  the  base  of  the  pectoral  and  2  on  the  chin.''' 

•'  Reported  by  Goode  and  Bean  (1896). 

**  We  follow  Boulenger  in  including  the  pearlsides,  viperfish,  and  cyclothone  in  this  one  family. 

'•  Sumner,  Osburn,  and  Cole,  1913,  p.  743. 

"  Smitt,  Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892,  p.  933,  pi.  44,  fig.  3. 

"  Goode  and  Bean  (1896,  p.  96)  describe  it  as  "very  small,"  but  probably  their  specimens  were  battered. 

"  This  account  is  based  chiefly  on  Smitt's  description  and  plate. 


152  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Color. — The  pearlsides,  according  to  Smitt,  is  colored  much  like  a  herring,  with 
dark  bluish  or  greenish  back  and  lustrous  silvery-white  sides  and  belly.  The  lumi- 
nous spots  are  black  rimmed,  their  centers  pale  blue  in  life  but  turning  yellow  in 
alcohol,  and  there  is  a  narrow  black  band  along  the  base  of  the  anal  fin  and  from 
there  to  the  base  of  the  caudal,  the  latter  being  barred  with  a  similar  black  band. 

Size. — Only  1  to  2}/2  inches  long. 

Oeneral  range. — The  pearlsides  (there  are  several  other  species  closely  allied 
to  it)  ranges  widely  in  the  open  Atlantic,  occurring  at  times  in  shoals  on  the  coasts 
of  Norway  and  in  British  waters.  It  is  particularly  common  off  the  coast  of  Scot- 
land but  has  seldom  been  recorded  on  the  American  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — ^The  known  occurrences  of  the  pearlsides  in 
the  Gulf  are  few.  Storer  (1867)  recordsonefoundaliveonthebeachatNahant,Mass., 
in  December,  1837;  another  taken  from  the  stomach  of  a  cod  at  Provincetown;  a 
third  picked  up  alive  there  in  July,  1865  (pictured  by  Storer  on  plate  25,  figure  5) ; 
and  five  others  found  on  the  Provincetown  beach  soon  afterward.  The  pearlsides 
has  not  been  reported  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Gulf  since  that  time,  though 
recorded  from  Woods  Hole  on  two  occasions,  22  having  been  found  dead  on  the 
beach  in  November,  1906.  It  has  been  found  twice  at  Grand  Manan,  however, 
while  in  July,  1914,  specimens  were  picked  up  on  the  beach  at  Campobello  Island 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fimdy,'^  and  others  were  taken  from  the  stomach  of  a 
pollock  caught  near  by.  We  suspect  that  the  pearlsides  is  not  as  rare  in  the  Gulf 
of  Maine  as  the  paucity  of  actual  records  for  it  there  might  suggest  (in  fact, 
Storer  tells  us  that  a  Nahant  fisherman  reported  finding  them  repeatedly  in  the 
stomachs  of  haddock  many  years  ago),  but  that  it  keeps  out  of  sight,  being  an 
inhabitant  of  the  deeper  water  layers,  as  its  luminous  organs  woidd  suggest,  and 
comes  to  the  siu-face  chiefly  at  night.  It  can  hardly  be  plentiful  or  we  would 
have  taken  it  in  our  deep  tow-net  hauls. 

Habits. — The  relatives  of  the  pearlsides  are  oceanic,  living  in  the  mid-depths 
mostly  below  150  fathoms,  but  the  pearlsides  itself  has  so  often  been  foimd  in  the 
stomachs  of  cod  and  herring  (fish  that  do  not  descend  to  any  great  depth)  that  there 
is  no  reason  to  regard  it  as  a  "deep-sea"  stray,  nor  has  it  ever  been  taken  far  from 
land  so  far  as  we  can  learn.  It  probably  spawns  in  early  spring,  females  with  large 
eggs  having  been  taken  in  Scottish  waters  in  winter. 

54.  Viperflsh  {CTiauliodus  sloanei  Bloch  and  Schneider) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  585. 

Description. — The  viperfish  has  an  adipose  fin  and  luminous  organs  like  its 
relative,  the  pearlsides,  but  in  general  appearance  it  is  very  different  from  it  and 
from  all  other  GuK  of  Maine  fishes.  Most  obvious  of  its  characteristics  is  its  bull- 
doglike mouth.  The  lower  jaw  is  longer  than  the  upper,  the  latter  being  armed 
with  four  long  fangs  on  each  side,  while  the  lower  has  a  series  of  pointed  teeth  set 
far  apart,  those  in  front  very  elongate  and  all  of  them  so  long  that  they  project 
when  the  mouth  is  closed.  Furthermore,  the  snout  is  so  short  that  the  very  wide 
mouth  gapes  far  back  of  the  eye.     The  body  is  about  seven  times  as  long  as  deep, 

"  These  Fundian  records  are  from  Huntsman  (1922a,  p.  13). 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


153 


compressed,  deepest  close  behind  the  head,  and  tapering  thence  evenly  to  the  tail. 
The  very  short  dorsal  fin  (6  to  7  rays)  stands  far  forward  and  its  first  ray  is  elongate, 
half  as  long  as  the  fish  when  not  broken  off,  as  it  usually  is.  The  ventrals  are  about 
midway  from  the  snout  to  the  base  of  the  tail  fin,  variously  pictured  as  either  larger 
or  smaller  than  the  dorsal.  The  small  anal  is  close  to  the  caudal,  with  the  adipose 
fin  over  it.  The  body  is  clothed  with  large  but  very  thin  scales.  There  are  several 
longitudinal  rows  of  small  luminous  organs  on  the  ventral  surface,  running  from 
throat  to  tail,  and  several  more  such  spots  on  the  side  of  the  head,  while  a  great 
number  of  very  tiny  unpigmented  dots  are  scattered  over  the  trunk." 

Color. — Greenish  above;  sides  with  metallic  gloss;  blackish  below. 

Size. — One  foot  long. 

Occurrence  in  the  Guif  of  Maine. — The  only  definite  Gulf  of  Maine  record  is  of 
one  specimen  found  in  the  stomach  of  a  cod  caught  on  Georges  Bank  in  1874,  but 
as  several  have  been  taken  off  the  continental  slope  abreast  of  southern  New  Eng- 
land ''  in  deep  water,  the  viperfish  may  be  expected  on  the  offshore  banks  as  a  stray. 


Fig.  62. — Viperfish  (Chauliodus  sloarifi) 

Habits. — Nothing  is  known  of  its  habits  except  that  it  is  an  inhabitant  of  the 
mid-depths  of  tlie  Atlantic  Basin  and  probably  never  rises  closer  to  the  surface  than 
150  or  200  fathoms  except,  perhaps,  during  its  larval  stages.  Its  teeth  suggest  a 
rapacious  habit  but  there  is  no  actual  record  of  its  diet  nor  of  its  breeding. 

55.  Cyclothone  {Cyclothone  signata  Garman) 

Garman,  1899,  p.  246,  pi.  J,  fig.  3. 

Bescrifition. — Cyclothone,  like  the  pearlsides  and  viperfish  (pp.  151  and  152),  is 
distinguishable  from  other  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes  by  the  possession  of  phos- 
phorescent organs.  These  are  arranged  as  follows :  One  on  the  head;  1  close  below 
and  in  front  of  the  eye;  2  on  each  gill  cover;  9  or  10  between  the  branchiostegal  rays; 
2  longitudinal  rows  on  the  body,  the  first  containing  13  from  throat  to  ventral  fins, 
4  from  ventrals  to  anal,  and  13  from  anal  to  caudal,  whUe  the  second  is  a  higher 
row  of  7  reaching  about  as  far  back  as  the  ventrals. 

The  general  aspect  of  the  fish  is  likewise  extremely  characteristic,  the  somewhat 
compressed  body  being  deepest  at  the  gUl  opening  with  the  upper  surface  of  the  head 

"  Die  Tietsee-Fische,  by  August  Brauer.    Wissenschaftliche  Ergebnisse  der  Deutsohen  Tiefsee-Expedition,  1398-1899  (1906), 
Band  XV,  Teil  I,  p.  40. 

"  Qoode  and  Bean  (1896,  p.  97)  list  these  captures. 


154  BULi/ETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHEBIES 

concave  in  profile,  the  mouth  so  large  that  it  gapes  back  of  the  eye,  the  lower  jaw 
projecting,  the  eye  very  small,  and  the  gill  opening  very  long.  The  dorsal  fin 
stands  over  the  anal  (the  latter  is  much  the  longer  of  the  two),  both  originating 
close  behind  the  middle  of  the  body.  The  caudal  fin  is  deeply  forked  and  there 
is  no  adipose  fin. 

Color. — -Cyclotkone  signata  is  colorless  or  a  pale  gray,  except  that  the  blackish, 
dark  silvery  lining  of  the  abdominal  cavity  shows  through,  that  the  phosphorescent 
organs  are  black  rimmed  and  silver  centered,  and  that  there  are  the  following  black 
markings,  viz:  A  Y-shaped  mark  on  the  forehead,  a  series  of  spots  or  short  trans- 
verse stripes  on  the  flank,  spots  between  the  bases  of  the  dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays, 
one  or  two  transverse  streaks  across  the  bases  of  the  caudal  rays,  and  a  number 
of  irregular  flecks  and  dots  along  the  back  and  on  the  gfll  covers.  "■  " 

General  range. — This  is  an  oceanic  fish,  very  abundant  in  temperate  latitudes 
in  the  Atlantic  where  it  lives  pelagic  from  about  100  down  to  about  250  fathoms, 
hundreds  having  often  been  taken  in  a  single  haul.  It  is  also  known  from  the 
Pacific. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Cyclothone  appears  within  our  limits  only 
as  a  stray  from  the  Atlantic  Basin,  one  23  mm.  long  taken  in  a  haul  from  30  fathoms 


Fig.  63.— Cyclothone  ICeclothone  signata).    After  Brauer 

on  Browns  Bank,  June  24,  1915,  and  a  second  mutilated  specimen  probably  of 
this  species  from  the  Fundy  Deep  (haul  from  90  fathoms),  March  22,  1920,  being 
the  only  definite  records. 

THE  LANCETFISHES.     FAMILY  ALEPISAURID^ 

The  lancetfishes  have  a  very  high  dorsal  fin  and  a  small  adipose  fin  like  that  of 
salmon  or  smelt,  a  deeply  forked  caudal,  a  short  anal,  large  pointed  pectorals  and 
ventrals,  and  a  wide  mouth  with  large  teeth.  Several  species  are  known,  all 
belonging  to  deep  water,  only  one  of  which  has  been  taken  within  the  province 
covered  by  this  report. 

56.  Lancetfish  (Alepisauru-s  ferox  Gill) 

Handsawfish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  595. 

Description. — The  combination  of  high  and  long  dorsal  fin  with  the  presence  of 
an  adipose  fin  of  itself  marks  the  lancetfish  off  from  all  other  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes. 


77,  ;s  Per  detailed  accounts  and  colored  illustrations  see  Garman  (Memoirs,  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Har- 
vard College,  Vol.  XXIV,  1899,  p.  246,  plate  J,  fig.  3.  Cambridge),  Brauer  (Wissenschaftliche  Ergebnisse  der  Deutschen 
Tiefsee-Eipedition,  1898-1899,  Band  XV,  Teil  I,  1906,  p.  77,  PI.  VI,  fig.  6),  Murray  and  Hjort  (The  Depths  of  the  Ocean,  1912, 
PI.  I.    London). 


PISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OP   MAINE 


155 


The  body  is  slender,  somewhat  compressed,  deepest  at  the  gill  cover  and  tapering 
back  to  a  slender  caudal  peduncle.  The  snout  is  long  and  pointed,  the  mouth  wide, 
gaping  back  of  the  eye,  and  each  jaw  has  two  or  three  fangs  and  many  smaller  teeth. 
The  dorsal  fin  (41  to  44  rays)  originates  on  the  nape  and  occupies  the  greater  length 
of  the  back,  is  rounded  in  outline,  about  twice  as  high  as  the  fish  is  deep, 
and  can  be  depressed  in  a  groove.  The  adipose  fin  recalls  that  of  the  smelt  in  form 
and  location.  The  caudal  is  very  deeply  forked  and,  according  to  Gunther,  its 
upper  lobe  is  prolonged  as  a  long  filament,  but  if  this  is  a  constant  feature  most 
specimens  so  far  seen  have  lost  it.  The  anal  fin  originates  under  the  last  dorsal  ray, 
and  is  deeply  concave  in  outline.  The  ventrals  are  about  halfway  between  the 
anal  and  the  tip  of  the  snout,  while  the  pectorals  are  considerably  longer  than  the 
body  is  deep  and  are  situated  very  low  down  on  the  sides.  There  are  no  scales 
and  the  fins  are  described  as  exceedingly  fragile. 


Fig.  64. — Lancetfish  (Alepi-sauTus  feroz) 

Color. — We  find  no  account  of  its  color  in  life  nor  have  we  seen  it  freshly  taken. 

Size. — -The  collection  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History  contains  a 
cast  of  a  specimen  about  6  feet  long  taken  off  Nova  Scotia  in  August,  1910,  and 
this  is  probably  about  the  maximum  size. 

General  range. — Widely  distributed  in  the  deep  waters  of  the  Atlantic. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — A  specimen  brought  in  by  a  fisherman  from 
Georges  Bank  '*  about  1878  or  1879  is  its  only  claim  to  mention  here.  Others 
have  been  taken  on  the  deep  slopes  of  LaHave  Bank  and  of  the  more  easterly 
fishing  banks.  This  is  a  deep-sea  species,  only  casual  above  200  fathoms.  Noth- 
ing is  known  of  its  habits. 


THE    MUMMICHOGS    OR   KILLIFISHES.     FAMILY   PCECILID.S 

The  mummichogs  are  small  fishes  recognizable  by  the  presence  of  but  one 
short  dorsal  fin  situated  far  back  and  by  ventrals  situated  on  the  abdomen,  com- 
bined with  a  small  terminal  mouth,  very  thick  caudal  peduncle,  and  rounded  tail 
fin.  The  family  is  represented  by  tlu-ee  species  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  two  of 
Fundulus  and  one  of  Cyprinodon,  the  former  slender  and  the  latter  deep  in  out- 
line, enough  difference  in  body  form  to  distinguish  one  from  the  other  at  a  glance. 

"  No  information  as  to  this  specimen  more  definite  than  this  is  available. 


156  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUBEAU   OF   FISHEKIES 

The  teeth  are  likewise  different  in  the  two  genera,  those  of  Fundulus  being  sharp- 
pointed,  whereas  in  Cyprinodon  they  are  wedge-shaped  and  incisorhke.  The 
two  local  species  of  Fundulus  are  separable  by  their  markings,  majalis  of  all  ages 
being  barred  with  black  while  the  adult  heteroclitus  is  not. 

57.  Commou  mummichog  {Fundulus  heteroclitus  Linnaeus)  ■ 

Killifish;  Salt-water  minnow;  Cobbler;  Chub;  Mudfish;  Mud  dabbler 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  641. 

Description. — This  is  a  thick-set,  stout-bodied  fish,  about  one-fourth  as  deep  as 
long,  its  body  thickest  just  back  of  the  head,  whence  it  tapers  to  the  taU.  Both 
its  back  and  its  belly  are  rounded,  but  the  top  of  the  head  between  the  eyes  is  flat. 
The  snout,  as  seen  from  above,  is  blunt.  The  mouth  is  terminal  and  so  small  that 
it  does  not  gape  back  to  the  eye.  Perhaps  the  most  striking  feature  of  Fundulus 
is  its  very  deep  caudal  peduncle  and  roimded  caudal  fin.     The  fins  are  of  moderate 


-i^ 


Fig.  65. — Coiuii.oi.  :..Limmichog  (Fundulus  heteTOditus) 

size,  the  dorsal  being  situated  behind  the  middle  of  the  body  above  the  anal.  The 
pectorals  are  broad  and  rounded.  Both  head  and  body  are  covered  with  large 
rounded  scales.  In  males  in  breeding  condition  the  scales  on  the  sides  of  the  head 
and  on  the  flanks  below  and  behind  the  dorsal  fin  develop  fingerlike  processes,  the 
so-called  "contact  organs,"  on  their  free  edges. 

The  mummichog  exhibits  a  striking  sexual  dimorpliism  in  the  dorsal  and 
anal  fins,  which  are  not  only  larger  in  the  male  than  in  the  female,  and  the  anals 
of  a  different  shape,^°  but  more  muscular  (they  are  used  as  claspers  in  the  act  of 
spawning) . 

Color. — Males  and  females  differ  in  color  as  well  as  in  the  sizes  of  the  fins.  Out 
of  breeding  season  the  males  are  dark  greenish  or  steel  blue  above,  marked  on  the 
sides  with  narrow  irregular  silvery  bars  or  mottlings  made  up  of  a  series  of  dots, 
and  with  white  and  yellow  spots.  The  belly  is  white,  pale  yellow,  or  orange;  the 
dorsal,  anal,  and  caudal  fins  are  dark  green  or  dusky  with  pale  mottlings;  the  front 

s"  A  detailed  account  of  the  sexual  differences  is  given  by  Newman  (Biological  Bulletin,  Marine  Biological  Laboratory,  Woods 
Hole,  Mass.,  Vol.  XII,  No.  5,  April,  1907,  pp.  314-348). 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  157 

edges  of  anals  and  ventrals  are  yellow.  Sometimes  there  is  a  dark-edged,  pale- 
centered  eyespot  on  the  rear  part  of  the  dorsal  fin.  At  spawning  time  the  pig- 
mentation of  the  male  is  generally  intensified,  the  back  and  upper  sides  darkening 
almost  to  black,  while  the  yellow  of  the  belly  becomes  more  brilliant  and  the  body 
generally  assumes  steel-blue  reflections.  The  females  (much  paler  than  the  males) 
are  uniform  olive  to  bottle  green,  darker  above,  lighter  below,  without  definite 
markings  though  their  sides  often  show  faint  and  indefinite  crossbars  of  a  deeper 
tone  of  the  same  hue.  Their  fins  are  much  paler  than  those  of  males.  Very  young 
fry  of  both  sexes  show  dark  transverse  bars  on  the  sides  but  these  are  lost  with 
growth. 

Killifishes,  as  is  well  known,  vary  in  shade  from  very  pale  to  dark,  according 
to  the  color  of  their  surroundings,  and  recent  experiments  *'  have  proved  that 
their  ability  to  change  from  light  to  dark  depends  on  the  sense  of  sight. 

Size. — The  maximum  length  is  5  to  6  inches,  but  adult  mummichogs  are  seldom 
more  than  3  or  4  inches  long  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  Several  varieties  of  this  species 
have  been  described,  but  they  are  so  closely  allied  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  discuss 
them  here. 

General  range. — Coast  of  North  America,  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to 
Texas. 

Occxirrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  mummichog  is  very  abundant  in  suitable 
locations  all  around  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  However,  it  seldom  if  ever 
ventures  into  the  open  sea,  for  its  home  is  along  sheltered  sandy  beaches,  especially 
where  the  tide  flows  over  beds  of  eelgrass  or  among  beds  of  salt  hay  (Spartina), 
among  which  shoals  of  "mummies"  may  often  be  seen  moving  in  with  the  flood 
tide.  They  also  swarm  in  the  tidal  creeks  that  cut  up  the  salt  marshes,  on  the 
shores  of  our  harbors,  and  in  the  brackish  water  at  the  mouths  of  our  streams  and 
estuaries,  particularly  in  little  muddy  pools,  creeks,  and  ditches.  So  closely,  in- 
deed, do  they  hug  the  shore  that  aline  drawn  100  yards  out  from  land  would  probably 
inclose  90  per  cent  of  all  the  mummichogs  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  Wliere  the  shore 
is  bold  and  rocky,  as  about  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  the  mummichog  is  practically  re- 
stricted to  brackish  water,  and  often  goes  up  into  fresh  water.  It  is  not  likely  that 
it  ever  descends  to  a  depth  of  more  than  2  or  3  fathoms  in  its  journeys  in  and  out 
of  the  creeks  or  up  and  down  the  shore.  It  is  so  resistant  to  a  lack  of  oxygen,  the 
presence  of  carbondioxide,  and  unfavorable  surroundings  generally,  that  it  can 
survive  in  very  foul  water. 

Habits. — ^The  mummichog  winters  in  a  more  or  less  torpid  or  at  least  sluggish 
state  on  the  bottoms  of  the  deep  muddy  holes  or  creeks.  We  have  no  evidence 
that  it  goes  to  sea  during  the  cold  season  any  more  than  in  summer,  and  in  general 
it  is  one  of  the  most  stationary  of  fishes.  At  ebb  tide  "mummies"  are  often  trapped 
in  little  pools  where  they  remain  until  the  next  tide  if  the  water  holds,  often  huddled 
together  in  swarms.  Should  the  pool  go  dry,  however,  they  work  their  way  into 
the  mud  for  the  time  being,  where  we  have  often  found  them,  and  probably  they  can 
flop  overland  for  a  few  yards  to  some  other  drain  as  the  striped  mummichog  does.^^ 

"  Parker  and  Lanchner.    American  Journal  of  Physiology,  Vol.  LXI,  1922,  p.  548. 

"  This  habit  is  described  by  Mast  (Journal  of  Animal  Behavior,  vol.  5,  No.  S,  1915,  p.  341-350). 


158  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEKIES 

Food. — •" Mummies"  are  omnivorous,  feeding  on  all  sorts  of  edible  things, 
vegetable  as  well  as  animal.  They  have  been  found  full  of  diatoms,  eelgrass  and 
other  vegetable  matter,  foraminifera,  shrimps  and  other  small  Crustacea,  small 
mollusks,  and  even  with  small  fish  in  their  stomachs. '^  At  spawning  time  they 
greedily  eat  their  own  or  each  other's  eggs.  They  soon  congregate  about  any  dead 
fish  or  other  bit  of  carrion,  to  prey  either  upon  it  or  upon  the  amphipod  scavengers 
that  gather  on  such  dainties. 

Breeding  habits. — Spawning  probably  takes  place  at  the  same  season  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  as  on  the  southern  coast  of  New  England — that  is,  June,  July,  and 
early  August.  As  sexual  activity  approaches,  the  males,  now  brilliantly  tinted, 
court  and  pursue  the  females,  rivalry  among  them  being  very  keen,  those  most 
highly  colored  or  most  excited  usually  driving  off  the  others.  Sometimes  they  fight 
fiercely.  At  the  moment  of  spawning  the  male  clasps  the  female  with  his  anal  and 
dorsal  fins  just  back  of  her  anal  and  dorsal,  usually  forcing  her  against  some  stone 
or  against  the  bottom,  the  bodies  of  both  being  bent  into  an  S  and  their  tails 
vibrating  rapidly  while  the  eggs  and  the  milt  are  being  extruded.'*  Occasionally, 
however,  pairs  clasp  and  spawn  free  in  the  water  without  coming  in  contact  with 
any  object,  and  sometimes  a  female  is  seen  to  pursue  and  court  a  male.  They 
have  been  seen  spawning  in  a  few  inches  of  water,  seeking  shady  spots. 

The  eggs,  which  are  about  2  mm.  in  diameter,  colorless  or  pale  yellowish  and 
siuToimded  by  a  firm  capsule,  sink  and  become  so  sticky  on  contact  with  the  water 
that  they  mass  together  in  clumps  or  stick  fast  to  sand  grains  or  to  anything  they 
chance  to  rest  upon.  Incubation  occupies  from  9  to  18  days,  the  exact  duration 
probably  depending  on  temperature,  this  being  the  factor  that  governs  the  rate  of 
development  for  most  fishes.  The  larva  is  about  7  to  7.7  mm.  long  at  hatching,  its 
yolk  absorbed  already,  its  pectoral  and  caudal  fins  fully  formed.  By  the  time  the 
little  fish  has  grown  to  11  mm.  the  dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays  are  present  in  full 
niunber,  and  the  first  trace  of  the  ventrals  is  to  be  seen.  At  16  mm.  the  ventrals 
are  apparent,  and  fry  of  20  mm.  resemble  the  adult  not  only  structurally  but  in  form. 

The  mummichog  is  of  some  little  commercial  value  as  bait,  but  only  locall}'. 

58.  Striped  mummichog  (Fundulus  majalis  Walbaum) 

Mummichog;  Mummy;  Ktt.lifish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  637. 

Description. — This  fish  closely  resembles  the  more  common  mummichog  in 
general  form,  in  its  sexual  dimorphism,  in  the  form  of  its  dorsal  and  anal  fins,  and 
in  the  development  of  "contact  organs"  on  the  scales  of  the  breeding  male;  but  it 
is  more  slender,  its  snout  is  more  pointed  in  side  view,  its  body  more  definitely 
fusiform,  tapering  toward  both  head  and  tail,  and  its  caudal  peduncle  is  less  stout. 
The  most  striking  point  of  difference  between  the  two,  however,  is  to  be  seen  in  the 
color  pattern,  both  sexes  of  Fundulus  majalis  being  definitely  barred  \vith  black 

s^  Lists  of  stomach  contents  are  given  by  Field  (1907,  p.  29). 

»<  Newman  (Biological  Bulletin,  Marine  Biological  Laboratory,  Woods  Hole,  Mass.,  Vol.  XII,  No.  5,  .\pril,  1907,  p.  315) 
gives  an  interesting  account  of  the  courtship  and  spawning  from  which  the  preceding  is  condensed. 


FISHES   OF   TSE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


159 


at  maturity  as  well  as  when  young.  In  the  male  the  barring  is  transverse  through- 
out life,  the  stripes  increasing  in  number  from  7  to  10  in  the  young  to  from  14  to  20 
in  adult  fish.  In  the  female,  however,  the  original  7  to  10  transverse  bars  are  trans- 
formed with  growth  into  two  longitudinal  stripes  on  each  side,  the  upper  running 
iminterrupted  from  gill  opening  to  tail,  the  lower  in  two  segments,  the  first  from 
close  behind  the  pectoral  to  above  the  ventral,  and  the  second  thence  backward  to 
just  behind  the  rear  edge  of  the  anal  fin.  Even  in  the  oldest  females,  however, 
one  or  two  transverse  bars  persist  on  the  caudal  peduncle. 

Color. — ^Apart  from  these  black  bars  the  male  is  dark  olive  green  above  with 
silvery  sides,  a  greenish-yellow  belly,  and  a  black  spot  on  the  rear  part  of  the  dorsal 
fin;  his  pectorals  and  caudal  pale  yellowish — a  decidely  paler  fish  than  the  other 
"mummy."  At  breeding  time  the  males  become  more  brilliant,  the  back  turning 
almost  black,  the  lower  sides  and  belly  changing  to  orange  or  golden,  and  the  fins 
to  bright  yellow.     The  female  is  olive  green  above  and  white  below. 

Size. — This  is  a  larger  fish  than  the  common  mummichog,  occasionally  grow- 
ing to  a  length  of  8  inches  and  frequently  to  a  length  of  6  inches. 


Fig.  66. — Striped  mummichog,  male  {Fundalas  majalis) 

General  range. — The  coast  of  the  United  States  from  Cape  Cod  to  Florida. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — We  have  never  seen  this  fish  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  though  it  is  very  abundant  along  the  southern  shores  of  New  England  west 
of  Cape  Cod.  In  fact,  the  only  Gulf  of  Maine  records  are  for  the  neighborhood 
of  Boston  many  years  ago.  Possibly  it  is  more  plentiful  along  the  outer  sands  of 
Cape  Cod  than  is  now  realized;  north  of  that,  however,  it  is  only  a  stray,  hence 
we  need  merely  remark  that  it  parallels  Fundulus  heieroelitus  in  its  confinement  to 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  land  and  in  its  general  habits,  but  that  it  keeps 
more  strictly  to  salt  water. 

59.  Sheepshead  minnow  {Cyprinodon  variegatus  Lacepede) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  671. 

Description. — Anatomically,  as  pointed  out  above  (p.  156),  the  sheepshead  min- 
now is  separated  from  the  mimimichogs  by  the  form  of  its  teeth,  which  are  large, 
wedge  shaped,  with  tricuspid  cutting  edges,  instead  of  small  and  pointed.     Further- 
more, it  is  so  deep  bodied  (its  body  nearly  half  as  deep  as  long,  not  counting  the 
102274—25+ 11 


160 


BUL1.ETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 


tail  fin)  that  it  is  not  apt  to  be  mistaken.  It  is  a  stocky  little  fish  more  than  half 
as  thick  as  deep,  but  flat-sided,  with  high  arched  back,  small  flat-topped  head,  small 
terminal  mouth  hardly  gaping  back  to  the  forward  edge  of  the  eye,  and  with  the 
thick  caudal  pedimcle  characteristic  of  its  family.  Its  tail  is  square  (rounded  in 
the  mummichogs),  and  the  fact  that  almost  the  whole  dorsal  fin  is  in  front  of  the 
anal  instead  of  over  it  affords  another  point  of  difference.  The  pectorals  are  large, 
reaching  back  past  the  base  of  the  ventrals,  which  by  contrast  are  very  small.  Both 
body  and  head  are  covered  with  large  rounded  scales,  largest  on  top  of  the  head  and 
on  the  cheeks.  Young  fish  are  proportionally  more  slender  than  old  ones.  In  this 
species,  as  in  the  mummichogs,  the  dorsal,  ventral,  and  anal  fins  are  higher  in  the 
males  than  in  the  females.     The  male,  too,  is  deeper  bodied  and  averages  larger. 

Color. — Out  of  breeding  season  both  males  and  females  are  olive  above  (males 
rather  darker  and  greener  than  females)  with  pale  yellow  or  yellowish-white  belly, 


Fig.  67.— Sheepshead  minnow  (^Cyprinodon  rariegatus) 

dusky  dorsal,  and  pale  orange  pectoral,  ventral,  and  anal  fins.  The  young  of  both 
sexes  are  irregidarly  barred  with  black  ti'ansverse  stripes,  which  pereist  through 
life  in  the  female  but  become  obscured  in  adult  males.  Females,  furthermore,  have 
a  black  spot  on  the  rear  corner  of  the  dorsal  fin,  which  is  wanting  in  males,  while 
the  caudal  fin  of  the  latter  sex  is  marked  by  two  black  cross  stripes,  one  at  the 
base  and  the  other  at  its  margin.  In  breeding  season  the  male  assumes  a  very 
brilliant  coat,  his  upper  parts  turning  to  steel  blue  in  front  of  the  dorsal  fin  with  a 
greenish  luster  behind  it,  while  his  belly  brightens  to  a  deep  salmon,  his  ventrals 
and  anal  change  to  dusky  margined  with  orange,  and  his  doi-sal  shows  an  orange 
margin  in  front. 

Size. — The  largest  specimens  are  about  3  inches  long. 

General  range. — Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States,  Cape  Cod  to  Mexico,  in 
brackish  as  well  as  in  salt  water. 


FISHES    OF    THE    GULF    OF    MAINE  161 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  lish,  like  so  many  others,  finds  its 
northern  limit  at  Cape  Cod  and  would  not  deserve  mention  here  at  all  were  it  not 
recorded  by  Storer  from  the  cape.  West  and  south  of  Cape  Cod,  however,  as  at 
Woods  Hole,  it  is  common  enough  in  very  shallow  water  about  the  heads  of  bays, 
along  weedy  shores,  and  in  brackish  water.  We  have  seined  many  of  them  with 
Fundulus  at  the  head  of  Buzzards  Bay. 

Habits. — The  breeding  habits  recall  those  of  the  "mummy"  (p.  158),  the  males 
fighting  fiercely  among  themselves  and  clasping  the  females  just  forward  of  the 
tail  with  dorsal  and  anal  fins,  while  the  eggs  and  milt  are  extruded.  Spawning 
takes  place  in  shallow  water  from  April  to  September,  the  eggs  maturing  a  few 
at  a  time,  so  that  any  given  female  spawns  at  intervals  throughout  the  season. 
The  eggs  sink  and  stick  together  in  clumps  by  numerous  threads.  They  are  1.2 
to  1.4  mm.  in  diameter,  with  one  large  and  many  minute  oil  globules.  Incubation 
occupies  5  or  6  days,  and  even  at  hatching  the  larvte  (4  mm.  long)  show  alternate 
light  and  dark  crossbands.  At  a  length  of  9  nam.  all  the  fins  are  formed,  and  at 
12  m.m.  the  fry  show  most  of  the  characters  diagnostic  of  the  species.^ 

THE    BILLFISHES.     FAMILY    BELONID.E 

The  most  noticeable  feature  of  the  billfishes  is  tliat  both  jaws  are  prolonged 
to  form  a  long  slim  beak  well  armed  with  teeth.  Their  bodies  are  very  slender, 
with  the  anal,  dorsal,  and  ventral  fins  set  far  back.  There  are  no  finlets,  the 
absence  of  these  being  the  readiest  field  mark  to  separate  the  billfish  from  the  needle- 
fish (Scomberesox,  p.  1 64) .  They  are  sAvif t-swimming,  predaceous  fishes,  represented 
by  many  species,  most  of  them  American.  Only  one  has  ever  been  recorded  in 
the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

60.  Silver  gar  {Tylosurus  marinus  Walbaum) 

Billfish;  Salt-water  gar;  Garfish;  Sea  pike;  and  various  other  local  names 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  714. 

Description. — Several  genera  of  fish  with  very  long  jaws  or  "bills"  have  been 
recorded  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  the  silver  gar  being  distinguishable  among  them  by 
the  fact  that  both  its  jaws  are  elongated  instead  of  only  the  lower  as  in  the  half- 
beaks  (p.  163),  and  that  there  are  no  finlets  between  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins  and 
the  caudal,  whereas  in  the  needlefish  (Scomberesox,  p.  164)  there  are  five  or  six 
small  dorsal  finlets  and  as  many  anal  finlets.  The  long  bills  and  slender  bodies 
give  the  gars  a  general  aspect  so  peculiar  that  they  are  not  likely  to  be  confused 
with  any  Gulf  of  Maine  fish  other  than  the  two  just  mentioned. 

The  body  of  the  silver  gar  is  about  five  and  one-half  times  as  long  as  deep, 
roimded  (not  laterally  flattened)  in  cross  section,  and  thicker  than  deep.  Its  upper 
jaw  from  the  eye  forward  is  twice  as  long  as  the  rest  of  the  head,  both  its  jaws  are 
armed  with  sharp  teeth,  and  its  eye  is  large.     Both  its  body  and  the  sides  of  its 

w  An  account  of  courtship  and  spawning  is  given  by  Newman  (Biological  Bulletin,  Marine  Biological  Laboratory,  Woods 
Hole,  Mass.,  Vol.  XII,  No.  5,  April,  1907,  p.  336J  and  of  development  by  Kuntz  (Bulletin,  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries, 
Vol.  XXXIV,  1914  (1916),  p.  409). 


162  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

head  are  scaly.  The  dorsal  and  anal  fins  are  similar  in  outline,  the  anterior  rays  of 
both  being  much  longer  than  those  toward  the  rear.  Both  fins,  too,  are  situated 
far  back,  the  dorsal  originating  slightly  behind  the  forward  edge  of  the  anal.  The 
ventrals  stand  halfway  between  the  eye  and  the  base  of  the  caudal.  The  latter  fin 
is  only  slightly  emarginate,  this  fact  being  the  readiest  field  mark  to  separate  this 
gar  from  the  only  other  species  of  its  genus  ( Tylosurus  acus)  so  far  actually  taken 
near  Gulf  of  Maine  limits,  for  the  tail  of  the  latter  is  deeply  forked.  There  is  a 
distinct  ridge  or  low  keel  on  either  side  of  the  caudal  peduncle.*" 

Color. — Greenish,  darker  above,  with  silvery  sides,  dull  olive  fins,  and  a  dark 
bar  on  the  gill  cover.     Scales  and  bones  green. 

Size. — The  silver  gar  grows  to  a  length  of  4  feet. 

General  range. — Maine  to  Texas;  very  abimdant  on  the  south  Atlantic  and 
Gulf  coasts  of  the  United  States,  often  running  up  fresh  rivers  above  tide  water. 


Fig.  68.— Silver  gar  ( Ttilosurus  marinus) .    After  Storer 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  silver  gar  is  common  enough  along  the 
southern  shores  of  New  England,  e.  g.,  at  Woods  Hole  and  in  Rhode  Island  waters, 
where  it  is  to  be  found  from  June  to  October.  Like  many  other  southern  fishes, 
however,  it  seldom  journeys  eastward  past  Cape  Cod,  the  only  definite  records  of 
it  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  being  of  several  specimens  collected  by  Dr.  William  C. 
Kendall  at  WoKsneck,  Freeport,  and  Casco  Bay,  Me.,  and  at  Monomoy  Island,  the 
southern  elbow  of  Cape  Cod.  We  have  not  met  it  within  the  limits  of  the  Gulf 
of  Maine,  nor  have  we  heard  even  a  rumor  of  its  presence  there  from  fishermen, 
pretty  good  evidence  that  it  is  as  rare  a  straggler  as  the  few  records  indicate,  for 
large  silver  gars  are  not  fish  to  be  overlooked.  With  so  little  claim  to  mention 
here,  we  need  merely  note  that  it  is  very  voracious,  feeding  on  all  sorts  of  smaller 
fishes,  and  that  it  runs  inshore,  possibly  even  into  river  mouths,  to  spawn.  The  eggs, 
described  by  Ryder, ^'  are  about  3.6  mm.  (one-seventh  of  an  inch)  in  diameter, 
and  stick  together  and  to  any  object  they  may  touch,  by  long  threads  scattered 
over  their  surface.  '^ 

^  There  are  many  other  species  of  gars  in  tropical  seas,  any  one  of  which  viitjht  stray  northward  with  the  Gulf  Stream  and  so 
to  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  The  silver  gar  is  identifiable  among  them  all  by  the  following  combination  of  characters  (no  one  character 
alone  marks  it  out  among  its  relatives):  Mouth  capable  of  being  nearly  closed;  caudal  peduncle  with  keels;  dorsal  and  anal  fins 
short,  the  former  15-rayed,  the  latter  17-rayed;  eyes  at  least  one-third  as  broad  as  the  post  orbital  part  of  head  is  long;  body  not 
excessively  slender  but  at  least  one-flfth  to  one-sixth  as  deep  as  head  (including  jaws)  is  long.  Jordan  and  Evermann  (1396-1900, 
p.  709)  give  a  useful  key  to  the  species  of  the  family. 

«'  Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  I,  1881  (1882)  p.  283. 

8s  The  closely  allied  houndfish  (  Tylosurus  acus  Laci'pede)  has  been  taken  at  Nantucket,  but  has  not  been  found  within  the 
Gulf  of  Maine.  However,  since  it  is  not  unlikely  to  appear  there  as  a  stray  from  the  south  we  may  point  out  that  it  is  easily 
distinguished  from  the  silver  gar,  which  it  resembles  in  general  appearance,  by  its  deeply  forked  instead  of  only  slightly  emarginate 
tail  and  by  the  fact  that  its  dorsal  and  anal  fins  are  much  longer,  the  former  with  23,  the  latter  with  21  rays.  The  following  char- 
acters in  combination  will  serve  to  Identify  it  among  the  several  tropical  gars:  Mouth  nearly  closable  and  upper  jaw  not  arched; 
long  dorsal  and  anal  fins;  beak  at  least  twice  as  long  as  rest  of  head ;  greatest  depth  of  body  not  more  than  two-thirds  the  length  of 
pectoral  fin;  no  lateral  stripe. 


■FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  163 

THE    HALFBEAKS.     FAMILY   HEMIRAMPHID^ 

The  halfbeaks  are  close  allies  of  the  billfish  (Belonidse,  p.  161),  but  in  the  only 
species  of  present  concern  the  lower  jaw  is  greatly  elongate  while  the  upper  jaw  is 
short.  They  are  herbivorous,  feeding  mainly  on  green  algse,  not  carnivorous 
like  their  relatives.  There  are  many  species  in  warm  seas,  only  one  of  which  is 
known  to  reach  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

61.  Halfbeak  (HyporJiamphus  roberti  Cuvier  and  Valenciennes) 

Skipjack 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  721. 

Description. — The  most  striking  feature  of  the  halfbeak,  one  which  is  enough 
of  itself  to  mark  it  off  from  every  other  fish  known  from  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  is  the 
fact  that  while  the  lower  jaw  is  as  long  as  in  the  silver  gars,  the  upper  is  very  short.*" 
This  is  a  slender  fish,  its  body  being  only  one-eighth  as  deep  as  long,  tapering  slightly 
toward  head  and  tail.  As  in  the  silver  gar,  its  dorsal  (14  to  16  rays)  and  anal  (15 
to  17  rays)  fins  are  situated  far  back,  about  equal  in  length  and  similar  in  outline, 
the  former  over  the  latter,  without  finlets.     The  ventrals  stand  about  midway 


Fio.  69. — Halfbeak  {Hyporhamphus  roberti) 

between  the  eye  and  the  base  of  the  caudal.  The  teeth  are  small  and  the  scales 
largest  on  the  upper  surface  of  the  head.  In  young  fish  the  beak  is  much  shorter 
than  it  is  in  adults. 

Color. — Translucent  bottle  green  with  silvery  tinge  above,  each  side  with  a 
narrow  but  well-defined  silvery  band  running  from  pectoral  to  caudal  fin,  the  sides 
darkest  above  and  paler  below.  The  tip  of  the  lower  jaw  is  crimson  in  life,  with  a 
short  filament,  and  tlu-ee  narrow  dark  streaks  rim  along  the  middle  of  the  back. 
The  anterior  parts  of  dorsal  and  anal  and  the  tips  of  caudal  fins  are  dusky.  The 
belly  lining  is  black. 

Size. — Adults  are  seldom  more  than  1  foot  long. 

General  range. — Tropical  and  subtropical  on  both  coasts  of  America  and  in  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico;  not  uncommon  northward  to  Cape  Cod,  and  straying  to  the  coast 
of  Maine.    Abundant  ofi'  the  South  Atlantic  States. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — In  our  cool  boreal  waters  the  halfbeak  is 
only  a  rare  stray  from  the  south,  so  far  recorded  only  twice  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine — that  is,  from  Machias  and  from  Casco  Bay,  Me. 


8"  Should  a  halfbeak  be  taken  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  it  would  be  well  to  consult  Jordan  and  Evermann,  for  there  are  several 
other  species  that  might  reach  there  as  strays,  either  via  the  Gulf  Stream  route  or  from  offshore.  One,  indeed  iEulepiorhamphuit 
vdoi),  has  been  taken  at  Nantucket.  Its  lower  jaw  is  even  longer  and  more  slender  than  that  of  the  halfbeak,  its  body  is  more 
compressed,  and  its  pectoral  fins  are  longer. 


164 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHEEIES 
THE    NEEDLEFISHES.     FAMILY    SCOMBERESOCID^ 


In  the  needlefishes,  as  with  the  billfishes  (p.  161),  both  jaws  (of  the  adult)  are 
elongated  to  form  a  slender  beak,  and  the  anal,  dorsal,  and  ventral  fins  are  set  far 
back,  but  the  presence  of  several  finlets  between  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins  and  the 
caudal  in  the  needlefishes,  which  the  billfishes  lack,  is  a  ready  field  mark  for  their 
identification.  Furthermore,  their  teeth  are  small  and  weak,  and  their  bodies 
only  moderately  elongate.  Only  four  or  five  species  are  known  in  warm  seas,  one 
of  which  is  not  uncommon  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

62.  Needlefish  (Scomberesox  saunts  Walbaum) 

Billfish;  Saury;  Skipper 

Jordan  and  Evermanu,  1896-1900,  p.  725. 

Description. — The  needlefish  resembles  the  silver  gar  in  its  slender  form  and 
in  the  fact  that  both  its  upper  and  lower  jaws  are  elongate,  but  difl'ers  from  it  in 
the  presence  of  a  series  of  five  or  six  little  separate  finlets  in  the  spaces  between 


Fig.  70. — Adult  needlefish  (Scomberesox  saurus) 


Fig.  71.— Needlefish  fry  (Scomberesox  sauriis),  about  214  inches  long.    After  Murray  and  Hjort 

the  dorsal  and  anal  fins  and  the  caudal  fin.  The  body  is  about  nine  times  as  long 
(not  counting  caudal  fin)  as  deep,  compressed,  tapering  toward  the  head  and  tail, 
with  slender  caudal  peduncle,  and  all  the  fins  are  small.  The  dorsal  originates 
slightly  behind  the  origin  of  the  anal,  these  two  fins  being  similar  in  outline  and 
standing  far  back.  The  ventrals  are  situated  about  midway  the  length  of  the 
body.  The  caudal  is  deeply  forked  and  symmetrical,  much  like  the  tail  of  a  mack- 
erel. The  trunk  and  a  patch  on  each  gill  cover  are  covered  with  small  scales. 
The  lower  jaw  projects  beyond  the  upper;  the  teeth  are  pointed  but  very  small. 

Color. — Olive  green  above  with  a  silver  band  on  each  side  at  the  level  of  the 
eye  and  about  as  broad  as  the  latter.  There  is  a  dark  green  spot  above  the  base  of 
the  pectoral;  the  dorsal  fin  is  greenish:  the  lower  parts  silvery  with  golden  gloss. 
In  young  fry,  which  live  in  the  surface  waters  of  the  open  Atlantic,  the  back  is  dark 
blue  and  the  sides  silvery. 

Size.—^p  to  18  inches  long.  Those  caught  on  Cape  Cod  run  a  foot  and  more 
in  length. 


i 


PISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  165 

General  range. — Temperate  parts  of  the  Atlantic,  Pacific,  and  Indian  Oceans, 
known  in  the  open  sea  as  far  north  as  northern  Norway  off  the  European  coast, 
and  to  northern  Nova  Scotia""  and  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland  off  the  eastern 
American  coast. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — While  a  straggler  to  our  Gulf  from  warmer 
waters  offshore  or  farther  south,  the  needlefish  has  been  taken  more  often  on  the 
northern  coasts  of  New  England  than  have  any  of  its  relatives,  specifically  on 
Cape  Cod,  at  Provincetown,  at  several  locations  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  at  Annis- 
quam  a  few  miles  north  of  Cape  Ann,  at  Old  Orchard  (Maine),  in  Casco  Bay,  at 
Monhegan  Island,  and  among  the  islands  at  the  northern  entrance  to  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  but  we  find  no  record  of  it  along  the  Nova  Scotian  shore  of  the  Gulf  of 
Maine.  Apparently  the  inner  curve  of  Cape  Cod  from  Provincetown  to  Wellfleet 
is  a  regular  center  of  abundance  for  it,  as  Storer  long  ago  remarked,  for  schools 
of  billfish  are  picked  up  in  the  traps  along  that  stretch  of  beach  almost  every  year, 
the  catch  rarely  amounting  to  hundreds  of  barrels,  while  hosts  of  them  have  been 
known  to  strand  there.  Its  numbers  fluctuate  greatly  from  year  to  year,  however, 
and  it  often  fails  to  appear."' 

As  a  rule  either  many  or  none  at  all  are  caught,  their  appearance  being  so 
sporadic  that  they  can  not  be  looked  upon  as  regular  summer  residents.  They  are 
taken  any  time  from  mid-June  to  October  or  November,  the  largest  catches  usually 
being  made  late  in  summer."^  Curiously  enough,  although  skippers  are  often  so 
plentiful  in  that  particular  locality  they  are  so  rare  farther  within  Massachusetts 
Bay  that  many  fishermen  from  Plymouth  to  Cape  Ann  had  never  heard  of  them, 
although  others  had.  Certainly  we  never  saw  nor  heard  even  a  rumor  of  the 
fish  in  many  summers  spent  at  Cohasset,  and  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to 
learn  it  is  only  a  stray  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  north  of  Cape  Ann.  It  would  not  be 
surprising,  however,  to  encounter  a  large  school  anywhere  within  its  limits,  for  at 
Woods  Hole,  where  the  billfish  is  ordinarily  very  rare,  it  has  been  taken  in  large 
numbers  on  two  occasions  (1905  and  190G).  Witness,  too,  its  occasional  abundance 
off  northern  Nova  Scotia.°°  When  it  does  invade  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine, 
it  may  be  expected  in  multitudes,  for  it  usually  travels  in  vast  schools.  Day,"^  for 
example,  mentions  the  capture  of  100,000  in  a  single  haul  in  British  waters. 

Habits. — The  skipper  is  strictly  pelagic.  So  far  as  known  it  lives  exclusively 
at  the  surface,  so  much  so  that  in  English  waters,  where  it  is  plentiful  in  summer, 
few  are  caught  in  nets  set  as  deep  as  a  fathom  or  two.  Its  hordes  are  preyed  upon 
by  porpoises  and  all  the  larger  predaceous  fishes;  cod  and  pollock,  for  instance,  feed 
greedily  upon  them,  as  do  bluefish.  When  they  strand  on  the  beaches,  as  often 
happens,  it  is  probably  in  flight  from  their  enemies.  At  sea  they  attempt  to  escape 
by  leaping,  whole  companies  of  them  breaking  the  surface  together  as  has  often  been 
described. 

"  Cornish  (Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology,  1902-1905  (1907),  p.  83)  states  that  large  schools  can  often  be  seen  at  Canso 
skipping  over  the  watar  as  they  flee  from  the  pollock. 

"  Blake  (American  Naturalist,  Vol.  IV,  Nov.,  1870,  p.  521)  remarked  that  while  years  before  he  saw  thousands  stranded  at 
Provincetown  not  one  was  seen  in  1870.    It  failed  in  1921,  also,  and  no  doubt  in  many  intervening  years. 

^2  For  recent  information  on  the  local  abundance  of  billfish  on  Cape  Cod  we  are  indebted  to  Capt.  L.  B.  Goodspeed,  a  fisher- 
man of  long  experience  and  close  observation. 

"  The  flshes  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  Vol.  I,  1880-188!.    London. 


166  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUHEAU   OF   FISHEKIES 

It  is  not  likely  that  it  ever  spawns  in  the  cool  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine, 
for  we  have  never  taken  its  fry  in  our  tow  nets,  although  they  are  among  the~most 
numerous  of  young  fish  in  the  open  Atlantic  between  the  latitudes  of  11°  or  12° 
and  40°N.  It  certainly  spawns  in  the  open  sea,  probably  at  the  surface.  Although 
its  eggs  have  been  described  as  covered  with  filaments  like  those  of  the  silver  gars, ^* 
they  are  not  adhesive  like  the  latter,  but  pelagic.  The  most  interesting  phase  in 
the  development  of  the  skipper  is  that  the  jaws  do  not  commence  to  elongate  until 
the  fry  have  attained  a  length  of  about  40  mm.,  and  that  the  lower  outstrips  the 
upper  at  first,  so  that  fry  of  100  to  150  mm.  look  more  like  halfbeaks  (Hemiramphus 
stage)  than  like  their  own  parents. 

Food. — European  students  tell  us  that  the  skipper  feeds  on  the  smaller  pelagic 
Crustacea  and  probably  also  on  small  fish,  for  it  is  sometimes  caught  on  hook  and 
line.  One  examined  by  Doctor  Linton  at  Woods  Hole  contained  chiefly  annelids, 
fragments  of  fish  and  vegetable  debris,  a  few  copepods,  and  crustacean  larvae. 

Commercial  importance. — The  needlefish  is  not  of  much  commercial  importance, 

being  too  sporadic  in  its  appearances.     However,  when  large  catches  are  made  on 

Cape  Cod  they  find  ready  sale  to  the  local  Portuguese  population.     If  too  many  are 

caught  for  the  local  trade  to  absorb,  they  are  sent  to  Boston,  where  they  are  sold 

for  bait. 

THE    STICKLEBACKS.     FAMILY    GASTEROSTEID^ 

Sticklebacks  are  rather  small  fish,  easily  recognizable  by  the  presence  of  three 
or  more  stout  free  spines  on  the  back  in  front  of  the  dorsal  fin — spines  that  they 
can  erect  or  depress  at  will — and  by  the  fact  that  each  ventral  fin  is  represented 
by  an  even  larger  spine  with  but  one  or  two  rudimentary  rays.  Bony  plates  may 
or  may  not  be  developed  in  the  scaleless  skin.  The  GuK  of  Maine  species  may  be 
named  by  the  following  key: 

KEY  TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   STICKLEBACKS 

1.  Not  more  than  five  large  dorsal  spines 2 

Seven  or  more  dorsal  spines Nine-spined  stickleback,  p.  166 

2.  No  bony  plates  on  the  upper  sides,  but  there  is  a  bony  ridge  on  either  side  of  the 

abdomen Four-spined  stickleback,  p.  171 

The  upper  sides  are  armed  with  bony  plates,  and  there  is  a  plate  in  the  midline  of  the 
belly,  but  there  are  no  ridges  on  the  sides  of  the  abdomen 3 

3.  Many  (28  or  more)  plates  on  each  side Three-spined  stickleback,  p.  168 

Only  5  or  6  plates  on  a  side Two-spined  stickleback,  p.  171 

63.  Nine-spined  stickleback  (Pnngitius  pungitius  Linnseus) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  745. 

Description. — The  nine-spined  stickleback  is  a  slender  little  fish  5  to  6  times  as 
long  (not  counting  caudal  rays)  as  deep  with  very  slim  caudal  peduncle,  the  latter 
usually  with  a  well-developed  keel  on  either  side.  Occasionally,  however,  this  keel 
is  very  low  or  wanting.     There  are  no  bony  plates  along  the  sides  of  the  body, 

•*  Skipper  eggs  were  so  described  by  Haeckel  (Archiv  fiir  Anatomie,  Physiologie,  und  Wissenschaftliche  Medecin,  herausgegeben 
von  Dr.  Johannes  Miiller,  Jahrgang  1855,  p.  23,  Taf.  V,  fig.  15.  Berlin)  75  years  ago.  They  were  not  seen  again  unti]  1910,  when 
similar  eggs,  2.2  mm.  in  diameter,  covered  with  filaments,  were  towed  in  the  Atlantic  by  the  Michael  Sars  (Murray  and  Hjort. 
The  Depths  of  the  Ocean,  1912). 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


167 


these  being  present,  however,  along  the  bases  of  the  anal  and  dorsal  fins  and  on  the 
caudal  keels.  There  are  no  true  scales.  The  most  diagnostic  character  is  that 
there  are  usually  9  spines  on  the  midline  of  the  back  (from  7  to  12  have  been  counted) 
in  a  continuous  row  from  just  in  front  of  the  pectoral  to  the  dorsal  fin,  leaning 
alternately  to  one  side  or  the  other  and  set  in  a  slightly  zigzag  line.  The  spines  are 
slightly  curved;  wider  at  the  base  than  at  the  tip;  fairly  uniform  in  size,  about  one- 
half  to  one-third  as  long  as  the  height  of  dorsal  fin ;  and  each  with  a  small  triangular 
fin  membrane  at  the  base.  They  may  be  depressed  to  lie  in  a  shallow  mid-dorsal 
groove.  Each  ventral  fin  is  represented  by  a  stout  curved  spine  thicker  and  longer 
than  the  dorsal  spines.  The  dorsal  and  anal  fins  (the  former  stands  above  the 
latter)  are  similar  in  form,  tapering  from  front  to  rear,  the  anal  preceded  by  a  single 
stout  recurved  spine.     The  tail  fin  is  square-tipped. 

Size. — Large  adults  are  seldom  more  than  .3,  usually  2  to  2i^,  inches  long. 

Color. — UsuaUj^  dull  olive  brown  above,  the  upper  sides  faintly  barred  or 
blotched  with  darker.  The  belly  is  silvery,  the  pubic  and  thoracic  regions  often 
black.  The  color  varies  with  the  season  of  the  year,  with  the  state  of  sexual  matu- 
rity, and  with  the  color  of  the  bottom  on  which  it  lives,  those  on  dark  mud  being 
darker  and  those  on  bright  sand  paler.  AU  become  more  briUiant  during  the 
breeding  season  when  reddish  tints  appear  under  the  head,  the  belly  turns  greenish, 


Fig.  72. — Nine-spin'^d  stickleback  (Pungilius  puiKjithts) 

and  black  dots  develop  here  and  there  over  the  entire  body.  The  male  has  also 
been  described  as  assuming  a  rosy  tint  beneath. 

General  range. — This  is  one  of  the  most  widely  ranging  of  northern  fishes, 
occurring  in  both  the  fresh  and  salt  waters  of  the  northern  parts  of  both  hemi- 
spheres from  northern  Scandinavia  to  France  on  the  European  coast,  from  Arctic 
seas  south  to  New  York  along  the  American  coast,  and  westward  to  Saskatchewan 
and  Alaska. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  stickleback  occurs  all  around  the  shores 
of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  from  Nova  Scotia  and  the  Bay  of  Fundy  to  Cape  Cod,  but  so  far 
as  we  can  learn  it  is  confined  to  the  brackish  creeks  in  salt  marshes,  where  large 
numbers  may  often  be  taken  in  company  with  the  mummichogs  that  swarm  in 
such  locations,  and  where  it  is  to  be  found  throughout  the  year,  and  to  fresh  water. 
In  the  Gulf  of  Maine  it  seldom  or  never  ventures  out  into  the  salt  waters  of  the 
open  sea.     About  Woods  Hole,  too,  it  is  distinctly  a  brackish  and  fresh-water  fish. 

Hahiis. — Hardly  touching  our  Gulf  proper,  we  need  only  note  that  its  mode  of 

life  and  feeding  habits  are  much  the  same  as  those  of  its  three-spined  relative  next 

to  be  considered  (p.  168),  that  it  is  similarly  destructive  to  the  spawn  and  young  of 

other  fish,  and  similarly  pugnacious.     Probably  this  stickleback  spawns  early   in 

102274—251 12 


168  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU    OF   FISHERIES 

summer'^  on  the  shores  of  the  Gulf,  for  in  northern  Europe  its  breeding  season  occurs 
in  June  and  July.  The  male  often  but  not  always  builds  a  nest  attached  to  grass  or 
weeds  in  which  the  female  spawns,  and  he  guards  nest  and  eggs  until  the  latter 
hatch,  which  occurs  in  about  12  days,  the  newly-hatched  larvpe  being  about  6  mm. 
long. 

Commercial  importance. — This  stickleback  is  of  no  commercial  importance  in 
America,  but  it  is  sometimes  tried  out  for  oil  in  north  Europe  when  enough  can  be 
caught. 

64.  Three-spined  stickleback  {Gasterosteus  aculeatus  Linnaeus) 

Two-SPiNED    stickleback;    Stickleback;    Pinfish;    Hornpout;    Ghoster; 

Thornfish;  Thornback 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  747. 

Description. — The  three-spined  stickleback  is  a  stouter  fish  than  its  nine- 
spined  relative,  being  about  one-fourth  as  deep  as  long,  and  is  more  compressed,  but 
resembles  it  in  fusiform  outline,  very  slender  caudal  peduncle,  and  square  tail  fin. 
Its  most  diagnostic  characters  are  the  number  of  dorsal  spines,  of  which  there  are 
three  (occasionally  four  and  very  exceptionally  five) ,  with  the  first  two  usually  much 
the  larger,  and  each  with  a  small  triangular  fin  membrane;  the  small  size  of  the  anal 
spine  (in  the  nine-spined  stickleback  this  is  long  and  free;  in  the  four-spined  long  but 
attached  to  the  fin  by  the  fin  membrane) ;  and  especially  the  presence  of  a  series  of  28  to 
33  bony  plates  on  the  sides,  and  of  a  ventral  plate  between  and  behind  the  ventral  fins. 
The  fact  that  the  dorsal  fin  originates  some  distance  in  front  of  the  anal  is  also 
diagnostic,  while  its  ventral  spines  are  longer  and  stouter  than  those  of  the  nine- 
spined  stickleback.  This  is  one  of  the  most  variable  of  fishes,  Smitt ""  mentioning 
no  less  than  32  "species"  or  races  based  on  its  varieties.  Its  dorsal  spines,  for 
example,  may  be  long  or  short  and  vary  in  number  as  noted  above.  Its  bonj-  plates 
range  from  none  at  all  to  very  well  developed  ones.  Its  caudal  peduncle  may  or 
may  not  be  keeled.  Most  American  authors  have  recognized  an  American  as  con- 
trasted with  a  European  species  at  the  least,  the  former  supposedly  with  longer 
dorsal  spines,  each  of  them  reaching  to  the  next  behind  when  depressed,  and  the 
latter  with  shorter  spines;  but  inasmuch  as  the  long-spined  as  well  as  the  short- 
spined  form  is  known  to  occur  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  with  every  possible 
gradation  between  the  two,  and  seeing  that  we  ourselves  have  found  both  in  the 
Gulf  among  fish  otherwise  indistinguishable,  we  incline  to  the  belief  that  all  the 
various  forms  are  but  environmental  races  of  the  one  species.  And  this  is  well 
established  for  the  relative  strength  of  the  dermal  armature,  which  is  M'eak  in  fresh 
water  and  strong  in  salt  water. 

Color. — This  fish  is  extremely  variable  in  color,  a  fact  hardly  mentioned  in 
most  American  accounts.  Fundamentally  it  is  deep  graj'ish,  olive,  greenish-brown, 
or  sometimes  blue  above,  paler  and  often  with  silvery  reflections  on  the  sides,  its 
belly  silvery,  and  the  fins  pale,  except  that  the  fin  membrane  is  often  red.  In 
.breeding  season  the  males  are  described  as  turning  reddish  below  from  nose  to  vent 

"  It  spawns  in  April  and  May  at  Woods  Hole. 
»  Scandinavian  fishes,  1892. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


169 


and  often  up  the  sides.  In  females  the  whole  body  except  the  top  of  the  back  may 
then  be  reddish.  At  the  same  time  the  back  turns  brownish  with  transverse  bands, 
and  the  sides  develop  brassy  reflections. 

Size. — Maximum  length  about  4  inches,  but  seldom  more  than  3  inches  long. 
It  matures  at  a  length  of  2  inches. 

General  range. — Coasts  and  fresh  waters  of  the  northern  hemisphere,  from 
Labrador  to  New  Jersey  on  the  eastern  coast  of  America  and  represented  on  the 
northwestern  coast  by  a  form  {Gasterosteus  cataphradus)  that  will  probably  prove 
to  be  identical. 


Fig.  73— Adult 


Fig.  74.— Egg 


Fig.  7.5.— Larva,  newly  hatched,  4.3  millimeters 


Fig.  76.— Larva,  6.3  millimeters 
THREE-SPINED  STICKLEBACK  {Gasierosims  aculeatus) 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  stickleback  is  very  plentiful  all  around 
the  shores  of  the  Gulf  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Cape  Cod,  living  indifferently  in  brackish 
and  in  salt  water.  The  ditches  and  creeks  of  the  tidal  marshes,  brackish  ponds  and 
lagoons,  rock  pools,  and  weedy  shores  in  shallow  water  are  its  favorite  habitats. 
In  such  places  it  may  be  found  practically  anywhere,  and  often  in  great  numbers  in 
company  with  killifishes  and  other  sticklebacks,  for  it  is  the  commonest  of  its  tribe 
in  the  Gulf,  as  it  is  about  Woods  Hole.  It  is  equally  at  home  in  fresh  water  on  the 
one  hand,  and  in  sea  water  of  full  salinity  on  the  other. 


170  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUEEATJ   OF   FISHERIES 

Like  all  sticklebacks  it  is  distinctively  a  shore  fish,  the  great  majority  of  the 
local  stock  living  their  whole  lives  in  estuarine  waters.  Enough  stray  out  to  sea, 
however,  for  it  to  be  rather  common  to  pick  up  a  few  here  and  there  in  the  tow  net, 
right  out  to  the  center  of  the  Gulf.  On  such  occasions  they  usually  hide  in  clumps  of 
floating  eelgrass  (Zostera)  or  rockweed  (Fucus) ;  indeed  we  have  learned  to  expect 
a  stickleback  or  two  whenever  we  dip  up  bunches  of  weeds  of  any  size.  These 
wanderers  keep  to  the  surface  except,  perhaps,  in  very  rough  weather. °' 

Wherever  found  alongshore  it  is  a  permanent  all-the-j'ear  resident,  merely 
dropping  down  into  slightly  deeper  water  such  as  the  bottoms  of  the  deeper  creeks 
to  pass  the  cold  months.  In  such  situations  it  probably  lies  in  schools  in  a  more  or 
less  sluggish  condition  while  the  tem.perature  is  lowest.°^  It  is  proverbially  a  pug- 
nacious fish,  using  its  spines  with  good  eflect  as  weapons  of  ofi'ense  and  defense  even 
on  other  fishes  much  larger  than  itself. 

Food.— This  fish  feeds  iadiscriminately  on  the  smaller  invertebrates,  on  small 
fish  fry,  and  on  fish  eggs,  to  which  it  is  exceedingly  destructive  in  fresh  water.  It  is 
not  only  onmivorous  but  very  voracious,  the  diet  list  of  specimens  examined  by 
Vinal  Edwards  at  Woods  Hole  including  copepods,  of  which  they  are  often  full, 
isopods,  schizapod  shrimps,  young  squid,  and  some  had  fed  on  diatom.s  only. 

Breeding  habits. — This  stickleback  affords  the  classic  instance  of  nest  building 
and  of  the  care  of  eggs  among  fishes,  and  its  nesting  has  been  described  so  often  in 
popular  natural  histories  that  a  bare  outline  will  suflice  here.'"  The  spawning  time 
is  probably  the  same  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  (May  and  June)  as  in  North  European 
waters,'  when  the  fish  assume  the  nuptial  dress  described  above  and  the  males  fight 
fiercely.  It  is  the  male  that  biulds  the  nest,  selecting  for  this  purpose  some  sheltered 
spot  in  shoal  water  or  in  some  rock  pool.  Here  he  builds  a  barrel-shaped  mass,  an 
inch  or  so  in  diameter,  of  bits  of  grass,  weed,  etc.,  cemented  together  with  mucous 
threads,  which  he  spins  from  his  kidney's,  and  weighed  down  with  pebbles.  To  this 
nest  he  escorts  one  or  a  succession  of  females,  each  of  them  depositing  100  to  150 
eggs  in  the  central  cavity.  The  male  then  enters  the  nest  to  fertilize  the  ova,  which 
stick  in  clumps  to  each  other  and  to  the  nest.  Incubation  occupies  6  to  10  days, 
during  which  period  the  male  guards  the  nest,  driving  away  intruders  large  or  small. 
WTien  hatching  time  approaches,  however,  he  tears  down  the  nest  but  continues  to 
guard  the  fry  until  these  can  shift  for  themselves.  The  young  fish  are  4.25  to 
4.5  mm.  long  at  hatching  time.  In  three  or  four  days  the  yolk  sac  is  absorbed, 
when  a  week  old  they  are  almost  8  mm.  long,  and  when  6  weeks  old  and  14  to  16  mm. 
long  the  fry  are  of  adult  form  with  fins  and  spines  fully  formed.^  This  little  fish  is  of 
no  commercial  value  in  America.  In  Scandinavia,  however,  it  is  sometimes  seined 
in  such  quantities  that  it  is  worth  boiling  down  for  oil. 

•'  We  have  taken  this  stickJeback  on  the  eastern  part  of  Georges  Bank  (Mar.  U,  1920);  over  German  Bank;  in  the  western 
basic  (station  10307);  off  Cape  Cod;  near  the  Isles  of  Shoals;  off  Seguin;  and  off  Matinicus;  but  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  it  is  known 
only  close  to  land  and  off  the  months  of  estuaries. 

88  Large  numbers  are  sometimes  seined  in  winter  in  Scandinavian  waters. 

"  Smitt  (Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892)  and  C.  Tate  F.egan  (The  fresh-water  fishes  of  the  British  Isles,  1911,  XXV,  287  pp..  Pis, 
I-XXXVII)  give  accounts  of  the  nest  building  on  which  the  following  is  based. 

1  About  Woods  Hole  it  spawns  from  May  until  the  last  week  in  July. 
Figures  of  stages  in  development  of  this  flsh  are  given  by  Kuntz  and  Eadcliffe  (1918,  p.  131),  A.  Agassiz  (1S82,  p.  2.S8,  plate  9) . 
and  by  Ehrenbaum  (Nordisches  Plankton,  Band  I,  1905-1909,  p.  319) 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OP   JIAINE  171 

65.  Two-spined  stickleback  {Gasterosteus  hispinosus  Walbaum) ' 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900  (Gaslerosieus  gladiuncvlus),  p.  2836. 

Description. — This  stickleback  is  said  to  differ  from  the  three-spined  stickleback 
in  having  a  deeper  body,  fewer  rays  (10  dorsal  and  8  anal),  fewer  dermal  plates 
(5  or  6  as  against  28  to  33),  unkeeled  caudal  peduncle,  and  a  strong  cusp  at  the  base 
of  the  ventral  spine  both  above  and  below.  Dr.  W.  C.  Kendall  informs  us  that 
careful  examination  of  large  series  has  convinced  him  that  this  is  actually  a  distinct 
species  and  not  a  race  of  the  extremely  variable  three-spined  stickleback,  although 
he  saw  one  specimen  apparently  intermediate  between  the  two. 

Color. — In  life  grass-green,  mottled  and  finely  punctated  with  black  on  the  top 
of  the  head  and  back;  sides  of  head  and  body  golden  with  dark  blotches;  breast 
silvery;  ventrals  scarlet.'' 

General  range. — Newfoundland  to  New  York. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Sticldebacks  of  this  type  are  common  in 
company  with  the  three-spined  in  Passamaquoddy  and  St.  Mary  Bays  ^  and  in 
the  Bay  of  Fundy.  They  may  be  expected  anywhere  on  the  Maine  coast,  being 
recorded  at  Winter  Harbor,  off  Monhegan  Island,  off  Seguin  Island,  from  Casco 
Bay  and  its  tributaries  in  both  salt  and  brackish  water,  and  from  Kittery.  It  has 
also  been  taken  at  Swampscott,  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  it  is  fairly  common  in 
summer  at  Woods  Hole.  To  these  coastwise  localities  we  have  added  tow-net 
captures  off  Cape  Porpoise,  on  Platts  Bank,  in  the  Western  Basin,  and  on  German 
Bank. 

Habits. — So  far  as  kno^v^l  its  mode  of  life  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  three-spined 
species,  and  sticklebacks  of  this  type  have  been  described  as  building  nests  with 
bits  of  straw  on  sandy  bottom  in  New  York  waters,"  but  so  often  have  the  two  species 
or  races  been  confused  that  nothing  more  definite  can  be  written  of  its  habits. 

66.  Four-splned  stickleback  {Apeltes  qtiadracus  MitchiU) 
Bloody  stickleback 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  752. 

Description. — The  four-spined  stickleback  lacks  dermal  plates  in  its  scaleless 
skin,  but  a  bony  ridge  on  each  side  of  the  abdomen  makes  the  fish  triangular  in  cross 
section,with  flat  belly  and  sharp  back,  and  gives  it  an  aspect  very  different  from  the 
other  sticklebacks.  In  side  view  it  is  fusiform,  tapering  to  the  rather  pointed  nose 
and  to  the  slim  caudal  peduncle.  There  are  three  free  dorsal  spines  standing  close  one 
behind  the  other,  inchning  alternately  to  one  or  the  other  side,  and  a  fourth  attached 
to  the  dorsal  fin  by  the  fin  membrane.  The  anal  fin  is  similarly  preceded  by  an 
attached  spine,  and  each  ventral  fin  is  represented  by  a  stouter  curved  spine  succeeded 

"  This  is  the  Gasterostms  biamlealus  o(  Cuvier  and  Valenciennes;  wheitllandi  of  Putnam;  Qladiunculus  of  Kendall,  but  not 
the  Q.  bispinosTts  of  Jordan  and  Evermann,  which  is  a  variety  of  Q.  acuJeatus. 
<  Kendall,  1896,  p.  624. 

•  Huntsman.  1922a,  p.  13. 

•  See  Bean,  1903. 


172 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 


by  about  two  slender  rays.  The  dorsal  fin  stands  above  the  anal  as  in  the  nine- 
spined  species,  but  both  these  fins  taper  less  from  front  to  rear,  and  the  caudal  is 
relatively  longer  and  narrower  than  in  any  of  our  other  sticklebacks. 

Color. — Bro^vnish  olive  or  greenish  brown  above  with  dark  mottUngs  that 
alternate  below  the  lateral  line  with  the  silvery  white  of  the  belly.  The  fin  membrane 
of  the  ventrals  is  red.     Males  are  much  darker  than  females. 

Size. — One  and  one-half  to  two  and  one-half  inches  long. 

General  range. — An  American  fish,  known  along  the  coast  from  New  Bruns- 
wick and  Nova  Scotia  to  Virginia;  at  home  both  in  salt  and  in  brackish  water  and 
running  up  into  fresh  water. 


Fig.  77.— Adult 


Fig.  73. — Egg  Fig.  79. — Larv.'i,  newly  hatched,  4.3  millimeters 

FOUR-SPINED  STICKLEBACK  (Apeltes  quadracus) 

Occurrence  in  the  ChUf  of  Maine. — This  stickleback  is  common  all  around  the 
shores  of  the  Gulf  on  the  Nova  Scotian  as  well  as  the  New  England  side.  We  have 
taken  it  at  Yarmouth,  Huntsman  (1922a,  p.  13)  records  it  from  St.  Mary  Bay 
and  along  the  New  Brunswick  shore,  well  within  the  Bay  of  Fundy  (Maine  has 
usually  been  given  as  its  northern  limit),  and  there  are  many  locality  records  for 
the  coasts  of  Maine  and  Massachusetts.  It  is  so  much  more  closely  restricted  to 
estuarine  situations  than  is  its  tliree-spined  relative  (p.  168)  that  we  have  never 
taken  it  in  our  tow  nets  nor  do  we  find  a  single  record  of  it  in  the  open  sea,  but  it  is 
a  common  little  fish  in  the  salt  marshes  of  northern  New  England,  where  it  consorts 
with  other  sticklebacks  and  with  mummichogs.  Like  the  three-spined  stickleback 
it  often  runs  up  into  fresh  water,  though  it  is  primarily  a  salt  and  brackish  water 
fish  and  is  never  found  far  in  from  the  coast.     On  the  south  shore  of  New  England 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  173 

it  is  a  year-round  resident.  Probably  this  is  equally  true  in  the  Gulf,  where  it 
probably  gathers  in  the  bottoms  of  the  deeper  creeks  in  winter.  So  far  as  known  it 
resembles  the  three-spined  stickleback  in  its  feeding  habits  (copepods  and  other 
small  crustaceans  being  its  chief  diet)  and  in  its  general  mode  of  life. 

Breeding  habits. — In  the  Woods  Hole  region  this  stickleback  spawns  as  early  as 
May  and  as  late  as  the  last  week  of  July,  after  which  spent  females  are  found,  but 
the  onset  of  spawning  may  be  delayed  until  somewhat  later  in  the  cooler  waters 
of  the  Gulf.  The  males  build  a  nest  of  plant  fragments,  cemented  with  mucus — 
a  small  rudimentary  affair,  however,  compared  with  that  of  the  three-spined  stickle- 
back— described  by  Ryder'  as  less  than  1  inch  in  diameter,  conical,  with  an  open- 
ing at  the  top.  In  the  manufacture  it  binds  together,  by  a  compound  mucous  thread 
which  it  spins  out  of  a  pore  near  the  vent,  a  few  stalks  of  any  water  plant,  bringing 
bits  of  weed  or  other  objects  in  its  mouth  from  time  to  time  to  add  to  the  structure. 
Finally  it  picks  up  the  eggs  and  deposits  them  in  the  hollow  at  the  top  of  the  nest. 
Presumably  the  male  guards  nest  and  eggs  during  incubation.  The  latter,  which 
are  j'ellow  and  approximately  1.6  mm.  in  diameter,  sink  like  those  of  the  other 
sticklebacks  and  stick  together  in  clumps.  At  laboratory  temperature  (about  70°) 
incubation  occupies  six  days  or  thereabouts.  Newly  hatched  larva;  are  about  4.5 
mm.  long  and  similar  in  appearance  to  those  of  the  three-spined  species  but  more 
densely  pigmented.' 

THE    TRUMPETFISHES.     FAMILY   FISTULARIID.S 

The  trumpetfishes  are  characterized  by  their  slender  bodies  and  tremendously 
long  heads  and  by  the  fact  that  the  anterior  bones  of  the  skuU  are  prolonged  in  a 
very  long  tube  with  the  small  mouth  at  its  tip.  The  only  other  Gulf  of  Maine 
species  \vith  which  they  could  possibly  be  confused  is  the  pipefish  (p.  175).  In  the 
latter,  however,  the  tubular  snout  occupies  only  about  one-eighteenth  of  the 
length  whereas  in  trumpetfishes  it  is  nearly  one-fourth."  Furthermore,  the  pipefish 
lacks  and  the  trumpetfish  has  ventral  fins,  and  the  caudal  fin  of  the  latter  is 
forked  while  that  of  the  pipefish  is  rounded. 

07.  Trumpetfish  {Fistularia  tabacaria  Linnaeus) 

CORNETFISH 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  757. 

Description. — The  slender  body  and  very  long  snout  of  this  fish  are  mentioned 
above.  The  body  to  base  of  caudal  is  about  34  times  as  long  as  deep  and 
only  about  two-tliirds  as  deep  as  thick.  The  head  occupies  almost  one-third  and 
the  snout  about  one-fourth  of  the  body  length.  The  bones  forming  the  latter  are 
so  loosely  united  that  the  snout  is  very  distensible.     The  mouth  is  small,  situated 

'  Bulletin,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol.  I,  1382,  p.  24. 

'  The  early  development  is  described  by  Ryder  (Bulletin,  U.  S.  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  I,  1882,  p.  24)  and  by  Kuntz  and 
Radcliffe  (1918,  p.  132). 

'A  specimen  of  the  snipefish  ( Macrorhamphosus  scolnpaz  LinnfEus),  a  European  species  with  its  chief  center  of  abundance  in 
the  Mediterranean,  was  recorded  at  Provincetown  in  1857;  otherwise  it  is  not  known  from  the  American  coast.  Should  it  again 
stray  across  the  Atlantic  it  may  be  recognized  by  a  long  tubular  snout  lilie  that  of  the  trumpetfish  but  a  short  high  body  with 
two  dorsal  fins,  the  first  consisting  of  one  very  stout  and  serrated  spine  and  four  smaller  ones. 


174 


BUL1.ETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 


somewhat  obliquely  at  the  tip  of  the  snout,  and  the  lower  jaw  projects  slightly 
beyond  the  upper.  The  caudal  fin  is  deeply  forked  and  its  middle  rays  are  pro- 
longed in  a  filament  about  as  long  as  the  snout.  Both  the  dorsal  (14  rays)  and  the 
anal  (13  rays)  fins  are  triangular,  higher  than  long,  the  former  standing  exactly 
above  the  latter,  about  two-thirds  of  the  distance  back  from  eye  to  base  of  caudal 
fiij.  The  ventrals  are  much  smaller — about  midway  betvreen  snout  and'  tail. 
The  skin  is  scaleless  but  is  studded  with  .bony  plates  or  shields. 

Color. — This  fish  (we  have  never  seen  it  alive)  is  described  as  reddish  broxsTi 
above,  the  back  and  sides  with  many  large,  oblong,  pale  blue  spots,  the  lower 
surface  pale  and  silvery. 

Size. — Said  to  reach  a  length  of  6  feet,  but  the  few  specimens  that  stray  north- 
ward are  much  smaller. 

General  range. — Tropical;  common  among  the  West  Indies,  rarely  wandering 
northward  as  far  as  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — There  is  only  one  record  of  the  trumpetfish 
from  the  Gulf  of  Maine — a  specimen  taken  at  Rockport,  Mass.  (north  side  of  Cape 


Fig.  80. — Trumpetfish  {FisiuJaria  tabacaria).    After  Siorer 

Ann),  in  September,  1S65,  and  preserved  in  the  collection  of  the  Essex  Institute, 
where  it  was  examined  and  identified  by  Goode  and  Bean  (1879,  p.  4).  Like 
other  tropical  fishes,  however,  it  is  not  so  rare  west  of  Cape  Cod,  a  fevr  small  ones 
being  taken  at  Woods  Hole  almost  every  year. 

THE    PIPEFISHES.     FAMILY    SYNGNATHID.a; 

In  the  pipefishes  the  anterior  portion  of  the  head  takes  the  form  of  a  long 
tubular  snout  with  the  small  mouth  situated  at  its  tip,  the  skin  is  armed  v.ith 
rings  of  bony  plates,  and  there  is  only  one  dorsal  fin  (soft  rayed)  and  no  ventrals. 
The  snout  recalls  that  of  the  trumpetfishes  (p.  173),  but  pipefishes  differ  from  them 
and  from  most  other  bony  fishes  in  the  structure  of  their  gills,  vchich  take  the  form 
of  tufts  of  small  rounded  lobes  instead  of  the  familiar  filaments.  In  this  respect 
their  affinity  is  with  the  group  of  which  the  sticklebacks  are  the  most  familiar 
exponents.  There  are  many  species  of  pipefishes  in  warm  seas,  but  only  one 
occurs  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


175 


68.  Pipefish   {Sifhostoma  fuscum  Storer)  '" 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  770. 

Description. — This  is  a  ver}-  slender  little  fish,  particularly  so  behind  the  vent, 
males  being  about  35  times  as  long  as  deep  and  females  about  30  times.  The  head 
is  one-eighth  to  one-ninth  the  total  length  (in  the  trumpetfish  it  is  nearly  one- 
third)  ;  the  snout  is  tubelike,  blunt  ended,  and  vdth  the  small  toothless  mouth  at  its 
tip.  The  gill  openings  are  very  small.  The  entire  body  is  covered  ^vith  an  armor 
of  bony  plates  cormected  in  rings,  of  which  there  are  18  to  20  on  the  body  in  front 
of  the  vent  and  36  to  42  on  the  tail  behind  the  vent.  It  is  heptagonal  in  cross- 
section  in  front  of  the  vent  and  hexagonal  behind  it,  a  character  evident  vrlien  the 
fish  is  in  hand.  The  abdomen  of  the  male  is  wider  just  back  of  the  vent  than  else- 
where, with  two  lateral  flaps  that  meet  along  the  midline  to  form  the  so-called 
"marsupial"  or  brood  pouch.  The  female  lacks  these.  The  dorsal  fin  (36  to  40 
rays  and  5  or  6  times  as  long  as  high)  covers  4  or  5  of  the  bony  rings  in  front  of  the 
vent  and  as  many  behind  it.  The  caudal  fin  is  rounded,  its  middle  rays  the  longest. 
The  anal  is  very  small,  close  behind  the  vent;  the  pectorals  are  of  moderate  size; 
there  are  no  ventral  fins. 


^^i^-'^^^^r^^^^^^is 


^^^^^^-^ 


Fic.  81.— Pipefish  (Sipkosioma  fuscum) 

Color. — Greenish  or  olive  above,  transversely  barred  and  mottled  vdth  darker. 
The  lower  parts  of  the  gill  covers  are  silvery.  The  lower  sides  are  sprinkled  ^^■ith 
many  tiny  white  dots,  and  the  angle  separating  side  from  abdomen  is  marked  by 
a  longitudinal  brown  bar.  The  lower  surface  of  the  snout  is  colorless;  thence  back 
to  vent  pale  to  golden  yellow,  -with,  the  marsupial  flaps  flesh-colored.  Dorsal  and 
pectoral  fins  are  pale,  and  the  caudal  is  brov,-n.'^  Pipefishes  change  color  accord- 
ing to  the  color  of  their  surrounchngs.  We  have  seen  them  of  various  shades  of 
olive  and  bro^vn — even  red  ones  having  been  described. 

Size. — Usually  4  to  8  and  occasionalh'  up  to  12  inches  long. 

General  range. — Coast  of  eastern  North  America,  in  salt  and  brackish  water, 
from  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  to  North  Carolina. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Although  Cape  Ann  has  often  been- set  as 
the  northern  hmit  of  the  pipefish,  in  reality  it  is  not  uncommon  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
and  has  been  recorded  from  many  locahties  along  the  coasts  of  Maine  and  Massa- 

w  This  is  the  only  pipefish  that  occurs  on  our  northern  coasts.    For  a  synopsis  ol  the  various  other  species  of  the  genus  see 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  961 

n  Colors  after  Storer  (185S-1867,  p.  412),  with  which  the  specimens  we  have  esamined  agree  in  general. 


176  buijLetin  of  the  bureau  of  fisheries 

chusetts.  Its  chief  home  is  among  eelgrass  or  seaweeds,  not  only  in  salt  marshes, 
harbors,  and  river  mouths,  where  it  often  goes  up  into  brackish  water,  but  on  more 
open  shores  as  well.  In  such  locations  it  is  as  often  caught  to-day  by  boys  dipping 
mummichogs  for  bait  as  when  Storer  wrote  of  it  nearly  three-cjuarters  of  a  century 
ago.  The  pipefish,  like  the  three-spined  stickleback,  sometimes  strays  out  to  sea 
on  the  surface,  and  while  we  have  never  taken  it  in  our  tow  nets,  Kendall  (1896, 
p.  623)  has  often  found  it  under  floating  rockweed  along  the  Maine  coast.  There 
is  no  reason  to  suppose  the  pipefish  is  at  all  migratory,  for  it  is  resident  in  the  eel- 
grass  (Zostera)  at  Woods  Hole  throughout  the  year. 

So  far  as  known  pipefishes  have  few  enemies.  Perhaps  they  are  protected  l^y 
their  noxious  smell.  They  usually  propel  themselves  by  the  dorsal  fin,  but  when 
alarmed  they  can  travel  swiftly  with  eel-hke  strokes  of  the  tail  from  side  to  side. 

Food. — The  pipefish  feeds  chiefly  on  minute  Crustacea,  copepods  especially, 
which  are  often  the  sole  contents  of  their  stomachs  according  to  Vinal  Edwards' 
experience;  also  to  some  extent  on  fish  ova,  on  very  small  fish  fry,  and  for  that 
matter  no  doubt  indiscriminately  on  any  small  marine  animals.  Its  snout  is  so 
distensible  that  it  can  swallow  larger  prey  than  one  might  expect.  In  capturing 
its  prey  it  has  been  described  as  expelling  the  water  from  the  snout  and  pharynx  by 
muscular  action,  depending  on  the  return  rush  to  sweep  its  victims  into  its  mouth. 

Breeding  habits. — On  the  southern  shores  of  New  England  pipefish  breed  from 
March  to  August,  and  probably  through  this  same  period  on  the  shores  of  the  Gulf 
of  Maine.  Their  breeding  habits  are  so  unusual  that  a  whole  literature  has  grown 
up  about  them.'^  Since  the  days  of  Aristotle  it  has  been  known  that  the  pipefish 
nurses  its  eggs  in  the  brood  pouch  (p.  175).  It  is  the  male  that  develops  this  pouch, 
the  flaps  of  wluch  lie  flat  against  the  concave  belly  out  of  breeding  season,  but  are 
swollen  and  their  edges  cemented  together  during  sexual  activity.  At  each  copu- 
lation, in  wliich  the  male  and  female  interwine  together,  the  protruding  oviduct  of 
the  latter  is  inserted  into  the  opening  of  the  pouch  of  the  former  and  a  dozen  or  more 
eggs  passed  over.  A  pair  of  fishes  copulate  several  times  in  succession — wath  in- 
tervals of  rest — until  the  pouch  is  filled,  the  male  working  the  eggs  down  toward 
its  posterior  end  by  contortions  of  its  body.  Fertihzation  is  supposed  to  take 
place  during  the  transference  of  the  eggs  from  one  parent  to  the  other.  The  eggs 
become  embedded  in  the  lining  of  the  brood  pouch,  and  it  has  been  established  for 
the  European  pipefish  (probably  tliis  applies  equally  to  our  North  American  species) 
that  the  embryo  within  the  egg  is  nourished  by  the  epithelial  lining  layer  of  the 
pouch,  so  that  the  latter  functions  as  a  placenta.'^  Incubation  occupies  about  10 
days,  according  to  Gudger,  and  the  young  are  retained  in  the  brood  pouch  until 
they  are  8  or  9  mm.  long,  when  the  yolk  sac  has  been  absorbed.  The  young  pipe- 
fish are  then  ready  for  independent  existence,  and  once  they  leave  the  pouch  they 
never  return  to  it,  as  young  sea  horses  (Hippocampus)  are  said  to  do  (p.  178).  Sev- 
eral observers  agree  on  this — most  recently  Miss  Marie  Poland  (now  Mrs.  C.  J. 

"  For  a  historical  survey  and  a  general  account  of  the  breeding  of  the  closely  allied  Siphostoma  floridx  see  Gudger  (Proceed- 
ings," U.  8.  National  Museum,  Vol.  XXIX,  1906,  pp.  447-500,  Pis.  V-XI). 

1'  For  detailed  (if  somewhat  divergent)  accounts  of  this  interesting  phenomenon  see  Huot  (Annale^  des  Sciences  Naturelles. 
HuitiJme  St^rie,  Zoologie,  SSrie  8,  Tome  XIV,  1902,  pp.  197-2S8.  Paris)  and  Cohn  (Anatomischer  Anzeigcr,  Centralblatt  fur 
die  gesamte  wissenscbaftliche  Anatomic,  Band  24,  1904,  pp.  192-199,  3  figs.    Jena). 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


177 


Fish) ,  who  kept  pipefish  under  observation  at  the  laboratory  of  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Fisheries  at  Woods  Hole  during  the  summer  of  1922. 

Pipefish  fry  kept  in  aquaria  have  been  found  to  grow  from  10  mm.  to  70  mm. 
in  length  within  about  two  months  after  hatching."  Probably  they  mature  when 
about  1  year  old.  Pipefish  may  be  expected  to  breed  in  every  favorable  locality 
all  around  the  shores  of  the  Gulf,  but  there  are  local  differences  in  this  respect, 
for  while  St.  Mary  Bay,  Annapolis  Basin,  and  Cobequid  Bay,  on  the  Nova 
Scotian  shore  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  are  breeding  centers  according  to  Huntsman, 
large  specimens  alone  are  known  about  Passamaquoddy  Bay  on  the  New  Bruns- 
wick side.  No  doubt  the  estuarine  waters  from  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region  to 
Penobscot  Bay  are  favorable  nurseries. 

Commercial  importance. — The  pipefish  is  of  no  commercial  importance.  It  is 
not  even  good  for  bait. 

THE  SEA  HORSES.     FAMILY  HIPPOCAMPIDiE 
69.  Sea  horse  {Hippocampus  hudsonius  DeKay) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1S96-1900,  p.  777. 

Description. — With  its  laterally  compressed  body,  its  deep  convex  belly,  its 
curved  neck  and  curious  horselike  head  carried  at  right  angles  to  the  general  axis 


-^.'    .      -^'^^^^^^^^m 


^M$.^ 


Fig.  82. — Sea  horso  (Hippocampus  hudsonius) 


of  the  body,  the  sea  horse  grotesquely  resembles  the  "knight"  in  an  ordinary  set 
of  wooden  chessmen.  The  head  is  surmounted  by  a  pentagonal  star-shaped  coronet, 
and  the  snout  is  tubular  with  the  small  oblique  mouth  at  its  tip,  like  that  of  its 
relative  the  pipefish.  There  is  a  sharp  spine  on  each  side  above  and  one  behind  the 
eye,  a  third  over  the  gill  cover,  and  a  fourth  on  the  side  of  the  throat,  which  some- 
times terminate  in  cirri,  besides  a  blunt  horn  between  the  nostrils.  Neck,  body, 
and  tail  are  covered  with  rings  of  bony  plates,  12  rings  on  the  trunk,  32  to  35  on 
the  tail,  and  each  body  ring  is  armed  with  four  blunt  spines.  The  dorsal  fin  (about 
19  rays)  originates  about  midway  of  the  length  of  the  fish,  opposite  the  vent,  and 
runs  backward  over  three  and  one-half  rings — that  is,  to  within  half  a  ring  of  the 
commencement  of  the  tail.     The  very  small  anal  stands  opposite  the  posterior 


»  Tracy,  1910,  p.  93. 


178  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    01"   FISHERIES 

part  of  the  dorssil.  The  pectorals  are  of  moderate  size,  broad  based  and  round 
tipped;  there  are  no  ventrals  and  no  caudal  fin.  The  body  tapers  suddenly 
behind  the  anal  fin  to  a  long  tail,  which  is  four-cornered  in  cross  section,  curled 
inward,  and  strongly  prehensile.  In  the  male  the  lower  siu-face  of  the  fore  part 
of  the  tail  bears  the  brood  pouch  opening  by  a  slit  in  front. 

Color. — Light  brown  or  dusky  to  ashen  gray  or  yellow,  variously  mottled  and 
blotched  with  paler  and  darker — sometimes  spangled  with  silver  dots,  sometimes 
plain  colored.  European  sea  horses  change  color  according  to  their  surroundings, 
tints  of  red,  yellow,  brown,  and  white  all  being  wtliin  their  capabilities,  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  American  species  is  equally  adaptable. 

Size. — Adults  are  usually  3  to  6  inches  long,  one  of  734  inches  being  the  largest 
on  record.^^ 

General  range. — Atlantic  coast  of  North  America,  occurring  regularly  from 
South  Carolina  to  Cape  Cod,  and  to  Nova  Scotia  as  a  stray. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Although  an  occasional  specimen  has  been 
picked  up  on  Georges  Bank  and  as  far  east  as  Nova  Scotia,  the  sea  horse  is  not 
common  much  beyond  New  York.  Only  a  few  are  found  each  year  about  Woods 
Hole,  chiefly  in  July,  August,  and  September,  and  they  so  rarely  stray  past  Cape 
Cod  that  we  have  only  one  definite  (Provincetown)  and  one  dubious  (Massachusetts 
Bay)  record  of  its  capture  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  dead  or  alive. 

Sea  horses  dwell  chiefly  among  eelgrass  and  seaweed,'^  where  they  cling  with 
their  prehensile  tails,  monkeylike,  to  some  stalk.  They  usually  swim  in  a  vertical 
position  by  undulations  of  the  dorsal  fin,  not  with  the  tail,  the  trunk  being  too 
stiff  for  much  lateral  motion. 

Food. — Sea  horses  feed  on  minute  Crustacea  and  on  various  larvae — in  fact 
on  any  animal  small  enough — sucking  in  the  prey  as  does  the  pipefish  (p.  176). 

Habits. — These  fish  breed  in  summer  *'  and  the  breeding  habits  resemble 
those  of  the  pipefish,  the  male  nursing  the  eggs  in  his  brood  pouch  where  they 
are  deposited  a  few  at  a  time  by  the  female  in  repeated  copulations.  At  hatching 
the  young,  of  which  there  may  be  as  many  as  150,  are  about  10  to  12  mm.  long. 
When  the  yolk  sac  is  absorbed  the  father  squeezes  them  out  of  the  brood  sac. 
According  to  some  students  they  swim  out  and  in  at  will,  but  this  calls  for  verifica- 
tion. Within  a  few  days  after  they  are  set  free  they  already  resemble  the  adult 
in  general  appearance. 

Commercial  importance. — The  sea  horse  is  of  no  commercial  value  but  is  an 
object  of  constant  interest  to  visitors  to  marine  aquaria. 

THE  SILVERSIDES.     FAMILY  ATHERINIDiE 

These  are  small  fishes,  smeltlike  in  appearance  but  with  a  spiny  as  well  as  a 

soft  dorsal  fin  and  with  no  adipose  fin.     Two  species  are  known  from  the  Gulf  of 

Maine. 

KEY   TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   SILVERSIDES 

1.         About  24  rays  in  the  an."J  fin Common  silverside,  p.  179 

Only  15  or  16  rays  in  the  anal  fin Waxen  silverside,  p.  181 

»  Bulletin,  New  York  Zoological  Society,  Vol.  XVI,  No.  66,  Mar.,  1913,  p.  972. 

"  Gill  (Proceedings,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  Vol.  XXVIII,  1905,  pp.  805-814)  has  given  an  excellent  account  of  the  habits 
and  life  history  of  the  sea  horse. 

"  Ryder  (Bulletin,  U.  S.  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  I,  1881  (1882),  pp.  191-199)  describes  its  development. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


179 


70.  Silverside  ( Menidia  notata  Mitchill) 

YouNQ  smelt;    Green  smelt;    Sand  smelt;    Whitebait;    Capelin;    Sperling; 

Shiner 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  pp.  800,  2840. 

Description. ^This  silvery  little  fish  is  often  confused  with  the  young  smelt, 
but  it  does  not  require  very  close  examination  to  tell  them  apart  for  the  adipose 
fin  characteristic  of  the  smelt  is  lacking  in  the  silverside,  while  the  latter  has  a 
spinous  as  well  as  a  soft  dorsal  fin  instead  of  one  dorsal  only  as  in  the  smelt,  this 
last  character  distinguisliing  it  equally  from  young  herrings.  The  silverside  is  a 
slender  fish,  about  one-sixth  as  deep  as  long,  not  counting  caudal  fin;  thin-bodied  but 
with  rounded,  not  sharp-edged,  belly;  with  short  head,  large  eye,  and  small  mouth 


.^,^«S^ 


-^*£i^ 


riG.  83.— -V  Jolt 


Fig.  86.— Fry,  13  millimeters 
SILVERSIDE  (.Uenidia  notata) 

set  very  obliquely.  Both  head  and  body  are  clothed  with  large  scales.  The  first 
dorsal  fin  (5  spines)  is  smaller  than  the  second  and  originates  about  midway  between 
the  tip  of  the  snout  and  the  base  of  the  caudal  fin;  the  second  dorsal  has  8  to  10 
soft  rays.  The  vent  is  under  the  middle  of  the  first  dorsal,  and  the  anal  fin  origin- 
ates under  its  last  spine.  The  anal  (of  24  rays,  the  first  stiff  and  the  others  soft) 
is  falcate  in  outline.     The  caudal  peduncle  is  slender  and  the  tail  forked.''* 

>'  The  common  silverside  is  represented  on  the  coasts  of  the  eastern  United  States  by  two  races,  a  southern  and  a  northern, 
not,  however,  very  distinct  and  connected  by  such  various  intergradations  that  they  hardly  deserve  the  two  names  with  which 
they  are  usually  dignified.  The  southern  form  has  fewer  scales  than  the  northern,  only  4  instead  of  5  spines  in  the  first  dorsal,  and 
is  rather  a  stouter-bodied  fish.  Kendall  has  eiven  an  account  of  the  genus  in  Report  .Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  1901 
(1902),  p.  241. 


180  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHEKIES 

Color. — Translucent  bottle  green  above,  with  top  of  head,  nose,  and  chin  dusky. 
The  upper  sides  are  thickly  specked  with  dark  brown,  and  there  is  a  silver  band 
outlined  above  by  a  narrow  black  streak,  running  along  each  side  from  close  behind 
the  pectoral  fin  to  the  base  of  the  caudal.     The  belly  is  white. 

Size. — The  silverside  grows  to  a  length  of  6  inches  or  more,  adults  usually  being 
4  or  5  inches  long. 

General  range. — The  northern  variety  of  the  common  silverside  is  known  from 
Halifax  to  the  Capes  of  Delaware,  south  of  which  it  gives  place  to  intergrades  or 
to  the  southern  form,  and  the  latter  in  its  turn  has  been  detected  as  far  north  as 
Woods  Hole,  but  never  east  of  Cape  Cod. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  silverside  is  to  be  found  all  aroimd  the 
shores  of  the  Gulf  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Cape  Cod,  always,  however,  closely  confined 
to  the  coast  line  and  as  a  rule  within  a  few  yards  of  the  tide  line.  There  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  this  fish  ever  ventures  out  to  sea  or  descends  deeper  than  a  fathom 
or  two.  Many  summers  spent  on  the  coast  leave  us  with  the  impression  that, 
generally  speaking,  the  silverside  is  neither  as  omnipresent  nor  as  abundant  in  the 
Gulf  as  it  is  south  of  Cape  Cod.  However,  great  schools  of  them  are  often  to  be 
seen  along  the  sandy  beaches,  particularly  in  Cape  Cod  Bay  and  here  and  there  on 
the  Maine  coast.  Bushels  have  been  caught  in  a  single  haul  of  the  seine  in  Casco 
Bay  and  very  likely  could  be  elsewhere,  but  silversides  are  seldom  seen  along  the 
stretches  of  rocky  coast  exposed  to  the  open  sea,  which  make  up  a  large  part  of  the 
shore  line  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

Silversides  are  extremely  gregarious,  congregating  in  schools  usually  made  up 
of  even-sized  individuals.  They  frequent  sandy  or  gravelly  shores  chieflj',  and  at 
high  tide  are  often  seen  among  the  sedge  grass  (Spartina),  where  it  grows  sparsely 
between  tide  marks,  particularly  about  the  inner  bays  and  in  river  mouths  where 
they  follow  the  tide  up  and  down  the  beach  within  a  few  yards  of  the  water's  edge. 
They  also  run  up  into  brackish  water.  The  Bay  of  Fundy  affords  a  good  example 
of  the  influence  the  character  of  the  shore  line  plays  in  determining  the  distribution 
of  silversides,  for  according  to  Huntsman  they  are  chiefly  restricted  to  brackish 
water  about  St.  Andrews  but  are  more  generally  distributed  on  the  New  Brunswick 
shore  further  up  the  bay  and  on  the  Nova  Scotian  side  as  a  whole.  Silversides  are 
probably  resident  throughout  the  year  wherever  found.  Such,  at  least,  is  the  case 
in  southern  New  England. 

Food. — Silversides  are  omnivorous,  feeding  chiefly  on  copepods,  mysids,  small 
shrimps,  amphipods,  fish  eggs  (including  their  own!),  j^oung  squid,  annelids,  Clado- 
cera,  molluscan  larvae,  and  young  prawns.  Insects  that  fall  into  the  water  have 
also  been  found  in  their  stomachs,  as  have  algte  and  diatoms  mixed  with  sand  and 
mud. 

Breeding  hahits.^^ — Silversides  spawn  in  Ma}^,  June,  and  early  July  on  the  south- 
ern New  England  coast.  Spawning  may  commence  a  little  later  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  corresponding  to  lower  temperature.  The  fish  then  gather  in  shoals  to 
deposit  their  eggs  on  sandy  bottom,  often  among  the  sedge  grass  or  even  above  low- 

"  Kuntz  and  RadcliSe  (1918,  p.  127)  describe  its  development,  and  Hildebrand  (Bulletin,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol. 
XXXVin,  1921-22  (1923)  that  of  the  southern  race. 


PISHES    OF    THE    GULF    OF    MAINE 


181 


water  mark.  The  eggs,  1.1  to  1.2  mm.  in  diameter,  each  bearing  a  bunch  of  sticky 
filaments,  sink  and  stick  fast  in  ropy  clusters  or  sheets.  Incubation  occupied 
8  or  9  daj^s  in  the  laboratory  at  Woods  Hole.  The  yolk  is  absorbed  before  hatching, 
at  which  time  the  larvse  are  about  3.85  to  5  mm.  long.  The  dorsal,  anal,  and  caudal 
fins  are  formed  in  larvae  of  12  to  15  mm.  length.  The  young  grew  to  a  length  of  9.3 
to  11.7  mm.  during  the  first  20  days  in  the  aquaria.  Probably  they  grow  more 
rapidly  at  liberty,  for  all  sizes  from  fry  of  an  inch  or  less  to  adults  are  constantly  to 
be  found  throughout  the  summer.  Probably  the  silverside  attains  maturity  at 
1  year  of  age. 

Commercial  importance. — The  chief  function  of  the  silverside  in  the  economy  of 
the  sea  is  to  feed  the  young  of  such  predaceous  fishes  as  bluefish  and  mackerel. 
North  of  Cape  Cod  the  silverside  is  of  no  commercial  value,  being  too  small  and  too 
soft  to  answer  the  never  satisfied  demand  for  bait  for  offshore  fisheries,  but  on  the 
Rhode  Island  coast  they  are  very  generally  used  to  bait  eelpots,  and  they  are  excellent 
as  "whitebait." 


Fig.  87. — "Waxen  silverside  {Mevidia  hcrylUna  cerea) 

71.  Waxen  silverside  {Menidia  beryllina  cerea  Kendall) 
Jordan  and  Evermann  {Menidia  gracilis),  1896-1900,  p.  797. 

Bescripiion. — This  species  resembles  the  common  silverside  so  closely  in  general 
appearance  that  it  would  be  apt  to  be  overlooked  among  the  schools  of  the  latter 
were  it  not  paler  in  color  and  as  a  rule  stouter  bodied.  A  more  dependable  difference, 
one  which  will  always  serve  to  separate  the  two,  for  which  neither  color  nor  form 
can  be  relied  upon,  is  that  the  anal  fin  is  much  shorter  (only  15  or  16  rays)  in  the 
waxen  than  in  the  common  silverside. 

Color. — Described  by  Kendall  (1902,  p.  261)  as  "waxy,  translucent,  thickly 
punctated  with  black  on  top  of  head  and  back,  dots  on  edges  of  scales,  excepting 
those  of  throat,  snout,  and  chin  black  from  concentration  of  dots. " 

Size. — Smaller  than  nntata,  the  specimens  described  by  Kendall  being  less  than 
2}4  inches  long. 

General  range. —  Cape  Cod  to  South  Carolina. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Specimens  reported  by  Kendall  from  Truro, 
and  from  Sandwich  in  Cape  Cod  Bay  remain  the  only  records  for  this  fish  within  the 
Gulf  of  Maine,  where  it  is  apparently  only  a  stray  from  warmer  waters  to  the  west 
and  south.  At  Woods  Hole,  where  it  is  abundant,  its  habits  are  the  same  as  those 
of  the  common  silverside,  though  it  spawns  somewhat  later — that  is,  in  June  and  July. 


182  BUULiETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

THE    MULLETS.     FAMILY    MUGILlDiE 

Mullets  have  two  separate  dorsal  fins,  the  first  spiny  and  the  second  soft  rayed. 
Their  ventral  fins  are  on  the  abdomen  behind  the  point  of  insertion  of  the  pectorals; 
their  tails  are  forked  and  their  scales  large.  Their  closest  afTinity  among  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  fishes  is  with  the  silversides,  which  they  somewhat  resemble  in  the 
rehitive  sizes  and  locations  of  the  fins;  but  they  differ  from  them  in  having  short, 
broad  heads,  small  eyes,  relatively  deeper  and  thicker  bodies,  and  only  24  instead 
of  35  or  more  vertebrae.  Furthermore,  they  are  vegetable  and  mud  eaters  instead 
of  carnivorous,  and,  corresponding  to  their  food,  their  stomachs  are  thick  walled 
and  gizzardlike,  their  intestines  being  long.  The  lining  of  the  belly  of  the  mullet 
is  black  while  that  of  the  silverside  is  pale. 

There  are  many  species  of  mullets.  Most  of  them,  however,  are  tropical, 
and  only  one  has  ever  been  known  to  stray  within  the  confines  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 


Fig.  88.— Mullet  ( Afujil  cephalui) 

72.  Mullet   { Mugil  cephalus  hinnseus) 

Common  mullet;  Striped  mullet;  Jumping  mullet 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  811. 

Description. — The  common  mullet,  the  only  one  of  its  numerous  tribe  (there 
are  more  than  100  species  of  mullets)  that  has  ever  been  known  to  stray  north  of 
Cape  Cod,  has  a  spiny  first  and  soft  second  dorsal  fin,  the  two  well  separated  as 
in  the  silverside,  and  ventrals  located  on  the  abdomen,  not  on  the  chest.  It  is  a 
much  larger  fish  than  the  silverside,  however,  and  even  very  young  mullets  of  the 
size  of  the  latter — 4  to  5  inches  long — are  easily  separable  from  them  by  the  fact 
that  the  anal  fin  is  only  about  half  as  long  in  relation  to  the  length  of  the  body, 
while  the  second  dorsal  originates  over  the  origin  of  the  anal  instead  of  vv^ell  behind 
it.  Furthermore,  the  head  of  the  midlet  is  shorter,  its  nose  blimter,  its  profile 
quite  different  (compare  fig.  83  with  fig.  88) ,  its  eye  smaller,  its  body  stouter  (about 
one-fourth  as  deep  as  long),  and  it  lacks  the  silvery  side  stripes  so  characteristic 
of  the  common  silverside.  We  need  note  further  only  that  there  are  four  spines 
in  the  first  dorsal,  one  spine  and  eight  soft  rays  in  the  second  dorsal,  three  spines 
and  eight  (rarely  seven)  rays  in  the  anal,  that  the  first  dorsal  stands  behind  the 
tip  of  the  pectorals,  and  that  the  tail  is  deeply  forked.     The  soft  dorsal  and 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  183 

anal  fins  are  almost  naked  (in  most  other  American  mullets  they  are  scaled),  but 
the  body  and  head  are  clothed  with  large  rounded  scales. 

Color. — Described  as  dark  bluish  above,  the  sides  silvery,  with  a  conspicuous 
dark  stripe  along  each  row  of  scales;  pale  yellowish  below,  the  yentrals  yellowish 
and  the  other  fins  dusky. 

Size. — In  warmer  waters  the  common  mullet  grows  to  a  length  of  2  feet,  but 
only  small  specimens  have  been  found  along  our  northern  coasts. 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  temperate  Atlantic;  from  Cape  Cod  to  Brazil 
on  the  American  coast;  also  along  the  west  coast  of  America  from  Monterey 
(Calif.)  to  Chili. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Mullets  are  locally  common  as  far  north 
as  Woods  Hole,  but  so  rarely  do  they  stray  past  Cape  Cod  into  the  cooler  waters 
of  the  Gulf  that  there  are  but  a  half  dozen  records  of  them  there,  viz,  at  Freeport, 
Harraseeket  River,  Clapboard  Island,  and  Casco  Bay  in  Maine,  and  at  Essex  ^° 
and  Provincetown  in  Massachusetts,  each  based  on  an  odd  fish  only.  Mullet 
are  more  likely  to  visit  the  cool  waters  of  the  Gulf  in  late  summer  or  early  autumn 
than  at  any  other  season.  They  have  been  known  to  winter  as  far  north  as  New 
York,  hibernating  in  the  mud,  but  it  is  not  likely  that  the  few  strays  that  round 
Cape  Cod  survive  the  cold  season,  nor  is  there  any  reason  to  suppose  they  ever 
breed  in  the  Gulf,  for  immature  fish  only  are  found  at  Woods  Hole. 

THE    SAND    LAUNCES.     FAMILY   AMMODYTID.S 

The  slender,  round-bodied  sand  launces  suggest  small  eels  in  general  appearance. 
Eel-like,  too,  they  lack  ventral  fins  and  swim  with  eel-like  undulations  from  side 
to  side.  However,  they  are  not  even  close  relatives  of  the  true  eels,  from  which 
they  are  distinguishable  at  a  glance  by  the  large  forked  caudal  fin,  separated  by 
a  considerable  space  from  both  dorsal  and  anal,  by  the  wide  gill  openings,  and 
by  the  presence  of  a  lai'ge  bony  giU  cover,  not  to  mention  other  anatomic  characters 
equally  important  if  less  obvious. 

73.  Sand  laiince  {Ammodytes  americanus  DeKay)  -' 
Sand  eel;  Launce;  Lant 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1890-1900,  p.  833. 

Description.— The  sand  eel  is  a  slender  little  fish,  its  body  about  one-tenth  as 
deep  as  the  total  length  (not  counting  caudal  fin),  with  long  head  and  sharply- 
pointed  nose,  wide  gill  opening,  and  large  mouth  with  the  lower  jaw  projecting  far 
bej'ond  the  upper.  The  jaws  are  toothless.  There  is  one  long  low  dorsal  fin,  soft 
rayed  (about  60  rays;  no  spines),  rising  somewhat  in  front  of  the  tip  of  the  pectoral 
and  running  back  along  the  whole  length  of  the  body  nearly  to  the  base  of  the 
caudal.  The  ventral  (about  2S  rays),  similar  in  outline  and  equallj-  lacking  spines, 
originates  slightly  behind  the  middle  of  the  dorsal  and  runs  equally  far  back.     The 

!o  There  is  a  specimen,  so  labeled,  in  the  collection  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History. 

"  Our  sand  eel  is  so  closely  allied  to  the  common  European  launce  (Ammodvta  toiianui)  that  we  doubt  whether  the  distinc- 
tion between  the  two— more  slender  form  and  longer  head  of  americanus— wV^  stand  the  test  of  time. 


184 


BULLETIN    OF   THE    BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 


tail  is  deeply  forked.  The  pointed  pectorals  are  set  very  low  down  on  the  body 
and  there  are  no  ventral  fins.  The  scales  are  small,  lying  in  cross  series  on  the  sides 
of  the  body  between  numerous  skin  folds  that  run  obliquely  down  and  backward, 
and  there  is  a  low  ridge  of  skin  on  either  side  along  the  belly. 

Color. — Authors  differ  in  their  accounts  of  the  colors  of  the  sand  eel,  probably 
because,  as  with  most  fish,  its  iridescent  luster  fades  at  death  and  because  it  varies 
on  different  bottoms.  Usuallj^  as  we  can  bear  witness,  it  is  olive,  brownish 
or  bluish  green  above  with  the  lower  sides  silvery  and  the  belly  a  duller  white, 
while  there  may  or  may  not  be  a  longitudinal  stripe  of  steel  blue  iridescence  "  on 
each  side.  The  readiest  field  marks  for  the  sand  eel  among  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes 
are  its  slender  form  and  sharply  pointed  snout,  coupled  with  long  dorsal  fin 
(separated,  however,  from  the  caudal)  and  the  absence  of  ventral  fins.     The  only 


■ii!?«y,»i:«(iv?(S!!F»»^'«i>i 


■'^^iisiiii&iS'iiSN; 


Fig.  89. — Adult  sand  launce  {Ammodytes  ainericanus) 


Fig.  90.— Larva  of  European  A.  tobianus,  6.6  mUlimeters.    After  Ehrenbaum  and  Strodtmann 


Fig.  91,— Larva  of  European  A.  tobianus,  20.5  millimeters.    After  Ehrenbaum  and  Strodtmann 

fishes  with  which  one  would  be  apt  to  confuse  it  are  young  eels,  but  in  these  dorsal, 
caudal,  and  ventral  fins  are  confluent,  not  separate,  and  the  tail  is  rounded,  not 
forked. 

General  range. — North  American  coast.  Cape  Hatteras  to  Labrador.  Its 
European  relative  occurs  from  Greenland,  Iceland,  northern  Scandinavia,  and  the 
White  Sea  south  to  Spain. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  sand  eel  is  very  plentiful  along  the  coast 
from  Cape  Cod  to  Cape  Sable  wherever  there  are  sandy  shores,  but  it  is  seldom  seen 
off  the  rocky  parts  of  the  coast  line.  Thus  it  is  rather  scarce  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
except  locally,  but  is  common  on  the  sandy  beaches  that  here  and  there  break  the 
bolder  northern  shores  of  the  Gulf,  and  swarms  on  the  strands  of  Cape  Cod  Bay,  a 
peculiarity  of  distribution  associated  with  its  habits.  Launce  must  be  extremely 
plentiful  on  Nantucket  Shoals  for  many  cod  taken  there  by  the  Halcyon  during 
the  last  week  of  June,  1923,  were  packed  full  of  them.     There  are  also  sand  eels 

23  In  the  European  sand  launce  (Amwodytes  tobianus),  according  to  Smitt  (Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892),  the  sides,  especially 
in  young  fish,  are  punctated  with  lines  of  tiny  brown  dots  and  the  tip  of  the  snout  is  blackish. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  185 

over  the  shallows  of  Georges  and  Browns  Banks,  v/hence  they  have  been  brought 
in  to  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  by  fishermen  on  several  occasions.^'  They  are  very 
abundant  on  the  Grand  Banks,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  they  regularly 
inhabit  the  central  deeps  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  unless  some  of  them  repair  thither  in 
winter,  though  it  would  not  be  surprising  to  find  an  odd  sand  eel  in  deep  water 
even  in  summer,  as  this  happens  in  north  European  waters.  In  fact  we  towed  a 
young  one  about  1|4  inches  long  over  the  deep  basin  southeast  of  Grand  Manan 
on  June  10,  1915. 

The  chief  center  of  abundance  for  launce  within  the  lunits  of  the  Gulf  is  along 
the  shores  of  Cape  Cod  Bay.  Here  one  may  see  schools  of  them  throughout  the 
summer  in  shoal  water  close  in  to  tide  mark,  swimming  with  the  curious  undulating 
motion  so  characteristic  of  them.  In  some  years  they  are  also  plentiful  there 
during  the  winter,  when  great  numbers  are  cast  on  the  beach  in  stormy  weather. 
About  Woods  Hole,  too,  sand  eels  are  to  be  taken  in  shallow  water  on  sandy  flats 
throughout  the  year,  but  they  are  never  as  plentiful  there  in  winter  as  in  fall  and 
spring;  and  since  general  diminution  seems  to  take  place  in  their  numbers  close 
inshore  during  the  cold  months  in  the  northern  part  of  their  range,  it  is  probable 
that  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  local  stock  moves  out  into  deeper  water  for 
the  winter,  to  return  in  spring,  just  as  most  of  the  launce  do  in  north  European  seas. 
In  Scandinavian  waters  this  vernal  inshore  movement  takes  place  in  May  as  the 
coast  waters  warm  up,  and  probably  their  schedule  is  much  the  same  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  judging  from  its  temperature.  On  the  other  hand  the  sand  eels  may  be 
expected  to  leave  the  shallower  bays  in  midsummer  when  the  water  there  is  at  its 
warmest,  to  work  in  again  in  early  autumn,  such  being  their  habit  about  Woods 
Hole. 

Habits. — The  most  interesting  habit  of  the  sand  eel  is  its  custom  of  burying 
itself  several  (4  to  6)  inches  deep  in  the  sand,  into  which  it  burrows  with  great 
speed,  thanks  to  its  pointed  snout.  This  the  launce  often  does  above  low-water 
mark  to  await  the  return  of  the  tide,  where  they  are  dug  up  by  clammers,  and  I 
have  often  seen  them  vanish  in  this  way  with  surprising  rapidity  when  alarmed. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  they  spend  a  large  part  of  the  time  so  buried,  and  that 
their  sudden  appearances  and  disappearances,  oft  commented  on,  are  to  be  explained 
thus,  rather  than  as  evidence  of  their  wanderings  or  migrations.  Whether  this 
habit  is  followed  only  in  the  shoal  water  where  it  has  come  under  direct  observation, 
or  whether  they  also  burrow  into  deeper  bottoms,  is  not  known.  The  burrowing 
habit  is  for  refuge,  but  is  not  always  successful,  for,  as  Smitt  ■*  remarks,  porpoises 
have  been  seen  rooting  them  out. 

Sand  eels  are  omnivorous,  feeding  on  all  sorts  of  small  marine  animals,  but 
chiefly  on  small  Crustacea,  especially  copepods,  and  on  fish  fry,  including  their 
own  kind.  In  Scandinavian  waters,  indeed,  the  larger  ones  seem  to  live  chiefly  on 
the  smaller.  Worms  have  also  been  found  commonly  in  the  stomachs  of  sand  eels, 
but  it  is  not  likely  that  they  catch  these  while  burrowing,  as  some  writers  have 
suggested. 

«>  Report,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  1879  (1882),  pp.  808.  812,  814,  and  817. 
**  Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892. 


186  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUEEAU    OF   FISHEKIES 

The  sand  eel  plays  a  very  important  role  in  the  economy  of  northern  seas  as 
food  for  larger  animals.  Finback  whales  devour  them  greedily  when  they  find 
them  in  abimdance.  Such  an  occasion  occurred  in  Cape  Cod  Bay  in  June,  1880, 
when  launce  appeared  in  swarms  early  in  the  fnonth  followed  by  finbacks  a  few  days 
later.  Porpoises,  too,  and  sundry  predaceous  fish  such  as  cod,  haddock,  halibut, 
silver  hake,  salmon,  mackerel,  and  bluefish  find  them  a  staple  article  of  food. 
When  fleeing  from  their  pui-suers,  especially  from  the  silver  hake,  which  does  not 
hesitate  to  follow  right  up  on  the  sand,  they  often  strand  in  such  multitudes  as  to 
cover  the  flats  with  a  sheet  of  silver. 

Sand  eels'  noses  are  so  sharp  that  when  swallowed  by  cod,  and  perhaps  by  other 
fish,  they  sometimes  work  right  through  the  stomachs  and  into  the  body  cavities  of 
their  captors,  to  become  encysted  in  the  body  wall,  but  this  must  be  an  exceptional 
event  for  none  of  the  fishermen  of  whom  we  have  inquired  have  seen  it,  nor  have  we. 

Breeding  Tidbits. — So  far  as  we  can  learn,  the  eggs  of  the  American  sand  eel  have 
not  been  seen,"  nor  has  its  spawning  been  observed.  In  the  case  of  the  European 
form  {tobianus)  ripe  specimens,  both  male  and  female,  have  been  taken  throughout 
the  year,  a  phenomenon  that  has  given  rise  to  vddely  difl'ering  views  as  to  its  spa"miing 
season.  The  chief  production  of  eggs  of  the  latter,  however,  at  least  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  North  Sea,  takes  place  in  autumn  and  early  winter  as  Ehrenbaum  -° 
demonstrated,  both  by  dredging  them  in  large  numbers  and  by  the  fact  that  its 
larvfe  are  extremely  abundant  there  from  January  to  March,  but  have  seldom  been 
taken  at  other  seasons. 

Judging  from  the  evidence  afforded  by  the  occurrence  of  larvae,  the  season 
is  about  the  same  for  the  American  form  as  for  the  European,  as  might  be  expected. 
Thus  its  eggs  must  begin  hatching  in  midwinter,  if  not  earlier,  at  Woods  Hole,  for 
fry  are  taken  there  in  March.  Probably  this  applies  equally  to  the  western  part  of 
Georges  Bank,  where  the  Albatross  towed  a  number  of  larvss  of  from  11  to  17  mm. 
on  February  22,  1920.  The  season  is  progressively  later  to  the  northward,  however, 
for  we  have  taken  larvae  but  a  few  days  old  (7  to  8  mm.  long),  with  the  yolk  still 
showing,  off  Newburyport,  Mass.,  on  March  4,  1921,  and  the  Canadian  Fisheries 
Expedition  of  1915  obtained  an  abundance  of  but  slightly  older  stages  (7  to  15  mm.) 
off  the  southeast  coast  of  Xova  Scotia  in  May.  Launce  were  formerly  thought  to 
spawn  on  sandy  beaches  above  low-water  mark  while  burrowing  in  the  sand,  but 
their  eggs  have  never  been  found  in  such  situations,  and  Ehrenbaum  proved,  by 
dredging  them  in  large  nimibers,  that  those  of  the  European  species,  Ammodytes 
tobianus,  are  actually  deposited  in  depths  of  10  fathoms  or  so  on  sandy  bottom  where 
they  stick  fast  to  the  grains  of  sand.  His  experience  suggests  that  they  resort  to 
very  definite  grounds  for  spawning,  all  of  which  probably  applies  as  well  to  the 
American  as  to  the  European  form. 

'•  Hind  (Fishery  Commission,  Halifax,  1877,  part  2,  p.  7)  describes  the  launce  in  the  Gulf  of  St  Lawrence  as  "depositing  theii 
large  reddish-colored  ova  on  the  sand  between  high  and  low  water."  This  account,  however,  is  widely  at  variance  with  the 
spawning  habits  of  their  European  representative  iAmmodyUs  tobianus)  and  with  the  seasonal  occurrence  of  their  larvae  (p.  ISC), 
and-was  probably  borrowed  from  the  larger  European  sand  eel  (Ammodytes  lanceolatus), 

"  WissenschaJtIiche  Meeresuntersuctaungen,  Helgoland,  Neue  Folge,  Band  6,  1804,  p.  184. 


FISHES  OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  187 

The  eggs  of  the  latter  are  oval,  0.72  to  0.97  mm.  in  greatest  diameter,  with  a 
yellow  oil  globule  of  0.25  to  0.31  mm.,  and  are  usually  described  as  of  an  orange 
tint.  The  larvae  are  very  slender,  and  about  7  mm.  long  by  the  time  the  yolk  is 
absorbed.  The  dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays  are  visible  at  about  16  mm.,  but  the  fins  do 
not  assume  their  final  outlines  until  the  young  fish  are  "upwards  of  2.5  mm.  long. 
The  early  larval  stages  are  easily  recognizable  by  their  slender  form  combined  with 
the  fact  that  the  vent  opens  at  one  side  and  not  at  the  margin  of  the  larval  fin  fold, 
so  that  it  apparently  ends  blind  just  as  among  the  cod  tribe.  The  older  larvffi  much 
resemble  the  corresponding  stages  of  the  rock  eel  (p.  362)  in  their  slim  form  and  in 
the  location  of  the  vent  slightly  behind  the  middle  of  the  trunk  (in  the  similarly 
elongate  larvae  of  the  herring  tribe  it  is  located  farther  back),  but  may  be  recognized 
by  the  row  of  black  pigment  cells  along  the  dorsal  instead  of  the  ventral  side  of 
the  intestine  (p.  362),  and  by  their  pointed  noses.  The  dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays  are 
visible  when  the  larva  is  about  18  mm.  long,  but  while  the  full  number  of  the  latter 
are  formed  early,  in  the  case  of  the  dorsal  fin  the  rays  behind  the  vent  are  consider- 
ably developed  before  those  farther  forward  appear;  and  it  is  not  until  the  little  fish 
is  upwards  of  25  mm.  long  that  the  tail  begins  to  assume  its  forked  outline,  this 
fact  being  a  convenient  field  mark  for  distinguishing  between  the  launce  and  the 
herring,  in  which  the  tail  is  deeply  forked  from  a  much  earlier  stage. 

We  have  taken  larval  laimce  at  only  four  stations  in  the  Gulf,  and  then  in 
small  nirmbers,  an  apparent  rarity  surprising  with  the  adults  so  plentiful  and  with 
young  launce  perhaps  the  most  abundant  of  all  fish  fry  in  European  seas.  It  remains 
to  be  seen  whether  the  Gulf  of  Maine  actually  is  not  a  prolific  breeding  ground  but 
depends  on  immigration  from  elsewhere  for  the  maintenance  of  its  stock  of  launce, 
or  whether  we  have  simply  missed  them  by  towing  at  the  %vrong  time  or  place. 
The  rate  of  growth  has  not  been  studied.  The  young  ones  of  3  to  4  inches,  which 
are  plentiful  from  July  until  September,  are  probably  yearhngs,  while  those  of 
5  inches  and  upward  are  probably  2  years  old. 

Commercial  importance. — It  is  only  for  bait  that  sand  eels  are  of  any  com- 
mercial value  in  the  Gulf,  for  which  purpose  67,800  pounds  were  landed  from  the 
traps  in  Massachusetts  in  1919." 

THE    MACKERELS.     FAMILY    SCOMBRIDiE 

The  mackerels  are  a  very  homogenous  group,  all  of  them  agreeing  in  the 
possession  of  a  spiny  as  well  as  a  soft  dorsal  fin,  several  small  finlets  behind  the 
latter  and  behind  the  anal,  a  very  slender  caudal  peduncle,  a  deeply  forked  or 
lunate  caudal  fin,  a  very  shapely  form  tapering  both  to  snout  and  to  tail,  and 
velvety  skin  with  small  scales.  All,  too,  are  predaceous,  swift  swimmers,  and 
powerfully  muscled,  while  all  are  fish  of  the  open  sea  and  more  or  less  migratory. 

In  the  following  key  we  mention  all  species  so  far  actually  recorded  from 
within  the  limits  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  but  it  would  not  be  surprising  if  still  others 
were  to  stray  in  from  the  open  Atlantic  on  occasion. 

"  A  second  species  of  launce  (the  Arctic  Ammoiyies  dubius  Reinhardt)  has  been  reported  from  Boston  by  Giinther  (1862), 
and  from  Woods  Hole  by  Smith  (1898),  but  it  is  probable  that  the  specimens  in  question  were  merely  large  Ammodytes  americanus. 
In  tact  it  is  doubtful  whether  there  is  any  sound  distinction  between  the  A.  dubius  of  Greenland  and  the  European  A.  lobianus 
on  the  one  hand,  or  the  American  A.  americanus  on  the  other. 


188  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

KEY   TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   MACKERELS 

1.  The  two  dorsal  fins  are  separated  by  a  space  as  long  as  the  length  of  the  first  dorsal 2 

The  two  dorsal  fins  adjoin  each  other  or  are  separated  by  a  space  much  shorter  than 

the  length  of  the  first  dorsal 3 

2.  The  sides  below  the  mid  Hne  are  silvery,  not  spotted Mackerel,  p.   188 

The  sides  below  the  mid  line  are  mottled  with  dusky  blotches Chub  mackerel,  p.  20& 

3.  Body    scaleless,    except   for    a   so-called    "corselet"    in   the   region    of   the   shoulders 

Bonito  (Gymnosarda),  p.  211 

The  entire  body  is  covered  with  scales 4 

4.  The  second  dorsal  fin  is  as  high  as  the  first  or  higher 5 

The  second  dorsal  fin  is  lower  than  the  first Bonito  (Sarda),  p.  215 

5.  The  anal  fin  is  about  twice  as  high  as  long;  the  corselet  of  large  scales  is  obvious;  the 

sides,  are  not  spotted Tuna,  p.  212 

The  anal  fin  is  about  as  long  as  high;  there  is  no  corselet  of  large  scales;  the  sides  are 
spotted 6 

6.  The  anterior  part  of  first  dorsal  fin  is  black,  with  the  division  between  the  dark  and 

pale  portions  roughly  vertical;  about  as  many  spots  above  as  below  the  lateral  line 

Spanish  mackerel,  p.  217 

The  upper  half  of  the  first  dorsal  is  deep  blue,  with  the  division  line  between  the  dark  and 
pale  portions  horizontal .     M  ost  of  the  spots  are  below  the  lateral  line  -  King  mackerel,  p .  219 

74.  Mackerel  (Scomber  scombrus  Linnaeus) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  866. 

Description. — The  mackerel  is  fusiform  in  outline,  tapering  reanvard  to  a 
very  slim  caudal  peduncle  and  forward  to  a  pointed  nose.  Its  body  is  about  three 
and  one-half  times  as  long  as  deep,  oval  in  section,  thick,  and  firm-muscled  as 
are  all  its  tribe.  Its  head  is  long  (one-fourth  of  total  length)  and  its  mouth  large, 
gaping  back  to  the  middle  of  the  eye  (the  premaxillaries  are  not  protractile),  while 
the  jaws,  which  are  of  equal  length,  are  armed  with  small,  slender,  but  very  sharp 
teeth.  The  eye  is  large,  and  the  hollows  in  front  of  and  behind  it  are  fiUed  with 
the  so-called  "adipose  eyelid,"  a  transparent,  gelatinous  mass  in  the  form  of  two 
scales,  a  forward  and  a  hinder,  which  cover  the  eye  except  for  a  perpendicular 
slit  over  the  pupil.  There  are  two  large  dorsal  fins — the  first  triangular,  originating 
over  the  middle  of  the  pectoral  fin  when  the  latter  is  laid  back,  of  10  to  14  (usually 
11,  12,  or  13)  rather  weak  spines  that  can  be  laid  down  along  the  midline  of  the  back 
in  a  deep  groove;  the  second,  separated  from  the  first  by  an  interspace  longer  than 
the  length  of  the  latter,  is  smaller  (9  to  15,  usually  12,  rays)  and  is  followed  by 
several  small  finlets,  of  which  there  are  usually  5  but  sometimes  4  or  6.  The  anal 
is  similar  to  the  second  dorsal  in  shape  and  size,  originates  slightly  behind  it,  and 
is  similarly  succeeded  by  5  small  finlets  that  correspond  to  the  dorsal  finlets  in 
size  and  shape.  The  caudal  fin  is  broad,  but  short  and  deeply  forked.  The  caudal 
peduncle  bears  two  small  keels  on  either  side  but  no  median  lateral  keel,  the  absence 
of  the  latter  being  a  distinctive  character.  The  ventral  fins  stand  below  the  origin 
of  the  first  dorsal  and  like  the  pectorals  are  small.  The  scales  of  the  mackerel 
are  so  small  that  its  skin  is  velvety  to  the  touch;  indeed,  on  the  belly  they  are 
hardly  to  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye,  but  those  about  the  pectoral  fins  and  shoulders 
are  somewhat  larger. 

Color. — The  upper  surface  is  dark  steely  to  greenish  blue,  often  almost  blue- 
black  on  the  head.     The  body  is  barred  with  23  to  33  (usually  27  to  30)  dark  trans- 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


189 


Fia.  92.— Mackerel  (Scomber  scombrus) 
a,  Adult,    b.  Egg.    After  Holt,    c.  Newly  hatched  larva,  3.5  millimeters.    After  Holt,    d.  Larva,  4.5  millimeters.    After 
Holt,    f.  Larva,  6  millimeters.    Alter  Ehrenbaum.    /,  Larva,  14  millimeters.    After  Holt,    g,  Fry,  22  millimeters. 


190  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

verse  bands  ^'  that  run  down  in  an  irregular  wavy  course  nearly  to  the  mjdlevel  of 
the  body,  below  which  there  is  a  narrow  dark  streak  running  along  each  side  from 
pectoral  to  tail  fin.  The  pectorals  are  black  or  dusky  at  the  base,  while  the  dorsals 
and  caudal  are  gray  or  dusky.  The  jaws  and  gdl  covers  are  silvery.  The  lower 
sides  are  white  with  silvery,  coppery,  or  brassy  reflections  and  iridescence,  and 
the  belly  silvery  white,  but  the  iridescent  colors  fade  so  rapidly  after  death  that  a 
dead  fish  gives  little  idea  of  the  brilliance  of  a  living  one. 

Size. — Mackerel  have  been  recorded  up  to  20  inches  long  and  weighing  as  much 
as  3J^  pounds.  One  of  that  length,  measured  by  Doctor  Kendall  on  Georges 
Bank,  was  113^  inches  in  circumference,  but  an  IS  or  19  inch  fish  is  above  the  aver- 
age, the  adults  running  from  13  to  14  inches  and  upward.  One  a  foot  long  weighs 
12  to  16  ounces. 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic — Norway  to  Spain  off  the 
European  coast,-'  and  from  southern  Labrador  to  Cape  Hatteras  off  the  American 
coast. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — At  one  time  or  another  the  mackerel  is  prac- 
tically universal  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  for  not  only  does  it  appear  in  great  abund- 
ance on  the  offshore  grounds — that  is,  Nantucket  Shoals,  Georges  and  Browns 
Banks — and  all  over  the  central  deeps,  but  also  throughout  the  coastal  belt; 
and  while  the  adult  fish  seldom  venture  within  the  outer  islands  or  headlands,  good 
catches  are  sometimes  made  well  up  Penobscot  Bay,  and  young  ones  6  to  10  inches 
long  often  swarm  right  up  to  the  docks  in  summers  of  plenty,  such  as  1922,  when 
a  great  abundance  of  them  was  taken. 

It  is  impossible  to  outline  any  particular  subdivisions  of  the  inner  Gulf  as  pro- 
lific or  barren  of  mackerel,  for  the  fish  congregate  in  different  regions  from  year 
to  year.  The  Bay  of  Fundy,  for  example,  once  a  famous  mackerel  ground,  was  so 
nearly  deserted  for  some  years  after  1876  that  fishing  was  abandoned  there.  Of 
late  years,  however,  large  schools  are  often  seen  on  the  Nova  Scotian  side,  and 
some  right  up  to  the  head,  but  comparatively  few  are  reported  on  the  New  Bruns- 
wick shore.  In  years  when  the  mackerel  come  well  inshore,  Massachusetts  Bay 
is  usually  a  center  of  abundance  both  early  and  late  in  the  season,  with  the  fish 
schooling  irregularly  there  during  the  summer  as  well.  Both  seiners  and  hook 
and  line  fishermen  have  found  prolific  grounds  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boon  Island, 
off  Cape  Elizabeth,  from  Monhegan  to  Matinicus  Island,  and  near  Mount  Desert 
Rock.  During  some  summers  the  mackerel  are  reported  mostly  within  30  to  40 
miles  of  land  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine;  in  other  years  most  of  them  stay  offshore. 
In  1882,  for  example,  a  year  of  great  abundance,  vast  schools  were  found  over  the 
offshore  deeps  of  the  Gulf  between  Georges  Bank,  Browns  Bank,  and  Cashes  Ledge, 
and  thence  northward  to  within  40  miles  or  so  of  the  Maine  «oast,  most  of  the  early 
season  catch  being  made  in  this  deep  water  and  in  the  weirs  along  the  west  coast 
of  Nova  Scotia.     Later  in  the  season,  however,  the  fish  disappeared. 

«*  Hunt  (Copeia,  No.  117,  pp.  63-59,  April,  1923)  describes  the  variations  in  these  stripes  among  young  mackerel  caught  off 
Long  Island,  New  York,  in  November,  1922. 

»  There  is  a  fairly  constant  racial  difference  between  American  and  British  mackerel  (Garstang,  Journal,  Marine  Biological 
Association  of  the  United  Kingdom,  Vol.  V,  New  Series,  No.  3,  1898,  pp.  235-295),  the  former  showing  more  transverse  bars, 
being  more  often  spotted  between  them,  and  more  often  having  6  instead  of  5  dorsal  finlets. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  191 

Plentiful  though  mackerel  sometimes  are  in  the  inner  waters  of  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  still  larger  numbers  are  found  over  Nantucket  Shoals  and  Georges  Bank 
and  off  the  outer  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  but  with  much  variation  in  the  local  abund- 
ance from  year  to  year,  as  appears  from  the  following  table  for  two  successive  seasons 
when  the  total  catches  from  the  whole  Gulf  of  Maine  region  did  not  differ  greatly. 
This  table  comprises  the  landings  of  mackerel  at  Boston  and  Gloucester,  Mass., 
and  Portland,  Me.,  by  the  vessel  fishery  in  1916  and  1917. 


Locality 

1916 

1917 

Georges  Bank _ _ 

3,  701,  597 

77,157 
2,  516,  414 
2,017,753 

99,250 
1,  559, 972 

624,086 

13,600 

6,  277, 830 

3,  938,  452 

621  751 

Nantucket  Shoals .         . 

Oa  Chatham 

03  Race  Point 

519,  550 

General  migrations.^" — Wherever  the  mackerel  occurs,  whether  in  American  or  in 
North  European  waters,  it  is  a  seasonal  migrant,  appearing  near  the  coast  in  spring, 
to  vanish  thence  in  autumn.  The  directions  and  extent  of  the  journeys  which  it 
carries  out  have  been  the  subject  of  much  discussion  ever  since  the  fishery  first 
assimied  importance,  because  of  their  intrinsic  interest,  their  bearing  on  the  prose- 
cution of  the  fishery,  and  because  this  fish  has  been  the  subject  of  much  international 
dispute,  but  although  a  vast  nimiber  of  observations  have  been  made  and  many  pages 
written  on  the  subject,  the  knowledge  sufficiently  exact  to  clear  all  aspects  of  the 
question  is  stiU  lacking.  The  point  chiefly  at  issue  has  been  whether  the  main  bodies 
of  mackerel  merely  sink  and  move  directly  out  to  the  nearest  deep  water,  when 
they  leave  the  coast,  or  whether,  and  to  what  extent,  they  combine  their  offshore 
and  onshore  journeys  with  the  north  and  south  migrations  in  which  most  fishermen 
believe. 

It  seems  well  established,  however,  and  is  now  generally  accepted,  that  the 
coastwise  journeys  of  the  mackerel  are  not  as  extended  as  was  once  believed,  but  that 
the  schools  that  visit  the  Gulf  of  Maine  are  not  the  same  fish  that  are  seen  earher 
south  of  New  York,  and  that  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  mackerel  are  still  another 
body.  The  most  direct  evidence  that  no  general  movement  takes  place  from  south 
to  north  along  the  coast,  but  that  the  arrival  of  mackerel  in  spring  is  in  the  nature  of 
successive  waves  coming  in  from  more  and  more  northerly  parts  of  an  extensive  win- 
tering ground,  is  that  although  they  appear  earlier  and  spawn  earher  west  of  Block 
Island,  the  adults  are  either  green  or  near  spawning  condition  on  their  first  arrival 
in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  and  farther  east,  never  spent,  as  they  would  be  had  they  come 
up  the  coast  spawning  en  route;  and,  as  several  of  our  predecessors  have  remarked, 
it  is  certain  that  the  mackerel  spawning  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  in  July  can  not 
be  the  same  fish  that  spawn  off  New  England  in  May  and  June.  The  fact  that 
mackerel  appear  practically  simultaneously  off  Cape  Cod  and  southern  Nova  Scotia, 
and  that  in  some  years,  at  least,  they  are  reported  as  early  at  Cape  Breton  and  even  in 

••  The  literature  dealing  with  this  subject  is  very  extensive.    See  especially  Goode,  Collins,  Earll.  and  Clark  (1884)  and  Tracy 
(Thirty-seventh  .\nnual  Report,  Rhode  Island  Commissioners  of  Inland  Fisheries,  1907,  p.  43)  (or  the  American  mackerel. 

102274— 2.5t 13 


192  '  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  as  at  Cape  Sable  ^'  (or  earlier) ,  also  argues  that  the  fish  have 
not  come  from  the  southwest  but  from  offshore,  for  did  they  cross  the  mouth  of  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  en  route  they  might  be  expected  to  show  earher  in  its  western  than  in 
its  eastern  side.  Furthermore,  mackerel  summer  in  and  off  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
instead  of  appearing  there  only  as  spring  and  autumn  visitors.  We  may  add  that 
there  is  no  evidence  of  any  general  movement  west  and  south  from  the  GuK  of  Maine 
region  in  autumn.  The  mackerel  simply  disappear.  For  that  matter  mackerel  are 
seen  and  caught  off  Nova  Scotia  even  later  in  the  season  than  off  Cape  Cod,  just 
the  reverse  of  what  might  be  expected  if  they  carried  out  a  general  north  and  south 
migration  along  the  coast. 

From  evidence  of  this  sort,  from  the  breeding  habits  of  the  fish  (p.  206) ,  and  from 
the  winter  habits  of  the  European  mackerel  to  be  mentioned  later  (p.  196),  scientific 
opinion  has  gradually  crystallized  to  the  effect  that  the  essential  features  of  the  sea- 
sonal migrations  of  the  mackerel  are  essentially  a  spawning  joiuney  inshore  and  into 
shallow  water  in  spring,  alternating  with  an  offshore  movement  combined  with  a 
descent  into  deep  water  in  autumn. 

According  to  geographic  conditions  these  fundamental  changes  of  situation  are 
accompanied  by  horizontal  journeys  of  greater  or  less  length  and  of  various  directions 
but  not  necessarily  north  and  south.  In  the  case  of  the  bodies  of  fish  that  are  seen 
south  of  New  York  the  journey  in  and  out  is  nearly  east  and  west  and  perhaps  not 
more  than  50  to  60  miles  in  some  cases,  but  for  the  schools  that  visit  the  inner  parts 
of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  the  journey  probably  covers  200  miles  each  way  while  its  route 
is  roughly  north  and  south.  At  least  a  part  of  the  GuK  of  St.  Lawrence  mackerel 
have  a  still  longer  journey,  for  it  is  probable  that  these  fish  follow  the  outer  coast  of 
Nova  Scotia  southwestward  for  some  distance  in  the  autiunn  and  possibly  even  as 
far  as  Cape  Sable  before  they  turn  out  to  sea.  The  case  is  made  more  complicated 
by  the  strong  probability  that  while  the  feeding  migrations  of  the  Gidf  of  Maine  and 
of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  fish  do  not  carry  them  out  of  these  general  areas  until  it  is 
time  for  them  to  seek  winter  quarters,  the  southern  mackerel  (that  is,  those  spawning 
south  of  New  York)  may  travel  along  shore  toward  the  northeast  after  spawning,  for 
mackerel  disappear  off  this  part  of  the  coast  after  a  brief  stay — by  June  at  the  latest — 
not  to  reappear  there  imtd  the  following  spring;  and  though  all  knowledge  of  the 
habits  of  this  fish,  combined  with  ocean  temperatures  and  with  the  distribution  of 
their  prey,  make  it  more  likely  that  they  work  northeastward  toward  the  rich  feeding 
grounds  of  the  Nantucket  Shoals  and  Georges  Bank  regions  than  that  they  move 
out  to  summer  over  the  Continental  Slope  south  of  the  latitude  of  New  York,  there 
is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  any  of  them  journey  farther  east  or  enter  the  Gidf  of 
Maine.^* 

According  to  general  report  mackerel  seeking  the  inner  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
follow  two  main  routes  after  they  first  show  themselves  in  spring,  either  keeping  to 
the  western  side  along  Cape  Cod,  or  coming  in  along  Browns  Bank  and  the  west 
coast  of  Nova  Scotia.     Their  inward  migration  covers  a  period  of  some  weeks,  the 

"  According  to  Huntsman  (1922b)  mackerel  appeared  at  Cape  Breton  on  May  6,  at  Qasp6  (on  the  Gulf  of  St  Lawrence)  on  May 
12,  and  off  Yarmouth,  Nova  Scotia,  on  May  16,  in  1894. 

3'  We  have  found  no  positive  record  of  mackerel  taken  in  late  summer  anywhere  south  of  Delaware  Bay,  although  they  are 
plentiful  off  this  part  of  the  coast  in  spring.  Bell  and  Nichols,  it  is  true,  speak  of  "mackerel"  as  found  in  tiger -shark  stomachs 
off  North  Carolina  (Copeia,  No.  92,  Mar.,  1921,  pp.  18-19),  but  Mr.  Nichols  writes  us  that  these  were  "just  Scombroids  and 
probably  not  Scomber  scombrut." 


FISHES    OF    THE    GULF    OF    MAINE  193 

first  comers  being  recruited  later  by  part  of  the  schools  that  are  seen  on  Nantucke 
Shoals  and  Georges  Bank  in  May,  but  it  seems  certain  that  considerable  bodies  of 
mackerel  remain  on  these  offshore  grounds  all  summer,  both  spawning  and  feeding 
there,  these,  with  the  recruits  they  may  receive  from  the  south  during  the  years  of 
plenty,  providing  good  fishing  there  any  time  from  June  to  September. 

An  interesting  question  is  whether  a  given  school  returns  summer  after  sumjner 
to  the  same  general  part  of  the  coast  (that  is,  to  the  Gvdf  of  Maine),  or  whether 
there  is  considerable  interchange  and  a  wide  shifting  of  grounds.  Within  moderate 
limits  the  last  alternative  is  probably  the  correct  one,  but  experience  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic,  where  it  has  been  possible  to  recognize  local  races  of  mackerel," 
makes  it  seem  very  unlikely  that  fish  resorting  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine  or  its  offshore 
banks  one  summer  would  visit  a  region  as  far  afield  as  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 
another. 

On  their  spring  migration  the  European  mackerel  usually  keep  to  the  bottom 
until  close  in  to  land  before  rising  to  the  surface.  This  generalization  does  not  apply 
to  the  American  fish,  however,  for  while  some  swim  deep — so,  only,  can  we  account 
for  the  fact  that  the  first  schools  often  show  as  early  in  Massachusetts  Bay  as  on 
Georges  Bank  or  off  Nantucket — mackerel  in  much  greater  numbers  come  to  the 
surface  as  far  out  as  the  edge  of  the  continental  shelf  in  spring,  and  this  all  the  way 
from  the  latitude  of  Cape  Hatteras  to  the  mouth  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

Date  of  appearance. — The  first  mackerel  are  expected  off  the  Chesapeake  Bay- 
Cape  Hatteras  region  at  any  time  between  March  20  and  April  25;  off  the  Dela- 
ware Capes  during  the  last  half  of  April;  off  southern  New  England  in  May.  May 
10  may  be  set  as  about  the  average  date  of  their  appearance  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  and  they  are  usually  plentiful  on  Nantucket  Shoals  by  that 
time.  The  date  of  their  appearance  may  vary  a  week  or  more  in  either  direction 
in  different  years.  In  1898,  for  instance,  mackerel  were  reported  simidtaneously  at 
Chatham  on  Cape  Cod  and  at  Yarmouth,  Nova  Scotia,  on  May  2;  in  1901  they 
were  seen  off  Chatham  on  April  29;  and  in  1922  the  first  schools  were  sighted  south 
of  Cape  Sable  on  May  11  and  off  Yarmouth  on  the  7th;  but  if  it  is  fated  to  be  a  good 
mackerel  year  the  fish  are  plentiful  in  most  parts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  by  the  end 
of  May  or  the  first  week  in  June  at  the  latest,  except  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  where 
few  appear  until  well  into  the  latter  month. 

Movements  in  summer  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Though  we  can  not  offer  definite 
evidence  to  this  effect,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  after  they  once  appear  on  the  coast 
the  wanderings  of  the  immature  mackerel  are  wholly  governed  by  their  search  for 
food.  This  is  equally  true  in  the  case  of  the  large  fish  after  spawning  is  completed, 
that  is,  during  the  last  half  of  the  summer,  but  when  the  latter  first  arrive  the  case 
is  complicated  by  their  sexual  activity  (p.  206).  General  report  has  it,  on  the  basis 
of  the  gill-net  and  pound-net  catches  (and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  this),  that 
the  adult  mackerel  that  spawn  in  Massachuseiis  Bay  come  in  around  Cape  Cod, 
but  that  other  bodies  swim  directly  in  to  the  coast  of  Maine,  and  that  the  fish 
bound  for  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and  for  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Gulf  generally, 

"  The  American  mackerel  does  not  split  up  into  local  races. 


194 


BULLKTIN    OF    THE    BUREAU    OF    FISHERIES 


follow  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  (p.  192) .  After  the  large  fish  that  breed  in  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  region  are  spawned  out  it  seems  that  most  of  them  move  out 
either  into  the  open  Gulf  or  northward  up  the  coast  of  Maine,  for  in  midsummer 
and  early  autumn  the  hook-and-line  fishing  used  to  be  most  productive  between 
Cape  Elizabeth  and  Mount  Desert  Rock,  notably  about  Monhegan  Island  and 
ofi"shore  as  far  as  Cashes  Ledge.  In  years  of  plenty,  however,  the  smaller  fish  are  to 
be  caught  aU  along  the  coast  throughout  the  summer  as  noted  elsewhere  (p.  190). 

Half  a  century  ago,  during  the  days  of  the  hook-and-hne  fishery,  there  would 
have  been  no  need  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  large  as  well  as  small  mackerel  summer 
in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  To-day,  however,  when  the  American  fishery  is  carried  on 
chiefly  ^^'ith  purse  seines  and  nets,  and  when,  consequently,  the  schools  are  seldom 
caught  or  reported  except  when  near  the  surface,  there  is  a  widespread  view  that 
they  largely  desert  the  Gulf  for  a  longer  or  shorter  period  some  time  during  the 


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Fig.  93. — Total  landings,  in  pounds,  of  mackerel  (solid  line)  at  Boston,  Gloucester,  and  Portland,  from  grounds  west  of 
66**  longitude  and  tributary  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine.    Also  percentage  of  the  catch  that  consisted  of  fish  smaller  than  IJ.-^  pounds 

summer,  for  they  generally  disappear  then  for  a  time.  In  1906,  for  example,  the 
schools  vanished  from  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region  in  June,  to  reappear  the  27th 
of  July,  on  which  date  28  seiners  made  catches  ranging  from  18  to  2.50  barrels  each: 
and  in  1892,  a  year  of  abundance,  they  disappeared  (that  is,  sank)  in  August,  not  to 
appear  again  in  any  abundance  anywhere  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  until  October.  During 
other  years,  however,  they  school  at  the  surface  all  summer  long.^*  Since  good 
catches  of  mackerel  were  formerly  made  on  hook  and  line  in  one  or  another  part 
of  the  Gulf  right  through  the  season  from  June  to  October,  even  when  none  showed 
on  the  surface,  these  summer  disappearances  merely  mean  that  the  fish  have  sought 
lower  levels  in  the  water  or  that  they  have  wandered  to  some  other  part  of  the  Gidf ; 
and  perhaps  the  schools  have  dispersed  more  or  less,  for  the  comings  and  goings  of 
the  mackerel  are  proverbially  erratic. 

"'  1882  was  an  example  of  this. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  195 

The  vertical  movements  of  the  fish  during  their  summer  stay  (that  is,  their 
appearances  on  the  surface  and  descents  to  lower  levels)  are  no  doubt  governed 
chiefly  by  the  level  at  which  food  is  most  abundant,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  they  ever  descend  more  than  a  few  fathoms  during  their  stay,  the  supply  of 
small  crustaceans  on  which  they  feed  (p.  201)  being  invariably  richer  above  than  below 
50  fatho'ms  depth  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  As  yet  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  cor- 
relate, on  a  definite  statistical  basis,  the  local  abundance  or  reverse  of  the  American 
mackerel  and  the  precise  depths  at  which  they  swim  vrith  the  supply  of  available 
food,  but  fishermen  have  long  appreciated  the  fact  that  mackerel  are  most  apt  to 
be  plentiful  where  there  is  a  good  supply  of  "red  feed"  (copepods)  or  other  small 
animal  life  in  the  water,  and  a  relationship  has  been  found  to  hold  in  the  English 
Channel  between  the  catches  of  mackerel  and  the  numbers  of  copepods  present  in 
the  water ,^^  mackerel  being  plentiful  when  there  is  a  plentiful  supply  of  the  latter. 
To  go  one  link  further  back  in  the  chain  of  cause  and  effect,  Allen  ^°  foimd  that  the 
more  hours  of  sunshine  in  February  and  March  (hence  the  more  diatoms  to  support 
copepods),  the  more  mackerel  were  caught  off  Plymouth,  England,  over  a  period 
of  six  years,  but  suggestive  though  these  data  are,  much  more  of  the  same  tenor  is 
needed  before  the  parallelism  can  be  proved  to  be  actually  a  causal  one. 

No  feature  in  the  natural  history  of  the  mackerel  has  attracted  more  attention 
than  its  habit  of  gathering  in  dense  schools.  It  is  not  knowTi  how  long  these  schools 
hold  together,  but  the  general  opinion  of  fishermen  is  that  they  do  so  throughout 
the  migrations  at  least,  and  although  the  mackerel  may  scatter  and  the  schools 
mix  more  or  less,  especially  when  they  are  feeding  on  the  larger  and  more  active 
members  of  the  free-floating  fauna,  as  is  said  to  be  the  case  in  British  waters,  they 
usually  run  very  even  in  size.  As  a  rule  mackerel  school  by  themselves.  At  times, 
however,  they  are  found  mingled  with  herring,  alewives,  or  shad,  as  Kendall  (1910, 
p.  287)  has  described.  How  the  mackerel  hold  together,  whether  by  sight  or  by 
some  other  sense,  is  yet  to  be  learned,  and  various  explanations  have  been  proposed 
to  account  for  the  schooling  habit,  such  as  that  it  is  advantageous  for  feeding,  that 
it  is  a  concomitant  of  spawning  (this  would  not  explain  its  persistence  out  of  the 
spawning  season,  however,  or  the  fact  that  even  at  spawning  time  any  given  school 
is  apt  to  contain  green  and  spent  as  well  as  ripe  fish) ,  or  that  it  affords  protection 
from  enemies  (which  is  just  the  reverse  from  the  truth) ;  but  when  all  is  said  the 
instinct  prompting  it  remains  so  mysterious  that  we  can  classify  it  no  better  than  as 
a  sort  of  sociability  such  as  prompts  so  many  species  of  birds  to  gather  in  flocks. 

Autumnal  migration. — As  autumn  draws  on  the  fish  that  summer  along  the 
coast  of  Maine  evidently  work  back  toward  Cape  Cod,  and  of  old,  good  fishing  was 
had  successively  off  Portland,  near  Boon  Island,  and  oflf  Cape  Ann.  Some  time 
in  September  or  October,  in  good  years,  the  large  mackerel  reappear  in  abtmdance 
in  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  on  many  occasions  schools  have  been  reported  and 
actually  followed  swimming  on  the  sm-face  southward  across  the  mouth  of  the  Bay 

"  Bullen.  Journal,  Marine  Biological  Association  of  the  United  Kingdom,  Vol.  VIII,  New  Series,  No.  3,  Oct.,  1908,  p.  269, 
302.    Plymouth. 

>«  Allen,  Ibid,  p.  394-406. 


196  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

at  this  time.  Such  accounts,  it  is  true,  are  often  based  on  a  misconception,"  but 
the  fact  that  the  latest  catches  of  mackerel  for  the  season  are  usually  made  there- 
abouts, along  the  outer  shore  of  Cape  Cod,  or  on  the  eastern  side  of  Nantucket 
Shoals,  and  never  in  the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  corroborate  them  in  this 
instance.  So  much  evidence  of  this  sort  has  been  gathered  that  we  may  accept  as 
correct  the  view  held  by  most  fishermen  that  most  of  the  mackerel  desert  the  Gulf 
altogether  in  winter.  It  is  not  known,  however,  whether  the  schools  entering  on 
the  Nova  Scotian  side  go  out  again  by  the  same  route,  or  whether  they  join  the 
general  movement  westv/ard  and  then  southward  past  Cape  Cod.  Mackerel  usually 
remain  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  into  November,  large  catches  sometimes  being  made 
about  Cape  Ann  '*  late  in  the  month,  and  occasionally,  even,  until  mid-December, 
although  this  is  unusual.  In  1913,  for  example,  1,200  fish  were  caught  off  Gloucester 
on  December  10;  3,000  off  Chatham  a  day  or  two  earlier;  and  in  1922  nearly  1,000 
barrels  were  taken  on  the  Massachusetts  coast  during  the  early  part  of  the  month. 
In  mild  winters  mackerel  are  sometunes  reported  off  the  outer  coast  of  Nova  Scotia 
as  late  as  Christmas  time,  but  the  last  of  December,  at  the  latest,  sees  them  vanish 
from  the  whole  American  seaboard. 

Winter  home. — -The  exact  winter  home  of  the  American  mackerel  has  not  been 
found.  True,  a  few  have  been  caught  on  cod  lines  in  deep  water  off  Grand  Manan 
in  winter;  ''  some  found  then  near  Yarmouth,  Nova  Scotia;  others  (all  small)  were 
taken  from  cod  stomachs  on  Georges  and  La  Have  Banks  and  off  the  coast  of 
New  Jersey  *"  at  that  season.  There  is  at  least  one  record  of  mackerel  caught  in  a 
herring  gill  net  in  January  many  years  ago.  Otter  trawlers,  too,  occasionally 
pick  up  a  few  on  Georges  Bank  and  in  the  South  Channel  in  February  or  March. 
In  1922,  for  example,  one  otter  trawler  took  a  number  of  1-pound  fish  in  the  Channel 
in  70  to  80  fathoms  on  February  27.  Another  vessel  brought  in  150  pounds  of 
mackerel  from  the  same  ground  on  March  29,  while  other  trawlers  reported  catching 
a  few  stray  mackerel  at  about  that  time."  Such  events  happen  rarely,  however, 
and  the  numbers  of  fish  concerned  have  always  been  too  small  to  point  to  any  of 
the  usual  fishing  banks  as  the  regular  wintering  grounds  for  mackerel.  In  fact 
no  large  bodies  of  the  latter  have  ever  been  encountered  anywhere  off  the  American 
coast  between  the  end  of  December  and  some  time  in  March."  It  is,  however, 
reasonable  to  assume  as  a  working  hypothesis  that  the  winter  habits  of  the  Ameri- 
can fish  parallel  those  of  its  North  Sea  relatives,  which  move  out  on  the  bottom 
from,  shallow  waters  generally,  some  to  winter  on  bottom  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  North  Sea,  as  proven  by  the  trawl  fishery,  others  (probably  fewer)  in  the  English 

"  The  successive  approach  of  one  school  after  another  to  the  coast  often  suggests  a  long-shore  movement  of  the  fish.  Kendall 
(1910,  p.  287),  for  example,  tells  of  an  instance  when  seiners  reported  "following"  the  schools  continuously  along  southern  Nova 
Scotia,  although  the  fish  taken  off  Liverpool  proved  to  be  of  quite  different  sizes  from  the  catch  made  about  Cape  Breton. 

"  In  1922  (Gloucester  Times  of  Apr.  26,  1923)  the  mackerel-netters  fishing  in  that  region  did  well  all  through  November,  tak- 
ing something  like  6,600  barrels  during  the  month. 

»  CoUins,  1883b,  p.  273. 

*o  Most  recently  on  February  22,  1922,  when  a  haddock  fisherman  took  some  from  cod  caught  on  the  northwestern  part  of 
Oeocges  Bank  (Gloucester  Times  for  Apr  26,  1923). 

<i  Gloucester  Times,  Apr.  26,  1923. 

**  Schools  of  "mackerel"  have  been  reported  more  than  once  in  midwinter,  but  never  supported  by  the  actual  capture  of 
the  fish. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  197 

Channel,  but  most  of  them,  as  appears  from  the  statistics  of  the  fishery,  to  go  still 
farther  out,  probably  to  the  outer  edge  of  the  continental  shelf  off  Ireland  to  pass 
the  cold  season  in  deeper  water." 

On  this  basis  we  might  expect  the  Gulf  of  Maine  mackerel  to  winter  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  continental  slope  at  a  depth  rather  greater  than  the  otter  trawlers 
reach — say  at  100  to  200  fathoms — but  so  close  at  hand  that  odd  fish  stray  or  remain 
on  the  banks.  Two  facts  strongly  support  the  view  that  they  go  no  farther  than 
this  in  their  offshore  migration.  First,  no  mackerel,  young  or  old,  have  ever  been 
taken  far  outside  the  continental  shelf  by  the  various  deep-sea  exploring  expeditions 
of  the  past  half  century,  or  for  that  matter  anywhere  on  the  high  seas  far  from  land, 
nor  more  than  a  few  miles  south  of  Cape  Hatteras  off  the  American  coast.  Second, 
their  reappearance  takes  place  so  nearly  simultaneously  in  spring  along  many 
hundred  miles  of  coast  line  that  they  can  hardly  have  come  from  any  great  distance. 
It  may  be  that  some  mackerel  regularly  winter  in  the  deep  basin  of  the  Gulf  of 
Maine  itself.  The  winter  catches  listed  above  do,  in  fact,  suggest  that  such  is  the 
case,  and  while  as  yet  no  direct  evidence  has  been  obtained  that  this  applies  to 
any  considerable  body  of  fish,  the  ground  in  question  offers  an  attractive  field  for 
investigation  with  the  otter  trawl  with  an  eye  to  the  possibility  of  developing  a 
winter  fishery  for  mackerel.  Thus  time  and  increased  knowledge  have  corroborated 
the  views  of  Captain  Atwood  and  of  Perley,  of  more  than  half  a  century  ago,  that 
mackerel  winter  offshore  in  deep  water  and  northward  from  the  latitude  of  Virginia, 
not  in  the  far  south  nor  out  in  the  surface  waters  of  the  warm  parts  of  the  Atlantic. 

It  has  often  been  argued  that  mackerel  hibernate.  We  even  have  the  positive 
story  of  an  "  eyewitness  "  of  high  rank — an  admiral,  no  less — of  thousands  so  reposing 
in  the  mud  in  the  Bays  of  Greenland  with  tails  protruding — wholly  an  imaginary 
tale,  we  need  hardly  add.^*  Equally  baseless,  too,  is  the  oft-repeated  assertion 
that  the  adipose  eyelid  becomes  opaque,  so  predisposing  to  hibernation  in  winter. 
European  mackerel  may  sometimes  hibernate.  Ehrenbaum,'"^  whose  studies  of 
this  fish  certainly  entitle  his  views  to  great  weight,  thinks  they  probably  do  so  for 
part  of  their  stay  on  the  bottom.  It  is  not  likely,  however,  that  the  American 
mackerel  do  so,  though  they  may  be  semi-torpid  or  at  least  very  sluggish  during 
the  cold  season,  the  presence  of  mackerel  in  the  stomachs  of  other  fish  (p.  196),  as 
well  as  the  fact  that  they  sometimes  have  food  in  their  own  stomachs  in  midwinter, 
proving  that  they  move  about  more  or  less  even  then,  though  they .  certainly  feed 
very  little,  for  not  only  are  most  of  the  European  fish  trawled  at  that  season  empty, 
but  European  and  American  mackerel  alike  are  thin  when  they  reappear  in  spring. 

Most  American  students  have  looked  on  the  rising  temperature  of  spring  as 
determining  the  date  when  mackerel  quit  their  winter  quarters,  an  event  to  be  looked 
for  as  soon  as  the  water  warms  to  about  45°.  Recent  European  studies,  however, 
show  that  the  date  of  reappearance  is  not  as  closely  associated  with  temperature 
as  has  been  supposed;  and  if  it  be  true,  as  we  believe,  that  the  mackerel  winter 

"  Ehrenbaum  (Rappoits  et  Proces-Verbaux,  ConsSil  Permanent  International  pour  I'Eiploration  de  la  Mer,  Vol.  XVIII, 
1914)  summarizes  what  is  known  of  the  life  history  of  the  European  mackerel. 
**  Mackerel  are  not  known  so  far  north. 
"  Rapports  et  Proces-Verbaui,  ConsSil  Permanent  International  pour  I'Esploration  de  la  Mer,  Vol.  XVIII,  1914. 


198  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHEEIES 

on  the  bottom  on  the  continental  slope,  vernal  changes  in  the  temperature  of  the 
surface  water  would  be  quite  outside  their  ken.  In  short,  the  precise  stimulus 
causing  them  to  rise  to  the  surface  then  is  still  to  be  learned. 

Fluctuations  in  abundance. — It  has  been  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  since 
early  colonial  days  that  mackerel  fluctuate  widely  in  abundance  from  3'ear  to  year — 
perhaps  more  so  than  any  of  the  other  important  food  fishes — periods  of  great 
abundance  alternating  with  teiTas  of  scarcity  or  almost  total  absence,  a  serious 
matter  for  the  fishermen.  During  good  jears  the  fish  ma}'  appear  in  numbers 
almost  unbelievable — schools  or  associations  of  schools,  miles  in  length,  are  reported. 
It  is  common  to  see  50  or  more  separate  bodies  of  fish  from  the  masthead  at  one  time. 
Mackerel,  in  short,  seem  to  be  everywhere,  and  a  tremendous  catch  is  made;  but 
perhaps  the  very  next  year,  and  for  no  apparent  reason,  only  an  odd  school  will  be 
found  here  and  there  and  the  fishery  is  a  flat  failxire. 

Looking  back  over  the  published  statistics  we  see  that  from  1825  to  1835  was 
a  period  of  abundance.  In  1831,  for  example,  more  than  380,000  barrels  (76,000,000 
pounds)  of  salt  mackerel  (in  those  days  most  of  them  were  salted)  were  landed  in 
Massachusetts  ports  alone.  Then  for  the  next  eight  years  (1837-1845)  mackerel 
were  scarce,  only  50,000  barrels  being  landed  in  Massachusetts  in  1840.  From  1851, 
when  the  Massachusetts  landings  rose  once  more  to  348,000  barrels,  down  to  1879, 
the  annual  catch  fluctuated  violently;  but  the  year  1880,  when  the  fleet  brought  in 
something  like  294,000,000  fish  from  Nova  Scotian  and  United  States  waters  com- 
bined, saw  the  inception  of  a  period  of  extraordinary  abundance,  culminating  in 
1885  when  the  catch  reached  the  enormous  total  of  500,000  barrels  (100,000,000 
pounds).  This  was  followed  by  a  decline  so  extreme,  so  widespread,  and  so  calami- 
tous to  the  fishing  interests  that  when  the  stock  of  mackerel  reached  its  lowest  ebb 
in  1910  the  catch  of  the  American  mackerel  fleet  was  only  about  3,400  barrels 
(equivalent  to  582,800  pounds  of  fresh  fish)  for  the  entire  coast  of  the  United  States, 
with  almost  no  mackerel,  large  or  small,  reported  in  Massachusetts  Bay  or  along 
the  Maine  coast.  As  previous  experience  suggested,  however,  mackerel  then 
increased  once  more  in  numbers,  as  appears  from  the  annual  catches  made  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  and  on  the  banks  at  its  mouth. 

Year  Pounds " 

1910 574,092 

1911 2,478,331 

1912.. 4,366,906 

1913 4,777,442 

1914. 7,506,875 

1915 11,  106,095 

1916 16,391,377 

1917 16,021,619 

1919 2,344,562 

1920" 5,608,  157 

1921 1,029,002 

-    1922 3,048,071 

1923 11,007,676 

"  Salt  mackerel  are  here  reduced  to  the  equivalent  weight  of  fresh  fish;  no  data  are  available  for  1918. 

•'  The  southern  fishery  reported  a  good  catch  in  1920,  which  was  not  reflected  either  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  or  in  Nova  Scotian 
waters. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  199 

However,  this  period  of  multiplication  fell  far  short  of  equaling  the  period  from 
1883  to  1885,  for  the  largest  catches  since  the  barren  years  about  1910  were  but  a 
fraction  of  those  of  the  banner  years  in  the  eighties.  After  1917  the  stock  once 
more  diminished  to  such  an  extent  that  the  catch  for  1919  was  only  about  25  per 
cent  of  that  of  either  of  the  two  preceding  years.  Although  1920  saw  a  slight 
recovery,  1921  proved  the  worst  season  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  region  since  1910. 
That  summer,  however,  must  have  been  an  unusually  favorable  one  for  the  produc- 
tion of  young  fish,  as  little  mackerel  4  to  6  inches  long  appeared  in  great  numbers  in 
the  Massachusetts  Bay  region  the  following  June  (1922),  swarming  in  its  various 
estuaries  and  locally  as  far  north  as  Mount  Desert  Island,  and  raising  the  catch 
to  slightly  more  than  3,000,000  pounds  throughout  the  summer,  growing  meantime 
to  a  length  of  from  7  to  9  inches  (p.  205).  Their  continued  growth  was  probably 
responsible  for  the  much  larger  catch  in  1923. 

Various  far-fetched  explanations  for  these  astounding  ups  and  downs  in  the 
mackerel  catch  have  been  proposed,  such  as  that  the  fish  have  gone  across  to  Europe, 
have  sunk,  or  have  been  driven  away  or  killed  off  by  the  use  of  the  purse  seine. 
However,  since  similar  fluctuations  were  noticed  long  before  the  fisliing  became 
intensive,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  they  are  quite  independent  of  the  acts  of  man  but 
bound  up  with  the  biology  of  the  fish.  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  major 
fluctuations  in  the  annual  catch  do  actually  mirror  corresponding  changes  in  the 
numerical  strength  of  the  stock  of  fish  existing  in  the  sea  from  year  to  year,  just 
as  the  annual  catches  of  herring  do  along  the  North  European  coasts. 

In  the  case  of  herring  the  prime  factor  in  determining  the  abundance  of  the 
fish  is  now  known  to  be  the  comparative  success  of  reproduction  from  year  to  year, 
years  favorable  to  the  survival  of  the  larvse  presaging  several  seasons  of  abundance, 
and  vice  versa.  A  comparison  of  the  relative  proportions  of  mackerel  of  different 
sizes  (that  is,  ages)  with  the  total  catches  made  from  year  to  year,  justifies  the  work- 
ing hypothesis  that  this  is  equally  true  of  the  mackerel. 

About  1910,  when  the  stock  of  mackerel  was  at  its  lowest  (fig.  93),  most  of  the 
fish  caught  were  reported  to  be  large,  suggesting  that  few  j'oung  had  survived  for 
several  years  past.  Unfortunately  no  information  is  available  as  to  the  composition 
of  the  catch  from  the  point  of  view  of  size  for  the  next  three  years,  when  the  catch 
was  progressively  somewhat  larger,  but  numbers  of  very  small  fish,  apparently 
yearlings,  were  reported  in  1912.  In  1914  we  find  fish  smaller  than  1}4  pounds 
forming  nearly  60  per  cent  of  the  catch  made  by  the  purse-seining  vessels  in  and  off 
the  Gulf  of  Maine,  with  only  about  4  per  cent  consisting  of  the  large  old  fish  (upward 
of  23'.'t  pounds);  and  in  1915  small  fish  formed  approximately  80  per  cent  and  large 
ones  only  7  per  cent,  by  weight,  of  all  the  mackerel  caught  in  and  off  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  with  an  even  greater  prcponderence  of  the  former  in  actual  numbers. 

An  alteration  of  this  sort  in  the  composition  of  the  stock  of  any  fish,  from  a  pre- 
dominance of  large  to  a  predominance  of  small,  M'hen  it  accompanies  a  decided 
increase  in  the  total  weight — still  more  in  the  total  number — of  fish  caught,  as  was 
the  case  on  the  occasion  in  question,  points  beyond  dispute  to  an  increasing  rate  of 
production  of  young  fish,  sufficient  to  much  more  than  offset  the  annual  death  rate. 
As  suggested  above,  1911  was  the  first  good  breeding  year  in  this  particular  cycle, 
102274—25} 14 


200  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

accounting  for  the  young  "tinkers"  reported  in  1912.  The  years  1913  and  1914 
must  have  been  still  more  productive  to  produce  the  great  preponderance  of  the 
"small"  class  in  1914  and  1915;  and  1914  may  also  have  been  a  good  breeding  season, 
for  with  so  loose  a  classification  (no  subdivision  of  the  fish  smaller  than  1 J^  pounds) 
it  is  impossible  to  tell  how  many  fish  become  marketable  in  their  second  summer  and 
how  many  not  until  their  third  summer.  The  total  catch  was  more  than  50  per 
cent  greater  in  weight  in  1916  than  in  1915,  but  this  increase  was  due  chiefly  to  the 
graduation  of  fish  that  were  "small "  in  1915  into  the  "  medium  "  and  "large"  classes, 
which  together  increased  from  aborut  14  per  cent  of  the  total  weight  caught  in  1915 
to  about  80  per  cent  in  1916,  and  which  probably  dominated  the  catch  in  actual 
numbers  as  well,  while  the  "small"  fish  formed  less  than  20  per  cent  by  weight. 

Small  fish  were  again  more  abundant  in  1917  than  in  1916,  both  by  weight 
(34  per  cent  of  the  catch)  and  probably  in  numbers,  pointing  to  a  very  considerable 
production  either  in  1915  or  in  1916,  whichever  of  these  two-year  classes  was  con- 
cerned; but  for  several  years  thereafter  breeding  was  so  imsuccessful  that  the  number 
of  mackerel  in  such  part  of  the  stock  as  is  tapped  by  the  Gulf  of  Maine  fishery  dwin- 
dled from  year  to  year  as  the  year  classes  produced  during  the  period  1912  to  1914 
died  out  from  one  cause  or  another,  without  a  sufficient  production  of  young  to  com- 
pensate for  the  death  rate,  resulting  in  the  great  decline  in  the  fishery  noted  above 
(p.  199),  though  enough  young  survived  to  keep  the  relative  proportions  of  large  and 
small  fish  about  constant  until  1919.  Either  in  1918  or  in  1919  reproduction 
must  have  been  close  to  a  total  failure,  for  the  mackerel  caught  in  and  off  the  Gulf 
of  Maine  in  1920  ran  very  large,  with  small  fish  composing  hardly  6  per  cent  (by 
weight)  and  large  fish  more  than  60  per  cent  of  the  catch.  The  mackerel  caught 
south  of  New  York  during  that  spring  likewise  averaged  about  2  pounds  in  weight. 

As  regards  its  composition,  the  stock  was  now  back  again  in  about  the  same  state 
as  in  1910,  the  cycle  having  run  over  a  period  of  10  years.  The  parallel  goes  stDl 
further,  too,  for  while  no  precise  data  as  to  sizes  of  the  mackerel  are  available  for 
1921,  that  year  must  have  seen  a  wave  of  production  comparable  to  the  successful 
breeding  of  the  period  of  1911-1914  to  accoimt  for  the  swarms  of  yearling  fish  that 
appeared  along  the  New  England  coast  from  Woods  Hole  to  Mount  Desert  during 
the  summer  of  1922.  Past  experience  would  suggest  that  this  presaged  a  great 
increase  in  the  catch  of  mackerel  for  the  next  few  years  to  come,  as  these  little  fish 
grow  into  the  medium  and  large  classes;  and  so  it  proved,  for  in  1923  over  11,000,000 
pounds  were  taken  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  region  alone,  and  more  than  8,000,000 
pounds  of  this  catch  close  alongshore. 

Thus  it  seems  that  the  proportion  of  large  and  small  fish  and  the  size  of  the  catch 
for  any  one  year  may  be  used  as  a  basis  for  predicting  the  success  or  failure  of  the 
run  of  mackerel  in  the  following  year.  There  may  also  be  several  good  breeding 
years  in  succession,  but  history  also  teaches  that  after  the  fish  of  the  1921  year 
class  and  of  the  next  two  or  three  following  (should  there  be  more  than  one  year  of 
great  production) ,  pass  their  zenith  and  begin  to  drop  out  we  must  once  more  look 
forward  to  a  shrinkage  in  the  stock  of  mackerel  and  to  poor  fishing,  for  as  far  back 
as  the  record  runs  a  good  breeding  year  or  a  succession  of  such  has  been  rather  a  rare 
event. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  201 

Nothing  definite  is  known  as  to  what  determines  the  success  or  failure  of  repro- 
duction of  mackerel  in  any  given  year,  nor  what  is  the  most  vulnerable,  hence  critical, 
stage.  It  is  obvious  that  there  are  two  major  factors  concerned.  It  may  be 
either  a  question  of  the  number  of  eggs  spawned  and  of  their  vitality,  which  harks 
back  to  the  physiological  condition  of  the  parent  fish,  or  may  depend  upon  the  success 
of  the  larvfe  in  surviving  the  dangers  and  difficulties  of  subsistence  that  confront 
them.  Onslaughts  by  enemies,  abundance  and  ready  availability  of  food,  tempera- 
ture, salinity,  density,  and  perhaps  other  physical  and  chemical  conditions  of  the 
sea  water  (e.  g.,  its  alkalinity)  all  react  upon  the  young  fish.  It  may  well  bo  that 
a  favorable  environment  depends  on  such  a  happy  combination  of  all  these  that  it 
is  necessarily  a  rare  event.  Study  of  the  composition  of  the  stock  of  fish  in  periods 
of  high  and  low  production  also  suggests  that  there  is  a  very  definite  correlation 
between  the  number  of  adult  mackerel  existing  in  the  sea  at  any  time  and  the 
success  with  which  they  breed,  years  of  great  production  always  falhng  when 
fish  are  both  scarce  and  average  very  large  and  when,  by  general  report,  they 
are  very  fat. 

We  believe  this  justifies  the  working  hypothesis  that  when  there  are  few  mack- 
erel in  the  sea  they  grow  fast,  go  into  the  wnter  in  excellent  condition,  and  hence 
are  able  to  produce  eggs  of  high  vitality  and  in  abimdance;  but  when  the  fish 
are  very  plentiful  they  so  deplete  the  food  supply  that  individually  they  do  not  fare 
as  well  during  the  feeding  period  of  late  summer  and  autumn.  Hence  they  neither 
grow  as  fast  nor  emerge  from  their  winter  quarters  in  as  good  physiological  con- 
dition in  spring,  and  under  such  circumstances  they  do  not  produce  as  many  eggs 
per  female,  fertilization  is  less  successful,  and  such  larva?,  as  hatch  are  not  as  strong. 

Food. — We  may  assume  that  the  diet  of  the  young  mackerel  is  at  first  much 
the  same  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  as  in  the  English  Channel,"  namely,  copepod  larvae 
and  eggs,  the  smaller  adult  copepods,  and  various  other  minute  pelagic  Crustacea 
and  small  fish  larvae.  As  the  young  fish  grow  they  depend  more  and  more  upon 
larger  prey.  Our  Gulf  of  Maine  mackerel  have  repeatedly  been  seen  packed  full 
of  Calanus,  the  "  red  feed  "  or  "  cayenne  "  of  fishermen,  as  well  as  with  other  copepods, 
so  often,  indeed  (we  have  examined  many  in  this  state),  that  it  would  be  tedious 
to  quote  individual  cases.  They  also  feed  as  greedily  on  euphausiid  shrimps, 
as  do  herring  (p.  103),  especially  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  Gulf  where  these 
crustaceans  come  to  the  surface  in  abundance.  Various  other  planktonic  animals 
also  enter  regularly  into  the  dietary  of  the  mackerel.  Thus,  Doctor  Kendall 
writes  in  his  field  notes  that  in  August,  1896,  he  found  some  of  the  fish  caught  on 
the  northern  part  of  Georges  Bank  packed  with  crab  larvae,  others  full  of  Sagittse, 
others,  again,  of  Sagittae  and  amphipods  (Euthemisto) ,  of  small  copepods  (Temora), 
or  of  "red  feed"  (Calanus),  so  that  even  fish  of  one  school  had  selected  the  various 
members  of  the  drifting  community  in  varying  proportion.  vSimilarly,  1,000 
mackerel  caught  near  Woods  Hole  from  June  to  August  contained  pelagic  amphi- 
pods  (Euthemisto),   copepods,  squid,   and   launce;*"  others  taken  off  No  Man's 

<s  Lebour  (Journal,  Marine  Biological  Association  of  the  United  Kingdom,  Vol.  XII,  New  Series,  No.  2,  1920,  p.  306)  gives 
diet  lists  for  90  larval  mackerel  ranging  from  5  to  13.5  mm.  in  length,  taken  in  the  English  Channel. 

*>  Nilsson  (Publications  de  Circonstance,  Cons6il  Perraanent  International  pour  I'Esploration  de  la  Mer,  No.  69,  1914) 
gives  a  similar  list  for  Swedish  waters. 


202  BULLETIN    OF    THE    BUREAU    OF   FISHEEIES 

Land  have  been  found  full  of  shelled  pteropods  (Limacina) ;  and  a  large  series  of 
small  fish  examined  by  Vinal  Edwards  contained  copepods,  slirimps,  crustacean 
and  moUuscan  larvae,  annelids,  appendiculai-ians,  squid,  fish  eggs,  and  fish  fry 
such  as  herring,  silversides,  and  launce.  In  short,  practically  all  the  larger  floating 
animals  except  the  Medusae  and  ctenophores  regularly  serve  for  the  nourishment 
of  mackerel,  and  a  diet  list  for  any  given  locality  would  include  all  the  local  pelagic 
Crustacea  and  their  larvae,  Sagittae,  pteropods,  etc. 

In  Swedish  waters  mackerel  feed  to  a  considerable  extent  on  the  younger 
stages  of  prawns  (Pandalus  and  Pasiphaea)  though  we  have  no  record  of  this  in 
the  Gulf  of  Maine.  They  have  often  been  seen  to  bite  the  centers  out  of  large 
Medusae,  but,  as  Nilsson  suggests,  they  probably  do  this  for  the  amphipods  (Hy- 
peria)  that  live  commensal  within  the  cavities  of  the  jellyfish,  not  for  the  sake  of 
the  latter.  Side  by  side  vdth  these  comparatively  large  objects  mackerel  are 
also  known  to  take  various  microscopic  organisms,  chiefly  the  commoner  peri- 
dinians  and  diatoms,  but  they  never  feed  extensively  on  these  as  menhaden  do 
(p.  123) .  Mackerel  also  eat  all  kinds  of  small  fish,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  accord- 
ing to  circumstances.  In  the  Gulf  of  Maine  they  devour  large  numbers  of  small 
herring,  launce,  and  even  smaller  mackerel.  They  likewise  feed  on  pelagic  fish 
eggs  when  available,  oftenest  on  those  of  their  own  species. 

In  the  British  Channel,  according  to  Allen, ^^  mackerel  turn  more  and  more 
to  a  fish  diet  as  the  summer  and  autumn  advance  and  the  young  fry  of  the  herring 
tribe  become  more  and  more  abundant.  This  does  not  apply  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine, 
however,  where  they  have  been  found  feeding  more  often  on  pelagic  Crustacea 
than  on  fish  throughout  the  season,  nor,  says  Nilsson,  to  Swedish  waters.  Probably, 
the  extent  to  which  mackerel  feed  on  fish  depends  entirely  on  the  local  supply. 
Nevertheless,  while  it  can  not  be  said  that  the  mackerel  feeds  more  on  fish  or  on 
any  other  given  prey  at  one  time  of  year  than  another  over  its  whole  range,  it  is 
fully  established  that  its  diet  varies  from  month  to  month,  as  is  indeed  inevitable 
because  of  the  seasonal  variations  in  the  pelagic  communities  both  of  plants  and 
of  animals  in  all  northern  seas.  No  precise  observations  have  yet  been  made  on 
this  phase  of  the  diet  of  the  mackerel  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

Mackerel  caught  in  the  English  Channel  and  examined  by  BuUen  had  fed 
indiscriminately  (by  filtration)  and  largely  on  unicellular  plants  in  March,  but  more 
and  more  on  animals,  and,  it  seems,  by  selection  as  the  spring  progressed.  Cope- 
pods  are  so  plentifvd  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  and  the  vegetable  plankton  swarming  in 
April  has  so  largely  disappeared  over  most  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  before  the  mackerel 
appear  in  spring,  that  we  doubt  if  they  are  ever  reduced  to  a  vegetable  diet  there 
or,  for  that  matter,  any^vhere  in  American  watei-s. 

Mackerel  are  also  known  to  feed  on  bottom  animals  to  a  small  extent.  Nilsson, 
for  example,  reports  various  worms  and  hydroids  and  even  small  stones  from  their 
stomachs,  but  aU  experience  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  is  to  the  effect  that  this  would  be 
quite  exceptional  there,  if  it  happens  at  all. 

'»  Journal ,  Marine  Biological  Association  of  the  United  Kingdom,  Vol.  V,  New  Series,  1897,  pp.  1-tO.    Plymouth. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  203 

It  would  be  very  interesting  to  test  by  histologic  examination  BuUen's  obser- 
vation that  the  kind  of  diet  influences  the  anatomic  condition  of  the  waUs  of  the 
stomach  of  the  mackerel,  these  being  very  thick  and  contracted  while  the  fish  are 
feeding  chiefly  on  vegetable  food  and  thin  and  distensible  while  they  are  feeding 
on  animal  food.  Until  this  subject  is  studied  afresh  we  can  only  say  that  Bullen's 
note  stands  alone. 

Most  authors  describe  the  mackerel  as  feeding  by  two  methods — either  filter- 
ing out  the  smaller  pelagic  organisms  from  the  water  by  the  gill  rakers  or  selecting 
the  individual  animals  by  sight — but  as  the  branchial  sieve  of  the  mackerel,  which 
has  long  rakers  on  the  foremost  gill  arch  only,  is  not  fine  enough  to  retain  the  smallest 
organisms  these  mostly  escape  by  passing  through,  just  as  copepods  escape  most  of 
the  whalebone  whales.  A  good  deal  of  discussion  has  centered  about  the  relative 
serviceability  to  the  mackerel  of  these  two  methods  of  feeding.  Probably  the 
truth  is  that  when  forced  to  subsist  on  the  smallest  articles  in  its  dietary  it  must 
do  so  by  sifting  them  out  of  the  water,  but  that  whenever  opportimity  offers  to 
exercise  its  sight  it  selects  the  more  desirable.  This  is  a  question  of  size,  nor  is  it 
yet  known  how  small  objects  the  fish  is  able  to  pick  out.  Fish,  of  course,  and  such 
large  Crustacea  as  euphausiid  shrimps  and  amphipods  it  takes  individually,  just 
as  the  herring  does.  Judging  from  the  fact  that  mackerel  stomachs  are  often  full 
of  Calanus  or  of  one  or  two  other  sorts  of  food  in  localities  where  indiscriminate 
feeding  would  yield  them  a  variety,  it  is  evident  that  this  also  applies  to  the-larger 
copepods.  Whether  they  select  the  smaller  copepods  and  crustacean  larviE  is  not 
so  clear.  Captain  Damant,''  whose  experience  in  deep-sea  diving  has  given  him 
an  exceptional  opportunity  to  observe  mackerel  feeding  under  natural  conditions, 
describes  fish  among  which  he  was  at  work  as  congregating  about  some  20  to  40 
feet  below  the  ship  anchored  in  Lough  Swilly  (Ireland)  and  "feeding  on  plankton, 
not  by  steadily  pumping  the  water  through  the  gill  filters  but  snatching  gulps 
from  dift'erent  directions     *     *     *     and  making  little  jumps  here  and  there." 

It  has  been  a  commonplace  from  the  earliest  days  of  the  mackerel  fisherj'  that 
the  fish,  fat  when  last  seen  in  the  autumn,  are  very  thin  when  they  reappear  in 
spring,  obviously  suggesting  that  they  feed  little  during  the  winter,  which  is  cor- 
roborated by  the  fact  that  the  mackerel  taken  on  bottom  by  British  and  French 
trawlers  between  December  and  March  are  almost  invariably  empty.  A  con- 
siderable body  of  evidence  has  been  gathered  in  European  waters  to  the  effect  that 
such  of  the  European  fish  as  are  old  enough  to  breed  continue  to  fast  after  coming 
in  on  the  coast  until  they  have  spawned,  when  they  commence  feeding  greedily. 
In  general  the  results  of  the  American  fishery,  while  it  was  carried  on  by  hook  and 
line,  corroborated  this  for  the  Jime  spawning  schools  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
region.  But  it  is  certain  in  American  waters  that  schools  that  are  destined  to  spawn 
late  in  the  season  feed  imtil  the  actual  ripening  of  their  sexual  products  commences, 
for  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  where  spawning  takes  place  in  July,  large  catches 
of  the  maturing  fish  were  regularly  made  in  June — in  fact,  imtil  the  eggs  began  to 
run.  These  large  mackerel  would  not  bite  thereafter  until  they  were  spawned 
out,  which  happens  by  the  last  haK  of  July  or  first  part  of  August. 

•'  Nature,  Vol.  CVIII,  Sept.-Dec,  192),  pp.  12-13.    London. 


204  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

It  is  a  question  whether  the  ripe  males  fast  as  rigorously  wloile  in  breeding 
condition  as  do  the  females,  for  Cunningham  ^^  reports  taking  ripe  ones  in  abundance 
on  hook  and  line,  but  no  females,  at  a  locality  where  gill  nets  were  yielding  ripe 
fish  of  both  sexes.  The  immature  fish  feed  from  the  time  they  appear  in  spring, 
and  the  spent  fish,  very  thin  from  their  effort  of  breeding,  at  once  commence  eating 
and  putting  on  fat,  until  by  autumn  they  are  in  the  best  of  condition  for  the  winter 
or  for  the  table. 

Enemies. — Due  to  its  habit  of  schooling  the  mackerel  falls  easy  prey  to  all 
the  larger  predaceous  sea  animals.  Whales,  porpoises,  mackerel  sharks,  threshers, 
dogfish,  tuna,  bonito,  and  bluefish  in  particular  take  heavy  toll.  Cod  often  eat 
small  mackerel,  squid  destroy  great  numbers  of  young  fish  less  than  4  or  5  inches 
long,  and  when  the  schools  are  on  the  surface  sea  birds  of  various  kinds  follow  and 
prey  upon  them.  A  considerable  hst  of  parasitic  worms,  both  round  and  trematode, 
are  known  to  infest  the  digestive  tract  of  mackerel,  but  so  far  as  actual  recorded 
observation  goes  they  seem  more  immune  to  dangers  from  sudden  unfavorable  changes 
in  their  environment  than  are  the  herring,  for  instance,  for  they  are  never  known 
to  be  killed  by  cold  and  seldom  strand. 

Rate  of  growth. — Although  mackerel  often  spawn  in  abundance  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine  practically  nothing  is  known  of  the  young  fish  there  until  they  are  about  2 
inches  long.  In  North  European  waters  mackerel  grow  to  a  length  of  about  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  within  a  few  weeks  after  hatching,  and  numbers  of  larvse  up  to 
this  size  have  been  taken  about  the  spawning  areas  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 
Small  mackerel  intermediate  between  these  and  fry  of  2  to  3  inches  have  seldom 
been  seen,  but  the  latter  have  been  taken  repeatedly  at  many  localities,  chiefly  in 
July  and  August,  and  as  they  are  the  smallest  sizes  so  far  reported  for  the  late 
smnmer  they  probably  represent  the  hatch  of  the  previous  May — that  is,  they 
are  about  3  months  old.  In  October  and  November  young  mackerel  of  5 H  to  8 
inches  are  taken  in  abundance  in  Swedish  and  British  waters,  but  it  is  not  clear 
whether  these  are  all  the  product  of  that  year's  hatch,  the  smaller  representing 
the  latest  and  the  larger  the  earhest  spawnings,  or  whether  two  year  classes  are 
concerned.''^ 

Such  notes  as  have  been  made  on  the  sizes  of  American  mackerel  at  different 
seasons  correspond  to  what  has  just  been  outlined  for  the  European  fish.  Thus 
Captain  Atwood  found  fry  of  2  inches  or  shorter  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region 
in  July,  about  a  month  after  the  local  schools,  assumed  to  be  their  parents,  had 
spawned  out,  and  we  have  seen  mackerel  of  IJ^^  to  2)4  inches,  obviously  spawned 
that  spring,  taken  at  Woods  Hole  during  the  fu'st  half  of  June.  Others  of  23-^  to  3 
inches  have  been  reported  there  in  July,^*  and  fry  of  2}^  to  3%  inches  along  the 
New  York  coast  during  that  same  month.^^ 

s'  Journal,  Marine  Biological  Association  of  the  United  Kingdom,  Vol.  II,  No.  Ill,  1892,  p.  232. 

"  Nilsson's  studies  (Cons4il  Permanent  International  pour  I'Exploration  de  la  Mer,  Publications  de  Circonstance  No.  69, 
1914)  led  him  to  the  former  view,  but  mackerel  scales  are  so  difficult  to  read  that  this  requires  confirmation. 

•<  Sherwood  and  Edwards,  1902. 

"  Bean  (The  food  and  game  flshes  of  New  York,  1903)  also  records  fry  of  3K  to  ZH  inches  from  Long  Island  as  early  as  May 
23,  1906,  but  since  mackerel  do  not  commence  spawning  there  imtil  that  month  it  is  hard  to  account  for  them. 


FISHES   OP   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  205 

In  the  GuU  of  Maine  June-hatched  larvae  probably  grow  to  about  3}<2  to  4J^ 
inches  by  the  end  of  the  summer,  fry  of  that  size  (obviously  of  the  same  season's 
crop  because  too  small  for  yearlings)  having  been  taken  at  Gloucester  in  August. 
It  is  thought  they  will  average  about  4  to  6  inches  in  autumn.  This  is  a  smaller 
size  than  they  are  usually  credited  with.  Captain  Atwood,  for  instance,  describes 
them  as  63^  to  7  inches  long  in  October,  and  there  may  be  considerable  variation 
in  the  length  attained  by  the  first  winter  according  as  particular  lots  of  eggs  are 
spawned  early  or  late,  and  to  the  supply  of  food.  But  however  this  may  be,  fish 
of  4}/^  to  7  inches,  which  can  only  be  yearlings  (too  small  to  be  older  and  too  large 
to  be  yoimger),  and  known  locally  as  "tacks,"  are  plentiful  along  the  coasts  of 
Massachusetts  and  Maine  in  May  and  June  in  the  occasional  years  when  there  is 
any  abundance  of  small  mackerel. 

The  subsequent  rate  of  growth  has  not  been  traced  in  as  satisfactory  a  way  for 
the  mackerel  as  for  some  other  fish,  neither  its  scales  nor  its  otohths  being  as  easy 
to  read  as  those  of  salmon,  herring,  cod,  etc.  It  is  generally  believed,  however, 
that  the  yearlings  grow  to  a  length  of  83^  to  11  inches  during  their  second  summer, 
which  is  corroborated  by  the  fact  that  the  small  ones  brought  in  to  the  Gloucester 
freezer  during  the  season  of  1922  averaged  only  about  6  inches  long  when  they  first 
appeared  on  the  coast  in  May  or  June,  but  grew  to  from  7  to  9  inches  by  the  end  of 
August  ^°  and  were  said  to  average  about  one-third  of  a  pound  to  half  a  pound  in  weight 
when  they  left  the  coast  in  autumn.  Nilsson's  scale  studies  point  to  8^  to  12  inches  as 
an  average  for  Swedish  mackerel  in  their  second  year,"  suggesting  a  somewhat  more 
rapid  growth  for  the  European  fish,  but  the  data  are  not  sufHciently  extensive  nor 
precise  for  the  American  stock  to  show  whether  such  a  difference  is  really  characteris- 
tic of  the  two  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  It  is  probable  that  all  American  mackerel  of 
13  inches  or  longer  are  in  their  third  summer  or  older.  Their  later  growth  has  not 
been  traced.  Presumably  they  parallel  their  European  relatives,  which,  according 
to  measurements  of  large  samples  combined  with  examination  of  scales  and  otoliths,  ^' 
average  about  12)^  inches  in  the  third  summer,  13  inches  the  fourth,  13J^  inches 
the  fifth,  and  anywhere  from  133-^  to  15  inches  in  their  sixth  smnmer,  slight 
departures  from  which  schedule  are  to  be  expected  on  the  part  of  the  American  fish 
due  to  differences  in  food  supply,  length  of  growing  season,  etc.  These  Em'opean 
data  suggest  that  our  largest  mackerel  (16  to  18  inches  long)  have  lived  through  at 
least  five  full  years,  probably  six,  and  possibly  seven  or  eight.  Thus  the  growth  of 
mackerel  is  very  rapid  for  the  first  two  or  three  years  and  very  slow  thereafter. 
This  slowing  down  is  probably  a  corollary  of  the  ripening  of  the  sexual  products, 
breeding  being  so  great  a  physiological  strain  that  the  fish  do  little  more  than 
recover  before  their  winter  stagnation  sets  in. 

Age  at  maturity. — Some  few  females  ripen  when  still  not  more  than  11  inches 
long;  most  of  them,  and  all  males,  at  12  to  13  inches.  From  this  it  seems  that  both 
American  and  European  mackerel  usually  breed  for  the  first  time  when  2  full  years 

"  We  owe  this  information  to  Captain  Thomas,  in  charge  of  the  freezer. 

"  He  does  not  mention  the  exact  seasons  at  which  the  fish  were  tafeen. 

"  Nilsson  (Publications  de  Cireonstance  No.  69,  Consfiil  Permanent  International  pour  I'Exploration  de  la  Mer,  Vol.  XVI, 
1914,  p.  26)  and  Ehrenbaum  (Rapports  et  Proces-Verbaui,  ConsSil  Permanent  International  pour  I'Exploration  de  la  Mer,  Vol. 
XIV,  1912). 


206 


BUUl^ETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU    OF   FISHERIES 


old  and  in  their  third  May,  June  or  July,  depending  on  whether  they  are  early  or 
late  spawners,  but  that  some  delay  until  a  year  older,  should  they  have  hatched  late 
in  the  season  or  have  growTi  slowly  because  of  unfavorable  surroundings  of  any  sort. 
Once  they  have  matured,  no  doubt  they  spawn  annually  throughout  life  as  do 
other  sea  fish. 

Proportions  of  the  sexes. — In  American  waters  males  have  usually  been  described 
as  predominating  largely  over  the  females,^'  but  as  there  seems  no  great  disparity 
between  the  sexes  off  Sweden  '°  this  point  calls  for  renewed  study. 

Breeding  Jialits. — Mackerel  spa\vn  off  the  American  coast  from  the  latitude  of 
Cape  Hatteras  to  the  GuK  of  St.  Lawrence;  but  although  both  ripe  and  spent  fish 
have  been  reported  from  the  southern  spring  fishery,  and  while  mackerel  have  long 
been  known  to  spawn  regularly  off  southern  New  England,  a  much  greater  produc- 
tion of  mackerel  eggs  takes  place  east  and  north  than  west  and  south  of  Cape  Cod, 
with  the  Gulf  of  St.  La^vrence  far  the  most  productive  nursery  for  this  fish.  The 
scanty  data  yet  available  point  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine  as  second  to  it  in  importance 
as  a  spawning  ground,  but  whether  mackerel  spawn  to  any  extent  off  the  outer 
coast  of  Nova  Scotia  is  still  to  be  learned. 

Spawning  season. — Spawning  mackerel  have  long  been  very  familiar  objects 
to  the  fishermen,  the  purse  seiners  often  taking  whole  schools  of  fish  in  that  state, 
and  it  is  now  well  established  that  all  mackerel  that  are  old  enough  to  breed  are 
close  to  sexual  m.aturity  when  they  come  to  the  surface  in  spring  or  early  summer 
(according  to  locality)."' 

In  the  Gulf  of  Maine  the  first  adult  fish  caught  are  usually  still  hard,  but 
they  are  soon  taken  with  the  eggs  or  milt  running.  The  last  half  of  May  and  the 
month  of  June  cover  the  height  of  the  spawning  season  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
region,  though  occasional  ripe  fish  are  taken  there  as  late  as  the  1st  of  August.  The 
mackerel  spawn  at  about  this  same  season  off  Casco  Bay,  where  the  largest  run  of 
spawning  fish  was  about  the  middle  of  June  in  1897,  with  the  proportion  of  spent 
fish  steadily  increasing  through  July,  which  may  be  taken  as  descriptiye  of  condi- 
tions over  the  Gulf  of  Maine  as  a  whole.  Our  own  mackerel-egg  records  are  con- 
sistent with  this,  the  earliest  being  for  May  6,  the  richest  in  June  as  listed  below,  in 
tow  net  hauls  at  different  localities  during  the  spawning  season  in  1915: 


Date 

Station 

Number 
of  eggs 
taken 

Date 

Station 

Number 
of  eggs 
taken 

May  6 

10270 

Few. 

30+ 

200+ 

6 

^+ 
Few. 

60+ 

August  7 __ 

10304 

2 

May  20 

10279 

August  10 

Off  Libby  Island 

10 

June  14 

10287 

20 

June  19 

10290 

August  24. 

6  miles  oa  Cape  Ann. 

10306      

1 

June  23 

10291 

3 

July?  . 

10300 

Do 

10307 

1 

10303 

10318 

1 

••  Smith.    Report,  V.  S.  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  1900  (1901),  p.  12S. 

"  Nilsson.  Publications  da  Oirconstance  No.  69,  Consfiil  Permanent  International  pour  I'Eiploration  de  la  Mer,  Vol.  XVI, 
1914. " 

•*  J.  P.  Moore  (1899)  gives  observations  on  the  seiual  state  of  the  fish  caught  off  Casco  Bay  in  1897  and  results  of  tow  nettings 
for  eggs. 


FISHES  OF  THE  GULF   OF   MAINE  207 

In  some  years,  however,  spa%viiing  is  not  at  its  height  until  July  (1882,  for  instance), 
and  ripe  fish  are  plentiful  until  August. 

Any  given  school  spawns  over  a  considerable  period,  the  fish  as  caught  being  in 
varjong  states — hard,  running,  or  spent.  So  far  as  we  can  learn,  however,  mackerel 
have  never  been  found  spawning  in  autumn,  though  early  in  November  of  1916  we 
towed  a  considerable  number  of  eggs  in  Massachusetts  Bay  which  so  closely  resem- 
bled mackerel  eggs  from  the  hatchery '-  (p.  208)  that  we  would  not  have  hesitated  to 
identify  them  as  such  had  they  been  taken  in  summer.  They  may  have  been  the 
product  of  a  belated  fish,  but  probably  of  some  other  Scombroid. 

In  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  the  spawning  season  is  at  its  height  during  the  last 
half  of  June  and  the  first  two  weeks  of  July,  continuing  into  August,  a  fact  well 
recognized  by  the  hook-and-line  fishermen  of  half  a  century  ago,  because  the  ripe  fish 
will  not  bite  at  that  time,  and  recently  corroborated  by  the  egg  catches  of  the 
Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition.'^ 

General  experience  is  that  ripe  mackerel  are  to  be  expected  wher«ver  large 
catches  are  made  in  the  appropriate  season — in  short,  that  its  spa^vning  range 
spreads  both  over  the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  and  over  its  offshore  banks 
as  well.  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  particular,  is  a  prolific  center  of  reproduction  in 
good  mackerel  years,  a  fact  long  known  and  oft  commented  upon  in  print.  There 
is  abundant  evidence,  too,  that  in  such  seasons  they  breed  very  generally  throughout 
the  coastal  zone  outside  the  outer  islands  on  the  Scotian  as  well  as  on  the  New 
England  side  of  the  gulf,  and  few  though  our  egg  records  are,  they  prove  that 
mackerel  spawn  over  deep  basins  as  well  as  in  the  comparatively  shoal  coastwise 
waters  to  which  the  cod,  haddock,  and  most  flat  fish  repair  for  breeding.  That 
Nantucket  Shoals,  Georges  Bank,  and  Browns  Bank,  like  the  Scotian  banks  to  the 
east,  are  also  the  sites  of  a  great  production  of  mackerel  eggs  is  proven  by  the  ripe 
fish  caught  there,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  they  ever  breed  outside 
the  continental  slope.  On  the  other  hand,  they  seldom  spawn  in  estuarine  situa- 
tions, though  known  to  do  so  on  rare  occasions.  This  probably  applies  even  to 
Casco  Bay,  for  although  of  old  this  was  thought  to  be  a  favorable  spawning  ground, 
actual  observations  in  1897,°*  a  year  when  mackerel  were  plentiful  outside,  proved 
that  no  eggs  were  being  produced  in  the  bay  and  that  only  rarely  did  any  enter  with 
onshore  winds.  Nor  is  it  likely  that  mackerel  breed  successfully  in  the  northern  side 
of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  where  neither  eggs  nor  larvae  have  been  taken,  but  some  pro- 
duction may  take  place  near  its  mouth  or  on  the  Scotian  side  for  Huntsman  reports 
eggs  at  the  mouth  of  the  Annapolis  River. 

Mackerel,  imlike  cod  or  haddock,  do  not  resort  to  any  particular  and  circiun- 
scribed  breeding  grounds,  but  shed  their  eggs  wherever  their  wandering  habits  have 
chanced  to  lead  them  when  the  sexual  products  ripen,  and  from  this  it  follows  that 
the  precise  localities  of  greatest  egg  production  vary  from  year  to  year,  depending 
on  the  local  concentrations  of  the  fish.     Thus,  the  Gulf  of  Maine  may  see  a  tremen- 

•'  The  oil  globule  averaged  very  slightly  larger— 0.3  to  0.35  mm.  as  against  0.25  to  0.3  mm. 
•>  Dannevig.    Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-16  (1919),  p.  8. 
"  J.  P.  Moore,  1899. 


208  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

dous  production  of  mackerel  eggs  or  practically  none  at  all,  corresponding  to  the 
fluctuations  in  the  stock  of  fish,  and  this  generalization  applies  equally  to  all  other 
parts  of  the  breeding  range.  In  this  respect  conditions  may  vary  widely  in  differ- 
ent regions  in  any  given  year.  In  1915,  for  example  (the  only  year  when  we  towed 
consistently  throughout  the  spawning  season) ,  small  egg  catches  combined  with  a 
poor  commercial  catch  of  adult  mackerel  (p.  199)  to  suggest  but  little  reproduction 
for  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  but  this  must  have  been  a  very  productive  year  in  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence,  judging  from  the  abundance  of  mackerel  eggs  the  Canadian  Fish- 
eries Expedition  found  there. 

Mackerel  spawn  over  a  wide  range  of  temperature  and,  schooling  and  spawning 
near  the  surface  as  they  often  do,  the  eggs  are  produced  in  temperatures  closer  to 
those  in  which  they  are  to  develop  than  are  the  eggs  of  most  ground  fish.  We 
have  foimd  odd  eggs  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  in  water  as  cold  as  about  39°  and  as  warm 
as  64°,  while  the  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition  towed  a  few  in  temperatures  as 
low  as  38.8°  and  40°  off  Halifax,  but  the  chief  production  takes  place  between  46° 
and  61°.  This  applies  equally  to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  where  Dannevig  records 
eggs  in  extremes  of  42.6°  and  61.7°,  but  where  it  seems  they  are  produced  in  greatest 
number  when  the  surface  water  is  between  46.5°  and  59°."^  Mackerel  spawn  in  the 
whole  range  of  salinity  proper  to  the  open  surface  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  in 
summer,  that  is,  from  about  31.9  per  cent  to  about  33  per  cent,  but  never  in  brack- 
ish water. 

The  mackerel  is  a  moderately  prolific  fish,  females  of  medium  size  producing 
360,000  to  450,000  eggs,  but  only  a  small  part  of  these  (40,000  to  50,000  on  the 
average)  are  spawned  at  any  one  time  (p.  207).     Mackerel  spawn  chiefly  at  night. 

The  egg  is  buoyant,  from  0.97  to  1.38  mm.  in  diameter,  and  with  one  large 
oil  globule.  A  large  series  of  Gulf  of  Maine  eggs  measured  by  Welsh  were 
about  1.1  to  1.2  mm.  in  diameter  with  an  oil  globule  of  0.3  mm.  At  a  temperature 
of  60  to  62°,  incubation  occupies  about  96  hours;  about  120  hours  at  55°  in  the 
hatchery.  Newly  hatched  larvae  are  3.1  to  3.3  mm.  long  with  very  large  yolk  sac 
and  numerous  black  pigment  cells  scattered  over  head,  trunk,  and  oil  globule.  By 
the  time  the  larva  is  6  mm.  long  the  yolk  has  been  resorbed,  the  mouth  is  formed, 
and  the  teeth  are  to  be  seen.  The  eye  is  very  large  and  the  first  traces  of  the  caudal 
fin  rays  have  formed.  The  rays  of  the  second  dorsal  and  anal  fins  and  the  vcntrals 
appear  at  about  9  mm.;  the  first  dorsal  when  the  larva  is  about  14  to  15  mm.  long. 
In  fry  of  22  mm.  the  dorsal  and  anal  finlets  are  distinguishable  as  such  and  the 
tail  has  begun  to  assume  the  characteristic  lunate  form,  but  the  head  and  eye  are 
still  much  larger,  the  nose  blunter,  and  the  teeth  longer  than  in  the  adult.  At 
50  mm.  the  little  mackerel  resemble  their  parents  so  closely  that  their  identity  as 
such  is  clearly  apparent. 

"  Dannevig  does  not  list  the  temperatures  for  the  rich  egg  catches. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  209 

75.  Chub  mackerel  {Pneumatophorus  colias  Gmelin) '" 
Hardhead;  Bullseye;  Spanish  mackerel 

Jordan  and  Evermann  {Scomber  colias),  1896-1900,  p.  866. 

Description. — So  closely  does  the  "  hardhead  "  (by  which  name  it  is  commonly 
known  to  fishermen)  resemble  the  common  mackerel  that  we  need  mention  only 
the  points  of  difference.  Most  important  of  these,  anatomically,  is  the  fact  that 
P.  colias  has  a  well-developed  swim  bladder  connected  with  the  esophagus,  which 
the  mackerel  lacks;  but  it  is  not  necessary  to  open  the  fish  to  identify  it  for  there 
is  a  characteristic  color  difference  between  the  two,  mackerel  being  silvery-sided 
below  the  median  Hne,  whereas  the  lower  sides  of  the  hardhead — otherwise  colored 
like  the  mackerel — are  mottled  with  small  dusky  blotches.  Less  obvious  differ- 
ences|are  that  the  dorsal  fins  are  closer  together  in  the  hardhead  and  that  there 
are  only  9  to  10  spines  in  its  first  dorsal  fin  instead  of  11  or  more,  as  in  the  mackerel. 

Size. — This  is  a  smaller  fish  than  its  better-known  relative,  growing  to  a  length 
of  about  8  to  14  inches  only. 

General  range. — Temperate  Atlantic  Ocean,  north  to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,"' 
and  to  England.  It  is  represented  in  the  Pacific  by  a  close  ally — Pneumatophorus 
japonicus."^ 


&W'M  ;V'^^-: 


^4 

rv 


Fig.  94.— Chub  mackerel  ^Pneumatophorus  colias) 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Goode,  ct  al.  (1884),  long  ago  summarized 
the  peculiar  history  of  the  chub  mackerel  in  our  waters,  which  briefly  is  as  follows: 

It  was  tremendously  abundant  during  the  last  of  the  eighteenth  century  and 
early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  down  to  1820-1830,  but  it  practically 
disappeared  from  the  United  States  coast  some  time  between  1840  and  1850.  It  is 
interesting  to  note,  as  Captain  Atwood  pointed  out,  that  destructive  methods  of 
fishing  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  case,  since  its  disappearance  antedated  the  in- 
troduction of  traps,  pounds,  or  purse  seines,  and  similarly  antedated  the  reappear- 
ance of  the  biuefish  (p.  239),  and  hence  can  not  be  blamed  on  these  sea  pirates. 
So  completely,  indeed,  did  the  hardheads  vanish  that  for  10  years  prior  to  1879 

"  This  genus  is  separated  from  Scomber  by  the  possession  of  a  well-developed  swim  bladder  which  the  true  mackerel  lacks 
(see  Starks,  Science,  new  series,  Vol.  LIV,  1921,  p.  223). 

•'  Schmitt  (Monographie  de  I'isle  de  Anticosti,  1904,  p.  285,  Paris)  credits  it  with  "apparitions  irri5guli6res "  at  Anticosti. 
M  For  the  distinctions  between  the  two  see  Starks  (Copeia,  No.  103,  February,  1922,  pp.  9-11). 


210  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

the  Smithsonian  Institution  tried  in  vain  to  secure  a  single  specimen.  In  the 
summer  of  1879,  however,  a  school  was  taken  in  the  weirs  at  Provincetown  (where, 
as  it  chanced,  representatives  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  were  stationed  at  the 
time),  and  although  none  were  seen  in  1880  the  fish  was  not  uncommon  off  the 
coast  of  New  York  in  1886.  We  find  no  definite  record  of  its  status  during  the  next 
decade.  In  1896,  however,  according  to  Bean  (1903),  it  abounded  along  the  shores 
of  New  York,  running  up  little  creeks  in  such  munbers  that  it  was  dipped  in  boat 
loads.  During  that  August  '"  "hardheads"  were  taken  singly  and  in  schools  by  the 
mackerel  fleet  on  Georges  Bank,  while  many  were  caught  on  hook  and  line  from 
the  Grampus  in  Block  Island  Sound  during  the  first  week  of  September.  In  1898 
Kendall  found  it  at  Monomoy,  the  southerly  elbow  of  Cape  Cod,  and  it  was  then 
sufficiently  reestablished  for  Smith  (1898)  to  describe  it  as  uncommon  to  abun- 
dant at  Woods  Hole.  It  then  dropped  out  of  the  published  record  (it  is  not  sep- 
arated from  the  common  mackerel  in  the  fishery  returns)  until  1900,  when  it  vras 
found  in  the  Casco  Bay  region.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  fish  ap- 
peared anywhere  on  our  coasts  in  any  numbers  during  the  period  1898  to  1906, 
but  in  the  latter  year  and  again  in  1908  an  abundance  was  taken  in  the  traps  near 
Woods  Hole,  and  in  1909  the  mackerel  fleet  encountered  great  schools  of  hard- 
heads on  Georges  Bank,  vessels  bringing  in  50,000  to  100,000  each  during  the  first 
week  of  July.'"  The  fact  that  these  were  all  small  (500  to  700  to  the  barrel)  sug- 
gests that  there  had  been  a  great  production  of  hardheads  a  year  or  two  previous. 
Since  that  time  fishermen  speak  of  catching  a  few  from  time  to  time,  but  no  great 
numbers. 

The  hardhead  is  distinctly  a  more  southern  fish  than  the  mackerel,  with  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  as  its  northern  limit  and  Georges  Bank  apparently  its  eastern  bound 
oil  the  American  coast.  We  find  no  record  of  it  within  the  Gulf  of  Maine  east  of 
the  neighborhood  of  Casco  Bay,  it  being  unkiio\vn  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  nor  does  it 
seem  to  reach  the  west  Nova  Scotian  coast.  In  its  rare  years  of  plenty,  hoM'ever, 
it  is  apt  to  appear  wherever  mackerel  do  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  especially  about 
Provincetown,  and  Capt.  E.  E.  Merchant,  an  old  and  observant  fisherman,  described 
them  as  so  abundant  from  1812  to  1820  that  three  men  and  a  boy  could  catch  3,000 
in  a  day  on  hook  and  line.  The  other  definite  Gulf  of  Maine  records  are  mostly 
about  Casco  Bay. 

Habits. — Hardheads  school  like  mackerel,  and  their  feeding  habits  are  evidently 
the  same,  for  Doctor  Kendall  found  the  fish  on  Georges  Bank  in  August,  1896,  full 
of  the  same  species  of  pelagic  Crustacea  and  Sagittffi  as  the  mackerel  had  taken  at 
the  same  time  and  place,  while  specimens  taken  at  Woods  Hole  had  dieted  chiefly 
on  copepods,  to  a  less  extent  on  ampliipods,  Salpaj,  appendicularians,  and  young 
herring.  They  follow  thrown  bait  as  readily  and  bite  quite  as  greedily  as  mack- 
erel do.     Its  breeding  habits  have  not  boon  followed. 

Commercial  importance. — -The  chub  mackerel  is  as  choice  a  table  fish  as  the 
mackerel,  and  no  distinction,  other  than  that  of  the  size  of  the  individual  fish,  is 
made  between  them  in  the  market. 

»•  Field  notes  supplied  by  Dr.  W.  C.  Kendall. 
'•  Boston  Herald,  July  9,  1919. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  211 

76.  Striped  bonito  (Gymnosarda  pelamis  Linnaeus) 
Oceanic  bonito 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  868. 

Description. — This  bonito  is  separable  at  a  glance  from  the  mackerel  by  its 
much  stouter  and  more  robust  form,  it  being  one-fourth  as  deep  as  long,  though 
similarly  fusiform  and  tapering  to  pointed  snout  and  slender  caudal  peduncle,  and 
by  the  fact  that  its  dorsal  fins  are  practically  contiguous.  The  concave  outline  of 
the  first  dorsal  marks  it  off  from  the  Spanish  mackerel  (p.  217),  common  bonito 
(p.  215),  and  tuna  (p.  212),  which  resemble  it  in  the  close  apposition  of  the  two  dor- 
sals. More  diagnostic,  however,  is  the  fact  that  the  striped  bonito  has  no  body 
scales  except  for  a  very  prominent  "corselet"  on  the  forward  and  upper  part  of  the 
trunk,  wliich  is  outlined  in  the  illustration  (fig.  95).  The  fact  that  the  lateral  line 
curves  downward  suddenly  below  the  second  dorsal  separates  it  from  its  genus  mate, 
the  "little  tunny"  (G.  cdleterata),  a  fish  to  be  expected,  though  not  yet  actually  re- 
corded, in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 


Fig.  95.— Striped  bonito  (Gymnosarda  pdamis).    After  Schmidt 

The  first  dorsal  (about  15  spines)  is  not  only  much  longer  than  that  of  the  mack- 
erel, but  of  rather  diagnostic  form,  being  abruptly  concave  behind  the  second  spine 
with  the  last  9  or  10  spines  much  shorter.  Almost  the  whole  of  the  second  dorsal, 
triangular  in  form  but  with  concave  rear  margin,  stands  in  front  of  the  anal,  which 
about  equals  it  in  size  and  is  of  similar  outline.  There  are  about  8  little  finlets 
behind  the  second  dorsal,  and  7  behind  the  anal.  The  pectoral  is  of  moderate  size, 
reaching  back  only  about  midway  of  the  first  dorsal.  The  tail  fin  is  very  short  but 
broad  and  lunate  in  outline,  and  there  is  a  conspicuous  median  keel  on  either  side 
of  the  caudal  peduncle. 

Color. — Deep  steel  blue  above,  with  lower  sides,  throat,  and  belly  shining  white. 
Each  side  is  barred  behind  the  corselet  with  4  to  6  longitudinal  blue  or  brown  stripes, 
the  upper  ones  terminating  at  their  intersection  with  the  lateral  line,  the  lower  .3 
or  4  fading  out  as  they  near  the  caudal  peduncle." 

"  Tlio  number  of  stripes  is  variable  in  diflerent  regions,  for  whereas  American  fish  usually  show  4  only,  7  have  been  described 
in  Japanese  specimens,  while  in  the  European  bonito  there  are  usually  4  and  sometimes  5  or  6  on  each  side. 


212 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 


Size. — This  bonito  grows  to  a  length  of  about  30  inches. 

General  range. — Warmer  parts  of  all  the  great  oceans — Atlantic,  Pacific,  and 
Indian. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — A  single  specimen  obtained  at  Provincetown 
in  1S80  by  J.  Henry  Blake  is  the  only  record  for  this  oceanic  fish  in  the  Gulf.  It 
sometimes  appears  in  numbers  about  Woods  Hole,  where  2,000  to  3,000  were 
taken  in  1878,  but  where  it  did  not  show  again  until  October,  1905.'- 

77.  Tuna  {Thvnnus  thynnus  hmnmus,) 
Horse-mackerel;  Great  albacore;   Tunny;  Albacore 


Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  870. 

Description. — The  two  dorsal  fins  of  the  tuna  are  practically  continuous — a  ciiar- 
acter,  with  the  large  number  of  finlets,  sufficient  in  itself  to  separate  a  small  one 
from  the  true  mackerels.  It  is  readily  separable  from  the  striped  bonito  and  little 
tunny  by  the  fact  that  the  entire  trunk,  including  the  belly,  is  scaly,  and  from  the 


Fig.  90.— Tuna  (  Tliunnus  thynnus).    After  Schmidt 

common  bonito  (p.  215)  by  the  height  and  outline  of  its  second  dorsal  and  anal  fins 
as  well  as  by  the  small  size  of  its  jaw  teeth,  and  by  the  fact  that  its  vomer  (on  the 
midline  of  the  roof  of  the  mouth)  is  armed  with  hairlike  teeth.  The  tuna  is  shaped 
like  a  bonito  rather  than  a  mackerel,  with  robust  body,  about  one-fourth  as  deep 
and  one-sixth  as  thick  as  long,  tapering  to  pointed  nose  and  very  slender  caudal 
peduncle  which  bears  a  strong  median  longitudinal  keel  on  either  side.  The  first 
dorsal  (13  or  14  spines),  originating  just  behind  the  axil  of  the  pectoral,  is  triangular, 
tapering  regularly  backward  from  its  first  spine  and  with  the  last  spine  very  short 
indeed.  The  second  dorsal  (about  13  rays)  is  almost  confluent  with  the  first — 
slightly  lower  than  the  latter  in  young  and  higher  in  old  fish.  It  is  much  liigher 
than  long,  falcate,  deeply  concave  behind,  and  its  angle  sharp  pointed.  The  anal 
originates  under  the  rear  end  of  the  second  dorsal  to  which  it  is  similar  in  outline 
and  size  (about  12  rays).     There  arc  usually  9  or  10  dorsal  and  S  or  9  ventral  finlets 

"  Tie  little  tunny  or  bonito,  Gymnosarda  atteterata,  is  much  commoner  in  the  Woods  Hole  region,  appearing  regularly  in  July 
and  August,  and  is  more  apt  to  be  caught  in  the  Oulf  of  Maine  than  is  the  striped  bonito,  though  not  actually  recorded  there. 
It  is  separable  from  the  latter  by  the  fact  that  its  lower  sides  are  plain  silver  without  the  stripes  of  the  striped  bonito:  that  the  hind 
part  of  its  back  is  marked  with  wavy  bands  and  spots,  whereas  in  the  latter  it  is  plain;  that  its  lateral  line  is  not  curved  below  the 
second  dorsal;  and  that  its  anal  fin  originates  farther  back,  under  the  first  dorsal  finlet. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    0*    MAINE  213 

behind  the  second  dorsal  and  the  anal  fins.  The  tail  fin  is  much  broader  than  long, 
its  margin  deeply  limate,  its  two  lobes  sharp  pointed,  just  as  it  is  in  the  bonitos. 
The  pectoral  and  ventral  fins  are  of  moderate  size,  the  former  scimitar-shaped  and 
much  longer  than  broad. 

Color. — The  back  is  dark  lustrous  steel  blue  or  nearly  black,  with  gray  or  green 
reflections;  the  cheeks  silver;  the  sides  and  belly  silvery  gray,  often  with  large  silvery 
spots  and  bands,  and  iridescent  with  pink.  The  first  dorsal  is  dusky  to  blackish; 
the  second  dusky  to  reddish  brown;  the  dorsal  finlets  yellow  with  dark  edgings. 
The  anal  fin  is  silvery  gray;  the  anal  finlets  the  same,  or  yellow;  the  caudal  dusky 
but  more  or  less  silvery;  the  ventrals  and  pectorals  blackish  above  and  silvery 
gray  below." 

Size. — This  is  the  largest  Gulf  of  Maine  fish,  except  some  sharks.  It  is  said 
to  reach  a  length  of  14  feet  or  more,  and  a  weight  of  1,600  pounds,'*  with  fish  of 
1,000  pounds  not  uncommon.  But  few  of  the  largest  have  actually  been  Meighed 
as  taken  from  the  water,  and  although  monsters  are  not  unheard  of,  the  heaviest 
Rhode  Island  fish  on  record  weighed  only  750  pounds."  In  the  Mediterranean, 
where  tuna  are  far  more  plentiful  than  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  but  run  smaller,  a  500- 
pound  fish  is  a  giant,  and  this  is  equally  true  off  the  California  coast. 

General  range. — Warmer  parts  of  the  Atlantic  (including  the  Mediterranean) 
and  Pacific;  north  to  Newfoundland  on  the  east  coast  of  America. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Although  every  fisherman  knows  the  "horse 
mackerel,"  and  although  this  great  fish  visits  all  parts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  we  know 
little  more  of  its  comings  and  goings  there  than  when  Storer  called  attention  to  its 
abundance  about  Provincctown  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago.  Rarity  is  not  to 
blame  for  this — it  is  common  enough — but  the  fact  that  little  attention  has  been 
paid  to  it  for  want  of  market  value.  It  is  a  yearly  visitor  to  the  Gulf,  appearing 
in  June  and  remaining  throughout  the  summer,  to  disappear  in  October. 

Food  and  habits. — Tuna  prey  on  smaller  fishes,  particularly  on  menhaden  and 
mackerel,  of  which  they  are  often  full.  The}^  also  destroy  great  quantities  of  herring 
and  have  been  known  to  swallow  whole  dogfish  as  large  as  8  pounds.  They  feed,  in 
fact,  on  all  the  smaller  schoohng  fishes,  the  particular  species  depending  on  the 
local  supply,  and  also  on  squid.  It  is  not  unusual  for  horse  mackerel  to  strand — 
probably  in  pursuit  of  prey.  Though  so  voracious  the  tuna  is  proverbially  a  timid 
fish  and  easily  frightened.  Like  all  its  relatives  it  is  a  schooling  fish,  and  due  to  its 
habit  of  leaping  even  a  few  are  apt  to  be  noticed. 

The  local  distribution  of  tuna  within  the  gulf  is  no  doubt  governed  by  that  of 
the  fish  on  which  it  preys.  The  entrance  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  on  the  Cape  Cod 
side,  has  long  been  known  as  a  resort  of  "horse  mackerel, "'°  and  from  time  to  time 
tuna  are  seen  all  around  the  shores  of  the  bay — for  that  matter  along  the  whole 
western  and  northern  coast  line  of  the  Gulf — and  they  have  been  recorded  from 
various  localities  in  Maine.     The  region  centering  at  Casco  Bay  has  been  reported 

"  The  foregoing  description  of  the  color  is  based  on  accounts  of  freshly  caught  tuna  by  Storer  (1863-1867)  and  by  Nichols 
(Copeia,  No.  Ill,  Oct.  20,  1922,  pp.  73-74);  and  on  fish  we  have  ourselves  seen. 

"  A  fish  of  this  size  was  reported  in  the  Boston  Transcript  for  July  20,  1923,  as  recently  taken  at  Manasquan,  N.  J. 

■'  Tracy,  1910,  p.  103. 

'fl  Many  years  ago  Captain  .\twood  spoke  of  seeing  as  many  as  50  in  a  day  there. 


214  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

a  favorable  ground  for  horse  mackerel,  and  they  appear  fairly  regularly  every 
summer  along  the  Scotian  side  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  near  its  mouth;  less  often  on  the 
New  Brunswack  side.  Tuna  are  also  to  be  had  off  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia, 
and  fishermen  often  report  them  on  Georges  and  Browns  Banks.  Various  bays  on 
the  south  shore  of  Nova  Scotia  and  about  Cape  Breton  to  the  east,  and  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Block  Island  to  the  west  of  the  limits  of  the  Gulf,  are  well-kno^Ti  centers 
of  abundance  for  these  great  fish  every  simimer,  where  more  are  seen  than  any- 
where in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  The  following  statistics  of  the  catch  of  the  shore 
fisheries  for  1919  (a  representative  year)  will  illustrate  the  local  distribution  of 
tuna  around  the  coast  line  of  the  Gulf: 

Nova  Scotia:  Number  of  pounds 

Yarmouth  County 20,400 

Digby  County 4,000 

Maine: 

Cumberland  County  (neighborhood  of  Casco  Bay) 4,  645 

Hancock  County 

Kennebec  County 

Knox  County 

Lincoln  County 17,  300 

Sagadahoc  County 5,  875 

Waldo  County 

Washington  County 

York  County 

Massachusetts: 

Barnstable  County  (chiefly  Cape  Cod  Bay) 37,  048 

Essex  County 5,000 

Plymouth  County 

Total 94,268 

Assuming  an  average  weight  of  200  pounds  (probably  too  little)  this  would  be  about 
450  fish. 

No  definite  information  is  available  as  to  the  annual  fluctuations  of  the  tuna, 
but  fishermen  are  well  aware  that  its  local  nmnbers  in  any  part  of  the  Gulf  vary 
widely  from  year  to  year,  and  it  is  on  record  that  tuna  were  s.carce  in  Ma3sachu- 
setts  Bay  for  two  or  three  years  prior  to  1904,  but  so  abundant  during  that 
summer  that  the  market  was  glutted  with  them. 

The  fish  that  visit  us  are  mostly  large.  We  have  never  heard  of  a  single  young 
one  of  less  than,  say,  20  pounds,  taken  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  but  a  small  tuna 
might  easily  be  confused  with  the  common  bonito  and  reported  as  such.  Further- 
more, although  the  Gulf  of  Maine  tuna  are  of  breeding  age,  no  ripe  fish  have  ever 
been  seen  off  the  New  England  or  Canadian  coasts. 

The  winter  home  of  the  tuna,  which  summer  ofi"  eastern  North  America,  is 
unknown.  Probably  they  pass  the  cold  season  in  deep  water,  as  do  the  tuna  of 
the  Mediterranean,  but  whether  they  merely  repair  to  the  continental  slope,  or 
how  much  farther  afield  they  wander  into  the  Atlantic  Basin,  is  still  to  be  learned. 
We  are  equally  in  the  dark  as  to  whether  the  large  fish  seen  in  the  Gulf  and  along 
the  Nova  Scotian  coast  are  spent  (having  spawned  in  spring  perhaps  hundreds  or 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  215 

even  thousands  of  miles  away)  and  visit  our  waters  on  a  feeding  migration  to 
fatten  after  the  strain  of  reproduction,  as  is  probably  true  of  the  swordfish  (p.  225), 
or  whether  they  actually  spawn  in  our  waters  or  near  by,  ripe  fish  having  been  over- 
looked there.  In  fact,  nothing  definite  is  known  of  the  breeding  of  the  tuna.  In 
European  waters  it  is  supposed  to  spawn  in  summer.  Presumably  its  eggs  are 
pelagic,  though  never  actually  described,  nor  have  its  young  fry  been  identified. 

Growth  is  probably  very  rapid,  for  young  of  the  year  are  said  to  weigh  30 
ounces  in  October  in  Eiu"opean  waters.  However,  no  attempt  has  been  made  to 
determine  the  age  of  the  large  fish. 

Commercial  importance. — The  tima  is  highly  prized  as  a  food  fish  in  the 
Mediterranean  and  in  California.  On  the  Atlantic  coast,  however,  they  have  only 
recently  been  salable,  and  they  were  formerly  regarded  only  as  a  nuisance,  for 
bands  of  them  make  trouble  for  fishermen  by  following  mackerel  or  herring  into 
the  weirs  and  pounds  to  tear  their  way  out  again  right  through  the  nets  unless 
harpooned.  It  is  recorded  that  30  very  large  ones  were  killed  in  a  day  in  one  net 
near  Gloucester.  Many  years  ago,  when  fish  oil  was  more  valuable  than  now,  a 
few  were  sometimes  harpooned  for  oil,  which  was  tried  out  of  the  heads  and  bellies, 
but  there  was  no  demand  for  the  meat.  Within  the  last  few  years,  however,  it  has 
proved  worth  while  to  bring  in  the  few  accidentally  caught  rather  than  to  leave 
them  to  rot.  The  Gulf  has  yet  to  see  any  organized  tuna  fishery,  however,  nor  is 
it  likely  that  this  fish  is  there  in  sufficient  abundance  to  support  one. 

The  sporting  possibilities  of  the  tuna  deserve  a  word,  for  anglers,  spurred 
on  by  the  wonderful  tuna  fishing  on  the  southern  coast  of  California,  have  attacked 
this  huge  fish  with  light  tackle  at  various  points  in  New  England  and  Nova  Scotia, 
and  with  considerable  success,  for  the  tuna  bites  freely  on  trolled  bait  of  herring 
or  other  silvery  fish.  I  have  even  known  a  Massachusetts  Bay  tuna  to  take  a 
cod  hook,  going  away  with  fine  and  all,  though  it  is  unusual  for  them  to  bite  a 
"dead"  bait.  Some  of  the  smaller  fish  up  to  125  pounds  or  so  have  been  landed, 
particularly  off  Block  Island  and  in  the  bays  along  the  southeastern  coast  of  Nova 
Scotia.  A  Dr.  L.  D.  Mitchill  landed  one  10  feet  4  inches  long  and  weighing  710 
pounds  at  Port  Medway,  Nova  Scotia,"  but  no  one,  we  believe,  has  yet  succeeded 
in  subduing  a  really  large  tuna  on  rod  and  reel. 

78.  Common  bonito  {Sarda  sarda  Bloch) 

BoNiTo;  Skipjack;  Horse  mackerel 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  872. 

Description.— This  bonito  is  shaped  much  like  a  small  tuna,  being  thick  and 
stout  bodied,  about  one-fourth  as  deep  as  long  (not  coimting  caudal  fin),  and 
similarly  tapering  to  pointed  snout  and  slender  caudal  peduncle.  It  is  timalike, 
also,  in  that  its  body  is  scaled  all  over,  its  caudal  peduncle  bears  median  lateral 
keels,  and  its  dorsal  fina  are  so  close  together  as  to  be  practically  confluent,  but 
the  shape  of  its  fins  distinguishes  it  at  a  glance  from  a  small  tuna,  the  only  Gulf 

"  This  record  capture  has  been  mentioned  repeatedly  in  the  sportsmen's  journals,  "Field  and  Stream"  and  "Forest  and 

Stream." 


216  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

of  Maine  fish  with  which  it  is  apt  to  be  confused/'  its  first  dorsal  being  relatively 
much  longer  than  that  of  the  tuna  (about  one-third  as  long  as  the  body,  not  counting 
the  caudal,  and  with  about  21  spines),  and,  what  catches  the  eye  more,  its  second 
dorsal  is  hardly  more  than  half  as  high  as  the  first  and  much  longer  than  high, 
whereas  in  the  tuna  it  is  as  high  or  higher  than  the  first  and  much  higher  than 
long.  Its  mouth,  too,  is  relatively  larger  than  that  of  the  tuna,  gaping  back  as 
far  as  the  hind  margin  of  the  eye,  and  its  jaw  teeth  are  larger,  with  the  two  to  four 
in  the  front  of  the  lower  jaw  noticeably  larger  than  the  rest. 

We  need  only  note  further  that  its  firet  dorsal  is  triangular,  tapering  regularly 
backward,  its  outline  only  slightly  concave;  that  the  margins  of  the  second  dorsal 
and  anal  are  both  deeply  concave;  that  there  are  7  or  8  dorsal  and  7  anal  finlets; 
that  the  tail  fin  is  lunate,  much  broader  than  long ;  and  that  the  lateral  line,  though 
wavy,  is  not  deeply  bowed  below  the  second  dorsal. 

Color. — The  color  of  this  bonito  is  so  distinctive  as  to  afford  a  ready  field  mark 
to  its  identity,  for  while  it  is  steely  blue  above  with  silvery  lower  side  and  abdomen, 
like  most  mackerels,  its  upper  sides  are  barred  with  7  to  20  narrow  dark  bluish 


Fig.  97.— Bonito  {Sarda  sarda).    After  Schmidt 

bands  running  obliquely  downward  and  forward  across  the  lateral  line.  While 
young  the  back  is  transvei-sely  barred  with  10  to  12  dark  blue  stripes,  but  these 
dark  bars  usually  disappear  before  maturity. 

Size. — This  bonito  grows  to  a  length  of  about  23  to  30  inches  and  a  weight  of 
10  to  12  pounds. 

General  range. — Warmer  parts  of  the  Atlantic,  including  the  Mediterranean; 
north  to  Maine  on  the  American  coast  and  to  Scandinavia  on  the  European  coast. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Cape  Ann  is  the  northern  limit  to  the  regular 
occurrence  of  the  bonito,  and  while  it  has  been  taken  occasionally  in  Casco  Bay 
there  is  no  definite  record  of  it  east  of  this  on  the  coast  of  Maine,  in  the  Bay  of 
.Fundy,  or  along  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  this  limitation  to  the  southern 
haK  of  the  Gulf  appears  very  clearly  in  the  location  of  the  commercial  catches.  In 
1919,  for  example,  pound  nets,  traps,  etc.,  accounted  for  almost  34,000  pounds  in 
Cape  Cod  Bay,  but  only  90  pounds  about  Cape  Ann,  while  the  entire  catch  landed 
in  the  fishing  ports  of  Maine  was  only  4  or  5  fish  (44  pounds).  The  catch  was 
slightly  less  than  this  in  1889  (about  30,000  pounds),  and  in  1902  (11,200  pounds), 
say  100  to  300  fish  yearly."     Bonito  may  have  been  more  numerous  in  Massachu- 

"  No  one  should  take  a  bonito  for  a  large  mackerel,  its  dorsal  fins  being  close  together,  while  those  of  the  mackerel  are  far 
apart. 

"  The  annual  reports  of  the  Massachusetts  commissioners  contain  statistics  of  the  catches  in  weirs,  etc.,  by  towns. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  217 

setts  Bay  during  the  seventies  of  the  past  century,  however  (a  period  of  great  plenty 
off  southern  New  England),  73  having  been  taken  in  one  day  in  August,  1876,  in  a 
weir  near  Gloucester,  and  probably  they  are  far  more  plentiful  out  at  sea  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  Gulf  than  these  meager  returns  would  suggest,  as  might  be 
expected  of  an  oceanic  fish  that  comes  inshore  only  in  pursuit  of  prey,  for  fishermen 
often  mention  schools  of  them.  In  August,  1896,  for  instance,  Capt.  Solomon 
Jacobs  reported  them  as  very  plentiful  in  the  deep  water  to  the  northward  of  Georges 
Bank,  and  we  ourselves  have  more  than  once  seen  schools  of  large  Scombroids, 
probably  bonito,  ofi^  Cape  Cod  in  August.  The  bonito  is  more  regular  in  its  occur- 
rence west  and  south  of  the  cape,  being  common  at  Woods  Hole  and  especially  off 
Marthas  Vineyard,  where  123,000  pounds  were  marketed  in  1902. 

Habits. — The  bonito,  like  all  its  tribe,  is  a  strong,  swift,  predaceous  inhabitant 
of  the  open  sea,  traveling  in  schools,  preying  upon  mackerel,  alewives,  menhaden, 
and  other  smaller  fish  such  as  launce  and  silversides,  and  also  upon  squid.  They 
are  very  apt  to  be  noticed,  for  they  jump  a  great  deal  when  in  pursuit  of  their  prey. 

It  is  not  likely  that  it  ever  spawns  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  nor  does  it  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  its  European  range.     For  that  matter,  nothing  is  known  of  its  spawning 


^J-Oav 


Fig.  98. — Spanish  mackerel  (Scomberomorus  maculatus) 


habits  anywhere,  though  presumably  its  eggs  are  buoyant  like  those  of  other  Scom- 
broids, nor  has  its  rate  of  growth  been  studied. 

Commercial  importance. — The  bonito  is  usually  considered  a  good  food  fish. 
It  readily  bites  a  bait  trolled  from  a  moving  boat  and  a  good  many  are  so  caught 
off  Block  Island,  but  they  are  never  abundant  enough  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  to  be 
worth  fishing  for  there  with  hook  and  line.  In  Massachusetts  Bay  the  catch  is 
practically  all  in  pounds,  etc.,  except  for  a  few  that  are  seined. 

79.  Spanish  mackerel  {Scomberomorus  maculatus  Mitchill) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  874. 

Description. — The  Spanish  mackerel  has  the  outline  of  the  slender  mackerel 
rather  than  the  stout  bonito,  its  body  being  about  4J^  to  5  times  as  long  as  deep. 
There  is  no  danger  of  confusing  it  with  either  of  the  true  mackerels — first,  because 
its  two  dorsal  fins,  like  those  of  the  bonito,  are  hardly  separated,  and  second,  because 
of  its  color  pattern.  Its  high  second  dorsal,  slender  form,  and  spotted  sides,  mark 
it  off  at  first  glance  from  our  two  bonitos,  while  its  color,  form,  long  first  dorsal, 
and  the  outline  of  its  second  dorsal  distinguish  it  from  the  tuna.  The  most  obvious 
distinction  between  the  "Spanish"  and  its  close  relative  the  "king"  mackerel  is 
that  its  ventrals  are  behind  the  origin  of  the  first  dorsal  and  that  there  are  only  32 
teeth,  or  fewer,  in  each  jaw,  .and  its  color. 


218  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Its  most  distinctiYe  anatomic  character  among  our  local  Scombroids  is  its 
large  conical  jaw  teeth,  of  which  there  are  16  above  and  13  below  on  each  side. 
The  caudal  peduncle  is  keeled;  the  lateral  line  wavy;  the  first  dorsal  fin  (17  to  18 
spines)  triangular;  the  second  dorsal  (16  to  18  rays)  concave  and  originating  a  short 
distance  in  front  of  the  anal,  which  is  similar  to  it  in  form  and  size.  There  are  8  or  9 
dorsal  and  as  many  ventral  finlets,  and  the  caudal  is  deeply  lunate,  its  outer  rays 
decidedly  longer  than  those  of  the  mackerel. 

Color. — The  Spanish  mackerel  is  dark  bluish  or  blue  green  above,  pale  below, 
like  all  Scombroids,  and  silvery,  its  sides  marked  with  many  small  oblong-oval, 
dull  orange  or  yellowish  spots,  both  above  and  below  the  lateral  line,  these  being  a 
very  diagnostic  character.  The  fact  that  the  membrane  of  the  front  one-third  of 
the  first  dorsal  fin  is  black,  whereas  its  rear  part  is  white,  is  an  equally  useful  field 
mark.  The  second  dorsal  and  pectoral  fins  are  pale  yellowish  and  dusky  edged; 
the  anal  and  ventrals  are  white. 

Size. — The  maximum  weight  is  about  9  or  10  pounds  (one  25),  and  the  length 
36  inches,  but  the  fish  caught  average  less  than  3  pounds. 

General  range. — Both  coasts  of  North  America,  north  to  Maine  and  south  to 
Brazil  in  the  Atlantic. 


Fio.  99. — King  mackerel  {Scomberomorus  ragaJis) 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  Spanish  mackerel  is  a  regular  summer 
visitor  all  along  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States  as  far  north  as  New  York ; 
less  abundant  along  the  southern  coasts  of  New  England,  though  a  few  are  taken 
during  most  summers  at  Woods  Hole;  and  only  a  stray  in  the  colder  waters  of  the 
Gulf  of  Maine,  where  odd  fish  are  taken  in  Cape  Cod  Bay  every  year  or  two.  In 
1896  the  local  catch  even  rose  to  37  fish  (Provincetown  and  Truro  traps),  and  there 
is  record  of  it  at  Lyim,  Mass.,  but  north  of  this  Spanish  mackerel  are  so  rare  that 
Monhegan  Island  is  the  only  record  for  Maine  and  the  most  northerly  outpost  for 
this  species. 

The  Spanish  mackerel  is  a  schooling  fish  like  other  mackerels  and  preys  upon 
smaller  fishes  of  any  kind,  being  hardly  less  destructive  than  the  bluefish.  On  the 
southern  Atlantic  coast,  where  it  supports  an  important  fishery,  it  comes  in  from 
offshore  or  from  the  south — which,  is  not  loiown — when  the  water  warms  to  from 
56°  to  70°,  appearing  off  the  Carolinas  in  April,  but  not  until  July  in  New  York  waters. 
It  disappears  from  the  northern  part  of  its  range  in  October. 

HaMts. — ^Spanish  mackerel,  unlike  oceanic  bonitos,  come  close  inshore  to 
breed,  Chesapeake  Bay  being  one  of  their  most  prolific  northern  nurseries.     They 


FISHES  OF  THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


219 


certainly  spawn  as  far  north  as  Long  Island,  but  there 
is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  they  ever  do  so  north  of 
Cape  Cod  because  their  sexual  products  do  not  ma- 
ture at  temperatures  lower  than  70°.  However,  we 
may  mention  in  passing  that  the  spawning  season 
extends  from  April  in  the  Carolinas  to  September  off 
New  York,  continuing  6  to  10  weeks  in  a  given  local- 
ity, with  individual  fish  spawning  over  a  consider- 
erable  period;  that  the  eggs  arc  buoyant  (0.91  to  1.14 
mm.  in  diameter,  with  one  large  oil  globule  of  about 
0.23  mm.) ;  that  incubation  occupies  about  25  hours 
at  77°  temperature;  and  that  the  newly  hatched  lar- 
vae grow  to  3.2  mm.  in  20  hours.  The  later  larval 
stages  have  not  been  described.'" 

80.  King  mackerel  {Scomheromorus  regalis  Bloch) 

King  fish;  Cero 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  875. 

Description. — In  its  general  appearance  the  king- 
fish  closely  resembles  the  Spanish  mackerel,  but  its 
ventrals  are  directly  below  instead  of  behind  the  ori- 
gin of  the  first  dorsal,  its  head  is  relatively  longer, 
its  nose  more  pointed,  its  teeth  more  numerous  (about 
40  in  each  jaw),  triangular  and  very  sharp  pointed, 
and  the  upper  half  of  the  first  dorsal  is  deep  blue. 
Furthermore,  the  king  mackerel  is  marked  by  a  nar- 
row brown  stripe  running  from  close  behind  each 
pectoral  fin  to  the  base  of  the  caudal,  crossing  the 
lateral  line  as  the  latter  bows  downward  below  the 
second  dorsal  fin.  Its  side  spots,  too,  are  mostly 
below  the  lateral  line  and  arranged  in  rows,  where- 
as in  the  Spanish  mackerel  the  spots  are  irregularly 
scattered  and  there  are  about  as  many  above  as  below 
the  lateral  line. 

Size. — Said  to  grow  to  a  length  of  4  or  5  feet  and 
a  weight  of  20  to  35  pounds. 

General  range. — ^Atlantic  coast  of  North  America, 
Cape  Cod  to  Brazil.     Abundant  in  the  West  Indies. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  southern 
fish  has  been  recorded  by  Dr.  W.  C.  Kendall  at  Mono- 
moy,  the  southern  elbow  of  Cape  Cod.  It  has  not 
been  taken  elsewhere  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 


Fig.  100.— Escolar  (.Euvettus  pretioaus) 


••  Ryder  (Bulletin,  U.  S.  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  I,  1S81  (1882),  p.  135)ilias  given  a  detailed  account  of  tbe  early  stages  in 
development. 


220  BULLETIN    OP   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

THE  ESCOLARS.    FAMILY  GEMPYLID^ 

These  fishes  are  closely  allied  to  the  true  mackerels,  the  most  obvious  dif- 
ferences being  that  they  lack  the  keels  on  the  sides  of  the  caudal  peduncle  so  char- 
acteristic of  the  mackerels. 

81.  Escolar  (Ruvettus  pretiosus  Cocco) 
Oilfish;  Scourfish;  Plaintail 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  879. 

Description. — In  its  elongate  fusiform  outline  and  in  the  general  arrangement 
of  its  fins  this  fish  suggests  the  mackerel  family.  Its  first  (spiny)  dorsal  (13  to  15 
spines),  like  that  of  the  Spanish  mackerel,  is  much  longer  than  the  second  dorsal 
(18  soft  rays).  It  is  separable  at  a  glance  from  all  Gulf  of  Maine  mackerels  by  the 
fact  that  there  are  only  2  dorsal  and  2  anal  finlets  and  that  the  skin  is  set  with 
bony  plates  with  short  spines  instead  of  being  velvety  with  small  scales,  as  it  is  in 
the  case  of  the  mackerels.  The  caudal  fin  is  deeply  forked.  The  first  dorsal  is 
much  lower  than  the  second  and  the  anal  is  situated  below  the  second  dorsal,  which 
it  parallels  in  its  outlines. 

Size. — It  grows  to  a  weight  of  at  least  100  pounds. 

Color. — Described  as  purpUsh  brown,  darkest  above  with  blackish  patches,  and 
the  inside  of  the  mouth  as  dusky. 

General  range. — Tropical  parts  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Mediterranean  in 
moderately  deep  water  (usually  300  to  400  fathoms).  It  is  plentiful  about  Cuba 
though  not  reported  at  Porto  Rico,  and  has  been  known  to  stray  as  far  north  as  the 
Grand  Banks  of  Newfoundland.  There  is  a  regular  fishery  for  it  off  Cuba  and  about 
the  Canaries;  also  in  the  Pacific. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Two  escolars,  respectively  49  inches  and  6  feet 
long,  were  brought  in  to  the  United  States  Fish  Commission  from  Georges  Bank 
during  the  autumn  of  1891.^' 

THE  CUTLASFISHES.     FAMILY  TRICHIURH).® 

82.  Cutlasflsh  ( Trichiurus  lepturus  Linnaeus) 
Hairtail;  Scabbardfish;  Silver  eel;  Ribbandfish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  I89&-1900,  p.  889. 

Description. — The  most  striking  characteristics'  of  the  cutlasfish  are  its  band- 
like form  tapering  to  a  pointed  whiplike  tail,  without  caudal  fin,  the  single  long 
low  dorsal  fin  (about  135  rays)  originating  close  behind  the  eye  and  diminishing  to 
nothing  some  distance  in  front  of  the  tip  of  the  tail,  and  the  long  barbed  fangs  in 
the  front  of  its  mouth,  four  in  the  upper  and  two  in  the  lower  jaw.  The  head  is 
about  twice  as  long  as  the  fish  is  deep,  with  pointed  snout,  mouth  gaping  back  to 
below  the  eye,  and  lower  jaw  projecting  beyond  thg  upper.     Each  of  the  jaws  is 

"  Approximate  location  41°  40'  N.,  07°  44'  W.    See  Qoode  and  Bean,  1896,  p.  197. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


221 


armed  with  7  to  10  smaller  teeth  behind  the  fangs.  The  anal  fin  is  reduced  to  a 
series  of  short  inconspicuous  spines,  about  100  to  110  in  number,  without  connecting 
fin  membrane,  running  back  from  the  vent  nearly  to  the  tip  of  the  tail.  The  small 
pectorals  are  situated  close  behind  the  posterior  angle  of  the  gill  cover.  There  are 
no  ventral  fins  and  the  skin  is  scaleless. 

Color. — Preserved  examples  are  bright  silvery  all  over.  The  dorsal  fin  has  been 
variously  described  as  yellowish  or  dusky  green  in  life,  dark  edged  or  speckled  along 
the  margin  with  black. 

Size. — Maximum  length  about  5  feet. 

General  range. — Warmer  parts  of  the  Atlantic;  abundant  in  the  West  Indies; 
rarely  straying  north  to  Massachusetts  Bay. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  cutlasfish  is  only  an  accidental  straggler 
north  of  Cape  Cod.  One  was  taken  at  Wellfleet  in  the  summer  of  1845,  and  one, 
also,  in  Salem  Harbor  many  years  ago.  It  is  recorded  from  Lynn  by  Kendall.'^ 
There  is  no  record  of  it  farther  north  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  or  in  Canadian  waters. 


Fig.  101.— Cutlasfish  (Trichiurus  leplurus) 
THE    SWORDFISHES.     FAMILY   XIPHIID^ 

The  upper  jaw  and  snout  of  the  swordfish  (there  is  only  one  species)  is  greatly 
prolonged,  forming  a  flat,  sharp-edged  sword.  There  is  a  very  high  first  dorsal  fin 
and  a  very  small  second,  both  soft  rayed;  a  broad  lunate  tail;  two  separate  anal  fins, 
the  second  being  very  small;  and  strong  longitudinal  keels  on  the  caudal  peduncle. 
There  are  no  ventral  fins,  and  in  the  adult  there  are  neither  teeth  nor  scales.  The 
spearfish  family  is  the  only  other  group  represented  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  fauna 
which  at  all  resembles  the  swordfish,  but  spearfish  have  ventral  fins  and  teeth,  their 
swords  are  round  edged,  and  either  there  is  one  long  continuous  dorsal  fin  or,  if 
there  are  two,  the  first  is  relatively  several  times  as  long  as  in  the  swordfish. 

83.  Swordfish  {Xiphias  gladius  Linnseus) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  894. 

Description. — The  salient  feature  of  the  swordfish  is  the  prolongation  of  its 
upper  jaw  into  a  long,  flattened,  sharp-edged"  and  pointed  "sword,"  occupying 

8'  The  Massachusetts  Bay  and  Provincetown  records  listed  by  Kendall  (1908)  are  based  on  the  Wellfleet  specimen.  He  also 
credits  it  to  Monhegan  Island,  Maine,  quoting  Storer  as  bis  authority,  but  Storer  expressly  states  in  his  latest  mention  of  the 
species  that  but  two  had  come  to  bis  notice — the  Wellfleet  specimen  just  mentioned,  and  one  taken  at  the  head  of  Buzzards  Bay. 

"  In  its  tropical  relatives,  the  sailflsh  and  spearfish,  the  sword  is  round  edged,  spearlike,  and  relatively  shorter. 


222 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHERIES 


nearly  one-third  the  total  length  of  the  fish.  This  sword  is  of  itseH  enough  to 
identify  the  fish  at  a  glance  among  all  our  northern  fishes.  In  one  10  feet  10 
inches  long,  which  we  killed  on  Georges  Bank  on  tiie  Grampvs  in  July,  1916,  the 
sword,  tip  to  eye,  was  42  inches  long.  The  swordfish  is  moderately  stout,  only 
slightly  compressed,  deepest  just  behind  the  gill  opening,  and  tapering  rearward 
to  a  very  slender  caudal  peduncle,  which  bears  a  single  strong  longitudinal  keel 
on  either  side.  Apart  from  the  sword  the  head  is  short,  the  lower  jaw  pointed, 
and  the  mouth  so  wide  that  it  gapes  far  back  of  the  very  large  eye,  which  is  set 
close  to  the  base  of  the  sword.  Swordfish  (except  young  fry)  are  both  toothless 
and  scaleless.  There  are  two  dorsal  fins.  The  first  originates  over  the  upper  angle 
of  the  gill  opening  and  is  much  higher  than  long  (about  39  to  40  rays) ,  with  deeply 
concave  margin.  The  second  is  very  small  and  set  far  back  on  the  caudal  peduncle. 
There  are  likewise  two  anals.  The  second  is  as  small  as  the  second  dorsal  and  below 
it,  while  the  first  is  similar  to  the  first  dorsal  in  outline  but  shorter,  and  located 
well  behind  it,  close  to  the  second.  The  pectorals  are  narrow,  very  long,  falcate, 
and  set  very  low  down  on  the  sides  below  the  first  dorsal.     The  caudal  fin  is  short, 


Fig.  102. — Swordfish  iXiphias  gladius).    After  California  Fish  and  Game  Commission 

but  as  broad  as  half  the  length  of  the  fish  from  tip  of  lower  jaw  to  base  of  caudal 
fin,  with  deeply  lunate  margin  and  pointed  tips.     There  are  no  ventrals." 

Color. — While  all  swordfish  are  dark  above  and  whitish  with  silvery  sheen 
below,  the  upper  surface  varies  from  purplish  to  a  dull  leaden  blue  or  even  black. 
The  eye  has  been  described  as  blue.  Young  swordfish,  like  young  tuna,  are  trans- 
versely barred,  but  none  small  enough  to  show  this  pattern  has  ever  been  found 
within  the  limits  of  the  Gulf. 

Size. — Swordfish  grow  to  a  great  size.  The  largest  definitely  recorded  from 
the  Gulf  of  Maine  was  one  killed  off  Portland,  Me.,  in  1874,  weighing  639  poimds 
salted,  and  hence  must  have  "gone"  at  least  750  pounds  alive.  The  heaviest 
landed  in  Massachusetts  during  1922  weighed  637  pounds  dressed;  that  is,  upward 
of  700  pounds  live  weight.*^  About  16  feet  seems  to  be  the  maxim imi  length,  but 
fish  as  long  as  this  are  certainly  very  rare.  One  or  more  500-pounders  are  reported 
almost  every  year  (the  last  big  one  we  ourselves  heard  of  was  one  of  536  pounds 
taken  by  the  schooner  Two  Sisters  in  August,  1922),  but  the  average  for  the  larger 
run  of  Georges  Bank  and  Gulf  of  Maine  fish  is  only  about  11  feet  and  300  pounds 

"  In  the  sailflsbes  and  spearflshes  the  body  is  scaleless,  the  jaws  are  toothed,  ventral  fins  are  present,  and  the  first  dorsal  fin 
is  much  longer  than  that  of  the  swordfish. 
•i  Gloucester  Times,  Apr.  26,  1923, 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  223 

live  weight.  Block  Island  fish  run  smaller.  A  7-foot  fish  weighs  about  120 
pounds;  10  to  11  feet  long  about  250  pounds;  and  a  fish  of  13  to  133^  feet,  about 
600  pounds,  as  taken  from  the  water. 

Swordfish  fry  are  quite  different  in  appearance  from  the  adults,  having  but 
one  long  dorsal  and  one  long  anal  fin,  a  rounded  tail,  both  jaws  equally  elongate 
and  toothed,  and  the  skin  covered  with  rough  spinous  plates  and  scales;  but  fish 
of  haK  a  poimd  weight  such  as  are  caught  in  abundance  in  the  Mediterranean 
resemble  the  adults. 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  north  to  northern  Noi-way, 
the  Newfoundland  Banks,  and  Cape  Breton;  south  to  latitude  about  35°  south. 
Also  in  the  Mediterranean  and  Red  Seas,  about  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  in 
the  Indian  and  Pacific  Oceans. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  swordfish  seems  to  have  attracted  little 
attention  in  the  Gulf  in  colonial  days,  and  though  it  has  long  supported  a  lucrative 
fishery  off  New  England  we  know  little  more  of  its  life  to-day  than  when  Goode 
(1883)  gathered  his  "Materials  for  the  History  of  the  Swordfish." 

The  outer  part  of  the  continental  sheH  from  Block  Island  east  to  La  Have 
Bank  is  the  chief  center  of  abundance,  with  Nantucket  Shoals  and  Georges  Bank 
perhaps  the  favorite  grounds.  A  few  swordfish  are  seen  off  Massachusetts  Bay 
and  along  the  Maine  coast  every  summer.  During  some  summers,  of  which  1884 
was  one,  large  numbers  appear  there,  and  on  these  occasions  they  are  killed  all 
around  the  Gulf  from  Cape  Cod  to  Browns  Bank,  with  Jeffreys  Ledge  and  a  zone 
about  10  to  12  miles  off  the  coast  from  Boon  Island  to  Cape  Elizabeth  perhaps 
their  favorite  resort.  During  most  years,  however,  the  great  majority  keep  to 
the  offshore  banks,  and  only  odd  fish  are  seen  in  the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  and  they  are  rarely  seen  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  Thus  we  find  only  2,511 
poimds  (say  10  or  12  fish)  brought  in  by  the  shore  fishermen  of  Cumberland 
County,  3  or  4  (800  poimds)  landed  in  York  County  in  1919.  A  few  are  caught  off 
the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  every  summer  (in  1920,  a  good  swordfish  year,  4,700 
pounds,  or  about  twenty-odd  fish,  were  landed  along  the  Yarmouth  Coimty  shore), 
and  over  the  basin  of  the  Gulf.  They  are  never  plentiful  in  the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf 
and  rarely  enter  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  On  the  offshore  banks,  on  the  contrary, 
25  or  more  are  often  seen  in  a  day.  Sometimes  that  many  are  in  sight  at  one  time, 
especially  over  the  southwest  slope  of  Georges  Bank,  and  several  thousand  are 
killed  every  summer.  In  the  year  1919,  for  example,  vessels  from  Maine  ports, 
hunting  mostly  east  of  Nantucket,  brought  in  about  425,000  pounds.  Massachu- 
setts vessels  brought  in  712,000  pounds,  equivalent,  say,  to  4,000  fish.  In  1920, 
a  big  swordfish  year,  2,258,051  pounds  (something  like  7,000  fish)  were  landed  in 
the  ports  of  Boston,  Gloucester,  and  Portland,  not  to  mention  such  as  were  carried 
to  New  Bedford,  Newport,  and  New  York. 

Swordfish,  like  all  fish,  fluctuate  in  abundance  from  year  to  year.  Thus  they 
were  more  abundant  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1904  than  was  ever  known  before; 
plentiful,  too,  during  the  next  two  years;  less  so  untO  1913;  and  very  numerous 
again  in  1920.  But  on  the  whole  the  catch  runs  much  more  even,  year  by  year, 
than  for  most  oceanic  fish,  seldom  rising  above  2,000,000  or  falling  below  1,000,000 
pounds  for  the  landings  in  Boston  and  Gloucester. 
102274—251 15 


224 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


1909-1915 


I9!5 


The  swordfish,  like  mackerel,  tuna,  and  bonito,  is  purely  a  summer  fish  on  the 
North  American  coast,  appearing  simultaneously  ofE  New  York  and  Block  Island, 
on  Nantucket  Shoals,  and  on  Georges  Bank  sometime  between  the  25th  of  May  and 
the  20th  of  June,  but  they  are  seldom  on  the  Scotian  Banks  until  somewhat  later  or 
in  the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  before  July.  They  are  most  numerous  in 
July  and  August,  and  vanish  at  the  approach  of  cold  weather.  This  seasonal  ebb 
and  flow  is  clearly  reflected  in  the^'catch,  month  by  month  (fig.  103).  So  far  as  we 
can  learn,  not  one  has  ever  been  reported  east  of  Cape  Cod  after  the  first  days  of 

November,  and  most  of  them  are  gone  from  the 
Gulf  by  the  last  week  in  October;  but  an  odd  fish 
has  been  taken  off  New  York  and  New  Jersey  in 
December  and  even  in  January,  the  most  recent 
report  of  such  occurrence  being  of  13  entangled 
in  line  trawls  set  for  tflefish  in  95  to  125  fathoms 
off  Long  Island  between  December  20,  1921,  and 
January  1,  1922.«« 

It  is  generally  believed  that  swordfish  come 
in  from  the  open  seas  when  they  appear  on  the 
offshore  banks  in  spring,  some  few  to  enter  the 
Gulf  of  Maine,  but  the  majority  to  remain  about 
the  banks  at  its  mouth  or  to  work  slowly  east- 
ward along  the  outer  part  of  the  continental  shelf, 
wliich  is  the  only  regular  longshore  migration  they 
carry  out.  When  they  depart  in  autumn  it  is  to 
return  to  the  open  Atlantic,  but  how  far  they  go 
when  they  leave  us,  or  how  deep,  is  unknown. 
We  are  equally  ignorant  of  where  our  local  sword- 
fish  breed — certainly  not  in  American  coastwise 
waters,  as  no  ripe  fish  have  ever  been  seen  there. 
In  fact,  most  of  the  fishermen  of  whom  we  have 
inquired  assure  us  they  have  never  seen  a  trace 
of  "spawn"  in  a  swordfish,  although  they  have 
dressed  hundreds,  and  a  "green"  fish  with  ovaries  weigliing  15  pounds,  brought 
into  New  Bedford  on  June  25,  1922,  was  considered  so  unusual  that  it  caused 
much  comment.  Furthermore,  it  seems  that  very  young  fish  never  visit  us,  one 
of  lYs  pounds,  caught  on  Georges  Bank  by  the  schooner  Anna,  August  9,  1922, 
being  the  smallest  so  far  recorded  from  off  New  England."  Goode,  et  al.  (1884), 
it  is  true,  describe  a  sword  only  one-half  inch  long  found  in  the  nostril  of  a  mackerel 
shark  caught  at  Gloucester,  but  there  is  no  knowing  how  long  the  shark  may  have 
carried  it,  nor  whence.  One  slightly  more  than  2  feet  long  with  the  sword  and  weigh- 
ing about  24  pounds  alive  was  also  recorded  by  them,  but  fish  smaller  than  50  to 
60  pounds  are  decidedly  unusual.  In  the  Mediterranean  young  fry  as  small  as 
half  a  pound  are  often  brought  to  market. 

"  Towmsend,  Science,  new  series,  Vol.  LVI,  July-December,  1922,  pp.  18-19.    New  York. 
"U.S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries  Service  Bulletin,  No.  88,  Sept.  1,  1922,  p.  3. 


(0UND5 
LANttD 
1,000,000 

550,000 
900,000 
650,000 
900,000 
750,000 
700,000 
650,000 
600.000 
550,000 
500,000 
450,1)00 
400.000 
350,000 
300,000 
250,000 
200,000 
150,000 
iOO,00f 
50,000 


Fig.  103. — Monthly  landings  of  swordfish  for 
the  year  1919  at  Boston,  Gloucester,  and  Port- 
land, and  average  monthly  landings  in  New 
England  for  the  period  1909  to  1913 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  225 

Food. — The  swordfish  is  a  fish  eater.  During  its  stay  in  American  waters  it 
feeds  on  mackerel,  menhaden,  bluefish,  silver  hake,  butterfish,  herring,  and  indeed  on 
any  of  the  smaller  schooling  fishes,  buckets  of  which  have  been  taken  from  swordfish 
stomachs.  Squid,  too,  are  often  found  in  them  and  may  be  their  chief  diet  at  times. 
One  that  we  killed  on  Georges  Bank  on  July  24,  1916,  was  full  of  silver  hake,  and 
another  harpooned  off  Halifax  contained  a  squid  {Ommostrephes)  and  fragments 
of  silver  hake.  They  have  often  been  described  as  rising  through  schools  oi  mackerel, 
menhaden,  etc.,  striking  right  and  left  with  their  swords,  and  then  turning  to  gobble 
the  dead  or  mangled  fish.  Judging  from  the  commotion,  we  have  seen  them  so 
employed  on  more  than  one  occasion,  though  never  close  enough  to  actually  follow 
the  event.  According  to  swordfishermen,  it  is  not  unusual  for  swordfish  to  contain 
black  deep-sea  fishes,  and  Kingsley  '*  records  two  stomiatids  (Echiostoma  harlatum 
Lowe)  taken  from  the  stomach  of  one  harpooned  over  the  offshore  slope  of  Georges 
Bank,  so  fresh  that  the  phosphorescent  organs  were  still  in  good  condition,  and  since 
these  black  fish  probably  alwaj's  keep  below  150  fathoms  this  is  sufficient  evidence 
that  swordfish  sometimes  forage  at  considerable  depths.  It  seems  that  they  some- 
times endeavor  to  strip  line  trawls  set  for  hahbut  and  tilefish  of  the  smaller  fish 
already  caught,  for  they  are  occasionally  brought  up  entangled  in  the  line,  but  never 
actually  hooked. 

Habits. — Swordfish  are  supposed  to  spawn  in  spring  and  early  sunmaer,  but 
judging  from  the  state  of  the  ovaries  and  spermaries  this  can  not  apply  to  the  Ameri- 
can fish,  which  must  spawn  during  the  part  of  the  year  when  absent  from  our  coasts, 
and  probably  in  the  warmer  parts  of  the  Atlantic  basin,  for  Liitken  '°  tound  sword- 
fish  fry  as  small  as  10  mm. — evidently  hatched  but  a  short  time  previous — between 
the  latitudes  of  20°  and  39°  N.  The  fact  that  they  are  thin  when  they  return  to  us 
in  spring,  but  fatten  during  the  summer  stay,  is  further  evidence  that  the}'^  are  spent 
before  they  appear  off  the  coast. 

Nothing  is  definitely  known  of  the  rate  of  growth  of  the  swordfish.  It  has 
been  supposed  that  the  young  fish  of  half  a  pound  to  12  pounds  taken  in  winter  in 
the  Mediterranean  are  the  product  of  the  past  spring's  spawning,  but  this  would 
call  for  unusually  rapid  growth.  The  very  large  size  attained  may  equally  be  the 
result  of  long  life. 

Although  swordfish  congregate  temporarily  in  certain  localities  they  do  not 
school,  but  are  always  seen  scattered  about  either  singly  or  at  most  two  fish  swim- 
ming together.  On  this  point  the  earlier  published  accoimts,  statements  by  fisher- 
men, and  our  own  rather  limited  experience  are  in  accord.  On  calm  days  swordfish 
often  lie  quiet  on  the  sm-face  or  loaf  along  with  both  the  high  dorsal  and  the  tip 
of  the  caudal  fin  above  water,  and  it  is  while  so  employed  that  they  are  harpooned. 
When  at  the  surface  swordfish  do  a  good  deal  of  jumping,  perhaps  in  a  vain  attempt 
to  shake  off  the  remoras  that  so  often  cling  to  them.  On  July  28,  1914,  off  Shelburne, 
one  leaped  clear  of  the  water  four  or  five  times  in  rapid  succession  close  to  the 
Grampus. 

"  Science,  new  series,  Vol.  LVI,  1922,  pp.  225-226.    New  York. 
'•  Spolia  Atlantica,  1S80-1892.    Kjfjbenhavn. 


226  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Tales  innumerable  are  current  of  swordfish  attacking  vessels,  but  most  such 
happenings  are  really  the  work  of  some  one  of  the  round-sworded  spearfishes,  which 
seem  either  to  be  subject  to  fits  of  "  temporary  insanity,  "as  Goode,  et  al.  (1884,  p.  345) , 
called  it,  or,  more  likely,  may  strike  a  ship  and  pierce  its  planking  while  pursuing 
bonito  or  other  fish  in  its  shadow.  Though  many  pleasure  and  fishing  craft,  large  and 
small,  cruise  off  our  coasts  every  summer,  we  have  never  known  of  one  being  struck 
by  a  swordfish  unprovoked,  but  fish  that  have  been  harpooned  often  turn  on  their 
pursuers  and  for  one  to  so  pierce  the  thin  bottom  of  a  dory  is  a  common  event.  We 
have,  indeed,  known  several  fishermen  to  be  wounded  in  the  leg  in  this  way,  but 
always  after  the  fish  had  been  struck  with  the  harpoon.  Under  these  circumstances 
swordfish  have  been  known  to  drive  their  swords  right  through  the  planking  of 
a  fishing  vessel. 

Stories  of  swordfish  attacking  whales  are  time-honored  traditions  of  the  sea, 
with  no  more  stable  foimdation  than  the  myth  that  they  ally  themselves  with  the 
harmless  thresher  shark  for  the  purpose.  As  a  matter  of  fact  swordfish  are  easily 
frightened,  but  for  some  occult  reason  they  will  allow  themselves  to  be  almost  run 
down  by  a  large  vessel  without  paying  the  least  attention  to  its  approach  until 
aroused  by  its  shadow  or  by  the  swirl  of  water  imder  its  forefoot,  though  I  have  never 
heard  of  a  swordfish  actually  being  struck  by  a  vessel.  They  always  sound  or  dart 
aside  in  time.  When  harpooned  swordfish  fight  gamely  on  the  surface  or  below. 
Storer  long  ago  wrote  that  they  sometimes  sound  with  such  speed  and  force  as  to 
drive  the  sword  into  the  bottom,  which  fishermen  say  is  by  no  means  uncommon, 
and  we  ourselves  saw  an  instance  of  this  oft'  Halifax  in  August,  1914,  when  a  fish 
over  10  feet  long,  which  we  had  harpooned  from  the  Grampus,  plunged  with  such 
force  that  it  buried  itself  in  the  mud  beyond  the  eyes  in  56  fathoms  of  water.  When 
finally  hauled  alongside  it  brought  up  enough  mud  plastered  to  its  head  to  yield  a 
good  sample  of  the  bottom. 

How  far  temperature  governs  the  distribution  of  swordfish  is  yet  to  be  learned. 
It  is  safe  to  say  that  it  is  a  warm  and  not  a  cold-water  fish,  most  plentiful  in  waters 
warmer  than  50°;  but  occasional  captures  on  halibut  line  trawls  set  near  bottom 
as  deep  as  200  fathoms,  together  with  the  fact  that  swordfish  are  by  no  means  rare 
on  the  Newfoundland  Banks,  whence  several  fish  were  brought  back  by  the  American 
cod  fleet  in  1920,  proves  that  temperatures  lower  than  50°  are  not  a  bar  to  it. 

Full-grown  swordfish  are  so  active,  powerful,  and  well  armed  that  they  can  have 
few  enemies.  Sperm  and  killer  whales  and  the  larger  sharks  alone  menace  them, 
and  while  we  can  find  no  evidence  that  swordfish  ever  fell  prey  to  the  first  two, 
Captain  Atwood  found  a  good-sized  swordfish  in  the  stomach  of  a  tiger  shark  as 
recorded  above  (p.  28),  and  one  swordfisherman  of  our  acquaintance  described 
seeing  two  large  sharks  bite  or  tear  off  the  tail  of  a  swordfish  of  350  pounds,  which 
he  afterwards  harpooned.  Young  swordfish  would,  of  course,  be  preyed  upon 
by  any  of  the  larger  predaceous  fishes. 

,  Swordfish  are  infested  with  many  parasites  besides  the  remoras,  several  of  which 
are  often  found  clinging  to  one  fish.  No  less  than  12  species  of  worms  and  6  of  cope- 
pods  have  been  identified  from  fish  taken  off  Woods  Hole  alone. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  227 

Swordfisli  are  harpooned.  We  have  never  heard  of  one  caught  in  net  or  seine, 
nor  is  it  likely  that  any  net  of  the  sorts  now  in  use  would  hold  a  large  one.  On 
rare  occasions  swordfish  have  been  taken  on  hand  lines  baited  for  cod  with  mackerel 
or  other  fish.  Goode  (1883),  for  example,  relates  an  instance  where  seven  were 
so  caught  in  one  day  in  the  South  Channel  in  15  to  25  fathoms,  and  fishermen  have 
told  us  of  other  such  happenings. 

Commercial  importance. — Appreciation  of  the  swordfish  in  the  market  is  of 
recent  growth.  Do^vn  to  the  middle  of  the  past  century  it  was  unsalable  in  Boston 
and  brought  a  very  low  price  in  New  York,  but  of  late  years  the  demand  would 
take  care  of  a  much  greater  supply  than  is  available.  In  1919  the  price  to  the  fisher- 
men averaged  between  23  and  24  cents  per  pound."" 

THE    SAILFISHES.     FAMILY   ISTIOPHORIDiE 

Sailfishes,  like  the  swordfish,  have  a  "sword"  formed  by  the  prolongation  of 
the  snout  and  upper  jaw.  They  are  scaly,  however;  their  teeth  persist  throughout 
life;  they  have  long  ventral  fins;  and  their  dorsal  fins  occupy  the  greater  part  of  the 


Fig.  104.— Spcarfish  {Telrapturus impaatoT) 

back  behind  the  nape;  characters  that  separate  them  at  a  glance  from  the  swordfish 
family.  Five  species  are  known — all  oceanic  and  subtropical — only  one  of  which 
has  ever  been  taken  within  the  limits  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  though  a  second  (the 
sailfish)  might  stray  thither  (p.  228). 

KEY   TO   GULF   OF   MAINE  SAILFISHES 

1.         First  dorsal  fin  much  higher  than  the  body  is  deep;  ventrals  of   3  rays Sailfish,  p.  228 

The  first  dorsal  fin  is  not  higher  than  the  body  is  deep;  ventrals  reduced  to  one  spine 
each Spearfish,  p.  227 

84.  Spearfisli  ( Tetrapturus  imperator  Bloch  and  Schneider) 

BiLLFISH 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900  {Tetrapturus  albidus),  p.  892. 

Description. — The  spearfish  parallels  the  common  swordfish  in  the  prolongation 
of  the  bones  of  the  upper  jaw  and  snout  to  form  a  sword,  but  differs  so  widely  from 
it  in  the  relative  size  and  outlines  of  its  fins  that  there  is  no  danger  of  confusing  the 
two.     Perhaps  the  most  obvious  difference  is  that  its  first  dorsal  fin  ^^  occupies 

"  Landings  in  Maine  and  Massachusetts:  1,136,542  pounds  valued  at  $270,164. 

*i  In  very  young  spearflshes  there  is  but  one  continuous  dorsal  fin,  which  later  separates  into  two. 


228  BULLETIlSr    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHEEIES 

fully  two-thirds  of  the  length  of  the  trunk  from  the  nape  backward,  and  is,  further- 
more, of  very  characteristic  falcate  outline.  But  more  important  systematically, 
if  less  apparent,  is  the  fact  that  the  adult  spearfish  has  ventral  fins  which  the  sword- 
fish  lacks,  though  they  are  reduced,  it  is  true,  to  one  long  spine  each  (actually  5 
fused  together) .  Furthermore,  its  second  dorsal  and  anal  fins  are  relatively  larger 
and  its  pectoral  smaller  than  those  of  its  relative,  while  there  are  two  small  longi- 
tudinal keels  on  either  side  of  its  caudal  peduncle  instead  of  one  broad  one;  its 
sword  is  only  about  haK  as  long,  proportionately,  as  that  of  the  swordfish,  much 
narrower,  and  roimd  instead  of  sharp  edged;  its  body  is  more  slender;  and  its  head 
is  relatively  shorter.  Careful  examination  would  show  that  the  spearfish  is  not 
naked  but  has  small  scales  imbedded  in  the  skin  and  that  there  are  small  teeth  in 
its  jaws  and  on  the  roof  of  its  mouth. 

The  spearfish  is  deepest  abreast  the  pectorals,  about  six  and  one-fourth  times 
as  long  (not  counting  the  caudal  fin)  as  deep,  tapers  evenly  to  the  caudal  peduncle, 
and  its  upper  jaw  in  front  of  the  eye  (including  the  sword)  is  twice  as  long  as  the 
length  of  the  head  behind  the  eye.  In  a  specimen  from  Massachusetts,  illustrated 
by  Goode  (1883,  PI.  IV),  and  reproduced  herein  as  Figure  104,  the  first  dorsal  fin  (35 
to  39  stiff  rays)  is  separated  from  the  short  second  (6  soft  rays)  by  a  space  equal  to 
twice  the  length  of  the  latter,  and  the  second  anal  fin  is  similar  to  the  second  dorsal 
in  outline  but  is  situated  slightly  in  front  of  it.  The  first  anal  fin  (2  spines  and  13 
rays)  is  triangular,  with  rounded  tip  and  slightly  falcate  rear  margin,  situated 
below  the  rear  part  of  the  first  dorsal.  The  ventrals  are  below  the  pectorals,  and 
the  caudal  is  even  shorter  and  broader  than  that  of  the  swordfish  and  similarly 
Iimate  in  outline. 

Color. — Described  as  deep  blue  above,  white  below,  with  intense  blue  fins,  the 
dorsal  spotted  with  darker  blue,  and  a  blue  iris. 

Size. — Said  to  reach  a  length  of  26  feet,  but  few  longer  than  7  feet  are  seen. 

General  range. — Warm  parts  of  the  Atlantic,  north  to  Cape  Cod."^ 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  southern  fish  is  included  here  because 
one  was  brought  in  by  the  fishing  schooner  Phoenix  from  the  South  Channel  some 
time  between  1877  and  1880,  this  being  the  most  boreal  record  for  it.  It  is  taken 
from  time  to  time  at  Woods  Hole.'^ 

THE   POMPANOS.     FAMILY    CARANGID.aE 

The  pompanos  are  allied  to  the  mackerels,  like  which  they  have  two  dorsal 
fins,  the  first  spiny  and  the  second  soft;  very  deeply  forked  tails;  very  slender 
caudal  peduncles;  and  ventrals  thoracic  in  position — that  is,  below  the  pectorals. 
They  are  readily  separable  from  the  mackerels,  however,  by  the  fact  that  the  first 

flJ  The  south  European  and  American  spearfishes  are  now  generally  considered  identical. 

^3  The  sailfish  (IstiophoTus  nigricaris),  so  common  in  the  warmer  parts  of  the  Atlantic,  has  been  taken  at  Woods  Hole  on 
several  occasions,  but  has  not  yet  been  recorded  from  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  It  is  readily  recognizable  by  the  fact  that  the  first  dorsa 
fln  is  much  higher  than  that  of  the  spearfish,  while  the  ventral  fins  of  the  sailfish  are  two  or  three  rayed  instead  of  being  reduced 
to  a  single  spine,  as  in  the  spearfisli.  The  two  dorsal  fins  of  the  sailfish  have  usually  been  described  as  connected  even  in  the 
adult.  This,  in  fact,  is  given  as  the  chief  distinction  between  Tetrapturus  and  Istiophorus  by  Goodo  (Report,  U.  S.  Commis- 
sioner of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  1880,  p.  296),  by  Jordan  and  Evermann,  and  by  Boulenger  (Cambridge  Natural  History,  Vol.  VII, 
1904,  p.  680),  but  there  is  actually  a  considerable  gap  between  the  two  fins  in  large  specimens,  as  Bean  (The  food  and  game  fishes 
of  New  York,  1903)  remarks  in  his  account  of  /.  nigricans,  and  as  appears  on  Goode's  own  illustrations  of  a  sailfish  taken  at  New- 
port, and  of  a  skeleton. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  229 

(spinous)  dorsal  is  much  shorter  than  the  second  (soft  rayed) ,  if  present  (it  may  be 
reduced  to  a  series  of  very  short  spines  or  may  be  lost  altogether  in  old  age),  and 
that  they  either  lack  the  dorsal  and  anal  finlets  so  characteristic  of  the  mackerel 
tribe,  or  at  most  have  but  one  of  each.  They  differ  further  from  the  mackerels 
in  the  number  of  vertebrae  (only  22  to  23  as  against  upward  of  30),  as  well  as 
in  the  facts  that  the  premaxillary  bones  are  protractile  (fixed  in  the  mackerels)  and 
that  the  anal  fin  is  preceded  by  two  free  spines  that  may  either  take  the  form  of  a 
permanent  finlet  or  may  be  lost  in  old  age.  Warm  seas  support  a  host  of  species 
but  none  of  them  is  more  than  an  accidental  stray  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

KEY  TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   POMPANOS 

1.  Body  very  much  compressed,  nearly  or  quite  half  as  deep  as  long,  or  even  deeper 2 

Body  moderately  stout,  not  more  than  one-third  as  deep  as  long 4 

2.  Back  and  belly  rounded;  pectoral  fin  reaches  not  over  two-thirds  the  way  back  toward 

the  base  of  the  caudal True  pompanos  (genus  Trachinotus) 

Back  and  belly  sharp  edged;  pectoral  fin  reaches  at  least  halfway  back  toward  the  base 
of  the  caudal 3 

3.  Soft  dorsal'*  and  anal  fins  are  low  and  taper  evenly  from  front  to  rear Moonfish,  p.  235 

The  soft  dorsal  and  the  anal  fins  are  both  very  high  in  front  and  taper  abruptly  toward 

the  rear Lookdown,  p.  236 

4.  There  is  only  one  well-developed  dorsal  fin  (the  soft  rayed),  the  first  (spiny)  dorsal  be- 

ing reduced  to  a  few  short  inconspicuous  spines Pilotfish,  p.  229 

There  are  two  well-developed  dorsal  fins,  though  the  second  (soft)  is  much  larger  than 
the  first  (spiny) 5 

5.  There  is  a  detached  finlet  behind  the  second  dorsal  fin,  and  one  behind  the  anal  fin — 

Mackerel  scad,  p.  232 

There  are  no  finlets  behind  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins 6 

6.  There  is  a  small  finlet  of  two  stout  spines  in  front  of  the  anal  fin,  and  the  latter  is 

nearly  as  long  as  the  second  dorsal 7 

There  is  no  finlet  in  front  of  anal  fin  (in  young  fry  it  is  represented  by  two  spines  so 
short  they  are  apt  to  be  overlooked) ,  and  the  anal  is  at  least  one-third  shorter  than 
the  second  dorsal Rudderfish,  p.  230 

7.  Breast  entirely  scaly -.. Hardtail,  p.  234 

Breast  naked  except  just  in  front  of  the  ventral  fins Crevalle,  p.  233 

85.  Pilotfish  ( Naucrates  ductor  Liinnseus) 
Eudderfish;  Shark  pilot 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  900, 

Description. — The  pilotfish  is  stouter  than  the  common  mackerel  (about  one- 
fourth  as  deep  as  long) — to  take  a  familiar  comparison — with  blimter,  rounded 
nose,  smaller  mouth,  and  eye  situated  farther  forward.  Its  long  second  dorsal 
separates  it  from  all  the  mackerel  tribe,  but  its  caudal  peduncle  is  slender  and 
keeled  on  either  side  like  that  of  a  bonito.  The  first  dorsal  is  reduced  to  four  short 
inconspicuous  spines,  which  are  connected  by  a  membrane  in  young  fish  but  this 
is  lost  with  growth.     The  second  dorsal  (26  or  27  soft  rays)  is  slightly  concave  in 

•'  In  the  adult  the  first  dorsal  Is  reduced  to  a  few  short  isolated  spines,  but  in  young  fry  some  of  these  spines  are  elongated. 


230  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUKEAXJ   OF   FISHERIES 

outline  and  originates  midway  from  snout  to  base  of  caudal.  The  anal  is  similar 
to  it  in  form,  but  only  about  half  as  long  (16  or  17  rays),  preceded  by  two  very  short 
spines.  In  this  it  resembles  the  rudderfish,  but  the  first  dorsal  of  the  latter  is 
well  developed  and  has  7  instead  of  4  spines.  The  ventrals  are  situated  far  forward 
under  the  pectorals,  and  are  about  as  large  as  the  latter.  The  caudal  is  large  and 
deeply  forked.  In  the  adult  the  edge  of  the  gill  cover  is  rounded  but  it  bears  a 
spine  in  young  fry. 

Color. — Bluish,  transversely  barred  with  5  to  7  dark  bands,  two  or  three  of 
which  run  up  on  the  dorsal  and  down  on  the  anal  fins.  The  outer  margins  of  caudal, 
ventral,  and  pectoral  fins  are  nearly  black.     The  caudal  is  white-tipped. 

Size. — Maximum  length  about  2  feet. 

General  range. — A  tropical  fish  of  the  high  seas,  rarely  straying  as  far  north  as 
Maine. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — There  are  only  two  definite  records  for  the 
Gulf  of  Maine — one  near  Seguin  Island  in  Maine  (1908)  and  one  of  a  specimen 
taken  in  a  mackerel  net  at  Provincetown  Harbor  in  October,  1858,  the  fish  having 


Fig.  105.— Pilotflsh  (Naucrata  ductor) 

probably  followed  a  whale  ship  that  arrived  a  few  days  previous.  We  need  merely 
remark  that  this  is  the  fish  that  so  commonly  attends  sharks  in  tropic  seas,  either 
picking  up  a  living  from  the  scraps  left  by  the  latter,  or  feeding  on  the  parasites 
with  which  their  protectors  are  infested,  and  which  so  often  follows  sailing  vessels. 

86.  Rudderfish  {Seriola  zonata  Mitchill) 
Pilotfish;  Shark  pilot 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  902. 

Description. — The  rudderfish  much  resembles  the  pilot,  but  it  is  relatively 
deeper  bodied  (total  length  three  and  one-eighth  times  the  depth),  so  much  com- 
pressed that  it  is  almost  as  thin  as  a  butterfish  (p.  245),  and  with  more  pointed 
nose.  The  chief  distinction,  however,  is  that  its  first  (spinous)  dorsal  is  well  de- 
veloped, and  with  7  instead  of  only  4  spines.  Furthermore,  there  are  37  to  38 
instead  of  only  26  to  27  rays  in  the  second  dorsal  fin  and  the  ventrals  are  relatively 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


231 


much  longer.  In  young  fry  of  2  to  3  inches  (none  larger  than  this  have  ever  been 
seen  north  of  Cape  Cod),  the  second  dorsal  originates  somewhat  m  front  of  the  tip 
of  the  pectoral,  but  by  the  time  the  fish  has  grown  to  8  or  9  inches  in  length  we 
find  it  originating  slightly  leMnd  the  tip  of  the  pectoral,  and  in  larger  fish  it  stands 
still  farther  back.'^ 

In  the  rudderfish,  as  in  the  pilotfish,  the  anal  (20  to  21  rays)  is  little  more  than 
haK  as  long  as  the  second  dorsal.  In  young  fish  it  is  preceded  by  one  or  two  short 
spines  which  adults  lack.  The  ventrals  are  slightly  longer -than  the  pectorals,  and 
more  pointed  in  large  than  in  small  specimens ;  the  caudal  is  deeply  forked,  its  slender 
peduncle  keeled;  and  the  mouth  is  of  moderate  size,  gaping  back  to  the  forward 
margin  of  the  eye  and  armed  with  broad  bands  of  hairlike  teeth.  The  body  is 
clad  with  small  scales. 

Color. — Described  as  bluish  or  silvery  brown  above,  paler  on  the  sides,  and 
white  below.  In  young  fish  the  sides  are  crossbarred  with  five  or  six  broad  dark 
blue  or  brown  bands,  the  last  four  of  which  run  up  on  the  dorsal  and  the  last  two 


Fig.  106.— Rudderfish  [Seriola  zonata).    After  Storer 

or  three  down  on  the  anal  fin.  There  is  a  dark  band  running  obliquely  from  the 
first  dorsal  to  the  eye.  All  of  these  bands  fade  with  growth,  however,  to  disappear 
in  large  fish.  The  first  dorsal  is  black,  the  anal  white  at  the  base,  the  ventrals 
black  above,  pale  below,  and  the  caudal  dusky  green  with  white  tips.°° 

Size. — Ma:ximimi  length  about  3  feet. 

General  range. — ^Atlantic  coast  of  America — Massachusetts  Bay  to  Gulf  of 
Mexico. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  rudderfish  has  not  been  definitely  re- 
corded from  the  Gulf  for  many  years,  its  claim  to  mention  here  resting  on  two 
specimens  taken  at  Wellfleet  in  1844  and  1849  and  mentioned  by  Storer,  one  at 
Beverly  in  May,  1866,  and  one  at  Salem  sometime  prior  to  1879.  Small  fry  \}/2 
to  7  inches  long  are  regular  summer  visitors  at  Woods  Hole,  however. 

"  We  have  eiamined  specimens  ranging  from  3  to  9  inches  in  length  taken  at  Woods  Hole,  New  Bedford,  and  other  localities. 
Storer's  illustration  (1853-1867),  reproduced  here,  was  of  a  2-inch  fish. 
M  We  have  not  seen  this  fish  alive. 


102274—25+- 


-16 


232  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHERIES 

87.  Mackerel  scad  {Decapterus  macarellus  Cuvier  and  Valenciennes) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1S96-1900,  p.  909. 

Description. — The  scads  are  easily  recognized  among  pompanos  by  the  presence 
of  a  small  detached  finlet  between  the  second  dorsal  and  the  base  of  the  caudal 
fin  °'  with  another  similar  to  it  behind  the  anal.  Furthennore,  they  are  more 
slender  than  most  other  pompanos,  being  only  about  one-fifth  as  deep  as  long, 
and  fusiform  like  a  mackerel,  but  the  great  length  of  the  second  dorsal  fin  and 
the  fact  that  there  is  only  one  dorsal  and  one  anal  finlet  would  separate  a  mackerel 
scad  from  a  mackerel  at  a  glance.  The  nose  of  the  scad  is  blunter,  its  snout  shorter, 
its  mouth  smaller,  and  its  premaxillary  bones  are  protractile.  The  triangular  first 
dorsal  fin  (8  spines)  originates  over  the  middle  of  the  pectoral.  The  second  dorsal 
(about  34  rays)  is  separated  from  it  by  only  a  very  short  space  and  extends  back 
nearly  to  the  base  of  the  caudal.  The  anal  is  similar  to  the  second  dorsal  in  form 
but  shorter  (34  to  27  rays),  originating  about  imder  the  seventh  or  eighth  ray  of 
the  latter,  and  it  is  preceded  by  2  short  stout  spines.  The  ventrals  are  shorter 
than  the  pectorals  and  below  them.     The  tail  of  the  scad  is  less  deeply  forked  than 


FiQ.  107. — Mackerel  scad  (Decaptems  macarellus) 

in  most  pompanos.  In  place  of  fleshy  keels  on  the  caudal  peduncle,  the  posterior 
half  of  the  lateral  line  is  armed  with  a  series  of  about  31  keeled  shields,  largest  on 
the  peduncle,  and  all  of  them  much  larger  than  the  ordinary  scales — -a  very  notice- 
able character. 

Color. — Described  as  slate  blue  or  leaden  above,  silvery  below,  with  a  small 
black  spot  on  the  margin  of  the  gill  cover  and  with  the  axil  of  the  pectoral  black. 
We  have  not  seen  it  alive. 

Size. — Maximum  length  about  1  foot. 

General  range. — Warm  parts  of  the  Atlantic,  rarely  straying  northward  to  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  and  to  Nova  Scotia. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — -A  single  specimen  caught  with  smelt  in 
Casco  Bay,  Me.,  in  1920  is  the  only  Gulf  of  Maine  record,  though  it  has  been  taken 
at  Canso,  Nova  Scotia,  but  being  common  in  the  autumn  about  Woods  Hole,  where 
as  many  as  10  barrels  have  been  taken  from  one  trap  haul,  it  would  not  be  sur- 
prising to  find  it  north  of  Cape  Cod. 

"  A  second  scad,  the  "roxind  robin"  (Decapterus  punciatus),  similarly  characterized,  is  known  as  far  north  as  the  Woods 
Hole  region.  It  has  40  or  more  scutes  or  shield  scales  on  the  lateral  line,  instead  of  only  about  30  or  31;  its  jaws  are  toothed,  and  it 
is  spotted  along  the  lateral  line,  characters  that  separate  it  from  the  mackerel  scad. 


FISHES  OF  THE  GVIjF   OP  MAINE 


233 


88.  Crevalle  {Caranx  hippos  LinnjEus) 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  189&-1900,  p.  920. 

Description. — The  presence  of  a  well-developed  first  dorsal  (8  spines)  combined 
with  an  anal  (about  17  rays,  preceded  by  2  short  detached  spines)  nearly  as  long 
as  the  second  dorsal  (about  20  rays),  but  no  detached  finlets,  separates  the  crevaUe 
from  all  pompanos  yet  known  from  the  Gulf  except  for  the  hardtail  (p.  234),  and 
whereas  the  breast  of  the  latter  is  scaly  like  the  rest  of  the  body,  this  region  is  largely 
naked  in  the  crevalle.  Furthermore,  the  lower  jaw  of  the  latter  is  armed  with  a 
pair  of  canine  teeth,  wanting  in  the  hardtail,  and  the  dorsal  profile  of  its  head  is 
different  (compare  fig.  108  with  fig.  109).  The  long  scimitar-shaped  pectoral  fins 
also  afford  a  convenient  field  mark  to  separate  crevalle,  hardtail,  and  yellowtail 
(CJiloroscomhriis  chrysurus)  from  pilotfish,  rudderfish,  and  scads,  in  which  the  pecto- 
rals are  short  and  blunter.  We  need  only  call  attention  further  to  the  deeply 
forked  tail,  the  row  of  keeled  shields  on  either  side  of  the  caudal  peduncle,  the 
flattened  oblong  form  (only  about  two  and  one-half  times  as  long  as  deep,  but  with 
caudal  peduncle  as  slender  as  that  of  a  mackerel),  and  to  the  blunt  head. 


Fig.  108. — Crevalle  (  Caranx  hippos) 

Color. — Described  as  olive  above  with  golden  sides  and  belly.  There  is  a 
large  black  blotch  on  the  gill  cover,  a  faint  dark  spot  on  the  lower  rays  of  the  pec- 
torals, and  a  black  blotch  in  their  axils.     The  edge  of  the  second  dorsal  is  black. 

Size. — Maximum  weight  about  20  pounds. 

General  range. — Warm  seas;  abundant  on  both  coasts  of  America;  also  occur- 
ring in  the  East  Indies. 

Commercial  importance. — A  famous  game  fish  but  not  very  much  valued  for 
the  table. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — We  know  but  one  record  of  this  southern 
fish  east  or  north  of  the  southern  angle  of  Cape  Cod — a  specimen  picked  up  on 
Lynn  Beach  on  the  shore  of  Massachusetts  Bay  during  the  summer  of  1847.  At 
Woods  Hole,  however,  it  is  a  regular,  if  uncommon,  summer  visitor. 


234  BULLETIN    OF    THE    BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

89.  Hardtail  {Caranx  crysos  Mitchill) 
Eunnee;  Yellow  mackerel 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  921. 

Description. — The  hardtail  closely  resembles  the  crevaUe  m  the  relative  sizes 
and  arrangement  of  its  fins,  in  its  deeply-forked  tail,  its  slender  caudal  pedimcle, 
and  in  the  row  of  bony  sliields  along  the  posterior  half  of  its  lateral  line;  but  it  is 
a  more  slender  fish  (about  three  and  one-foiu"th  instead  of  only  two  and  one-half 
times  as  long  as  deep),  the  dorsal  profile  of  its  head  is  not  so  convex,  there  are  no 
canine  teeth,  and  the  shields  are  more  numerous  (about  45  in  hardtail  and  only 
about  30  in  crevalle).  Furthermore,  its  breast  is  wholly  scaly  instead  of  mostly 
naked,  and  the  pectoral  fin  spot,  characteristic  of  the  crevalle,  is  wanting  in  the 
hardtail. 


Fig.  109.— Hardtail  ( Caranx  crysos) 

Color. — Olive  green  above;  golden  to  silvery  below;  a  black  spot  on  the  gill 
cover  near  its  margin  but  none  on  the  pectoral  fin.  Young  fry  are  more  or  less  barred 
on  the  sides,  but  these  bars  disappear  with  growth. 

Size. — Maximum  weight  about  3  pounds.  Northern  examples  are  seldom 
more  than    a  foot  long. 

General  range. — ^Atlantic  coast  of  America,  Brazil  to  Cape  Cod,  and  represented 
by  a  closely  allied  species  in  the  Pacific. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. —  The  fact  that  this  fish  has  been  reported 
from  Provincetown,  in  Boston  Harbor,  off  Gloucester,"'  in  Ipswich  Bay,"'  and  from 
Nova  Scotian  waters,  shows  that  it  is  more  apt  to  round  Cape  Cod  than  is  the 
crevalle,  but  so  rare  a  stray  is  it  in  the  Gulf  that  none  of  the  local  fishermen  with 
whpm  we  have  talked  know  it  there.  Young  fish  are  not  rare  about  Woods  Hole 
and  thence  westward  from  July  tmtil  November. 

«  One  netted  Sept.  18,  1878. 

".Specimen  now  in  the  collection  of  the  Boston  Society  ot  Natural  History. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  235 

90.  Moonflsh  ( Vomer  setapinnis  Mitchill) 
Shiner;  Horsefish;  Bluntnose;  Dollarfish 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  934. 

Description. — The  very  deep,  compressed,  sharp-edged  body  of  the  moonfish 
(adults  are  only  about  twice  as  long  as  deep,  and  young  fry  even  deeper,  relatively) , 
tapering  to  the  usual  slender  caudal  peduncle,  and  the  concave  profile  of  its  head, 
separate  it  at  a  glance  from  pilotfish,  scad,  crevalle,  hardtail,  or  yellowtail  (CTiloro- 
scombrus  chrysurus),  and  the  very  low  dorsal  and  anal  fins  obviate  any  danger  of 
confusing  it  with  the  lookdown  (p.  236) ,  which  is  of  something  the  same  shape 
(compare  fig.  110  with  fig.  111).  The  first  dorsal  of  the  adult  moonfish  is  reduced 
to  four  very  short,  inconspicuous,  detached  spines,  but  in  young  fry  the  first  two 
of  these  are  elongate  and  filamentous.  The  second  dorsal  fin  (21  to  27  rays)  and 
the  anal  fin  (19  to  20  rays)  are  about  equal  in  length,  both  of  them  very  low  and 
tapering  very  slightly  from  front  to  rear.     In  very  small  fish  the  second  to  fourth 


Fig.  110.— Moonflsh  (  Vomer  setapinnis) 

rays  of  the  second  dorsal  are  more  or  less  elongate,  and  the  anal  is  preceded  by  3  or 
4  short  detached  spines  which  are  not  to  be  seen  in  the  adult.  The  ventrals  are  so 
small  that  they  are  apt  to  be  overlooked  except  in  young  fry,  where  the  ventral 
rays,  like  the  dorsal  spines,  are  long  and  filamentous.  The  pectorals  are  falcate, 
the  scales  on  the  lateral  line  are  not  large  enough  to  be  conspicuous,  and  the  teeth 
are  very  small.     There  are  no  detached  finlets,  dorsal  or  anal. 

Color. — Described  as  leaden  to  greenish  above  with  silvery  or  golden  sides  and 
belly,  the  second  dorsal  light  yellow  at  its  base  and  punctated  with  black,  and  the 
pectorals  dusky  greenish. 

Size. — About  1  foot  long. 

General  range. — Warm  seas  off  the  east  coast  of  America  from  Brazil  to  Cape 
Cod,  rarely  to  Nova  Scotia;  common  from  Chesapeake  Bay  southward. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  moonfish  reaches  the  Gulf  only  as  a  waif 
from  warmer  waters,  but  it  has  been  taken  more  often  there  than  any  other  of  its 


236 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


tribe.  There  are  records  for  Gloucester  (several  specimens),  Magnolia,  Danvers, 
Salem,  and  South  Boston  (a  specimen  2  inches  long),  in  Massachusetts;  for  Saco 
Beach  (fry  of  about  1  to  3  inches)  and  Casco  Bay,  in  Maine.  Fry  have  even  been 
reported  once  or  twice  as  far  east  as  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  but  most  of  these  records 
date  back  many  years  and  none  of  the  fishermen  of  whom  we  have  inquired  know 
it  at  all  north  of  Cape  Cod.  It  appears  more  often,  if  irregularly,  at  Woods  Hole, 
where  young  fish  are  sometimes  common  in  August  and  September. 

91.  Lookdown  {Selene  vomer  Linnajus) 

Horsehead;  Moonfish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1895-1900,  p.  936. 

Description. — The  very  high  second  dorsal  (about  22  rays)  and  anal  fins  (about 
20  rays)  of  the  lookdown,  and  their  peculiar  falcate  outline,  with  the  second  ray 


Fio.  111.— Lookdown  {Selene  vomer) 

much  the  longest  and  the  next  4  or  5  rays  successively  shorter  and  shorter,  make 
distinction  between  it  and  the  moonfish  easy.  Hardly  less  characteristic  is  its 
peculiar  form,  for  it  shares  with  the  moonfish  a  deep,  rhomboid,  but  very  thin  flat 
body  (the  fish  is  only  about  one  and  one-half  times  as  long  as  deep) ,  abruptly  truncate 
in  front,  with  slightly  concave  profile,  but  tapering  rearward  to  a  slender  caudal 
peduncle.  The  mouth  is  set  so  low  and  the  eye  so  high  that  the  expression  of  its 
face  is  very  characteristic.  When  adult  the  first  dorsal  is  reduced  to  6  or  7  short 
inconspicuous  spines,  only  the  first  3  of  which  are  connected  by  a  membrane, 
and  the  ventrals  are  very  small;  but  in  fry  up  to  4  or  5  inches  long  some  of  the 
spines  of  the  first  dorsal  are  greatly  elongate,  the  ventrals  are  much  longer,  and  the 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  237 

anal  is  preceded  by  a  short  detached  spiae  that  disappears  with  growth.  The 
caudal  fin  is  deeply  forked  like  that  of  other  pompanos  and  the  pectorals  are  sharp 
pointed  and  falciform,  reaching  back  behind  the  middle  of  the  second  dorsal. 

Color. — Small  specimens — and  northern  strays  are  usually  small — are  silvery 
above  as  well  as  below,  with  the  ground  tint  of  the  back  leaden,  the  sides  barred 
with  several  crossbands,  variously  described  as  dark  or  golden.  These  bands  fade 
out  with  growth,  however. 

Size. — Grows  to  a  weight  of  2  pounds. 

General  range. — Warm  waters  on  the  east  and  west  coasts  of  America,  north 
rarely  to  Cape  Cod,  and  casual  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  Common  from  Chesapeake 
Bay  southward. 

Occurrence  in  the  Oulf  of  Maine. — We  find  only  three  records  for  the  lookdo'mi 
in  the  Gulf — two  for  Casco  Bay  and  one  for  Dorchester,  in  Massachusetts  Bay, 
Hence,  since  no  one  would  be  apt  to  overlook  so  bizarre  a  fish,  it  must  be  a  very 
rare  straggler  from  the  south. 

THE   BLUEFISHES.     FAMILY   POMATOMID.E 

The  bluefish  (the  only  member  of  the  family)  resembles  the  pompano  famUy 
in  the  general  structure  and  arrangement  of  its  fins,  there  being  two  dorsals,  spiny 
and  soft,  with  the  ventrals  thoracic  in  situation;  but  it  lacks  the  free  spines  in  front 
of  the  anal  fin  which  are  characteristic  of  most  pompanos,  its  caudal  peduncle  is 
deeper,  its  tail  less  deeply  forked,  and  its  teeth  are  much  larger.  In  its  general 
body  form  and  in  the  arrangement  of  its  fins  it  bears  a  superficial  resemblance  to 
certain  of  the  weakfish  family  (p.  269),  but  is  readily  separable  from  any  of  the  latter 
by  the  fact  that  its  anal  fin  is  nearly  as  long  as  the  soft  (second)  dorsal,  and  from 
the  sea-bass  family  because  its  first  (spiny)  dorsal  is  much  lower  than  the  second. 
Most  American  ichthyologists  look  upon  the  bluefish  family  as  closely  allied  to  the 
pompanos,  but  according  to  another  view  it  should  be  grouped  with  the  sea-bass 
tribe  because  of  skeletal  characters. 

92.  Bluefish  {Pomatomus  saltatrix  Linnseus)' 
Snapper  (young) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  946. 

Description. — ^According  to  Jordan  and  Evermann  and  to  most  of  their  suc- 
cessors, the  bluefish  is  separable  from  its  closest  allies,  the  pompanos  (Carangidfe), 
by  a  tail  "not  deeply  forked"  and  by  the  larger  scales,  statements  that  may  easily 
be  misleading,  for  while  the  bluefish  certainly  has  a  less  deeply  forked  taU  than  the 
pompanos,  anyone,  we  think,  would  describe  it  as  deeply  forked  as  compared  with 
any  square-taUed  fish,  and  while  its  scales  are  larger  than  those  of  most  pompanos 
there  is  not  much  difference  in  this  respect  between  a  bluefish  and  a  large  crevalle 
(p.  233).     There  is,  however,  one  positive  point  of  difference.     The  jaws  of  the 

*  This  fish  has  been  known  by  various  vernacular  names  along  the  middle  and  southern  coasts  of  the  United  States.     In  the 
Gulf  of  Maine,  however,  it  is  simply  the  "bluefish." 


238 


BULLETIN    OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


bluefish,  upper  as  well  as  lower,  are  arpied  all  around  with  a  single  series  of  stout^ 
conical,  canine  teeth  (one-eighth  to  one-fourth  of  an  inch  long  in  a  fish  of  about  10 
pounds),  whei'eas  the  crevalle  alone  of  northern  pompanos  has  canines  and  then 
only  two.  Furthermore,  the  caudal  peduncle  of  the  bluefish  is  stouter  than  that 
of  any  pompano.  It  is  sharply  differentiated  from  all  mackerels  by  the  absence 
of  dorsal  or  ventral  finlets. 

The  bluefish  is  moderately  stout  bodied,  about  one-fourth  as  deep  as  long; 
its  belly  flat  sided  but  bhmt  edged  below;  its  caudal  peduncle  moderate  (slimmer, 
however,  than  in  many  other  fish,  e.  g.,  striped  bass);  its  head  deep;  its  nose 
moderately  pointed;  and  its  mouth  large  and  oblique  with  projecting  lower  jaw 
and  very  prominent  canines.  The  first  dorsal  (7  to  8  stout  spines),  originating  over 
the  middle  of  the  pectoral,  is  low,  rounded,  depressible  in  a  groove,  and  separated 
by  only  a  very  short  interval  from  the  second,  which  is  more  than  twice  as  long 
(about  25  soft  rays)  and  about  twice  as  high,  tapering  backward  with  slightly 
concave  margin.  The  anal  (about  25  rays)  is  similar  in  form  to  the  second  dorsal, 
but  originates  somewhat  farther  back  and  is  preceded  by  a  very  short  detached 


Fig.  112. — Bluefish  (Fomatomu^  saliatTtx) 

spine  often  hidden  in  the  skin.  The  caudal  is  broad  and  forked — "moderately"' 
or  "deeply,"  according  to  what  other  fish  it  is  compared  with.  The  ventrals  and 
pectorals  are  both  of  moderate  size.  The  body,  most  of  the  head,  and  also  the 
second  dorsal  and  anal  fins  are  clothed  with  medium-sized  scales.  There  are  no 
shields  or  keeled  scales  along  the  lateral  line  nor  is  the  caudal  peduncle  keeled. 

Color. — Deep  bluish  above,  more  or  less  tinged  with  green;  silvery  below. 
The  second  dorsal,  caudal,  and  pectoral  fins  are  of  the  general  body  tint,  the  latter 
with  a  black  blotch  at  its  base. 

Size. — Maximum  length  about  3  feet.  The  heaviest  of  which  we  find  definite 
record  within  recent  years  was  3  feet  9  inches  long  and  weighed  27  pounds.^  It  was 
caught  oif  Nantucket  in  1903.  It  is  said  that  fish  of  30  or  even  50  pounds  were  not 
imheard  of  during  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  these  monsters  may 
not  have  been  actually  weighed.  The  general  run  of  the  large  fish  that  are  caught 
is  only  10  to  15  pounds.  A  1-pound  fish  is  about  14  inches;  a  2-pounder  about  17 
inches;  a  3-pounder  about  20  to  21  inches;  a  4-pounder,  2  feet;  and  an  8-pounder 
about  28  to  29  inches  long.     Fish  running  from  10  to  12  pounds  are  about  30  inches.^ 

!  Smith.    Forest  and  Stream,  Vol.  61,  Oct.  10,  1903,  p.  283. 
>  Goode,  et  al.,  1884. 


FISHES  OF  THK  GULF  OF  MAINE  239 

General  range.* — Widely  but  irregularly  distributed  in  the  warmer  parts  of  the 
Atlantic  and  Indian  Oceans.  North  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of 
the  United  States. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.- — So  far  as  we  can  learn  bluefish  have  never  been 
taken  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  or  off  the  Nova  Scotian  side  of  the  Gulf.  In  fact  they 
have  very  seldom  been  seen  east  of  Penobscot  Bay  (reported  at  Mount  Desert  in 
1889) ,  and  so  far  as  the  Gulf  is  concerned  it  seems  that  they  are  confined  to  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  coast,  for  they  are  unknown  in  the  central  basin  or  on  Georges  Bank. 
Small  bluefish  ("snappers")  run  up  into  protected  harbors,  such  as  Provincetown 
and  Duxbury,  and  river  mouths  into  brackish  water.  The  larger  sizes  (3  pounds  or 
ijiore),  however,  keep  to  the  outsidewaters. 

The  most  interesting  aspect  of  the  occurrence  of  bluefish  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  is, 
that  while  it  has  been  known  to  swarm  there  for  several  summers  in  succession,  it 
may  then  be  so  rare  over  periods  of  many  years  that  the  capture  of  even  a  single  fish 
causes  remark.  At  the  time  of  the  first  settlement  bluefish  must  have  been  common, 
at  least  as  far  north  as  what  is  now  southern  Maine,  for  Josselyn,  wTiting  in  1672, 
spoke  of  them  there  and  was  evidently  familiar  with  them  on  the  table,  describing 
them  as  better  meat  than  the  salmon.  There  is  no  record  of  them  north  of  Cape 
Cod  during  the  seventeenth  centiu-y,  however. 

In  colonial  times  bluefish  were  plentiful  off  southern  New  England  and  about 
Nantucket,  but  they  seem  to  have  disappeared  thence  about  1764,  to  reappear  about 
1810.  From  that  time  on  they  increased  in  abundance  west  and  south  of  Cape  Cod, 
but  none  was  reported  north  of  the  cape  until  1837,  and  since  a  fish  as  ubiquitous  as 
the  bluefish  would  certainly  have  attracted  attention  and  its  presence  would  have 
found  its  way  into  print  had  it  been  at  all  abundant  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region, 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  very  few,  if  any,  visited  the  Gulf  of  Maine  during  the  eighteenth 
century  or  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth.  According  to  Storer,  the  first  bluefish 
seen  north  of  Cape  Cod  thereafter  was  one  caught  on  October  25,  1837,  and  in  1838 
'  Captain  Atwood  (1863,  p.  189)  saw  them  for  the  first  time  at  Provincetown;  but 
after  1844,  according  to  Storer,  bluefish  were  taken  yearly  from  the  wharves  at 
Boston,  and  they  came  in  greater  numbers  year  after  year,  until  by  1850  they  were  so 
plentiful  about  Cape  Ann  that  fishermen  complained  of  them  driving  away  most  of 
the  other  schooling  fish,  while  in  1863,  which  seems  to  have  marked  the  culmination 
of  the  flood  tide  of  bluefish,  they  were  extremely  abundant  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
region  and  especially  at  Provincetown.'  They  remained  plentiful  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  for  several  summers  after  1863,  but  by  1872  they  were 
reported  as  much  less  abundant  off  Gloucester,  and  they  were  no  longer  sufficiently 
plentiful  north  of  Cape  Cod  to  menace  the  local  mackerel  fishery  after  1878  or  1879. 

Bluefish  have  never  appeared  in  any  numbers  north  of  Boston  since  1889,°  in 
which  year  they  were  reported  common  as  far  north  as  Mount  Desert,  but  consider- 
able numbers  were  taken  along  the  inner  as  well  as  the  outer  shores  of  Cape  Cod 

'  Although  bluefish  are  said  to  range  as  far  north  as  Nova  Scotia  (Halkett,  1913,  p.  42),  we  have  found  no  recent  report  of  them 
beyond  the  westernside  of  the  Gulf  of  IVIaine. 

*  Baird  (1873)  and  Qoode  et  al.  (1884)  have  collected  much  data  on  the  early  history  of  the  bluefish. 

•  None  was  reported  north  of  Plymouth  in  1887  or  1888. 


240  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

until  about  1897,  a  season  when  the  traps  on  its  east  and  west  sides  accounted  for 
about  9,000  pounds.  Since  that  time,  however,  the  catch  of  bluefish  for  the  whole 
Gulf  of  Maine  has  never  again  been  so  large.  From  1906  until  1911  the  returns  for 
the  Gulf  of  Maine  shores  of  the  cape  ran  from  less  than  100  to  about  4,000  pounds 
yearly,  the  north  shore  of  Massachusetts  Bay  yielding  from  none  at  aU  up  to  600 
pounds.  Since  1917,  when  the  State  of  Massachusetts  resumed  publication  of  the 
pound-net  statistics  after  a  lapse  of  5  years,  the  largest  annual  catches  north  of  the 
elbow  of  Cape  Cod  have  been  668  pounds  (about  60  or  70  fish)  caught  off  Essex 
County,  Mass.,  during  the  simuner  of  1919,  and  521  pounds  taken  in  the  traps  near 
Gloucester  in  1921,  in  which  summer  (as  we  have  been  informed)  some  small  bluefish 
4  to  5  inches  long  were  also  caught  off  Plymouth,  and  at  least  one  small  bluefish 
(about  13^  pounds)  was  taken  at  Beverly,  Mass.,  in  July,  1922,  with  a  lot  of  shad, 
which  it  may  have  been  following. 

For  the  past  30  years  Cape  Ann  has  been  the  extreme  northern  boimdary  for 
this  fish,  except  that  some  young  fry  (about  2}^  inches  long)  were  taken  in  Casco 
Bay  in  August,  1899,  and  a  few  small-sized  fish  (but  no  adults)  there  the  following 
summer. 

Although  the  available  statistics  leave  much  to  be  desired,  they  demonstrate 
beyond  dispute  that  only  once  during  the  memory  of  men  now  living  or  of 
their  fathers  or  grandfathers  have  bluefish  been  common  anywhere  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  but  that  they  were  extremely  abundant  as  far  north  as  Cape  Ann  for  a  period 
of  over  20  years.  The  disappearance  of  bluefish  from  Massachusetts  Bay  was  part 
of  a  general  shrinkage  of  the  bluefish  stock  inhabiting  our  northern  waters  east  of 
New  York  as  a  whole,  so  pronoimced  that  while  the  New  England  catch  (Massachu- 
setts, Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut)  ran  about  3,000,000  pounds  annually  in  the 
early  eighties,  it  was  but  little  more  than  1,000,000  in  1889,  had  fallen  to  689,160  by 
1902,  showed  a  steady  decline  from  then  until  1906,  and  was  only  about  34,000 
poimds  in  1919.  From  time  to  time  dm"ing  this  period,  however,  there  have  been 
exceptionally  good  seasons  when  great  numbers  of  bluefish  have  appeared  off 
southern  New  England  to  interrupt  this  ebb.  In  1908,  for  example,  they  were  more 
plentiful  in  Vineyard  Sound  than  for  many  years,  while  in  1901  a  school  4  or  5  miles 
long  was  reported  in  Narragansett  Bay.  Apparently  it  is  only  in  the  northern  part 
of  its  range  that  the  bluefish  has  diminished  notably  in  numbers. 

The  bluefish  never  has  supported  a  fishery  of  any  magnitude  in  the  Guff  of 
Maine — perhaps  never  will.  Nevertheless  its  presence  or  absence  there  is  a  matter 
of  direct  importance  to  the  fishing  interests,  for  when  it  swarms  it  may  actually 
drive  away  the  mackerel,  if  not  the  herring  and  menhaden.  While  it  is  now  many 
years  since  bluefish  have  been  plentiful  enough  north  of  Cape  Cod  to  matter  one 
way  or  the  other,  history  will  no  doubt  repeat  itseK  sooner  or  later  and  these  sea 
pirates  will  again  invade  the  Gulf  in  abundance,  probably  for  several  summers  in 
succession. 

Habits. — The  bluefish  travels  in  schools,  mostly  near  the  surface,  and  is  perhaps 
the  most  ferocious  and  bloodthirsty  fish  in  the  sea,  leaving  in  its  wake  a  trail  of  dead 
and  mangled  mackerel,  menhaden,  herring,  alewives,  etc.,  on  all  of  which  it  preys. 
As  Goode,  et  al.  (1884,  p.  .574),  long  ago  wrote  in  their  vivid  and  oft-quoted  account 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  241 

of  its  destructive  habits,  the  bluefish  "not  content  with  what  they  eat,  which  is 
itself  of  enormous  quantity,  rush  ravenously  through  the  closely  crowded  schools, 
cutting  and  tearing  the  living  fish  as  they  go."  Not  only  the  schooling  fish,  but 
scup,  squeteague,  hake,  butterfish,  cunners,  and  in  fact  small  fish  of  all  kinds,' as 
well  as  squid,  fall  prey  to  them.  Baird  estimated  that  in  the  early  seventies,  when 
bluefish  were  at  the  height  of  their  abundance,  they  annually  destroyed  at  least 
twelve  hundred  million  fish  during  the  four  summer  months  off  southern  New 
England  alone ;  and  while  from  the  nature  of  the  case  no  such  calculation  can  claim 
even  an  approach  to  accuracy,  it  will  at  least  help  give  the  reader  a  graphic  realiza- 
tion of  the  destruction  they  wreak  diu-ing  their  periods  of  plenty.  They  are  also 
known  to  eat  various  Crustacea  and  even  marine  worms  on  occasion,  and  the 
young  "snappers"  6  to  8  inches  long  feed  largely  on  copepods,  crustacean  and 
molluscan  larvse,  as  well  as  on  fish  fry  smaller  than  themselves. 

Bluefish  are  creatures  of  warm  water.  In  the  years  when  they  pass  Cape  Cod 
they  usually  appear  in  Massachusetts  Bay  about  the  middle  and  sometimes  as 
early  as  the  1st  of  June,'  and  are  seen  off  and  on  all  summer.  Most  of  them 
depart  late  in  September,  but  an  occasional  fish  lingers  into  late  autumn.  Bluefish 
have  even  been  caught  about  Provincetown  as  late  as  December.  It  is  not  known 
where  these  northern  bluefish  winter,  nor  even  whether  they  migrate  southward 
along  shore  or  move  out  to  sea. 

No  fully  ripe  bluefish  have  ever  been  taken  so  far  as  we  can  learn,  although 
females  containing  large  ova  approaching  ripeness  are  often  seen  in  summer  on 
various  parts  of  the  American  coast.  While  their  spawning  grounds  are  still  to 
be  discovered,  it  is  not  likely  that  they  spawn  in  inshore  waters  along  the  New 
England  coast,  and  though  they  may  do  so  along  the  shores  of  the  Middle  and  South 
Atlantic  States,  we  incline  to  the  view  now  generally  held  that  the  chief  production 
of  eggs  takes  place  out  at  sea  before  the  fish  appear  on  the  coast.  The  possibdity 
is  still  open,  however,  that  the  buoyant  eggs  with  segmented  yolk  and  large  oil 
globule  from  Newport,  R.  I.,  provisionally  referred  to  the  bluefish  by  Agassiz  and 
Whitman  (1885),  were  actually  those  of  this  species,  and  while  the  identity  of 
their  "bluefish"  larvae  has  likewise  been  questioned,  we  believe  that  their  identi- 
fication of  the  oldest  (9  mm.)  was  correct,  though  the  younger  ones  may  have 
belonged  to  some  Scombroid. 

At  this  stage  the  second  dorsal  fin  is  formed,  the  first,  however,  still  repre- 
sented by  the  rudiments  of  the  future  spines.  The  anal  fins  are  visible,  also,  and 
the  tail  is  slightly  forked.  These  larvae,  like  mackerel  (which  they  much  resemble) , 
have  large  blue  eyes  and  large  projecting  teeth,  but  they  are  as  far  advanced  in 
development  as  mackerel  twice  as  large,  and  in  proportion  to  their  size  they  are  as 
ferocious  as  the  adult  bluefish  are,  devouring  all  other  small  animals  kept  in  the 
tank  with  them. 

The  bluefish  fry  of  three-fourths  to  3  inches,  which  have  often  been  taken 
along  shore  in  summer  not  only  south  of  Cape  Cod  but  even  in  the  GuK  of  Maine 
(p.  240),  are  presumably  the  product  of  that  spring's  spawning,  and  it  seems  that 

'  Along  southern  New  England  thoy  are  expected  during  the  last  half  of  May. 


242 


BULUITIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


they  grow  to  a  length  of  4  to  9  inches  by  autumn,  fish  of  that  size  being  common 
in  October,  while  general  experience  suggests  a  length  of  8  to  12  inches  by  the 
following  spring.  The  growth  of  the  older  fish  has  not  been  followed,*  nor  is  the 
age  at  which  the  bluefish  matures  known. 

a 

THE    MARIPOSAS.     FAMILY   LAMPRIDjE 
93.  Opah  {Lampris  luna  Gmelin) 
Moonfish;  Jerusalem  haddock 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  954. 

Description. — The  opah  is  notable  for  the  large  number  of  its  ventral  fin  rays, 
of  which  there  are  14  to  17   (no  mackerels,  swordfishes,  pompanos,  bluefish,  or 


Fio.  113.— Opah  (Lampris  luna) 

butterfish  have  more  than  8) .  There  is  only  one  (soft)  dorsal  fin.  The  flat,  deep 
(only  about  one  and  one-fourth  times  as  long  as  deep)  form  of  the  opah,  with  the 
moderately  slender  caudal  peduncle  (which  is  not  keeled)  and  rather  pointed  snout, 
suggests  an  enormous  butterfish,  but  it  is  provided  with  very  long  falcate  ventral 
fins,  whereas  the  butterfish  lacks  ventrals.  The  anal  (38  to  41  rays)  and  dorsal 
fins  (53  to  55  rays)  are  relatively  higher  than  in  the  latter,  and  its  tail  fin  is  but 
slightly  emarginate  instead  of  deeply  forked.  The  opah,  furthermore,  is  toothless. 
We  may  also  note  as  characteristic  that  the  mouth  is  very  small,  the  pectorals 
unusually  long  and  pointed,  with  their  bases  horizontal  instead  of  vertical,  the 
dorsal  very  high  in  front  and  deeply  emarginate  in  outline,  and  the  anal  only  about 
haK  as  long  as  the  dorsal  and  of  nearly  even  height  from  front  to  rear.  Both  the 
dorsal  and  the  anal  fins  extend  back  close  to  the  base  of  the  caudal,  and  both  are 
depressible  in  grooves.     The  scales  are  minute. 

» No  growth  studies  based  on  the  scales  or  on  other  exact  methods  have  been  undertaken  lor  the  bluefish. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  243 

Color. — We  have  never  seen  this  fish  alive,  but  it  is  described  as  very  beautiful, 
dark  steel  blue  above  shading  into  green  with  silver,  purple,  gold,  and  lilac  luster  on 
the  sides  and  rosy  on  the  belly,  with  vermilion  fins,  while  the  whole  body  is  speckled 
with  silvery  and  milk-white  spots. 

Size. — The  opah  grows  to  a  length  of  3  to  6  feet;  usually  3  to  4  feet. 

General  range. — Open  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans.  Recorded  off 
the  Madeiras,  Scandinavia,  the  British  Isles,  Norway,  Iceland,  Newfoundland, 
Nova  Scotia,  Maine,  and  Cuba. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — We  include  the  opah  here  because  it  is  said 
to  have  been  taken  off  Maine."  We  find  no  more  definite  record  of  it  within  the  Gulf 
of  Maine,  but  one  was  caught  off  Sable  Island  in  1856  and  a  second  oft'  La  Have 
Bank  many  years  ago. 

Habits. — The  opah  is  usually  spoken  of  as  a  deep-sea  fish,  but  this  is  a  misno- 
mer, for  off  Madeira,  where  it  is  taken  in  some  numbers,  it  is  caught  on  hook  and 
line  at  50  to  100  fathoms  depth  only.  Being  so  rare  off  our  coast  we  need  merely 
note  that  it  feeds  chiefly  on  squid,  isopods,  and  small  fish,  as  well  as  on  seaweeds; 
that  it  is  an  excellent  food  fish;  and  that  nothing  is  known  of  its  breeding  habits. 

THE  RUDDERFISHES.     FAMILY  CENTROLOPHID.a;. 

94.  Barrelflsh  {Palinurichthys  perciformis  MitchiU) 

Logfish;  Rudderfish;  Black  pilot 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  964. 

Description. — The  reduction  of  the  spinous  portion  of  the  dorsal  fin  of  the 
barrelfish  to  6  to  8  short  detached  spines,  each  with  a  small  triangular  fin  membrane, 
closely  followed  by  a  large  soft-rayed  dorsal  fin,  marks  it  off  from  all  other  Gulf  of 
Maine  fishes  except  certain  of  the  pompano  tribe.  There  is  no  danger  of  confusing 
it  with  any  of  the  latter,  its  caudal  fin  being  only  slightly  emarginate  instead  of 
deeply  forked  and  its  caudal  peduncle  moderately  stout  and  without  keels  instead 
of  very  slender.  Wlaile  it  suggests  a  cunner  in  general  appearance,  especially  in  its 
rather  stout  body  (about  two-fifths  as  deep  as  long,  not  counting  the  caudal), 
bluntly  rounded  nose,  convex  profile,  and  smaU  mouth,  its  rudimentary  spiny 
dorsal  is  a  ready  field  mark  to  distinguish  it  from  the  latter.  The  soft  dorsal  fin 
(20  to  22  rays)  rises  about  midway  from  tip  of  snout  to  base  of  caudal;  the  ana 
(16  or  17  rays)  is  somewhat  farther  back.  Both  these  fins  are  moderately  high  and 
taper  slightly  from  front  to  rear.  The  anal  is  preceded  by  three  short  spines  so  nearly 
imbedded  in  the  skin  as  to  be  hardly  visible.  Both  the  ventrals  and  the  pectorals  are 
large  with  rounded  tips.  The  top  of  the  head  is  scaleless  but  the  body  is  clothed 
with  small  rounded  scales. 

Color. — Described  as  varjang  from  blackish  to  green,  and  either  as  dark  below 
as  above  or  paling  to  bluish  white  on  the  belly,  variously  mottled  with  darker  dots 
and  bars.    It  is  said  to  change  color  to  accord  with  its  surroundings. 

'  Goode  and  Bean,  1896,  p.  223. 


244 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 


Size. — Maximum  length  10  to  12  inches  but  most  of  those  seen  are  smaller. 

General  range. — Atlantic  coast  of  North  America,  Cape  Hatteras  to  Nova 
Scotia;  most  abundant  south  of  Cape  Cod. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Although  the  barrelfish  is  rather  common  along 
the  outer  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  on  the  one  hand,  and  even  more  so  off  Woods  Hole 
and  thence  westward  along  the  southern  New  England  coast  on  the  other,  it  is  so 
rare  a  fish  within  the  Gulf  of  Maine  that  we  have  never  seen  it  there  ourselves,  nor 
has  Doctor  Kendall  found  it  on  his  various  collecting  trips  along  the  Maine  coast. 
In  fact  the  only  definite  GuK  of  Maine  records  we  have  been  able  to  find  are  one  from 
Boston  Harbor,  one  from  Salem,  one  from  Annisquam,  and  one  vaguely  described 
as  from  the  fishing  banks  off  the  coast  of  Maine.  Our  own  experience  with  this  fish 
is  limited  to  a  single  occasion,  south  of  Nantucket,  when  several  were  seen  about  a 
drifting  box.  They  owe  their  common  name  to  their  habit  of  congregating  about 
floating  spars  and  planks  or  any  drifting  wreckage,  or  inside  of  barrels  or  boxes, 


Fig.  114.— Barrelfish  (Palinurichthys  percijormis).    After  DeKay 

where  it  is  easy  to  catch  them  in  dip  nets.  Off  southern  New  England  they  are  often 
found  in  gulfweed.  They  sometimes  gather  about  slow-moving  vessels,  and  so 
closely  do  they  cling  to  these  refuges  that  one  has  even  been  known  to  cross  the 
Atlantic  to  Penzance  Harbor,  in  Cornwall,  presumably  drifting  in  the  packing  case 
in  which  it  was  found. 

Food. — Barrelfish  feed  on  the  sundry  small  crustaceans,  barnacles,  hydroids, 
young  squids,  small  moUusks,  and  Salpje  which  they  find  near  or  attached  to  their 
floating  homes;  likewise  on  ctenophores  and  on  fish  fry,  the  diet  lists  of  specimens 
taken  at  Woods  Hole  including  herring,  mackerel,  menhaden,  launce,  scup,  and 
silversides.'"  Sometimes  they  contain  seaweed,  but  we  suspect  this  is  eaten  for 
the  animals  attached  to  it  and  not  from  a  vegetarian  taste. 

Habits. — Nothing  is  known  of  the  breeding  habits  of  the  barrelfish. 


"  Vinal  Edwards's  notes. 


FISHES  OP  THE  GTJI>F  OF  MAINE  245 

THE   BUTTERFISHES.     FAMILY   STROMATEID^ 

The  members  of  this  family  are  deep  bodied  and  very  much  compressed,  vdih 
one  long  dorsal  fin  that  is  soft  rayed  except  for  a  few  short  weak  spines  at  its  anterior 
extremity,  an  anal  of  corresponding  size  and  shape,  a  deeply  forked  caudal,  a  blunt 
nose,  and  a  small  mouth.  The  two  species  occurring  on  the  east  coast  of  North 
America  lack  ventral  fins,  but  the  extremity  of  the  pelvic  bone  projects  through  the 
skin  as  a  spine — easily  felt  but  so  short  that  it  is  apt  to  be  overlooked. 

Two  species  occur  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine — one  (the  butterfish)  being  a  common 
summer  visitor,  and  the  other  (the  harvestfish)  a  rare  stray  from  the  south. 

KEY  TO   GULF  OF  MAINE  BUTTERFISHES 

1.         The  anterior  one-fourth  of  the  anal  fin  is  at  least  seven  times  as  high  as  the  rear  portion 

of  the  fin.    The  anal  and  dorsal  fins  are  both  extremely  falcate  in  outline.  .Harvestfish,  p.  250 
The  anterior  one-fourth  of  the  anal  fin  is  only  about  2  or  3  times  as  high  as  the  rear 
portion  of  the  fin.     The  margins  of  the  anal  and  dorsal  fins  are  only  slightly  con- 
cave   Butterfish,  p.  245 

95.  Butterfish  {Poronotus  triacanihu^  Peck) 

Dollaefish;  Shiner;  Skipjack;  Sheepshead;  Harvestfish;  Pumpkinseed 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  967. 

Description. — The  most  distinctive  characters  of  the  butterfish  are  its  very 
flat  deep  body  (the  fish  is  only  about  two  and  one-third  times  as  long  as  deep) 
like  a  flounder  on  edge,  the  only  common  Gulf  of  Maine  species  of  this  shape  com- 
bined with  a  single,  long,  soft-rayed  dorsal,  an  almost  equally  long  anal,  and  a 
deeply  forked  tail,  but  no  ventral  fins.  The  absence  of  ventral  fins  separates  it 
from  the  deep-bodied  pompanos;  the  spineless  dorsal  and  deeply  forked  tail  from 
the  scup  (p.  263)  and  John  Dory  (p.  291) ;  the  lack  of  detached  dorsal  spines  from 
the  triggerfishes,  which  are,  furthermore,  very  different  in  general  aspect  (p.  293) ; 
and  it  is  easily  distinguishable  from  its  rare  relative,  the  harvestfish  (p.  250),  by  the 
fact  that  its  dorsal  and  anal  fins  are  much  lower  (compare  fig.  115  with  fig.  117).  The 
dorsal  (about  45  rays)  originates  close  behind  the  axil  of  the  pectoral  and  tapers 
at  fh-st  abruptly  and  then  gradually  backward,  while  the  anal  (about  38  rays) 
narrows  evenly  from  front  to  rear.  There  is  a  short  forward-pointing  spine  close 
in  front  of  each  of  these  fins,  and  both  extend  rearward  almost  to  the  base  of  the 
caudal. 

Distinctive,  also,  are  the  long-pointed  pectoral  fin,  the  short  head,  the  blunt 
snout,  the  small  mouth,  the  weak  teeth,  and  the  short  and  slender  imkeeled  caudal 
peduncle.  The  scales  are  very  small  and  easily  detached  when  the  fish  is  handled, 
and  there  is  a  row  of  very  conspicuous  mucus  pores  below  the  anterior  half  of 
the  dorsal  fin. 

CoZor.— Leaden  bluish  above,  paUng  on  the  sides,  with  silvery  belly. 

Size. — The  largest  are  about  103^  inches  long;  the  run  about  6  to  8  inches. 

General  range. — ^Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  from  Nova  Scotia  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico. 


246 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 


Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  is  a  regular  summer  visitor  to  the 
Gulf  of  Maine,  locally  common  along  the  shores  of  Massachusetts  and  Maine; 
common,  also,  on  the  Nova  Scotian  side  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  but  appearing  only 
irregularly  and  in  small  numbers  on  the  New  Brunswick  shore,  though  it  has  been 
taken  repeatedly  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay. 

The  numbers  of  butterfish  diminish,  passing  from  west  to  east  along  the  northern 
coast  hne  of  the  GuK,  as  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  in  1919,  a  fairly  representative 
year,  more  than  180,000  pounds  were  caught  in  Plymouth  and  Barnstable  Counties 
(both  sides  of  Cape  Cod),  20,000  pounds  along  the  short  coast  line  of  Essex  County, 
Mass.,  and  about  31,000  pounds  thence  to  and  including  the  Casco  Bay  region, 
which  seems  to  be  a  regular  center  of  abimdance  for  it,  but  less  than  1,000  pounds 
between  Casco  Bay  and  Penobscot  Bay.  So  few  were  taken  east  of  the  latter, 
in  spite  of  the  many  weus  maintained  along  that  part  of  the  coast  for  the  sardine 
fishery,  that  none  were  mentioned  thence  in  the  fishery  statistics  for  the  year  in 
question. 


^^^•> 


Fig.  115.— Butterfish  (.Poronolus  triacanthui) 

Butterfish  also  appear  on  Georges  Bank  in  smnmer,  sometimes  in  comparative 
abundance,  and  about  1,000  fish  were  taken  there  during  one  trawling  trip  in  1913; 
but  although  they  are  said  to  be  common  as  far  east  as  Canso  "  (hence  probably 
all  along  the  outer  coast  of  Nova  Scotia),  we  have  heard  no  rumor  of  them  on 
Browns  Bank,  nor  are  they  known  to  occur  in  the  central  deeps  of  the  Gulf  of 
Maine. 

Season. — Butterfish  usually  appear  off  Rhode  Island  by  the  middle  or  end  of 
April  and  are  seen  about  Woods  Hole  as  early  as  the  middle  of  May,  but  they  are 
not  abundant  there  until  a  month  later,  nor  do  they  appear  in  Massachusetts  Bay 
in  any  numbers  until  well  into  June,  and  it  is  not  untU  the  end  of  that  month  or 
the  first  part  of  July  that  they  are  plentifiil  anywhere  north  of  Cape  Cod.  They 
stay,  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  all  summer,  to  disappear  thence  in  autumn.  Probably 
they  leave  its  northern  parts  earlier  than  they  do  its  southern  parts,  and  though 

"  Cornish.    Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology,  1902-1905  (1907),  Ottawa. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GTJLF   OF   MAINE  247 

the  precise  date  of  their  departiire  is  not  known,  they  probably  linger  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  Gulf  until  November,  as  they  do  about  Woods  Hole  and  off  Rhode  Island. 
During  the  season  of  1913  the  first  butterfish  were  reported  on  Georges  Bank,  June 
5  to  8.  A  few  were  caught  in  October  and  the  latest  (82  fish)  from  November  21 
to  27. 

Habits. — Considering  how  familiar  and  valuable  this  fish  is,  surprisingly  httle 
is  known  of  its  manner  of  life.  As  a  rule  it  travels  in  small  bands  or  loose  schools, 
commonly  coming  close  inshore  into  sheltered  bays  and  estuaries — hence  its  frequent 
capture  in  pound  nets  and  the  like— and  showing  so  decided  a  preference  for  sandy 
rather  than  rocky  or  muddy  bottoms  that  in  even  as  small  an  area  as  Duxbury 
Bay,  for  example,  very  few  are  taken  in  such  traps  as  are  situated  on  muddy  ground 
while  others  located  along  the  sandy  beach  near  by  jaeld  considerable  numbers. 
General  experience  is  to  the  effect  that  the  butterfish  keeps  chiefly  to  shoal  (often 
very  shoal)  water  during  its  stay,  and  schools  are  often  seen  close  to  the  siuiace. 
At  Cohasset  (on  the  south  side  of  Massachusetts  Bay),  for  instance,  schools  of  butter- 
fish fifty  to  a  few  hundred  strong  are  often  to  be  seen  where  the  flats  are  covered 
by  only  4  or  5  feet  of  water,  and  although  definite  evidence  is  lacking  we  believe 
butterfish  seldom  descend  deeper  than  15  to  30  fathoms  dm-ing  the  summer,  but 
that  the  fish  caught  by  the  otter  trawlers  on  Georges  Bank  are  picked  up  by  the 
trawl  on  its  way  up  or  do^vn — riot  while  it  is  dragging  on  bottom.  In  fact,  mackerel 
fishermen  often  take  a  few  butterfish  there  in  then  purse  seines.  Although  it  seems 
well  established  that  the  butterfish  actually  withdraw  from  the  Gulf  when  they 
disappear  at  the  approach  of  autumn,  their  winter  home  is  unknown. 

Food. — The  butterfish  feeds  on  small  fish,  squid,  Crustacea  such  as  amphipods 
and  shrimp,  annelids,  etc.,  and  ctenophores  have  been  found  in  butterfish  stomachs 
at  Woods  Hole,  though  these  watery  objects  are  not  a  regular  item  in  its  diet. 

Breeding  habits. — Butterfish  begin  spa\vning  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  soon  after 
their  arrival  in  Jime.  The  height  of  the  reproductive  season  is  in  July  and  their 
eggs  have  been  taken  throughout  August.  Observations  made  at  Woods  Hole 
suggest  that  butterfish  do  not  spa\vn  close  inshore  but  some  few  miles  out  at  sea, 
returning  to  the  coastwise  waters  when  spent."  Judging  from  the  occurrence  of 
the  adult  butterfish  it  would  not  be  surprising  to  find  its  eggs  anywhere  off  the 
New  England  and  western  Nova  Scotian  coasts  or  on  the  Scotian  side  of  the  Bay 
of  Fundy,  Htmtsman  having  foimd  large  spawning  individuals  in  St.  Mary  Bay 
in  July,  and  we  have  actually  taken  them  in  our  tow  nets  at  several  stations  in 
Massachusetts  Bay  and  off  Cape  Cod.  But  in  spite  of  the  considerable  number 
of  butterfish  eggs  produced  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  we  doubt  whether  the  latter  is  a 
favorable  nursery  for  this  fish,  for  we  have  taken  its  larvae  only  twice  in  the  Gulf 
of  Maine — off  Cape  Cod  on  August  16  and  on  Georges  Bank  on  July  23,  1916,  a 
total  of  only  3  specimens,  5  to  30  mm.  long — although  we  have  made  himdreds  of 
hauls  widely  distributed  inshore  as  well  as  offshore  at  the  season  when  they  might 
be  expected.  Young  butterfish  have  never  been  reported  from  the  Bay  of  Fundy, 
but  by  contrast  butterfish  fry  are  very  plentiful  along  the  shores  of  southern  New 
England. 

1!  KuntJ  and  Radclifle,  1918,  p.  112. 


248  BFLLETIJSr    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

The  eggs  are  buoyant,  transparent,  spherical,  and  0.7  to  0.8  mm.  in  diameter. 
There  is  usually  a  single  oil  globule  of  about  0.17  to  0.2  mm.  In  newly  spawned 
eggs,  however,  there  may  be  two  globules,  which  coalesce  as  development  advances." 
At  a  temperature  of  65° — the  summer  state  of  the  surface  of  Massachusetts  Bay — 
incubation  occupies  less  than  48  hours.  It  is  probable  that  development  can  only 
proceed  in  comparatively  warm  water,  though  the  lower  temperature  limit  to 
successful  reproduction  is  not  known.  The  larvae  are  about  2  mm.  long  at  hatching, 
comparatively  stout,  with  the  vent  situated  far  forward  on  one  side  and  considerably 
above  the  margin  of  the  finfold,  and  with  large  black  chromatophores  scattered 
over  head  and  trunk.  By  the  third  day  after  hatcMng,  when  the  larva  is  about 
2.3  mm.  long,  the  yolk  is  absorbed  and  the  pigment  has  gathered  in  four  charac- 
teristic patches — one  on  the  nape,  one  in  the  dorsal  region  of  the  abdominal  cavity, 
one  on  the  dorsal  side  and  one  on  the  ventral  side  of  the  trunk  behind  the  vent. 
Dorsal,  anal,  and  caudal  fin  rays  are  visible  in  larvae  of  6  mm.,  when  the  body  has 
already  begun  to  assume  the  deep  compressed  form  so  characteristic  of  the  adult 
butterfish.  At  a  length  of  15  mm.  the  caudal  fin  is  deeply  forked,  the  unpaired 
fins  are  formed,  and  the  little  fish  resembles  the  adult  sufficiently  for  ready 
identification." 

During  their  first  summer  young  butterfish,  like  yoimg  haddock,  often  live  in 
the  shelter  of  the  larger  jellyfishes,  and  Goode  (1888,  p.  222)  graphically  described 
the  fry  of  2  to  23^  inches  as  swimming  among  the  tentacles  of  Cyanea  (10  or  15 
little  fish  imder  one  Medusa),  where  they  find  protection  from  larger  fish  but  to 
which*  they  sometimes  fall  prey.  This  association,  however,  is  not  essential  to 
their  welfare,  for  fry  are  often  seen  living  independently  at  the  surface,  particularly 
in  sheltered  bays  west  and  south  of  Cape  Cod,  and  we  have  found  no  young  butterfish 
with  the  many  Cyanea  that  we  have  captured  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

It  seems  that  the  fry  that  are  hatched  earliest  in  the  season  grow  to  a  length 
of  3  to  4  inches  by  autumn,  great  numbers  of  that  size  having  been  taken  in  Rhode 
Island  waters  in  October,  but  late-hatched  fish  are  probably  not  more  than  2  to  3 
inches  long  at  the  beginning  of  winter,  and  they  can  grow  little  during  the  cold 
season,  for  little  fish  of  3  to  5  inches  are  seen  again  in  the  spring.  A  series  of 
measurements  made  by  Welsh  at  Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  in  August,  1921,  throws 
some  light  on  the  subsequent  rate  of  growth.  The  fish  fell  into  two  groups — one 
ranging  from  4  to  5}^  (and  averaging  about  4%)  inches  and  the  other  from  7]^ 
to  lOJ^  inches.  Probably  those  of  the  first  group  (which  were  much  the  more 
numerous)  were  in  their  second  summer  and  those  of  the  second  size  group  in 
their  third  or  perhaps  fourth  summer.  These  measurements  suggest,  furthermore, 
that  some  may  mature  when  1  year  old  and  that  all  do  so  when  2  years  old. 

Butterfish  are  caught  in  pounds,  traps,  weirs,  a  few  in  gill  nets,  seines,  and 
otter  trawls.     We  have  never  heard  of  one  biting  a  hook. 

>'  A  large  series  of  butterfish  eggs  artificially  fertilized  at  Qloucester  hatchery  have  been  availatile  for  comparison  with  the 
pelagic  eggs  taken  in  the  tow  nets. 

u  Kuntz  and  RadclMe  (1918,  pp.  112-116,  figs.  58-68)  give  a  full  account  of  the  embryology  and  larval  development  of  the 
butterfish. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE 


249 


FiQ.  116.— Butterfish  {Pormotm  triacanthua) 
6i  Egg.    c,  Larva,  1  day  old,  2.1  maiimeters.    (J,  Larva,  3.2  millimeters,    e,  Larva,  6  millimeters.    /,  Fry,  15  millimeters. 


250  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Commercial  importance. — This  is  one  of  our  very  best  table  fish,  fat,  oily,  but 
of  delicious  flavor.  First-hand  experience  with  many  a  one  fresh  from  the  net  as 
well  as  on  the  table  proves  the  old  tale  that  butterfish  have  a  peculiar  nauseous 
odor  to  be  a  myth.  However,  they  often  served  as  manure  during  the  first  half  of 
the  past  century,  and  appreciation  of  the  fact  that  they  are  too  good  for  this  use 
is  of  such  recent  growth  that  even  to-day  the  demand  for  butterfish  in  Boston  is 
imcertain  and  price  widely  variable. 

96.  Harvestfish  (Peprilus  paru  Linnaeus) 

Starfish;  Pappyfish 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  965. 

Description. — This  is  an  even  deeper  fish  than  the  common  butterfish,  the  body 
(not  counting  the  caudal  peduncle)  being  almost  as  deep  as  long,  ovate  in  outline. 


Fig.  117. — Harvestfish  {Peprilus  pani) 

its  nose  rounded,  its  mouth  very  small,  and  its  head  very  short.  The  outline  of  the 
dorsal  and  anal  fins  affords  the  readiest  field  mark  to  separate  it  from  its  relative, 
the  butterfish,  both  being  very  high  and  falcate  in  front,  narrowing  farther  back 
(compare  fig.  117  with  fig.  115).  The  mucus  pores,  so  conspicuous  in  the  butter- 
fish, are  lacking  in  the  harvestfish.  There  is  also  a  color  difference  between  the 
two,  the  latter  being  described  (we  have  no  color  notes  from  life)  as  greenish  above 
and  golden  yellow  below.  In  all  other  respects,  including  size,  it  so  closely  resem- 
bles the  butterfish  that  no  further  account  is  called  for. 

General  range. — West  Indies  and  south  and  middle  Atlantic  coasts  of  North 
America;  rarely  north  to  Cape  Cod. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  southern  fish  was  taken  at  Monomoy 
Point  by  Dr.  W.  C.  Kendall,  in  1896,  which  is  its  only  Gulf  of  Maine  record. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  251 

THE    SEA    BASSES.     FAMILY    SERRANID^ 

The  sea  basses  are  an  extremely  numerous  tribe  of  perchlike  fishes,  with  both 
spiny  and  soft-rayed  portions  of  the  dorsal  fin  well  developed,  and  either  separate 
or  at  least  divided  by  a  deep  notch.  The  ventrals  are  thoracic  in  position  and 
situated  under  the  pectorals.  The  anal  fin  is  nearly  or  quite  as  long  as  the  soft  part 
of  the  dorsal;  the  caudal  peduncle  is  deep  and  the  tail  is  broad.  The  anal  fin  is 
preceded  by  several  stout  spines,  the  margin  of  the  gill  cover  bears  one  or  two  sharp 
conical  spines,  and  when  the  mouth  is  closed  the  maxillary  bone  is  not  sheathed 
nor  hidden  by  the  preorbital  bone.  Smooth  cheeks  are  a  ready  field  mark  to  dis- 
tinguish any  of  the  sea  basses  from  the  rockfish  family  (p.  304) ;  long  anal  fin  rela- 
tive to  the  soft  dorsal  distinguishes  it  from  the  croaker  family  (p.  269) ;  spiny  giU 
cover  from  the  porgy  family  (p.  262) ;  and  large  mouth  from  the  cunners  (p.  280). 

KEY  TO  GULF  OF  MAINE  SEA  BASSES 

1.  With  a  single  continuous   dorsal  fin — its  front  half  spiny,   its   rear  half  soft  rayed 

Sea  bass,  p.  259 

Two  separate  dorsal  fins — the  first  spiny,  the  second  soft  rayed 2 

2.  The  two  dorsal  fins  are  separated  by  a  distinct  space;  there  are  two  sharp  spines  on 

the  margin  of  each  gill  cover;  the  sides  are  distinctly  striped Striped  bass,  p.  251 

The  two  dorsal  fins  meet  at  their  bases;  there  is  only  one  sharp  spine  and  one  blunt  angle 
on  the  margin  of  the  gill  cover;  the  sides  are  not  distinctly  striped- -White  perch,  p.  257 

97.  Striped  bass  {Roccus  Uneatus  Bloch) 
Rockfish;  Rock;   Squid  hound 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1132. 

Description. — No  one  character  alone  characterizes  the  striped  bass,  but  the 
combination  of  fin  structure  and  arrangement  with  general  outUne  and  structure 
of  the  jaw.  Its  rather  deep  and  keelless  caudal  peduncle,  stout  body,  the  presence 
of  two  well-developed  dorsal  fins  (spiny  and  soft  rayed  and  of  equal  length),  the 
lack  of  dorsal  and  ventral  finlets,  and  a  tail  but  slightly  forked,  mark  it  off  from  all 
mackerels,  swordfish,  bluefish,  and  pompanos.  The  fact  that  its  anal  fin  is  almost 
as  long  as  the  second  dorsal  and  (less  obvious)  that  its  maxillary  (upper  jaw)  bones 
are  not  sheathed  by  the  preorbital  bone,  separate  it  from  all  the  weakfish  tribe 
(p.  269).  Nor  is  there  any  danger  of  confusing  it  with  the  sea  bass,  cunner,  tautog, 
or  rosefish,  for  its  two  dorsal  fins  are  quite  separate  whereas  in  all  these  the  spiny 
and  soft-rayed  parts  are  confluent.  Closest  to  it  in  general  appearance  is  the 
white  perch,  but  the  two  dorsal  fins  of  the  latter  are  so  close  together  that  there  is 
no  free  space  between  them  (p.  257),  and  its  spines  arestiflFer.  Furthermore,  there 
are  two  sharp  spines  on  the  margin  of  the  gill  cover  of  the  striped  bass  and  only 
one,  a  blunt  angle,  in  the  perch. 

The  striped  bass  is  moderately  elongate  (three  to  four  times  as  long  as  deep), 
stout,  its  back  hardly  arched,  but  sway  beUied,  with  moderately  stout  caudal 
peduncle,  long  head  (almost  as  long  as  the  fish  is  deep),  obhque  mouth  gaping 


252 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 


back  to  the  eye,  moderately  pointed  nose,  and  projecting  lower  jaw.  Young  fish 
are  more  slender  than  old.  The  tv.^o  dorsal  fins  are  about  equal  in  length,  the 
first  (9  stiff  spines)  triangular  in  outline,  originating  over  the  middle  of  the  pec- 
toral; the  second  (14  soft  rays)  is  regularly  graduated  in  height  from  front  to  rear, 
and  separated  from  the  first  by  a  distinct  though  short  space.  The  anal 
(about  11  rays  preceded  by  3  spines)  is  of  about  the  same  size  and  form  as  the  sec- 
ond dorsal,  and  originates  below  the  middle  of  the  latter.  The  caudal  is  moderately 
long  and  only  slightly  forked.  The  pectorals  and  ventrals  are  of  moderate  size, 
the  latter  somewhat  heJiind  the  former. 


Fig.  118.— Adult 


Fig.  119. — Larva,  5  mUJimeters 
STRIPED  BASS  (Roccus  lineatut) 

Color. — Dark  olive  green  varying  to  blue  above,  paling  on  the  sides,  and  silver 
on  the  belly,  sometimes  with  brassy  reflections.  The  sides  are  barred  with  seven 
or  eight  narrow,  black,  longitudinal  stripes,  which  follow  as  many  rows  of  scales 
and  which  may  be  variously  interrupted.  The  highest  stripe  is  the  most  distinct, 
and  all  of  them  but  the  lowest  are  above  the  level  of  the  pectoral  fins. 

Size. — The  bass  grows  to  a  great  size,  the  heaviest  of  which  we  have  foimd 
definite  record  being  several  of  about  125  pounds  taken  at  Edenton,  N.  C,  in 
April,  1891.'^  One  of  112  pounds,  which  must  have  been  at  least  6  feet  long,  was 
caught  at  Orleans,  Mass.,  many  years  ago,  while  fish  of  50  to  75  pounds  are  not 
exceptional,  but  the  usual  run  of  those  caught  weigh  only  3  to  30  pounds,  and  the 
average  weight  of  the  bass  recorded  in  the  register  of  the  former  Glades  Hotel '" 
at  Scituate,  Mass.,  during  the  period  1854  to  1858,  was  about  27  pounds.  A  bass 
3  feet  long  weighs  about  IS  pounds. 

'•  Smith.    North  Carolina  Geological  and  Economic  Survey,  Vol.  II,  1907,  p.  271.  Raleigh. 
'•  Kindly  lent  by  Mr.  John  Adams. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  253 

General  range. — Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  running  up  into  fresh  water  to  spawn. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  striped  bass  is  distinctly  a  coast-ndse 
fish  and  seldom  found  at  sea  more  than  a  mile  or  two  out  from  land.  It  is  equally  at 
home  in  salt,  brackish,  or  fresh  water.  Furthermore,  as  its  abundance  in  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence  proves,  temperatures  even  lower  than  those  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
are  no  barrier  to  it.  At  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  New  England  it  was  a  very 
familiar  fish  in  sheltered  bays,  estuaries,  off  sandj^  beaches,  and  about  rocky  head- 
lands all  along  the  coasts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  from  Cape  Cod  to  and  including  the 
Bay  of  Fundy.  So  plentiful  was  it,  and  so  easy  to  captm-e,  thanks  to  its  large  size 
and  its  habit  of  coming  into  the  mouths  of  streams  and  creeks,  that  it  yielded  an 
important  food  supply  to  the  early  settlers. 

Wood  (1634,  p.  37)  tells  us  that  in  what  is  now  part  of  Boston  Harbor  "The  basse 
is  one  of  the  best  fishes  in  the  coimtry,  and  though  men  are  soone  wearied  with  other 
fish,  yet  are  they  never  wdth  basse.  It  is  a  delicate,  fine,  fat,  fast  fish,  having  a 
bone  in  Ms  head  which  contains  a  saucerfull  of  marrow  sweet  and  good,  pleasant 
to  the  pallat  and  wholesome  to  the  stomach.  *  *  *  Qf  these  fishes  some  be 
three  and  four  foote  long,  some  bigger,  some  lesser;  at  some  tides  a  man  may  catch 
a  dozen  or  twenty  of  these  in  tlu"ee  houres.  The  way  to  catch  them  is  with  hooke 
and  line,  the  fisherman  taking  a  great  cod  line  to  which  he  fasteneth  a  peece  of 
lobster  and  threwes  it  into  the  sea.  The  fish  biting  at  it,  he  pulls  her  to  him  and 
knockes  her  on  the  head  with  a  sticke.  These  are  at  one  time  (when  alewives  pass 
up  the  rivers)  to  be  catched  in  rivers;  in  lobster  time  at  the  rockes;  in  mackerel 
time  in  the  bays;  at  Michaelmas  [September  29]  in  the  sea.  When  they  use  to 
tide  in  and  out  of  the  rivers  and  creekes  the  English  at  the  top  of  an  high  water  do 
crosse  the  creekes  with  long  seanes  or  basse  nets,  which  stop  in  the  fish;  and  the 
water  ebbing  from  them  they  are  left  on  the  dry  ground,  sometimes  two  or  three 
thousand  at  a  set,  which  are  salted  up  against  winter,  or  distributed  to  such  as  have 
present  occasion  either  to  spend  them  in  their  homes  or  use  them  for  their  grounds." 

Wood  (1634,  p.  47)  also  describes  "shoales  of  basse  have  driven  up  shoales  of 
mackerel  from  one  end  of  the  sandie  beach  to  the  other, "  near  Salem,  and  mentions 
them  in  the  Merrimac.  In  fact,  in  early  days  there  were  more  or  less  bass  about 
every  river  mouth  tributary  to  the  Gulf,  except  possibly  on  the  west  Nova  Scotian 
coast,  where  we  find  no  mention  of  them.  As  far  back  as  the  record  runs  the  cluef 
centers  of  abundance  for  bass  within  the  Gulf  were  Cape  Cod  Bay  and  the  shores  of 
Cape  Cod,  the  neighborhood  of  Boston  Bay,  the  various  bays  and  sounds  near  the 
Kennebec  River,  and  the  larger  rivers  that  drain  into  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 

In  the  nature  of  things  no  large  fish  with  a  geographic  range  so  narrow 
can  compare  in  abundance  with  such  offshore  species  as  herring,  haddock,  cod, 
etc.,  a  rule  to  wliich  the  bass  was  no  exception.  Inexhaustible  though  the 
supply  seemed  in  certain  restricted  localities,  a  decrease  was  reported  as  early 
as  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  At  first  tlus  was  apparent  only 
locally.  For  example,  very  few  bass  were  seen  in  the  Piscataqua  after  about  1792, 
though  an  odd  bass  was  caught  there  as  recently  as  1880.     They  seemed  to  have 


254 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


continued  plentiful  in  Massachusetts  Bay  during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century  when  small  bass  were  still  being  netted  in  abundance  along  the  beaches 
between  Boston  Harbor  and  Cohasset,  while  the  bass  fishery  of  Cape  Cod  Bay  was 
still  so  productive  that  300  good-sized  fish  were  taken  at  one  seine  haul  at  the 
mouth  of  Barnstable  Harbor  in  July,  1829.  Seven  hundred  were  taken  in  a  day  at 
Provincetown  as  recently  as  October,  1859.  In  those  days  bass  fishing  in  the  surf 
with  hook  and  line  was  as  well  recognized  a  sport  at  various  beaches  about  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  as  it  now  is  on  the  middle  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States;  but 
even  as  long  ago  as  1862  Freeman  (in  liis  history  of  Cape  Cod)  wrote  that  these 
fish  were  far  less  plentiful  than  of  old,  and  it  is  now  many  years  since  we  have  heard 
of  a  bass  caught  on  hook  and  line  in  Massachusetts  Bay ;  while  for  the  past  quarter 
century,  at  least,  they  have  been  so  rare  in  the  inner  parts  of  the  bay  that  the 
capture  of  even  a  single  fish  there  by  any  method  has  been  an  unusual  event. 
Thus,  none  at  all  were  reported  (though  odd  fish  may  perhaps  have  been  taken) 
from  Essex  County  during  the  period  1903  to  1910,  nor  in  1919.  As  appears  from 
the  followng  table  of  returns  from  the  traps,  bass  have  never  fallen  to  quite  as 
low  an  ebb  as  this  along  Cape  Cod  or  in  Cape  Cod  Bay,  but  even  there,  and  in  the 
best  years,  the  annual  catch  has  long  been  negligible  from  the  commercial  stand- 
point. 

Catch  of  bass  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay — Cape  Cod  region  from  1896  to  1921  ' 


Year 

Boston 

to 

Monomoy 

Boston 

to 

Cape  Ann 

Year 

Boston 

to 

Monomoy 

Boston 
Cape  Ann 

1S96 

Pounds 
43 
3,734 
124 
25 
51 
83 

Pounds 
0 
0 
13 
12 
9 
0 

1907 

Pounds 
136 
22 
14 
54 
17 
4.756 

Pounds 
0 

1897-  .                  

1908 

0 

1898 

1909 

0 

1899                          

1910 

0 

1900 

1911 

0 

1906                                 

1921 

0 

'  These  figures  are  only  approximate. 

The  years  1897  and  1921  stand  out  as  notable  exceptions  when  bass  were 
more  plentiful  locally  than  for  many  years  previous.  In  the  former  year  the  catch 
was  chiefly  from  Provincetown;  in  the  latter  all  but  one  or  two  of  the  fish  were  from 
the  close  proximity  of  the  mouth  of  the  Cape  Cod  Canal  at  Sandwich,  which  was 
opened  a  few  years  previous  and  through  which  the  bass  in  question  may  have 
worked.  A  considerable  number  of  small  bass,  which  did  not  find  their  way  into 
the  official  returns,  were  also  taken  in  the  inlets  along  the  outer  shore  of  Cape  Cod 
in  1921  or  the  year  previous. 

We  have  not  been  able  to  learn  whether  any  bass  still  linger  about  the  mouth 
of  the  Merrimac  River.  A  number  were  seined  there  in  1892  but  only  an  odd  fish 
in  1897,"  while  they  have  certainly  been  scarce  there  since  the  middle  of  the  past 
century.  Although  the  extensive  series  of  salt  and  brackish  estuaries  and  creeks  on 
either  side  of  its  mouth  might  seem  excellent  bass  water,  there  is  nothing  in  the 
early  accounts  to  suggest  that  bass  were  ever  as  plentiful  thereabouts  as  in  Boston 

>'  One  small  fish  seined  at  East  Haverhill. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  255 

Bay,  on  the  one  hand,  or  near  the  Kennebec  River,  on  the  other ;  and  while  the  shore 
fisheries  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  yielded  850  pounds  of  bass  in  1889,  none 
at  all  were  reported  thence  in  1919. 

Turning  now  to  the  Maine  coast,  there  is  ample  evidence  that  in  old  days  bass 
were  plentiful  in  and  about  most  of  the  river  mouths  west  of  the  Penobscot  but  less 
so  in  those  to  the  east.  For  instance,  they  were  so  numerous  in  the  Kennebec  and 
in  the  shallow  and  partly  inclosed  bays  and  beaches  near  its  mouth  that  1,000  pounds 
have  been  taken  there  on  a  single  tide  as  recently  as  1830,  but  bass  were  prac- 
tically gone  from  the  Androscoggin  Eiver  by  1860,  and  by  1880  the  stock  of 
Maine  bass  had  so  diminished  that  the  year's  catch  from  the  Kennebec  River 
had  fallen  to  12,760  pounds,  with  8,000  pounds  coming  from  the  Sheepscot 
River  and  a  few  from  the  St.  Croix,  the  Penobscot,  and  Casco  Bay,  a  total  catch 
of  only  26,000  to  27,000  pounds  for  the  entire  coast  of  the  wState.  Ever  since  then 
bass  have  so  constantly  grown  more  and  more  scarce  off  the  coast  of  Maine  that 
the  catch  for  the  entire  State  had  dropped  to  15,715  pounds  by  1902,  all  taken 
in  and  about  the  mouths  of  the  Kennebec  and  Sheepscot  Rivers  except  for  two 
hundred  and  odd  pounds  picked  up  south  of  Cape  Elizabeth.  In  1905  only  4,200 
pounds  were  reported,  all  from  Kennebec-Sheepscot  waters,  while  in  1919  the 
total  catch  of  bass  for  the  State  was  only  about  600  pounds,  nearly  all  from  the 
Kennebec. 

The  stock  of  bass  has  maintained  itself  no  better  along  the  Canadian  shores 
of  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  They  were  already  scarce  by  1873  in  the  St.  John,  where 
they  had  been  so  plentiful  during  the  first  half  of  the  century  that  bass  playing  on 
the  surface  Uke  porpoises  were  a  famihar  sight, '^  and  although  bass  are  still  found 
in  the  estuaries  of  the  St.  John  so  few  are  caught  that  they  have  not  been  mentioned 
of  late  years  in  the  Canadian  statistics  of  the  fisheries  of  the  north  shore  of  the  Bay 
of  Fundy.  A  few  bass  still  occur  in  the  large  warm  estuaries  and  in  the  neighbor- 
ing fresh  water  of  the  Shubenacadie  and  Annapohs  Rivers,  but  only  700  pounds 
were  reported  as  caught  on  the  Nova  Scotian  side  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  in  1919, 
and  none  at  all  along  the  western  shores  of  Nova  Scotia. 

Since  striped  bass  have  dwindled  as  nearly  to  the  vanishing  point  in  the  St. 
John  (wliich  still  sees  a  bountiful  yearly  run  of  salmon)  as  in  the  estuaries  of  rivers 
that  have  been  dammed  or  fouled  by  manufacturing  wastes,  the  chief  blame  for 
its  present  scarcity  can  not  be  laid  to  obstruction  of  the  rivers;  and  as  this  is  a 
very  vulnerable  fish,  easily  caught,  always  close  inshore,  always  in  shallow  water, 
and  with  no  offshore  reservoir  to  draw  on  when  the  local  stock  of  any  particular 
locality  is  depleted  by  such  wholesale  methods  of  destruction  as  the  early  settlers 
employed  (p.  253),  overfishing  must  be  held  responsible. 

Food. — -The  bass  is  a  very  voracious  fish,  preying  indiscriminately  on  small 
fish  of  all  lands — herring,  menhaden,  shad,  smelt,  and  such  small  fry  as  launce, 
mummichogs,  and  silversides  being  its  chief  diet  in  inclosed  waters — and  hunting 
for  crabs,  shrimps,  lobsters,  squid,  mussels,  and  various  other  invertebrates  along 
open  shores. 

w  Adams,  1873  (Fishes,  Part  3.  pp.  201-257). 
102274—25 + 17 


256  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

Habits. — Striped  bass  are  resident  throughout  the  year  wherever  found  except 
for  the  spawning  migration  touched  on  hereafter.  They  chiefly  frequent  shoal 
estuaries,  particularly  on  weedy  bottom,  though  some — especially  the  large  fish — lie 
in  the  surf  along  sandy  beaches  or  about  rocky  headlands,  islets,  and  ledges,  while 
others  again  may  run  up  rivers  for  long  distances. 

Bass  do  not  move  out  to  sea  in  winter  as  do  herring  and  various  other  fishes, 
but  remain  in  the  river  mouths  and  estuaries,  merely  retreating  to  the  deeper 
reaches,  bays,  and  coves  where  they  are  often  speared  through  the  ice  and  netted 
beneath  it,  or,  if  on  open'~coasts,  to  slightly  deeper  water.  But  though  more  or 
less  sluggish  during  the^cold^season,  it  seems  that  they  do  not  hibernate  but  feed 
when  opportunity  offers. 

Bass  of  old  gathered  about  our  river  mouths  in  June  for  spawning,  though 
there  is  no  regular  run  of  them  comparable  to  the  runs  of  salmon,  alewives,  or 
shad.  They  are  usually  [described  as  anadromous — that  is,  running  up  fresh 
rivers  to  breed — which  is  true  in  the  sense  that  they  always  enter  some  stream 
and  never  spawn  in  the  open  sea.  Bass  often  spawn  in  brackish  water,  however, 
and  most  of  them  do  so  in  the  lower  reaches.  According  to  latitude  bass  spawn  late 
in  spring  and  early  in  summer,  the  available  evidence  pointing  to  June  as  the  height 
of  the  season  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

The  eggs  (about  3.6  mm.  in  diameter)  are  semibuoyant — that  is,  they  sink 
but  are  swept  up  from  the  bottom  by  the  slightest  disturbance  of  the  water — 
and  this  is  so  prolific  a  fish  that  a  female  of  only  12  pounds  weight  has  been  kno^vn 
to  yield  1,280,000  eggs,  while  a  75-pound  fish  probably  would  produce  as  many  as 
10,000,000.  The  eggs  hatch  in  about  74  hours  at  a  temperature  of  58°;  in  about 
48  hours  at  67°.  By  autumn  the  young  fry  produced  in  Gulf  of  Maine  waters  are 
2  to  3  inches  long,  and  of  old  when  bass  were  still  plentiful  many  of  these  little 
ones  were  netted  in  winter  with  smelt  and  tomcod  in  the  Kennebec  and  other  streams 
of  Maine."  In  more  southern  waters  where  bass  commence  spawning  earlier  the 
fry  may  be  an  inch  long  in  June  and  grow  to  a  length  of  4J^  inches  by  October. 
In  captivity  they  have  been  known  to  grow  from  6  inches  long  to  20  inches  in  the 
space  of  11  months,  and  while  nothing  is  definitely  known  of  the  rate  of  growth  of 
the  older  fish  in  the  sea,  the  fact  that  bass  ^°  in  a  certain  pond  in  Rhode  Island  have 
been  described  as  gaining  weight  from  1  pound  in  June  to  6  pounds  in  October 
suggests  that  they  increase  very  rapidly  in  size  when  food  is  plentiful. 

The  age  at  which  the  bass  matures  is  not  known,  but  they  are  certainly  long 
lived,  for  one  kept  in  the  New  York  Aquarium  lived  to  an  age  of  about  23  years. ^' 

Commercial  importance. — Bass  are  so  rare  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  that  they  are 
no  longer  of  importance  there  either  to  commercial  fishermen  or  to  anglers.  West 
and  south  of  Cape  Cod,  where  they  are  more  plentiful,  their  excellence  as  a  food 
and  game  fish  is  proverbial.  Bass  are  taken  in  gill  nets,  stop  nets,  seines,  traps, 
and  pounds,  and  are  caught  about  rocks,  in  the  surf,  and  in  estuarine  waters  on  hand 
lines  and  with  rod  and  reel. 

"  Atkins  (1887)  gives  much  information  as  to  tlie  former  status  of  bass  in  the  rivers  of  Maine. 

!«  Bean,  1903. 

"  BuUetin,  New  York  Zoological  Society,  Vol.  XVI,  No.  60,  November,  1913,  p.  1049. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  257 

98.  White  perch  { Morone  ainericana  Guielm) 
Sea  perch 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1134. 

Description. — The  white  perch  closely  resembles  its  larger  relative,  the  striped 
bass,  in  its  general  form,  especially  in  the  deep  keelless  caudal  peduncle  and  in  the 
number,  outline,  and  arrangement  of  its  fins.  It  is  a  deeper  fish,  however  (only 
about  two  and  two- thirds  times  as  long  as  deep,  not  counting  the  caudal),  and  more 
compressed,  almost  as  thin,  in  fact,  as  a  butterfish  (p.  245).  The  dorsal  profile  of  its 
body  is  more  convex  than  is  that  of  a  bass  but  that  of  its  head  is  concave  and  its 
mouth  is  smaller.  Furthermore,  the  two  dorsal  fins  of  the  white  perch  are  confluent 
while  in  the  striped  bass_they  are  separated  by  an  interspace;  its  anal  rays  are  less 


Fig.  121.— Egg  Fig.  122.— Larva,  6  days  old,  8  millimeters 

WHITE  PERCn  (Uoraneamericana) 

numerous,  the  anal  spines  are  much  stouter  than  those  of  the  bass  and  the  second  and 
third  are  about  equal  in  length  (graduated  in  the  bass),  and  there  is  only  one  sharp 
spine  and  a  blunt  angle  at  the  margin  of  the  gill  cover  of  the  perch,  while  there 
are  two  spines  in  the  bass.     Finally,  there  is  a  constant  difference  in  color. 

The  first  dorsal  (9  spines)  is  rounded  in  outline  with  its  third  and  fourth  spines 
longest,  and  although  there  is  no  free  space  between  the  two  dorsal  fins  they  are 
entirely  separated  by  a  deep  notch.  The  second  dorsal  fin  (1  spine  and  12  rays) 
is  rhomboid  in  outline  and  so  short  that  it  leaves  bare  a  long  caudal  peduncle.  The 
anal  fin  (9  to  10  rays  preceded  by  3  stout  spines)  originates  under  the  middle  of  the 


258  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

second  dorsal  and  is  of  the  same  shape  as  the  latter.  The  ventrals  originate  behind 
the  pectorals  and  each  is  armed  with  one  stout  spine  at  its  anterior  margin.  Both 
pectorals  and  ventrals  are  larger  in  comparison  with  the  size  of  the  fish  than  those 
of  the  striped  bass. 

Color. — The  upper  surface  is  variously  olive,  grayish  dark  green,  or  dark  sU- 
very  gray,  shading  to  paler  olive  or  silvery  green  on  the  sides  and  to  silvery  white 
on  the  belly.  The  ventral  and  anal  fins  are  rose-colored  at  the  base.  The  sides 
of  young  specimens  are  marked  with  pale  longitudinal  stripes  ,that  fade  out  with 
growth. 

Size. — White  perch  are  occasionally  as  much  as  15  inches  long,  5  inches  or  more 
deep,  and  2  to  3  pounds  in  weight,  but  they  average  only  about  8  to  10  inches  and 
1  pound  or  less. 

General  range. — Atlantic  coast  of  the  United'States  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law- 
rence and  Nova  Scotia  to  South  Carolina,  breeding  in'fresh  or  brackish  water  and 
permanently  landlocked  in  many  fresh  ponds  and  streams. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  white  perch  inhabits  salt,  brackish, 
and  fresh  water  indifferently  along  the  shores  of  southern  New  England,  but  although 
it  is  a  familiar  fish  in  many  ponds  throughout  northern  New  England,  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  Nova  Scotia,  very  few  white  perch  are  found  in  estuarine  situations  north 
of  Cape  Cod,  and  it  hardly  belongs  to  the  fish  fauna  of  the  open  Gulf.  Thus  we 
have  not  been  able  to  satisfy  ourselves  of  its  presence  in  localities  apparently  as 
suited  to  it  as  Duxbury  Bay  or  the  salt  creeks  about  Cohasset  or  Marshfield  on 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  although  Storer  long  ago  described  white  perch  as  brought 
to  Boston  market  from  the  mouths  of  neighboring  rivers  and  from  ponds  to  which 
the  sea  had  access,  it  does  not  figure  in  the  statistics  of  the  shore  fisheries  of  any 
part  of  Massachusetts  Bay  for  1902,  1905,  or  1919.  It  is  certainly  as  rare  along 
the  western  and  northern  coasts  of  the  Gulf,  since  none  were  reported  from  the 
shore  fisheries  of  Maine  in  1905  or  1919,  and  only  400  pounds  in  1902.  Apparently 
it  does  not  occur  at  all  in  salt  water  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 

At  rare  intervals  white  perch  appear  locally  in  unusual  numbers.  Casco  Bay 
saw  such  an  event  in  the  summer  of  1901  when  local  fishermen,  not  knowing  the 
fish,  dubbed  it  "sea  bass,"  and  no  less  than  1,600  pounds  of  white  perch  were  taken 
in  the  shore  fisheries  of  the  short  coast  line  of  New  Hampshire  in  the  year  1912. 
With  the  fish  so  widely  distributed  inland,  similar  invasions  of  sheltered  coastal 
waters  from  fresh  streams  draining  into  them  may  be  expected  from  time  to  time. 
However,  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  white  perch  were  ever  more  regularly 
plentiful  along  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  than  they  are  to-day,  nor  so  far  as  we 
can  learn  has  one  ever  been  seen  out  in  the  open  sea  far  from  land. 

■Food. — When  living  in  salt  or  brackish  water  the  habits  of  the  white  perch  are 
much  like  those  of  the  striped  bass;  it  is  similarly  carnivorous,  feeding  on  small 
fish  fry  of  all  kinds,  j^oung  squid,  shrimps,  crabs,  and  various  other  invertebrates, 
as  .well  as  on  the  spawn  of  other  fish,  to  which  it  is  very  destructive.  Swarms  of 
young  perch,  for  instance,  have  been  seen  following  the  alewives  around  the  shores 
of  ponds  on  Marthas  Vineyard,  eating  their  spawn  as  it  was  deposited.  It  is  a  free 
biter  on  almost  anv  bait. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GXJLF    OF   MAINE  259 

Habits. — Perch  always  keep  in  shallow  water;  they  are  never  caught  deeper 
than  3  or  4  fathoms.  However,  they  are  not  bottom  fish  but  wander  from  place 
to  place  in  small  schools.  Like  bass,  they  are  resident  throughout  the  year  wher- 
ever found.  In  winter  they  congregate  in  the  deeper  parts  of  the  bays  and  creeks, 
where  they  either  hibernate  or  at  least  pass  the  cold  season  in  a  sluggish  condition. 

Breeding. — In  southern  New  England  the  white  perch  breeds  in  April,  May, 
and  June.  Presumably  the  season  commences  a  few  weeks  later  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  but  no  definite  data  are  available  on  this  point.  Those  living  in  salt  water 
run  up  into  fresh  or  slightly  brackish  water  to  spawn.  The  eggs  (about  0.73  mm. 
in  diameter,  with  large  oil  globule)  sink  and  stick  together  in  masses  or  to  any 
object  on  which  they  chance  to  rest.  In  fact,  they  are  so  sticky  that  this  is  a  diffi- 
cult fish  to  propagate  artificially.  Incubation  occupies  about  6  days  at  a  tempera- 
ture of  52°.  The  newly  hatched  larvse  are  about  2.3  mm.  long  with  the  vent  some 
distance  behind  the  yolk  sac  and  very  little  pigment.  In  five  or  six  days  after 
hatching,  the  head  begins  to  project  forward,  the  yolk  sac  has  been  partly  absorbed, 
and  br'anched  pigment  cells  have  appeared  on  the  oil  globule.  The  late  larval  and 
post  larval  stages  have  not  been  described." 

Commercial  importance. — Wherever  the  white  perch  is  abundant  in  tide  waters 
it  is  of  considerable  commercial  importance,  for  there  is  no  better  pan  fish.  It 
also  affords  good  sport  to  many  anglers.  In  neither  of  these  respects,  however, 
does  it  figure  at  all  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

99.  Sea  bass   iCentropristes  striatus  Linnseus) 

Black  sea  bass;  Blackfish 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1199. 

Description. — The  sea  bass  is  easily  distinguished  from  its  near  relatives,  the 
striped  bass  and  white  perch,  by  the  fact  that  the  spinous  and  soft-rayed  portions 
of  its  dorsal  fin  are  continuous,  so  that  there  is  but  one  long  fin  instead  of  two  short 
separate  fins.  In  this  it  agrees  with  the  scup  (p.  263),  rosefish  (p.  304),  cunner  (p. 
281),  and  tautog  (p.  286),  but  its  general  form,  rounded  caudal  and  pectoral  fins, 
and  short  but  high  anal  fin  are  sufficient  to  separate  it  from  the  first,  its  color  obvi- 
ates all  danger  of  confusing  it  with  the  second,  while  no  one  should  take  sea  bass 
for  tautog  or  cunner,  its  mouth  and  its  pectoral  fins  being  much  larger,  its  caudal 
of  different  outline,  and  the  soft  portion  of  its  dorsal  as  long  as  the  spiny  portion. 

It  is  moderately  stout  bodied,  about  three  times  as  long  (not  counting  the 
caudal  fin)  as  deep,  with  rather  high  back  but  flat-topped  head,  moderately  pointed 
nose,  a  large  oblique  mouth,  eye  set  high  up,  and  a  sharp  flat  spine  near  the  posterior 
angle  of  the  gill  cover.  The  spiny  (10  spines)  and  soft  (11  rays)  portions  of  the 
dorsal  fin  (which  originates  slightly  m  front  of  the  rear  corner  of  the  gill  cover)  are 
separately  rounded,  the  latter  much  higher  than  long,  with  the  characteristic  out- 
line shown  in  the  illustration  (fig.  123).  The  caudal  is  rounded  in  the  middle, 
slightly  concave  near  each  corner,  with  the  upper  corner  considerablj^  prolonged, 

"  Kyder  (Report,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  1885  (1887),  p.  518)  describes  the  early  development. 


260 


BTJLLETIK    OF   THE   BUBEAU   OF   FISHEKIES 


and  though  this  last  is  a  trivial  character  and  variable  from  fish  to  fish  it  is  an 
extremely  characteristic  one  shared  by  no  other  Gulf  of  Maine  species  except  the 
kingfish  (p.  277).  The  anal  (3  short  sharp  spines  followed  by  7  soft  rays)  originates 
under  or  very  slightly  behind  the  origin  of  the  soft  portion  of  the  dorsal,  which  it 
resembles  in  its  rounded  outline  and  in  being  much  higher  than  long.  Both  the 
anal  and  the  soft  part  of  the  dorsal  are  notably  flexible.  The  pectorals  are  so  long 
that  they  reach  back  to  the  anal,  and  are  broad  and  round  tipped — a  good  field 
mark.  The  ventrals,  too,  are  larger  than  in  any  other  fish  with  which  the  sea  bass 
might  be  confused,  and  they  originate  in  front  of  the  pectorals,  whereas  in  scup, 
rosefish,  cunner,  and  tautog  they  stand  slightly  behind  the  latter.  The  scales  are 
rather  large,  but  the  top  of  the  head  is  naked. 

Color. — Like  most  fish  that  lie  on  rocky  bottom  sea  bass  vary  widely  in  color, 
the  general  ground  tint  ranging  from  smoky  gray  to  dusky  brown  or  ahnost  black, 
sometimes  with  a  bluish  cast  and  usually  more  or  less  mottled.  The  beUy  is  but 
slightly  paler  than  the  sides.     In  every  sea  bass  we  have^seen  the  bases  of  the  ex- 


FiG.  123.— Sea  bass  ( Centroprisles  slr'iatw) 

posed  portions  of  the  scales  have  been  paler  than  their  margins,  giving  the  fish 
the  appearance  of  being  barred  %vith  longitudinal  series  of  dots  of  a  lighter  tint  of 
brown  than  the  general  hue  in  dark  fish;  pearl  gray  in  the  palest.  The  dorsal  fin 
has  several  series  of  whitish  spots  and  bands;  the  other  fins  are  mottled  with  dusky. 
Young  fish  are  greenish  and  often  show  dark  cross  bars. 

Size. — Sea  bass  grow  to  a  length  of  2  feet  or  longer,  and  rarely  to  a  weight  of 
6  pounds  or  more,  but  northern  specimens  are  rarely  heavier  than  4  pounds  and  they 
average  only  about  IH  pounds.  A  fish  a  foot  long  weighs  about  a  pound,  while 
one  of  18  to  20  inches  weighs  about  3  pounds. 

General  range. — Atlantic  coastal  waters  of  the  United  States,  from  Florida  to 
Cape  Cod  and  rarely  to  Maine. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  sea  bass  reaches  the  Gulf  only  as  a  rare 
stray  from  the  south.  Matinicus  Island  is  its  northernmost  outpost.  It  has  been 
taken  in  Casco  Bay,  near  Gloucester  (where  a  few  have  been  caught  in  the  traps), 
off  Nahant,  Salem,  and  Beverly,  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  at  North  Truro,  and  at 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  261 

Monomoy,  but  never,  so  far  as  we  can  learn,  has  it  been  found  in  any  numbers  north 
of  Cape  Cod.  We  have  never  seen  it  ourselves  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region, 
nor  are  fishermen  of  whom  we  have  inquired  familiar  with  it  there.  "  Sea  bass," 
it  is  true,  occasionally  appear  in  the  returns  of  the  local  pound  nets,  traps,  etc. — 
80  pounds,  for  example,  at  Provinceto-mi  in  1896;  146  pounds  at  Truro  in  1898;  101 
pounds  at  the  same  locality  in  1900;  with  odd  fish  at  Eastham,  Barnstable,  Saga- 
more, Manomet,  Nahant,  and  Gloucester.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether  these 
records  can  be  accepted,  for  when  the  name  "sea  bass"  is  used  along  the  northern 
New  England  coast  it  usually  proves  that  either  striped  bass,  white  perch  (p.  257), 
tautog  (p.  286),  or  even  rosefish  (p.  304)  are  the  species  actually  meant."  No  sooner 
do  we  round  Cape  Cod  to  the  west,  however,  than  we  find  the  sea  bass  one  of  the 
important  ground  fish,  but  it  is  generally  reported  as  steadily  decreasing  on  the 
southern  shores  of  New  England,  and  this  is  borne  out  by  statistics  of  the  catch. 
On  the  rare  occasions  when  this  fish  strays  past  the  elbow  of  Cape  Cod  it  is  apt  to 
be  found  near  land,  on  rocky  bottom,  or  around  ledges,  in  water  less  than  10  to  15 
fathoms  deep,  where  it  spends  much  of  its  time  hidden  in  crevices  among  the  stones. 

Food. — The  sea  bass  is  a  bottom  feeder,  subsisting  chiefly  on  crabs,  lobsters, 
shrimp,  and  various  mollusks,  and  also  eating  small  fish  (e.  g.,  launce  and  men- 
haden) and  squid  on  occasion. 

Habits. — Judging  from  its  season  at  Woods  Hole,  where  it  is  to  be  caught  from 
May  to  October  (most  abundantly  in  July,  August,  and  September),  sea  bass  are 
to  be  expected  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  in  summer  only,  if  at  all.  There  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  they  ever  succeed  in  reproducing  or  in  establishing  even  a  tem- 
porary foothold  in  the  Gulf,  even  if  the  rare  immigrants  should  spawn  there.  The 
height  of  its  spawning  season  falls  in  June  along  southern  New  England,  and  it 
produces  buoyant  eggs.^* 

Commercial  imiwrtance. — Too  rare  to  be  of  any  importance  in  the  Gulf,  the  sea 
bass  is  a  very  valuable  food  and  game  fish  in  more  southern  waters. 

THE  CATALUFAS.     FAMILY  PRIACANTHID^ 

100.  Big-eye  {PseudcpriMcanthus  alius  GUI) 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1239. 

Description. — ^The  most  striking  characters  of  this  fish  are  its  very  large  eyes 
and  brilliant  red  color.  Apart  from  these  it  is  distinguishable  from  the  sea-bass 
tribe  by  the  fact  that  the  whole  head,  as  well  as  the  body,  is  clothed  with  rough 
scales  and  that  the  anal  fin  is  longer  than  the  soft-rayed  portion  of  the  dorsal.  Its 
compressed  body,  unusually  stout  dorsal  spines,  enormous  ventral  fins,  and  small 
pectorals,  are  ready  field  marks  to  separate  it  from  the  rosefish,  the  only  Gulf  of 
Maine  species  that  rivals  its  brilliant  red  color.  The  big-eye  is  ovate  in  outline, 
very  thin,  with  rounded  dorsal  profile,  large  head,  notably  oblique  mouth,  and 
enormous  eye.     The  spiny  (10  spines)  and  soft  (11  rays)  portions  of  the  dorsal  fin 

!a  3,000  Odd  pounds  of  "sea  bass"  reported  from  Manchester,  Mass.,  in  1911,  were  certainly  not  this  fish. 
"  The  early  development  of  the  sea  bass  has  been  described  by  Wilson  (Bulletin,  V.  S.  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  IX,  18S9 
(891),  p.  209). 


262 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    FISHERIES 


are  continuous  and  extend  back  from  the  nape  nearly  to  the  base  of  the  caudal. 
The  anal  (3  stout  spines  and  9  to  10  rays)  originates  under  the  eighth  or  ninth  dorsal 
spine  and  is  of  the  same  form  as  the  soft  portion  of  the  dorsal.  The  caudal  is 
square-cornered  and  slightly  convex.  The  ventrals,  which  originate  slightly  in 
front  of  the  pectorals,  are  much  larger  than  the  latter,  round  tipped,  and  each  com- 
mences with  a  stiff  spine. 

Color. — Described  as  bright  red  or  crimson  in  life.  All  its  fins  except  the 
pectorals  have  black  tips,  and  the  iris  glows  like  molten  gold. 

Size. — The  largest  specimen  on  record  was  11  inches  long. 

General  range. —  Carribean  Sea,  West  Indies,  and  Gulf  of  Mexico  in  rather 
deep  water,  straying  northward  to  the  Woods  Hole  region  and  very  rarely  round- 
ing Cape  Cod. 

.>   1         ■■/-   !        -'  n 


Fig.  124.— Big-eye  (Paeudopriacanthus  alius) 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — A  big-eye  found  alive  on  Marblehead  Beach, 
September  3,  1859,  still  remains  the  only  Gulf  of  Maine  record  for  this  southern 
species,  but  since  it  appears  quite  commonly  at  Woods  Hole  during  some  summers 
it  may  enter  the  Gulf  more  often  than  this  suggests  but  be  confused  there  with 
young  rosefish. 

THE  SEA  BREAMS  OR  PORGIES.     FAMILY  SPARID.^; 

In  this  family  the  structure  of  the  fins  is  essentially  the  same  as  in  the  sea 
basses — both  spiny  and  soft  portions  of  the  dorsal  are  well  developed  and  the 
ventrals  are  thoracic  in  position  and  situated  below  the  pectorals.  There  are  im- 
portant anatomic  differences,  however,  most  obvious  of  which  are  that  the  edge 
of  the  gill  cover  does  not  end  with  a  sharp  spine  but  is  rounded  or  at  most  bluntly 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  263 

angular,  and  that  the  maxillary  bone  (the  bone  forming  the  margin  of  the  upper  jaw) 
is  sheathed  and  hidden  by  the  preorbital  bone  when  the  mouth  is  closed.  Long, 
pointed  pectoral  fins  are  likewise  characteristic  ol  the  family,  while  the  spiny  and 
soft  portions  of  the  dorsal  fin  are  continuous  and  the  anal  fin  is  about  as  long  as 
the  soft  part  of  the  dorsal. 

KEY   TO   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE   PORGIES 

1.         Outline  of  caudal  fin  deeply  lunate,  with  sharp  corners Scup,  p.  263 

Outline  of  caudal  fin  only  slightly  concave,  with  round  corners Sheepshead,  p.  268 

101.  Scup  {Stenotomus  chrysops  Liimseus) 

PORGY 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1346. 

Description. — Although  the  scup  is  not  marked  by  any  one  outstanding  char- 
acter it  is  easily  recognizable  by  the  fact  that  the  spiny  portion  of  its  dorsal  fin 
is  longer  and  higher  than  the  soft-rayed  portion,  which,  with  its  deeply  lunate 
caudal  fin,  separates  it  from  all  other  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes  of  similarly  deep  and 
compressed  body  form.  The  body  of  the  scup  is  nearly  one-half  as  deep  as  long 
and  very  thin,  recalling  a  butterfish  (p.  245) ,  but  the  dorsal  profile  of  its  rather 
short  head  is  slightly  concave  and  not  convex  as  in  the  latter.  The  mouth  is  small, 
the  eye  situated  high  up  on  the  head,  and  the  margin  of  the  gill  cover  is  rounded. 
There  is  one  long  dorsal  fin  originating  over  the  pectoral  and  preceded  by  a  pro- 
cumbent forward-pointing  spine,  spinous  (25  spines)  and  soft  (12  rays)  parts  being 
continuous.  As  a  whole  the  fin  is  moderately  high,  its  first  spine  much  shorter  than 
the  others,  and  its  rear  corner  rounded.  The  anal  (3  spines  and  11  rays)  is  about 
as  long  as  the  soft  part  of  the  dorsal  (under  which  it  stands),  almost  even  in 
height  from  front  to  rear,  but  with  the  first  spine  shorter  than  the  others.  Both 
anal  and  dorsal  fins  are  depressible  in  conspicuous  grooves.  The  caudal  is  deeply 
concave  with  sharp  comers,  and  the  upper  horn  is  noticeably  longer  than  the  lower. 
The  pectorals  are  very  long  (reaching  to  the  soft  part  of  the  dorsal) ,  sharp  pointed, 
and  with  slightly  falcate  lower  margins.  The  ventrals,  situated  below  the  pectorals, 
are  of  moderate  size.     The  scales  are  rather  large. 

Color. — Brown  above,  more  or  less  tinged  with  reddish  or  pinkish,  pahng 
on  the  sides  (which  are  silvery)  to  a  silvery  belly.  W.  C.  Schroeder  contributes 
the  following  description  of  the  colors  of  about  100  scup,  6  to  10  inches  long,  taken 
in  New  Jersey  pound  nets  in  June,  1923: 

Dull  silvery  and  iridescent;  somewhat  darker  above  than  below;  sides  and  back  with  12 
to  15  indistinct  longitudinal  stripes  flecked  with  light  blue;  a  light-blue  streak  following  the  base 
of  the  dorsal  fin;  head  silvery,  marked  with  irregular  dusky  blotches;  belly  white.  Dorsal,  caudal, 
and  anal  fins  dusky  and  flecked  with  blue;  pectoral  fin  of  a  brownish  tinge;  ventrals  white  and 
bluish,  and  very  slightly  dusky;  iris  silvery;  pupil  black. 

Size. — The  scup  is  said  to  reach  a  length  of  18  inches  and  a  weight  of  3  to 
4  pounds,  but  adults  usually  run  only  about  11  to  12  inches  in  length  and  IH  to 
2  pounds  in  weight. 

102274—251 18 


264 


BULLETIN    OF    THE    BUREAU    OF    FISHERIES 


-  -•-:.<:;«- 


Fig.  125.— Scup  (Stenotomue  chrysops) 
Adult,    b,  Egg.    c,  Larva,  3  days  old,  2.8  millimeters,    d,  Fry,  10.5  millimeters,    e,  Fry,  25  millimeters. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


265 


General  range. — East  coast  of  the  United  States,  common  from  South  Carolina 
to  Cape  Cod;  casual  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  as  far  as  Eastport. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Although  the  scup  is  one  of  the  most  familiar 
shore  fish  right  up  to  the  elbow  of  Cape  Cod,  with  the  southern  shore  of  Massachu- 
setts and  its  off-lying  islands  yielding  annual  catches  of  1,000,000  to  2,000,000 
pounds  in  good  years,  very  few  find  their  way  past  Monomoy  into  the  colder  waters 
of  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  The  first  definite  mention  of  scup  caught  north  of  Cape 
Cod  is  Storer's  statement  that  one  was  taken  at  Nahant  in  1835,  and  another  in  1836, 
but  that  it  was  never  seen  there  before.  Possibly,  however,  these  and  one  picked 
up  dead  at  Cohasset  in  1833  ^^  were  the  survivors  of  a  smack  load  that  had  been 
liberated  in  Boston  Harbor  some  years  earlier  (1831  or  1832).  A  similar  "plant" 
was  made  in  Plymouth  Bay  in  1834  or  1835,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  these  planted  fish  established  themselves  or  that  their  introduction  has  in 
any  way  influenced  the  numbers  of  scup  caught  subsequently  in  the  Gulf. 


lANDfD 

3,600,000 
3,400/100 
3,200/JOO 
3/100/100 
2^00/100 
2^00,000 
2,400/100 
2,200,0  0  0 
^00/100 

i,aoo,ooo 

j 

/ 

\ 

/ 

\ 

\ 

/ 

\ 

/ 

I 

r,4oo,ooo 

1,200,00  0 
1,000/100 
000,0  0  0 
(00/100 
400)000 
Z  00,0  0  0 

I 

\ 

1 

\ 

^ 

\ 

\ 

/ 

\ 

\ 

/' 

\ 

/ 

X 

s 

"v 

y 

V 

~~" 

■--^ 

___,^ 

i 

B        « 

0        (J 

>      v 

D        U 

>     \1 

9          u 

p    u 

»       u 

D        >^ 

a      vo 

.o     .»     \» 


FiQ.  126. — Annual  catch  of  scup  (pounds)  in  pound  nets  and  traps  in  Massachusetts,  from  statistics  published  by  the  State 

commissioners  of  fisheries  and  game 

When  the  practice  of  setting  mackerel  nets  outside  Provincetown  Harbor 
was  first  adopted  (about  1842)  a  few  scup  were  taken  in  them  from  year  to  year, 
and  it  seems  that  a  few  stragglers  appear  in  our  waters  during  most  summers, 
for  odd  fish  were  yearly  caught  in  Cape  Cod  Bay  and  between  Boston  and  Cape 
Ann  during  the  period  1860  to  1867,  and  a  number  were  taken  in  a  weir  on  Milk 
Island  near  Glouscester  in  1878.  We  find  still  larger  catches  reported  from  Man- 
chester, Mass.,  in  1885,  1886,  and  1887  (507,  1,243,  and  1,755  pounds,  respectively), 
and  from  Gloucester  in  1888  (1,767  pounds);  none  at  all,  however,  in  1889.  Scup 
were  reported  in  small  numbers  in  one  part  of  Massachusetts  Bay  or  another  nearly 
every  summer  from  1891  until  1904,  and  occasionally  since  then. 

s'  The  Fisheries  and  Fishery  Industries  of  the  United  States,  Section  I,  1884,  p.  387.    Washington, 


266 


BULLETIN    OF    THE    BUREAU    OF    FISHERIES 


The  returns  of  the  pound-net  fishery,  pubHshed  by  the  State  of  Massachusetts, 
list  very  much  larger  annual  catches  for  the  strip  of  coast  between  Boston  and 
Cape  Ann— chiefly  at  Manchester— in  1905,  1908,  1909,  and  1910  (1,600  to  8,000 
pounds) ;  but  inasmuch  as  a  canvass  of  the  Massachusetts  fisheries  made  by  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries  brought  no  reports  of  scup  caught  along  this 
part  of  the  shore  line  in  the  first  of  these  years,  while  local  inquiry  has  equally 
failed  to  elicit  rumors  of  any  unusual  incursions  of  scup  at  any  time  since  then, 
some  other  fish  was  probably  responsible.-" 

Although  scup  are  seldom  or  never  plentiful  enough  to  be  of  any  importance, 
either  commercially  or  to  the  angler,  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  the  evidence  just 
summarized  shows  that  they  are  not  only  more  constantly  present  there  than  are 
other  southern  fishes  (for  instance  squeteague  or  bluefish),  but  that  they  do  not 
show  the  wide  fluctuations  in  abundance  from  year  to  year  that  characterize  the 
latter,  for  it  seems  that  the  bay  supports  a  few  scup  every  smnmer  though  never 
many.  The  tremendous  shrinkage  that  took  place  in  the  stock  of  scup  off  southern 
Massachusetts  between  1896  (prior  to  which  the  annual  catch  had  usually  been 
from  1  to  3  million  pounds)  and  1905,  since  when  it  has  seldom  reached  one-tenth 
of  that  amount,  was  not  accompanied  by  a  disappearance  from  Massachusetts 
Bay,  as  might  have  been  expected  if  the  local  stock  depended  on  drafts  from  the 
south  for  its  maintenance.  Thus  scup  do  not  fall  in  the  same  category  as  bluefish, 
weakfish,  or  menhaden,  wliich  come  in  abundance  only  when  they  are  plentiful 
over  the  northern  pa.rts  of  their  range  as  a  whole,  and  otherwise  rarely  or  not  at 
all.  They  are  regular  visitors  as  far  north  as  Cape  Ann,  though  uncommon  north 
of  Cape  Cod.  The  fact  that  scup  are  about  as  likely  to  appear  in  one  part  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  as  another,  as  illustrated  by  the  following  table,  supports  this  view. 

Catch  of  scup  in  pound  nets  and  weirs  on  the  coast  of  northern  Massachusetts,  from  Cape  Cod  to 
Cape  Ann,^  from  1S91  to  1900,  in  pounds 


Town 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

1900 

Eastham 

1 
41 
19 

Provincetown.. .      .    

157 
51 

21 
8 

ill 
29 

380 

101 

144 

'632 

2 
2 
5 

17 

Truro.. - 

11 

Welldeet 

Sandwich 

56 

7 

9 

266 
230 
179 

54 

139 

Revere 

70 

75 

43 

15 

Beverly 

4 

495 
19 

91 

Magnolia 

3 
3 

1 

(') 

38 

3 

40 

50 

1  We  omit  catches  for  Barnstable,  Dennis,  and  Yarnionth  because  these  may  include  fish  from  the  southern  as  well  as  from  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  shore  of  Massachusetts. 
*  From  gill  and  sweep  nets. 
3  Although  no  scup  are  listed  from  Gloucester  for  1895,  a  few  were  reported  there  both  in  that  and  in  the  previous  summer. 

Cape  Ann  bounds  the  regular  range  of  the  scup.  North  of  this  point  it 
has  been  reported  tA\ice  only  ^^ — at  Eastport  and  about  Casco  Bay.  On  the 
latter  occasion  (1896) — a  year  of  plenty  not  only  in  Massachusetts  Bay  but  to  the 

"  Probably  butterflsh,  which  are  not  mentioned  in  these  returns  although  undoubtedly  caught  in  abundance  in  the  traps  in 
question. 

"  Knight  (1867)  reported  "porgies"  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  on  hearsay,  but  Gulf  of  Maine  fishermen  would  be  more  likely  to 
apply  that  name  to  the  menhaden  than  to  scup. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  267 

south  generally — they  appeared  in  such  numbers  that  odd  specimens  were  taken 
daily  in  the  Small  Point  traps  during  the  first  half  of  July,  just  such  a  sporadic  visit 
as  may  be  expected  of  a  southern  stray,  and  one  so  unusual  that  we  have  not  heard 
of  a  scup  caught  anywhere  along  the  coast  of  Maine  since  then. 

The  scup  is  strictly  a  summer  fish  in  New  England.  Near  Woods  Hole  they 
appear  about  the  first  of  May,  and  most  of  them  depart  about  mid-October,  though 
some  few  linger  through  November  and  an  occasional  fish  into  December.  Prob- 
ably scup  arrive  somewhat  later  and  depart  earlier  from  Massachusetts  Bay,  but 
data  are  lacking  on  this  point. 

We  have  had  very  little  first-hand  experience  with  the  scup.  It  is  said  that 
the  first  fish  to  arrive  in  spring  are  the  large  adults,  with  the  immature  fish  following 
them  later.  During  their  summer  stay  they  live  in  moderate  depths.  Large  fish 
are  seldom  caught  in  shallower  water  than  2  or  3  fathoms,  or  deeper  than  15  to  20 
fathoms.  Occasionally,  however,  they  have  been  known  to  school  on  the  surface, 
and  young  fry  come  close  in  to  the  land  in  but  a  few  feet  of  water.  At  this  season 
the  scup  is  purely  a  coastwise  fish.  A  line  drawn  4  or  5  miles  out  from  the  outer 
headlands  probably  would  inclose  the  entire  stock.     It  is  unknown  on  Georges  Bank. 

Habits  and  food. — Scup  usually  congregate  in  schools  and  prefer  smooth  to  rocky 
bottom,  which  results  in  a  distribution  so  local  that  one  trap  at  Manchester  took 
small  numbers  of  scup  in  1885,  1886,  and  1887,  while  another  close  by  did  not  yield 
as  much  as  one  fish.  Scup  are  bottom  feeders  in  the  main,  seldom  rising  far  above 
the  ground,  the  adults  preying  on  crustaceans  (particularly  amphipods)  as  well  as 
on  annelids,  hydroids,  sand-dollars,  young  squid,  and  in  fact  on  whatever  inverte- 
brates the  particular  bottom  over  which  they  live  affords.  They  also  eat  fish  fry 
to  some  extent,  such  free-floating  forms  as  crustacean  and  molluscan  larvae,  ap- 
pendicularians,  and  copepods.  The  young  feed  chiefly  on  the  latter  and  on  other 
small  Crustacea.  Adult  scup,  like  most  other  fish,  cease  feeding  during  spawning 
time,  for  which  reason  few  are  caught  then,  but  throughout  the  rest  of  the  summer 
they  bite  very  greedily  on  clams,  bits  of  crab,  bloodworms  (Nereis),  etc.,  as  do  the 
immature  fish  throughout  their  stay.  Undoubtedly  it  is  the  autumnal  chilling  of 
the  coastal  water  that  drives  the  scup  away,  for  they  are  so  sensitive  to  low  tem- 
peratures that  they  have  been  known  to  perish  in  great  nmnbers — both  large  fish 
and  small — in  sudden  cold  spells.  While  their  winter  home  is  unkno\\'n,  it  is  more 
likely  that  they  simply  move  out  to  sea  to  pass  the  cold  season  on  bottom  in  deep 
water  than  that  they  journey  far  southward,  the  strongest  evidence  of  this  being 
their  nearly  simidtaneous  appearance  all  along  the  southern  coast  of  New  England 
in  spring,  and  the  fact  that  small  scup,  probably  devoured  while  on  their  way  off- 
shore, have  been  found  in  autumn  in  cod  stomachs  on  Nantucket  Shoals,  where 
they  are  unknown  in  summer.  This  autumn  migration  probably  leads  the  scup  of 
southern  New  England  to  the  continental  slope,  and  no  doubt  the  few  that  simimer 
in  Massachusetts  Bay  leave  the  Gulf  of  Maine  altogether  for  the  cold  season,  journey- 
ing out  past  Cape  Cod  to  the  same  goal,  for  since  few  are  seen  any%vhere  in  spring 
until  the  coastwise  waters  have  warmed  to  about  50°,  it  is  not  likely  they  could 
survive  the  considerably  lower  temperature  (aboi'*,  11°  to  43°)  of  even  the  deepest 
trough  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 


268  BULLETIN    OF   THE    BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Breeding  habits. — Along  southern  New  England  scup  spawn  from  May  to 
August — chiefly  in  June.  Probably  spawning  both  commences  and  continues  later, 
in  the  case  of  the  few  fish  that  manage  to  summer  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  it 
may  be  assumed  that  the  fish  spawn  wherever  they  summer. 

The  eggs  are  buoyant,  transparent,  spherical,  rather  small  (about  0.9  nma.  in 
diameter),  and  %\ith  one  oil  globule.  Incubation  occupies  only  about  40  hours 
at  72° — probably  two  to  three  days  in  the  June  temperatures  of  Massachusetts 
Bay — and  judging  from  the  season  of  spawning  at  Woods  Hole,  it  is  not  likely  that 
development  can  proceed  normally  in  water  colder  than  about  50°.  At  hatching 
the  larvse  are  about  2  mm.  long,  the  yolk  is  fully  resorbed  within  three  days  when 
the  larva  is  about  2.8  mm.  long,  and  there  is  then  a  characteristic  row  of  black 
pigment  spots  along  the  ventral  margin  of  the  trunk.  Fry  of  about  10  mm.  show 
the  dorsal  and  ventral  fin  rays.  At  25  mm.  the  pectorals  have  assumed  their 
pointed  outline  and  the  caudal  fin  is  slightly  forked,  but  the  ventrals  are  still  so 
small  and  the  body  so  slender  that  the  little  fish  hardly  suggest  their  parentage 
untU  somewhat  larger.^* 

Rate  of  growth. — In  southern  New  England  fry  of  2  to  .3  inches,  evidently 
the  product  of  that  season's  spawning,  have  been  taken  in  abundance  as  early  as 
September.  In  October  they  are  2H  to  3^4  inches  long,  and  may  be  as  long  as  4 
inches  at  Woods  Hole  in  November.  Apparently  young  scup  grow  very  little 
during  the  v>-inter,  for  in  spring  the  large  mature  fish  are  soon  followed  by  small  ones 
of  4  to  6  inches,  probably  the  crop  of  the  preceding  season.  It  has  been  generally 
assumed,  following  Baird  (1873,  p.  228),  that  the  large  fish  of  12  to  14  inches, 
weighing  from  13^  to  214  pounds,  are  3  to  5  years  old,  but  no  growth  studies  based 
on  the  scales  or  other  exact  data  have  been  attempted  for  tliis  fish. 

102.  Sheepshead  {Archosargus  probatocephalus  Walbaum) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1361. 

Description. — The  sheepshead  so  closely  resembles  the  scup  in  its  general 
organization  that  the  family  relations  between  the  two  are  obvious.  Like  the  scup 
it  is  deep  bodied  and  much  compressed,  with  similar  profile.  There  is  one  long 
dorsal  fin,  scuplike  in  outline,  of  which  the  anterior  two-thirds  is  spiny  (12  spines) 
and  the  posterior  one-tliird  is  soft  (10  to  12  rays).  The  anal  fin  (3  spines  and 
10  to  11  rays)  is  about  as  long  as  the  soft  portion  of  the  dorsal,  under  which  it  stands, 
and  both  dorsal  and  anal  can  be  depressed  in  deep  grooves.  The  pectorals  are  long 
and  pointed,  the  ventrals  are  situated  slightly  behind  the  latter,  the  scales  are 
large,  and  the  eyes  are  located  high  on  the  sides  of  the  head,  in  all  of  which  the 
sheepshead  agrees  with  the  scup.  It  is  readily  recognized,  however,  by  the  fact  that 
its  caudal  fin  is  not  so  deeply  emarginate  as  that  of  the  scup,  and  has  rounded  and 
equal  corners  instead  of  pointed  and  unequal  ones,  while  its  dorsal  spines  are  alter- 
nately stout  and  slender,  its  second  anal  spine  much  stouter  than  that  of  the  scup,  the 
dorsal  profile  of  its  head  is  steeper,  its  nose  is  blunter,  and  its  teeth  are  much  broader. 
Furthermore,  the  body  of  the  sheepshead  is  noticeably  thicker  and  the  back  is 

"  Euntz  and  RadclifEe  (1918,  p.  106)  describe  the  early  development  of  the  scup. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


269 


rounded.  Instead  of  being  plain  colored  like  the  scup,  the  sides  of  the  sheepshead 
show  seven  broad,  dark  brown  crossbars  on  a  gray  ground. 

Size. — The  sheepshead  grows  to  a  length  of  30  inches  and  a  weight  of  20  pounds. 

General  range. — Atlantic  and  Gulf  of  Mexico  coasts  of  the  United  States  from 
Texas  to  Cape  Cod.     Casual  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  sheepshead  was  formerly  abundant  as  far 
north  as  New  York  and  not  uncommon  about  Woods  Hole.  Though  still  a  common 
fish  in  the  south,  it  has  been  decidely  rare  east  of  New  York  for  many  years  past. 
The  only  record  of  it  east  of  Cape  Cod  is  Cox's  (1896,  p.  71)  statement  that  it  is 
occasional  in  St.  John  Harbor,  New  Brunswick;  but  no  actual  specimens  are 
mentioned,  and  as  it  is  not  known  ever  to  have  strayed  to  Massachusetts  Bay  (a 
far  more  likely  goal  for  any  southern  coast  fish  than  the  Bay  of  Fundy) ,  its  claim  to 
mention  here  is  slender. 


Fig.  127.— Shucpshead  (ArchosaiQas  probatoctphalus) 

THE    CROAKERS    OR    WEAKFISHgS.     FAMILY    SCIMNWM 

The  croakers  have  both  spiny  and  soft  portions  of  the  dorsal  fin  well  developed 
(either  separate  or  as  one  continuous  fin)  and  their  ventrals  are  thoracic  in  position. 
They  are  readily  separable  from  the  sea  basses  (p.  251),  the  sea  breams  (p.  262), 
and  the  cunners  (p.  280)  by  the  fact  that  the  anal  fin  is  much  shorter  than  the  soft 
portion  of  the  dorsal ;  from  the  rockfishes  and  sculpins  by  the  smooth  head ;  and  from 
all  the  mackerels  and  the  pompano  tribe  by  their  stout  caudal  peduncles  and 
rounded  or  only  slightly  concave  caudal  fins. 

KEY   TO   GULF  OF  MAINE   CROAKERS  AND   WEAKFISHES 

1.  There  is  no  barbel  on  the  chin Weakfish,  p.  270 

Chin  with  one  or  more  barbels 2 

2.  Several  chin  barbels;  the  spiny  and  soft-rayed  portions  of  the  dorsal  fin  are  connected 

Drum,  p.  279 

Only  one  chin  barbel.     The  spiny  and  soft-rayed  portions  of  the  dorsal  are  two  separate 
fins.. Kingfish,  p.  277 


270  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUKEAU    OF   FISHEKIES 

103.  Weakflsh  {Cynoscion  regalis  Bloch  and  Schneider) 
Squeteague;  Sea  trout;  Trout;  Gray  trout 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1407 

Description. — The  relative  sizes  and  shapes  of  the  fins  of  the  weakfish  and  its 
color  are  such  ready  field  marks  that  it  is  one  of  our  most  easily  named  fishes. 
With  regard  to  other  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes  with  separate  spiny  and  soft-rayed  dorsal 
fins,  it  is  distinguishable  from  the  mullet  by  the  considerable  length  of  its  dorsal  as 
well  as  by  many  other  characters.  Its  only  slightly  emarginate  tail  distinguishes  it 
from  any  mackerel  or  pompano.  This  same  character,  combined  with  a  short  anal 
fin  and  a  first  dorsal  fin  higher  than  the  second  gives  it  an  appearance  quite  different 
from  a  bluefish,  while  the  fact  that  its  second  dorsal  is  much  longer  than  the  first 
and  its  body  slender  obviates  all  danger  of  confusing  it  with  striped  bass  or  white 
perch.  The  shape  of  the  dorsal  and  caudal  fins  and  of  the  head  make  it  distin- 
guishable at  a  glance  from  the  kingfish  (p.  277),  the  absence  of  barbels  on  the  chin 
separates  it  from  a  drum,  while  it  has  nothing  in  common  with  such  bizarre  fish  as 
the  John  Dory  (p.  291),  triggerfish  (p.  293),  or  the  sculpin  tribe  (p.  314). 

The  weakfish  is  a  slim,  shapely  fish,  about  four  and  one-fourth  times  as  long  as 
deep  (counting  the  caudal),  only  slightly  compressed,  with  rather  stout  caudal 
peduncle,  long  head,  moderately  pointed  snout,  and  large  mouth.  Its  upper  jaw 
is  armed  -with  two  large  canine  teeth  and  its  lower  jaw  projects  beyond  the  upper. 
The  first  dorsal  (9  to  10  spines),  originating  slightly  behind  the  pectoral,  is  triangular: 
the  second,  originating  close  behind  it,  is  more  than  twice  as  long  (26  to  29  rays) 
and  roughly  rectangular.  The  caudal  fin  is  moderately  broad  and  but  slightly 
concave  in  outline.  The  anal  fin  (1  or  2  very  slender  spines  and  11  to  13  rays)  is 
less  than  half  as  long  as  the  second  dorsal,  under  the  rear  of  which  it  stands. 
The  ventrals  are  below  the  pectorals,  which  they  resemble  in  their  moderate  size 
and  pointed  outline. 

Color.'^ — Dull  brownish  or  olive  green  above  with  the  back  and  sides  variously 
burnished  with  purple,  lavender,  green,  blue,  golden,  or  coppery,  and  marked  with 
a  large  nmnber  of  small  black,  dark  green,  or  bronze  spots.  These  spots  are  vaguely 
outlined  and  run  together  more  or  less,  especially  on  the  back,  thus  forming  irregular 
lines  running  downward  and  forward.  They  are  most  numerous  above  the  lateral 
line.  There  are  no  spots  on  the  lower  sides  or  belly.  The  lower  surface,  forward  to 
the  tip  of  the  jaw,  is  white — either  chalky  or  silvery.  The  dorsal  fins  are  dusky, 
usually  more  or  less  tinged  with  yellow,  the  caudal  is  olive  or  dusky  with  its  lower 
edge  yellowish  at  the  base,  the  ventrals  and  anal  are  yellow,  and  the  pectorals  are 
olive  outside  and  usually  yellow  inside. 

Size. — It  is  said  that  weakfish  as  heavy  as  30  pounds  have  been  taken,  but  the 
largest  of  which  we  can  find  authentic  record  in  recent  years  was  an  18-pounder.  A 
fish  heavier  than  12  pounds  or  longer  than  3  feet  is  a  rarity.  Off  southern  Massa- 
chusetts the  largest  fish  run  6  to  10  pounds  in  weight,  and  most  of  those  taken  there 

"  W.  C.  Schroeder,  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  has  supplied  notes  on  the  color  of  a  freshly  caught  specimen  17  inches  long. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


271 


Fig.  128. — Weakfish  {Cynoscion  regalis) 
a.  Adult.    6,  Egg.    c,  Larva,  12.4  millimeters,    d,  Fry,  32  millimeters. 


272  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

weigh  from  1  to  6  pounds  and  are  1}4  to  2J^  feet  long.  An  average  of  5  pounds 
has  been  reported  for  Massachusetts  Bay,  but  this  is  probably  excessive.  The 
average  proportion  between  length  and  weight  is  about  as  follows : 

Length  in  inches  Weight  in  pounds 

12  to  14 J^  to  1 

14  to  16 IM  to2 

18  to  20 1^  to2}^ 

22  to  231^ 3J^  to4M 

25}^  to  273^ 5  to  6 

General  range. — Eastern  coast  of  the  United  States  from  Massachusetts  Bay  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Occurrence  in  the  Oulf  of  Maine. — The  chief  center  of  abundance  of  the  weak- 
fish  is  the  coast  of  the  middle  Atlantic  States  from  New  York  southward.  It  occurs 
regularly  to  Cape  Cod.  The  stock  of  weakfish  fluctuates  widely  on  the  southern 
New  England  coast,  and  it  is  only  during  periods  of  great  abundance  there  that 
it  appears  in  any  numbers  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  which  may  be  set  as  the  extreme 
northern  limit  for  its  appearance  in  any  numbers. "  In  the  years  when  it  has 
passed  Cape  Cod  in  appreciable  numbers  it  has  always  been  far  more  plentiful  along 
the  inner  side  of  the  cape  and  in  Cape  Cod  Bay  than  north  of  Boston,  as  appears 
from  the  following  statement  of  catches  for  1906 : 

Cape  Cod  Bay:                                                                          '  Pounds 

Provincetown 115,  789 

Truro 202,  050 

Brewster 137,  659 

Sandwich 6,  221 

North  Shore,  Massachusetts  Bay: 

Nahant 369 

Manchester 410 

Twenty  thousand  pounds  were  also  returned  from  Gloucester,  but  we  have 
reason  to  believe  that  although  landed  there  the  fish  were  caught  in  Cape  Cod 
Bay,  and  though  traps  have  been  operated  at  Rockport  and  at  Newburyport  they 
have  taken  no  weakfish. 

Fortunately  the  statistics  of  the  pound-net  fishery  cover  the  inception,  climax, 
and  eclipse  of  the  only  invasion  of  Massachusetts  Bay  by  weakfish  that  has  occurred 
within  the  past  century."  Apparently  weakfish  were  plentiful  off  southern  New 
England  during  the  last  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  to  judge  from  fisher- 
men's reports  weakfish  were  well  known  in  Massachusetts  Bay  at  that  time;  but 
they  vanished  so  completely  sometime  prior  to  1800  that  when  a  single  stray 
specimen  was  taken  at  Provincetown  in  June,  1838,  it  was  sent  to  Boston  for  identi- 
fication. This  disappearance  was  evidently  but  part  of  a  general  phenomenon  of 
the  same  sort  covering  the  whole  northern  part  of  the  range  of  the  species,  for  it 
disappeared  similarly  from    the    Nantucket-Marthas  Vineyard    region    sometime 

'» It  is  credited  indefinitely  to  "Maine"  by  Holmes  (1862);  Ooode,  et  al.  (1884,  p.  362),  state  that  scattering  individuals  have 
been  caught  as  far  as  the  Bay  of  Fundy;  and  Halkett  (1913)  mentions  one  as  probably  caught  off  Nova  Scotia. 

"  There  are  intimations  in  the  writings  of  the  early  historians  of  New  England  of  similar  disappearances  and  returns  of 
the  weakfish  (Goode,  et  al.,  1884,  p.  363). 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  273 

between  1800  and  1837.  By  1867,  however,  they  had  reappeared  off  southern 
Massachusetts,  and  by  1870  they  were  once  more  abundant  there,  but  wealtfish  were 
not  reported  again  north  of  Cape  Cod  until  1884,  when  one  or  two  were  taken  off 
Truro  and  Provincetown.  From  then  until  1895  a  few  were  returned  yearly  from 
Truro,  Provincetown,  Plymouth,  and  even  from  as  far  north  as  Gloucester  and 
Manchester,  the  annual  catch  ranging  from  an  odd  fish  only  (e.  g.,  1893  and  1894)  to 
700  or  800  pounds,  at  most,  for  the  entire  bay.  The  catch  in  the  Gulf  for  the  next 
few  years  was  larger  (4,892  pounds  in  1896,  =  1,006  pounds  in  1897,  6,046  pounds 
in  1898,  and  11,572  pounds  in  1899),  though  theweakfish  was  still  a  comparatively 
unimportant  fish,  with  the  catches  localized  chiefly  on  the  outer  side  of  Cape  Cod  and 
in  Cape  Cod  Bay,  as  might  be  expected  of  a  stray  from  the  south.  In  1900,  how- 
ever, they  appeared  in  such  numbers  in  Massachusetts  Bay  that  the  catch  jumped 
to  upward  of  130,000  pounds.^-  A  few  were  taken  even  as  far  north  as  Gloucester 
and  in  Boston  Harbor. 

This  marked  the  commencement  of  a  period  of  local  abundance  entirely  unex- 
pected (nothing  like  it  had  been  experienced  since  the  settlement  of  the  country), 
and  which,  with  its  equally  sudden  eclipse,  is  perhaps  the  most  interesting  event 
in  the  history  of  the  fisheries  of  the  Bay.  Unfortunately  definite  statistics  of  the 
catches  are  not  available  for  the  crucial  years,  but  in  1901  the  fish  was  so  plentiful 
in  Cape  Cod  Bay  as  to  be  a  drug  on  the  market.  In  1902  and  1903  the  pound  nets 
in  Cape  Cod  Bay  were  often  filled  with  schools  of  large  Aveakfish,  averaging  about 
5  pounds.  So  plentiful  were  they,  indeed,  during  the  latter  summer  that  traps  at 
North  Truro  alone  reported  280,000  pounds.  This  abundance  continued  through 
1904,  by  which  time  it  seems  to  have  been  accepted  as  the  normal  condition  and 
hence  no  longer  worth  comment.  It  culminated  in  that  or  the  following  summer, 
for  weakfish  were  reported  as  less  plentiful  in  1906,  but  nevertheless  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  traps  (excluding  Barnstable,  Yarmouth,  and  Dennis)  reported  almost 
half  a  million  pounds  of  wealdish  for  that  year,  and  this  probably  was  not  more 
than  half  or  two-thirds  of  the  actual  total,  for  the  returns  were  incomplete.  This 
was  the  last  big  year,  for  the  Massachusetts  Bay  catch  of  1907  was  only  about 
one-third  that  of  1906,  a  falling  off  that  was  the  beginning  of  the  end,  only  8,249 
pounds  being  reported  in  1908,  369  pounds  in  1909,  and  17  pounds  in  1910.  We 
do  not  know  of  a  single  weakfish  caught  in  Massachusetts  Bay  since  1916,^^'''^  unless 
a  few  odd  fish  reported  at  Barnstable  in  1921  were  taken  on  the  Bay  shore  and  not 
the  Vineyard  Sound  or  Buzzards  Bay  shore. 

It  is  impossible  to  account  for  the  unexpected  rise  and  the  even  more  sudden 
fall  of  weakfish  north  of  Cape  Cod,  because  the  opportunity  is  gone  to  gather  such 
data  on  the  size  and  age  of  the  fish,  their  movements,  the  precise  seasons  of  the 
catch,  and  the  physical  state  of  the  water  as  might  clear  the  question.  It  was  no 
local  event,  hoAvever,  but  reflected  a  corresponding  fluctuation  in  the  whole  stock 
of  weakfish  existing  north  of  New  York,  for  the  catch  of  weakfish  along  the  southern 

"  Omitting  the  towns  of  Yarmouth,  Dennis,  and  Barnstable,  where  traps  have  been  operated  on  the  Vineyard  Sound  as 
well  as  on  the  Massachusetts  Bay  side. 

33.31  No  pertinent  statistics  are  available  for  the  years  1912  to  1915. 


274  BULLETIN    OF    THE    BUREAU    OF    FISHERIES 

coast  of  New  England  was  more  than  eight  times  as  great  in  1904  (upward  of 
7,000,000  pounds)  as  in  1889  (about  830,000  pounds),  but  thereafter  declined  so 
markedly  that  in  1908  complaint  of  the  scarcity  of  weakfish  was  made  by  both  the 
commercial  fishermen  and  the  anglers  of  Rhode  Island  and  southern  Massachusetts. 
Less  than  400,000  pounds  were  taken  in  all  New  England  in  1919,  and  by  1920  and 
1921  the  weakfish  had  so  nearly  vanished  from  the  southern  as  well  as  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  shores  of  Massachusetts  that  the  reported  catches  for  the  State  were 
but  785  and  691  pounds,  respectively.  Whether  the  next  few  years  will  see  the 
weakfish  entirely  disappear  east  of  Narragansett  Bay  for  a  period  of  years,  as  seems 
to  have  happened  in  the  late  seventeen  hundreds,  or  whether  we  may  now  look 
for  an  increase,  the  future  alone  can  tell.  Perhaps  we  should  emphasize  in  passing 
that  throughout  the  period  under  discussion  about  the  same  number  of  pound  nets 
and  traps  have  been  operated  from  year  to  year  at  about  the  same  general  localities, 
so  that  fluctuations  in  the  catch  do  actually  reflect  similar  fluctuations  in  the  stock 
of  fish. 

It  has  often  been  suggested  that  wealdish  are  plentiful  when  bluefish  are 
scarce,  and  vice  versa,  and  the  argument  has  been  advanced  that  the  latter  not 
only  devour  fry  of  the  weakfish  but  its  food  as  well,  and  hence  not  only  destroy 
many  but  drive  others  away,  but  no  convincing  evidence  that  the  fluctuations  of 
these  two  species  of  fish  are  in  any  way  mutually  dependent  has  been  brought 
forward. 

Hahits. — Although  there  are  no  weakfish  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  to-day,  they 
were  so  plentiful  in  its  southwestern  waters  for  a  time — and  may  at  any  time 
reappear  there  in  abundance — that  their  habits  deserve  more  attention  than  the 
fish's  present  status  would  call  for.  In  the  southern  part  of  its  range  (e.  g.,  along 
the  Carolinas)  it  is  a  resident  species,  as  sundry  authors  have  remarked.  North  of 
Chesapeake  Bay,  however,  it  is  strictly  seasonal,  appearing  in  spring,  spending  the 
summer  on  the  coast,  and  departing  once  more  in  autumn.  At  Woods  Hole  it  is 
caught  from  May  (some  years  as  early  as  April,  others  not  until  June)  until  the 
middle  of  October.  Probably  it  is  not  to  be  expected  north  of  Cape  Cod  before 
June,  and  although  no  records  have  been  kept  of  its  days  of  arrival  and  departure 
there,  it  is  not  likely  that  it  lingers  in  the  Gulf  later  than  September,  for  adult 
weakfish  disappear  from  the  middle  Atlantic  coast  in  October. 

During  their  stay  on  the  coast  weakfish  keep  close  inshore,  being  unknown  on 
Nantucket  Shoals,  Georges,  or  Browns  Banks.  They  are  usually  found  along  open 
sandy  shores  in  the  larger  bays,  estuaries,  and  sheltered  waters  generally,  even 
running  up  into  river  mouths.  Although  no  precise  information  is  available  as  to 
the  presence  of  weakfish  in  relation  to  the  temperature  of  the  water,  it  is  well  known 
that  they  are  extremely  sensitive  to  cold. 

Weakfish  move  in  schools  that  are  usually  small  but  sometimes  consist  of  many 
thousands.^^  They  have  usually  been  described  as  s\vimming  near  the  siu-face,  this 
being  the  general  rule  off  the  southern  New  England  coast,  where  great  numbers 
were- caught  on  hook  and  line  within  a  few  feet  of  the  top  of  the  water,  and  their 

»  A  notable  and  oft-quoted  instance  was  off  Eockaway  Beach,  N.  Y.,  July,  1881,  when  a  school  was  sighted  so  large  that 

three  menhaden  steamers  seined  some  200,000  pounds  of  weakfish  averaging  1}'^  to  3  feet  in  length  and  3  to  7  pounds  in  weight. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  275 

preference  for  shallow  water  is  reflected  in  the  large  numbers  caught  in  pound  nets 
during  the  years  when  they  visit  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  Probably  few  descend  deeper 
than  5  to  6  fathoms  during  the  summer,  but  the  precise  level  at  which  they  live 
at  any  given  locality  is  governed  by  their  food ;  on  open  coasts  they  often  feed  on 
bottom  in  the  surf.  They  are  also  bottom  feeders  in  certain  inclosed  waters,  e.  g., 
parts  of  Delaware  Bay. 

As  Welsh  and  Breder  (1924,  p.  158)  point  out,  very  little  is  known  regarding 
the  movements  of  the  schools  of  wcakfish  during  their  annual  stay  on  the  coast, 
but  it  is  probable  that  these  depend  largely  upon  the  configuration  of  the  coast 
line.  In  Delaware  and  Chesapeake  Bays,  for  example,  they  describe  the  main 
bodies  of  fish  as  running  far  up  on  their  first  arrival,  then  returning  seaward  to 
the  ocean  in  June,  but  reentering  the  bays  in  the  later  summer.  However,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  this  on  and  off  shore  migration,  which  is  associated  with  spawn- 
ing, occurs  on  such  open  coasts  as  those  of  Cape  Cod  Bay. 

The  winter  home  of  the  northern  weakfish  is  still  to  be  discovered,  but  it  is 
now  generally  assumed  that  their  autumnal  migration  takes  place  to  avoid  falling 
temperature,  and  that  they  either  move  oft'shore  to  pass  the  cold  season  on  the 
continental  edge,  or  southward. 

Food. — Weakfish  are  carnivorous  and  voracious,  feeding  on  a  wide  variety  of 
animals,  including  crabs,  amphipods,  shrimps,  and  squid,  but  chiefly  on  smaller 
fish,  such  as  menhaden,  butterfish,  herring,  scup,  anchovies,  silversides,  and  mum- 
michogs,  of  which  they  destroy  vast  quantities.  The  precise  diet  varies  with  the 
locality  (that  is,  with  what  is  most  readily  available),  but  menhaden  is  probably 
the  most  important  single  item,  and  adult  weakfish  usually  depend  on  fish,  though 
occasionally  they  have  been  found  feeding  exclusively  on  crustaceans,  but  we  can 
not  learn  that  shellfish  have  ever  been  found  in  weakfish  stomachs.  The  young 
subsist  chiefly  on  fish  fry,  shrimp,  and  on  other  small  crustaceans,  larval  as  well 
as  adult,  and  the  proportion  of  Crustacea  in  the  diet  averages  much  greater  with 
small  weakfish  than  with  large. ^°  Weakfish  bite  very  greedily  on  various  kinds  of 
bait,  especially  on  shedder  crabs,  clams,  shrimp,  and  mummichogs. 

Breeding  habits. — Weakfish  spawn  from  May  to  October  on  the  middle  Atlantic 
coast,  with  the  chief  production  of  eggs  between  mid-May  and  mid-June,  probably 
June  and  July  in  Massachusetts  Bay.  The  following  account  of  the  breeding  and 
development  of  the  weakfish  is  condensed  from  Welsh  and  Breder  (1924,  p.  150). 
The  eggs  have  been  taken  in  tow  nets  at  various  localities  in  temperatures  ranging 
from  60°  to  70°,  in  salinities  of  28.01  to  30.9  per  mille,  and  it  is  probable  that  weak- 
fish spawn  locally  around  the  shores  of  Cape  Cod  Bay  in  years  when  the  fish  are 
plentiful  there,  as  they  do  regularly  about  Woods  Hole,  the  summer  temperature 
of  the  surface  being  sufficiently  high.  Spawning  is  confined  to  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  coast,  taking  place  chiefly  in  the  larger  estuaries  or  close  to  their 
mouths,  usually  at  night.  The  eggs  are  buoyant,  spherical,  0.74  to  1.1  nun.  in 
diameter,  usually  with  one,  rarely  with  as  many  as  four,  oil  globules  that  coalesce 
into  one  large  one  as  development  progresses.     Incubation  occupies  36  to  40  hours 

"  For  diet  lists  of  wealiflsh  of  various  sizes  and  from  many  localities,  see  Welsh  and  Breder  (1924,  p.  159),  and  also  Peck  (Bulle- 
tin TJ.  S.  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  XV,  1895  (1896),  p.  352). 


276  BULLETIN    OF    THE    BITREAU    OF    FISHERIES 

at  a  temperature  of  68°  to  70°;  the  newly  hatched  larvte  are  1.75  mm.  long,  growing 
to  about  2.2  mm.  in  24  hours,  by  which  time  most  of  the  yolk  has  been  absorbed. 

The  rays  of  the  ventral  fins  are  visible  in  larvae  of  6.5  mm.  At  12.5  mm.  the 
larval  finfold  has  disappeared,  the  fins  are  fully  formed,  and  the  sides  are  barred 
with  four  dusky  bands.  From  this  stage  onward  the  family  relationship  of  the 
young  fry  is  made  evident  by  the  short  anal  and  long  second  dorsal  fins,  and  at 
30  mm.  they  have  attained  most  of  the  structural  characters  of  the  adult;  but  until 
they  are  6  to  8  inches  long  the  young  weakfish  are  much  deeper  and  more  compressed 
than  their  parents,  their  heads  and  eyes  are  relatively  larger,  and  their  caudal  fins 
are  obtusely  pointed,  with  the  center  rays  much  the  longest,  instead  of  concave. 
The  smaller  fry  (of  IJ^  to  3  inches)  are  marked  with  four  dark,  saddle-shaped 
patches  extending  downward  on  the  sides  to  slightly  below  the  lateral  line,  which  are 
not  obliterated  until  the  length  of  about  43^  inches  is  attained.  As  the  young  fish 
grow,  other  bands  of  pigment  are  interpolated  below  the  lateral  line,  the  adult 
coloration  not  being  fully  developed  until  the  length  of  7  to  8  inches  is  reached." 

Rate  of  growth. — Weakfish  fry  grow  at  such  a  rapid  rate  during  the  first  sununer 
that,  according  to  Welsh  and  Breder,  fish  hatched  June  1  will  average  1  ]4  inches  in 
length  on  July  1  (1  month),3i/g  inches  on  August  1  (2  months),  5Vg  inches  on  Sep- 
tember 1  (3  months),  &%  inches  on  October  1  (4  months),  and  73^  inches  on  Novem- 
ber 1  (5  months).  Growth  practically  ceases  during  the  first  winter,  and  the 
smallest  fish  seen  in  spring  (no  doubt  yearlings)  are  8  to  10  inches  long.  Thereafter 
the  rate  of  annual  growth  is  much  slower,  but  the  variation  in  the  length  attained 
by  the  fry  during  their  first  summer  and  autumn,  consequent  on  the  protracted 
spawning  season,  combined  with  the  fact  that  scale  studies  of  this  species  have 
proved  puzzling,  makes  it  difficult  to  group  the  older  age  classes  by  size. 

Welsh  and  Breder  estimated  the  ages  of  74  fish  of  different  sizes  from  Cape 
May,  N.  J.,  as  S}/^  inches  at  1  year,  11  inches  at  2  years,  13  inches  at  3  years,  and 
141/8  inches  at  4  years  of  age,  and  Taylor  estimated  the  length  of  6-year-olds  as 
about  22  inches,  of  7-year-old  fish  as  about  24  inches,  but  a  9-year-old  example 
(age  judged  from  the  scales)  examined  by  Welsh  and  Breder  was  only  1934  inches 
long.  Females  usually  mature  at  3  to  4  years  of  age,  males  at  2  to  3  years,  and  both 
sexes  spawn  annually  thereafter.  Welsh  and  Breder  found  most  of  the  spawning 
fish  at  Cape  May  to  be  4  to  6  years  old. 

Commercial  importance. — At  the  present  time  the  weakfish  is  of  no  commercial 
importance  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  but  during  its  brief  periods  of  plenty  there  it  is  a 
very  valuable  addition  to  the  shore  fisheries  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  Along  more 
southern  coasts,  where  it  occurs  regularly,  it  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  food 
fishes  ^*  and  a  favorite  game  fish. 

"  Tracy  (Thirty-eighth  Annual  Report,  Commissioners  o(  Inland  Fisheries  of  Rhode  Island,  January  Session,  1908,  pp.  85-91) , 
Eigenmann  CBulletin,  U.  S.  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  XXI,  1901  (1902),  p.  45),  and  Welsh  and  Breder  (1924,  p.  154)  describe  the 
older  larvae  and  fry. 

"  The  annual  catch  of  the  three  species  of  squeteague  combined  ( Cynoscion  risalis,  C.  nebulosus,  and  C.  notiis),  for  the  Atlantic 
and  Gulf  coasts,  is  upward  of  40  million  pounds  ,of  which  the  weakfish  probably  contributes  more  than  one-half. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  277 

104.  Kingflsh  {Menticirrhus  saxatilis  Bloch  and  wSchneider) 

Kjng  whiting;  Minkfish;  Whiting;  Sea  mullet 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1475. 

Description. — The  kingfish  recalls  the  weakfish  in  the  general  arrangement 
and  the  relative  sizes  of  its  fins,  the  second  dorsal  being  much  longer  than  the  first 
or  than  the  anal,  but  its  first  dorsal  (10  spines)  is  relatively  much  higher  and  more 
pointed  than  that  of  the  weakfish,  with  its  third  spine  not  only  much  elongate  but 
filamentous  at  the  tip  (a  noticeable  character),  while  the  rather  blunt  ncse  with 
snout  overhanging  the  mouth  give  the  kingfish  a  very  characteristic  cast  of  coun- 
tenance (fig.  129).  Its  upper  jaw,  furthermore,  projects  beyond  the  lower,  whereas 
the  reverse  is  the  case  in  the  squeteague.  Its  chin  bears  a  barbel,  which  the  latter 
lacks,  its  lips  are  fleshy,  and  it  has  no  canine  teeth.  Its  taU,  too,  is  of  very  charac- 
teristic outline,  with  its  lower  half  rounded  and  the  upper  emarginate,  suggesting, 


FiQ.  129. — Kingfish  (Menticirrhus  saxatilis) 

though  not  exactly  paralleling,  the  tail  of  the  sea  bass  (p.  260) .  Though  it  is  about  as 
slender,  proportionally,  as  a  squeteague,  the  kingfish  carries  its  weight  farther  forward 
(it  is  deepest  below  the  first  dorsal),  and  has  a  weak-tailed  appearance  remotely 
suggesting  a  hake  (p.  446).  We  need  merely  note  further  that  the  filamento"us  spine 
of  the  first  dorsal  is  longer  in  large  fish  than  in  small  ones;  that  the  second  dorsal 
(one  stout  but  short  spine  tollowed  by  26  or  27  rays)  is  about  one-third  as  long 
as  the  fish  and  tapers  slightly  from  front  to  rear;  that  the  anal  (one  long  spine 
and  8  raj-s)  stands  under  the  middle  of  the  second  dorsal;  and  that  the  pectoral 
is  pointed  and  relatively  much  longer  than  that  of  the  squeteague. 

Color. — Leaden  or  dusky  gray  above — sometimes  so  dark  as  to  be  almost 
black — with  silver}^  and  metallic  reflections;  milky  or  yellowish-white  below. 
The  sides  are  marked  irregularly  with  dark  bars.  Behind  the  spiny  dorsal  these 
run  obliquely  forward  and  downward,  but  the  foremost  one  or  two  run  in  the 
opposite  direction  forming  a  V-shaped  blotch  or  two  dark  Vs  below  the  fin.     The 


278  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

pale  belly  is  bounded  by  a  dark  longitudinal  streak  on  either  side.  The  fins  are 
dusky  or  blackish,  the  first  dorsal,  anal,  pectorals,  and  ventrals  tipped  with  dirty 
wliite. 

Size. — Kingfish  grow  to  a  maximum  weight  of  about  six  pounds,  but  fish  as 
lai^e  as  this  are  rare,  the  general  run  being  only  1  to  3  pounds.  They  average 
about  13%  inches  in  length  in  their  third  winter.'" 

General  range. — Gulf  and  Atlantic  coasts  of  the  United  States;  common 
northward  to  Cape  Cod;  casual  to  Casco  Bay. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  excellent  food  fish  is  onl}'  a  stray  from 
the  south  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  So  far  as  we  can  learn  the  only  positive  records 
of  it  within  our  limits  from  south  to  north  are  as  follows:  Monomoy  and  North 
Truro  on  Cape  Cod  in  1896  (collected  by  Dr.  W.  C.  Kendall) ;  one  specimen  taken 
at  Provincetown,  July,  1846;  another  there  in  November,  1847;  and  many  small 
ones,  apparently  chilled  by  the  cold,  that  appeared  in  that  harbor  in  1879;  one 
taken  at  the  entrance  of  Boston  Harbor  in  a  lobster  pot  some  time  before  1833; 
one  at  Lynn  in  1840;  one  8  inches  long  off  Marblehead  on  October  15,  1872;  one 
of  63^  inches  at  Danvers,  October  28,  1874;  others  at  Nahant  (one  record)  and 
in  Casco  Bay.  Thus  it  is  evidently  an  unusual  event  for  even  an  odd  kingfish 
or  for  a  small  school  of  its  fry  to  round  the  elbow  of  Cape  Cod.*" 

Kingfish  were  once  fairly  common  along  the  southern  New  England  coast. 
In  1889,  for  example,  about  4,000  pounds  were  returned  for  Massachusetts  and 
almost  10,000  pounds  for  Rhode  Island,  but  since  that  time  they  have  so  diminished 
that  in  1919  the  Massachusetts  catch  was  only  72  pounds  while  none  at  all  was 
reported  from  Rhode  Island. 

Food  and  habits. — Kingfish,  like  squeteague,  are  summer  fish,  appearing  in 
May  and  vanishing  in  October.  They  are  confined  to  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
the  coast  during  their  stay,  frequenting  inclosed  as  well  as  open  waters  and  even 
entering  river  mouths.  They  are  unknown  on  the  offshore  banks.  Kingfish  run 
in  schools,  keep  close  to  the  ground,  prefer  hard  or  sandy  bottom,  and  feed  on 
various  shrimps  (perhaps  their  chief  diet),  crabs,  and  other  crustaceans,  small 
mollusks,  worms,  and  on  young  fish.  As  they  bite  readily  and  fight  well  they  are 
a  favorite  game  fish  for  anglers  with  rod  and  reel. 

Breeding  habits. — Kingfish  spawn  in  bays  and  sounds  from  June  until  August, 
but  it  is  not  likely  that  any  larvae  that  might  be  hatched  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
from  eggs  laid  by  the  occasional  visitors  would  survive  its  low  temperature.  Welsh 
and  Breder  (1924,  p.  190)  describe  the  spawning  and  early  development  of  this 
species. 

The  eggs  are  buoyant,  0.76  to  0.92  mm.  in  diameter,  with  one  to  several  oil 
globules  that  coalesce  as  development  proceeds.  Incubation  occupies  about  46 
hours  at  a  temperature  of  68°.  Newly  hatched  larvae  are  2  to  2.5  mm.  long.  When 
hatched,  the  larvae  float  inverted,  but  as  the  yolk  shrinks  they  assume  the  normal 
position.     By  the  fourth  day  the  yolk  is  wholly  absorbed  and  the  mouth  formed. 

"  Welsh  and  Breder,  1924,  p.  194. 

'"  Small  amounts  of  "kingflsh"  appear  in  the  pound-net  returns  published  by  the  State  of  Massachusetts  at  various  locali- 
ties in  Massachusetts  Bay,  but  fishermen  inform  us  that  these  are  not  the  true  kingfish  but  some  large  species  of  mackerel  or 
bonito. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


279 


The  larvfE  ai-e  marked  at  first  with  three  vertical  bands  of  black  and  dull  gold  pig- 
ment cells — the  first  above  the  vent,  the  others  posterior  to  it,  dividing  the  caudal 
region  into  three  nearly  equal  parts.  There  is  a  similar  patch  of  black  and  gold  on  the 
anterior  part  of  the  dorsal  finfold,  but  as  development  proceeds  these  markings 
become  fainter  and  a  row  of  black  pigment  cells  appears  along  the  ventral  surface 
behind  the  vent.  The  later  larval  stages  are  not  known,  and  the  yoimgest  fry  so 
far  taken  (25  to  30  mm.  long)  show  most  of  the  structural  characters  of  the  adult, 
including  the  scales,  and  are  readily  recognizable  as  kingfish  though  they  vary 
widely  in  color,  ranging  from  the  pattern  of  the  adult  to  almost  uniform  blackish 
brown.'"  From  an  examination  of  the  scales,  confirmed  by  a  large  series  of  measure- 
ments, Welsh  found  that  kingfish  are  4  to  6  inches  long  by  the  first  winter, 
average  about  10  inches  the  second  winter,  and  1.3^  the  third.  Many  males  ripen 
when  two  years  old,  but  few  females  until  three  years  old. 

Commercial  importance. — The  kingfish  is  too  rare  in  the  Gulf  to  interest  either 
commercial  fishermen  or  anglers.     It  is,  however,  one  of  the  best  of  table  fish. 

•^ 


Fig.  130.— Black  dram  (Pogonias  cromis) 


105. 


Black  (Iruin  *-  {Pogonias  cromis  Linnaeus) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1482. 

Description. — A  short  deep  body  (only  three  and  one-third  times  as  long  as  deep) 
with  high-arched  back  but  flat  belly  is  characteristic  of  the  drum.  The  profile  of 
the  face,  too,  is  even  more  diagnostic,  for  the  mouth  is  very  low  down,  the  eye  high 
up,  and  the  chin  bears  a  number  of  barbels.  The  arrangement  and  sizes  of  the  fins 
are  essentially  the  same  as  in  the  weakfish,  except  that  the  spinous  and  soft  dorsals 
are  not  entirely  separate,  while  the  latter  is  relatively  shorter  and  the  anal  spine 

"  This  account  is  from  eggs  artificially  fertilized  and  hatched  by  Welsh. 

*2  The  channel  bass,  or  red  drum  (Scixnops  ocellaiws  Linn.),  a  southern  SciEenid  uncommon  east  or  north  of  New  Yort,  is 
represented  in  the  collection  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History  by  a  mounted  specimen  labeled  "near  Portland.  Me.," 
but  since  this  fish  was  probably  purchased  in  the  market  it  is  more  likely  that  it  had  been  shipped  from  the  south  than  that  it 
was  actually  caught  nearby.  Should  this  species  ever  be  taken  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  its  relationship  to  the  weakflsh,  kingfish, 
and  drum  would  be  apparent  from  the  arrangement  of  its  fins,  especially  from  the  shortness  of  the  anal  fin  relative  to  the  soft 
(second)  dorsal.  However,  It  is  easily  distinguished  from  the  weakflsh  by  the  fact  that  its  upper  jaw  extends  beyond  the  lower, 
instead  of  vice  versa,  and  from  kingfish  and  drum  by  the  lack  of  barbels  on  the  chin,  while  the  presence  of  a  conspicuous  black  ■ 
blotch  (rarely  two  blotches)  on  each  side  at  the  base  of  the  caudal  fin  affords  a  ready  field  mark  for  its  identification. 


280  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OP   FISHEEIES 

much  stouter.  The  jaw  teeth  are  small  and  pointed,  but  the  large,  flat,  pavement- 
like pharyngeal  teeth  with  which  the  drum  crushes  its  shellfish  food  help  to  separate  it 
from  its  allies,  the  squeteague  and  kingfish.  The  first  dorsal  fin  (10  spines)  is 
triangular;  the  second  (1  short  spine  and  21  rays)  oblong;  the  caudal  is  square  with 
moderately  high  caudal  peduncle;  the  anal  (2  spines — the  first  very  short  and  the 
second  very  long  and  stout — and  5  or  6  rays)  is  less  than  half  as  long  as  the  soft 
portion  of  the  dorsal;  and  the  pectorals  are  sharp  pointed  and  relatively  longer 
than  those  of  the  weakfish.  The  second  anal  spine  is  much  stouter  in  young  drums 
than  in  old  ones.  The  eyes  of  the  drum  are  comparatively  small  and  its  scales 
are  large. 

Color. — Described  as  grayish  silvery.  Young  fish  have  4  or  5  broad  dark 
vertical  bars  that  fade  out  with  age.  The  fins  are  blackish.  This  drum  occurs  in 
two  color  phases — a  grayish  and  a  reddish. 

Size. — Drums  grow  to  a  huge  size.  The  largest  we  find  positively  recorded 
(caught  in  Florida)  weighed  146  pounds,  but  adults  average  only  about  20  pounds 
in  weight. 

General  range. — Atlantic  and  GuK  coasts  of  America  from  Argentina  to  New 
England,  common  from  New  York  southward  and  abundant  from  the  Carolinas 
to  the  Rio  Grande;  casual  as  far  north  as  Massachusetts  Bay. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Two  or  three  specimens  of  this  southern  fish 
have  been  taken  at  Provincetown,  and  one  in  the  Mystic  River,  which  empties 
into  Boston  Harbor.     It  is  only  a  stray  from  the  south  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

THE    GUNNERS.     FAMILY   LABRID.S 

In  the  cunner  family  there  is  a  single  long  dorsal  fin,  its  forward  part  spiny, 
its  rear  part  soft  rayed,  with  no  evident  demarkation  between  the  two.  The 
ventral  fins  are  thoracic  in  position,  situated  under  the  pectorals,  and  the  caudal 
peduncle  is  very  broad.  The  structure  of  the  dorsal  fin  is  sufiicient  of  itself  to  dis- 
tinguish the  cunners  from  all  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes  except  the  scup,  sea  bass,  rosefish, 
and  tilefish.  There  is  no  danger  of  confusing  a  cunner  or  tautog  with  any  of  these, 
for  their  caudal  peduncles,  rounded  tails  and  pectorals,  and  general  form  separate 
them  at  a  glance  from  the  flat-bodied,  fork-tailed  scup ;  their  small  mouths  and  the 
relative  sizes  of  the  fins  are  obvious  distinctions  between  cunners  and  sea 
bass;  their  smooth  cheeks  and  broad  caudal  fins  separate  them  from  the  spiny- 
headed,  narrow-tailed  rosefish;  and  they  do  not  in  the  least  resemble  the  tilefish 
with  its  broad  mouth,  adipose  "  fin  "  on  the  nape,  concave  tail,  and  pointed  pectorals. 

KEY  TO  GULF  OF  MAINE  CUNNERS 

1.         Gill  covers  scaly,  snout  somewhat  pointed,  dorsal  profile  of  head  rather  flat-.Cunner,  p.  281 
Gill  covers  largely  naked,  snout  blunt,  dorsal  profile  of  head  high-arched.. Tautog,  p.  286 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  281 

106.   Cunuer  {Tautogolabrus  ads'persus  Walbaum) 

Perch;  Sea  perch;  Blue  perch;  Bergall;  Chogset;  Nipper;  Wharf-fish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1577. 

Description. — The  most  distinctive  characters  of  the  cunner  and  the  readiest 
field  marks  by  which  it  may  be  distinguished  from  its  close  relative,  the  tautoo-, 


_— =5^-'-' ■^~\f\ 


Fig.  131. — Cunner  (Tautogolabrus  adspersus) 
a,  Adult,    b,  Egg.    c,  Larva,  newly  hatched,  2.2  millimoters.    d.  Larva,  4,2  millimeters,    e.  Fry,  8  millimeters. 

are  mentioned  above  (p.  2S0).  It  is  moderately  deep  in  body,  rather  compressed, 
with  a  very  deep  caudal  peduncle,  fiat-topped  head  (in  the  tautog  the  dorsal  profile 
is  high  arched),  small  terminal  mouth,  rather  pointed  snout,  and  protractile  pre- 
maxiUaries.     Its  lips,  too,  are  thinner  than  those  of  the  tautog.     There  are  several 


282  BULLETIN    OP   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

rows  of  conical  pointed  teeth  of  various  sizes  in  each  jaw,  the  outer  ones  being  very 
stout.  The  body  and  gill  covers  are  covered  with  large  scales  (in  the  tautog  there 
is  a  naked  area  in  front  of  the  gill  opening) ,  and  the  skin  is  so  tough  that  the  fish 
must  be  skinned  before  marketing.  The  dorsal  fin  (about  18  spines  and  9  or  10  soft 
rays)  originates  over  the  upper  corner  of  the  giU  cover  in  front  of  the  pectoral,  and 
runs  back  to  the  caudal  peduncle.  The  first  4  or  5  rays  of  the  dorsal  fin  are  graduated, 
the  others  are  of  about  equal  length,  and  the  margin  of  the  soft  part  is  rounded. 
The  caudal  is  slightly  convex  with  rounded  corners.  The  anal  (3  stout  spines  and 
about  9  rays)  originates  under  or  behind  the  middle  of  the  dorsal  and  corresponds 
to  the  soft  part  of  the  latter  in  outline.  The  ventrals,  and  the  pectorals,  under  or 
slightly  behind  which  they  stand,  are  both  of  moderate  size,  and  the  latter  are 
rounded. 

Color. — To  describe  the  color  of  the  cunner  is  to  list  all  the  colors  of  the  bottoms 
on  which  it  lives,  it  being  one  of  the  most  variable  of  fishes.  As  a  rule  the  upper 
parts  range  between  dark  or  reddish  brown  with  a  distinct  bluish  cast  to  blue 
with  brownish  tinge,  variously  mottled  wth  blue,  brown,  and  reddish.  Some  fish, 
however,  are  uniform  brown;  fish  caught  over  mud  bottom  are  often  very  deep 
sepia.  In  some  situations  they  may  be  dull  olive  green  mingled  with  blue,  brown, 
or  rusty.  Some  cunners  are  slaty,  but  when  they  are  living  among  red  seaweeds 
about  rocks  reddish  or  rusty  tones  are  apt  to  prevail.  Cunners  caught  in  deep 
water  are  often  almost  as  red  as  the  rosefish,  and  on  the  other  hand  we  have  seen 
very  pale  ones,  more  or  less  speckled  aU  over  with  blackish  dots,  over  sandy  bottom. 
In  our  experience  (we  have  handled  many  hundreds)  the  belly  is  invariably  of  a 
bluish  cast,  more  or  less  vivid — sometimes  whitish,  sometimes  dusky,  sometimes 
little  paler  than  the  sides.  Some  cunners  have  the  lips  and  lining  of  the  mouth 
bright  yeUow.     Young  fry  are  more  or  less  dark-barred  and  blotched. 

Sise.— In  the  Gulf  of  Maine  adult  cunners  average  about  6  to  10  inches  in 
length  and  weigh  less  than  half  a  pound.  One  foot  long  is  very  large,  but  occasion- 
ally they  are  caught  up  to  15  inches  long,  and  as  heavy  as  23^  pounds. 

General  range. — -Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  and  the  offshore  banks  from 
Labrador  and  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  south  in  abundance  to  New  Jersey,  and 
occasionally  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  Chesapeake  Bay.*^ 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  cunner  is  perhaps  our  most  familiar  fish 
and  one  to  be  found  all  around  the  shore  line  of  the  Gulf.  In  Massachusetts  Bay 
they  are  so  numerous  along  the  rocky  shores  and  about  ledges  that  no  amount  of 
fishing  seems  to  have  any  effect  on  their  numbers.  They  are  plentiful  over  soft 
and  sand  bottoms  as  well,  where  (at  Cohasset,  for  example),  as  one  drifts  along  over 
the  fiats  at  low  tide,  he  may  see  them  swimming  singly  or  in  companies  between 
the  patches  of  eelgrass.  Thej'  also  swarm  about  the  piles  of  wharves  and  under 
floats  in  harbors,  where  they  are  the  joy  of  small  boys  and  even  of  older  anglers. 
Cunners  run  up  into  the  deeper  salt  creeks,  but  we  have  never  heard  of  them  in 
water  appreciably  brackish.  The  numbers  of  cunners  vary  widely  from  place  to 
place.     The  Massachusetts  Bay  region  is  perhaps  the  chief  center  of  abundance 

"  W.  C.  Schroeder,  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  informs  us  that  he  collected  a  cunner  69  mm.  (about  2M  inches)  long  at  Cape 
Charles,  Va.,  on  Sept.  23,  1921,  which  extends  the  range  of  this  fish  from  New  Jersey,  as  noted  above. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  283 

for  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  Generally  speaking,  they  are  much  less  numerous  east  of 
Casco  Bay,  and  our  experience  has  been  that  they  are  progressively  less  and  less 
plentiful,  but  average  larger,  passing  east  along  the  shore  from  Penobscot  Bay 
toward  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  About  Mount  Desert,  for  example,  it  is  unusual  to 
catch  one  in  the  inclosed  harbors  (precisely  the  localities  they  frequent  farther  west 
and  south),  and  most  of  those  caught  outside  are  very  large.  I,  myself,  took 
many  of  12  to  13  inches,  averaging  about  1}4  pounds,  near  Baker's  Island,  off 
Northeast  Harbor,  in  August,  1922,  and  no  small  ones.  Gunners  are  very  rare 
in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and  only  the  largest  sizes  are  ever  seen  there,  though  they  are 
known  from  sundry  widely  separated  Fundian  localities.  Gunners  of  all  sizes  are 
numerous  in  .St.  Mary  Bay,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  but  tributary  to 
the  open  Gulf  of  Maine,  and  they  are  reported  along  the  Nova  Scotian  shore  of 
the  latter  and  are  locally  abundant  on  the  outer  (southern)  coast  of  Nova  Scotia. 

The  cunner  is  chiefly  a  coastwise  fish,  the  great  majority  of  the  stock  living 
within  a  couple  of  miles  of  tide  mark;  and  though  cunners  inhabit  offshore  as  well 
as  inshore  grounds,  such  as  Stellwagen  Bank,  Jeffreys  and  Cashes  Ledges,  and  even 
Georges  and  Browns  Banks,  where  the  otter  trawls  frequently  pick  up  a  few,  we 
have  never  heard  of  a  large  catch  of  them  out  at  sea.  They  are  most  abundant 
from  just  below  tide  mark  down  to  3  or  4  fathoms,  and  young  cunners  are  often 
found  among  eelgrass  or  in  rock  pools,  but  as  a  rule  one  finds  them  running  smaller 
and  smaller  the  farther  one  goes  up  any  estuary.  On  the  other  hand,  they  are 
common  enough  at  10  to  15  fathoms  in  the  inner  parts  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and 
not  rare  as  deep  as  25  to  35  fathoms  on  the  offshore  ledges  and  banks.  The  fish 
caught  deepest  are  usually  very  large  ones  that  have  probably  strayed  thither  from 
shoal  water  and,  finding  good  feeding,  remained. 

The  cunner  is  a  bottom  feeder.  So  far  as  we  know  adults  never  swim  on  the 
surface  nor  depart  far  from  the  ground  or  from  the  rocks  about  which  they  make 
their  homes,  nor  do  they  school.  Many,  it  is  true,  may  live  together,  but  they 
act  quite  independent  of  one  another,  simply  congregating  because  the  surroundings 
are  attractive.  Cunners,  like  other  rockfish,  spend  much  of  the  time  resting 
quietly  or  swimming  slowly  among  the  bunches  of  Irish  moss  (Chondrus)  or  fronds 
of  kelp,  always  on  the  lookout  for  food. 

Food. — Cunners  are  omnivorous.  As  a  rule  they  find  a  livelihood  browsing 
among  weeds,  stones,  or  piles,  picking  up  or  biting  off  barnacles  and  small  blue 
mussels,  with  the  fragments  of  which  they  are  often  packed  full.  They  devour 
enormous  numbers  of  amphipods,  shrimps,  young  lobsters,  crabs,  and  other  small 
crustaceans  of  all  kinds,  univalve  and  the  smaller  bivalve  mollusks,  hydroids,  annelid 
worms,  sometimes  small  sea  urchins,  bryozoa,  and  ascidians,  and  they  occasionally 
capture  small  fish  such  as  silversides,  sticklebacks,  pipefish,  munamichogs,  and  the 
fry  of  larger  species.  Finally,  cunner  stomachs  are  often  found  to  contain  eelgrass 
as  well  as  animal  food.  Small  cunner  fry  taken  at  Woods  Hole  were  found  by 
Doctor  Linton  to  have  fed  chiefly  on  small  Crustacea  such  as  copepods,  amphipods, 
and  isopods. 

The  cunner  is  a  busy  scavenger  in  harbors,  congregating  about  any  animal 
refuse,  to  feed  on  the  latter  as  well  as  on  the  amphipods  and  other  crustaceans 


284  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF    FISHEEIES 

attracted  by  the  same  morsels.  They  are  also  said  to  eat  fish  eggs,  and  no  doubt 
they  do  feed  to  some  extent  on  herring  spawn.  Our  own  belief,  from  long  experience, 
is  that  cunners  are  always  hungry,  no  matter  what  the  stage  of  the  tide.  Probably 
more  are  caught  on  clams  than  on  any  other  bait.  The  little  ones  are  a  great 
nuisance,  often  stealing  the  bait  as  fast  as  it  is  offered,  and,  being  a  small-mouthed 
fish,  very  small  hooks  are  best. 

Habits. — Gunners  are  resident  the  year  round  wherever  found.  The  fact  that 
on  several  occasions  great  numbers  have  been  found  dead  on  the  surface  during 
spells  of  unusually  cold  weather  is  positive  evidence  that  they  do  not  move  offshore 
in  winter,  as  do  many  species  of  fish,  but  at  most  descend  into  slightly  deeper  water 
to  pass  the  cold  season.  Most  authors  have  described  them  as  hibernating  in  the 
mud,  or  at  least  as  lying  among  eelgrass  or  rocks  in  a  more  or  less  torpid  state  during 
the  ^vinter,  but  we  find  no  positive  evidence  to  this  effect;  on  the  contrary 
practical  fishermen,  among  them  Capt.  L.  B.  Goodspeed,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for 
many  notes,  inform  us  that  cunners  are  to  be  caught  in  abundance  on  precisely 
the  same  spots  in  winter  as  in  summer.  In  fact  a  few  are  landed  in  Boston  during 
the  cold  months,  and  the  only  reason  more  are  not  brought  in  then  is  that  there  is 
little  demand  for  them. 

Although  its  geographic  range  is  so  wide  in  latitude,  the  cunner  is  vulnerable 
both  to  very  low'^and  to  very  high  temperatures.  Hazards  of  the  first  sort,  such  as 
we  have  just  mentioned,  are  more  frequent  south  of  Cape  Cod,  where  the  fish  are 
apt  to  be  caught  in  very  shoal  water  in  a  sudden  freeze,  than  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine, 
where  the  constant  and  active  mingling  of  ofl'shore  with  coastwise  water  usually 
prevents  the  latter  from  chilling  to  the  danger  point.  However,  an  event  of  this 
sort  took  place  in  Massachusetts  Bay  in  the  winter  of  1835,  when  cunners  came 
ashore  in  quantities  between  Marblchead  and  Gloucester.  It  is  likewise  probable 
that  low  temperatures  limit  the  breeding  range  of  the  cunner,  with  55°  as  about 
the  lower  limit  to  successful  reproduction,  and  that  it  is  owing  to  the  cool  water 
of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  that  none  breed  there  (p.  285) .  On  the  other  hand  it  is  probably 
the  very  high  temperature  produced  by  the  solar  heating  of  the  flats  at  low  tide  in 
some  bays  that  drives  the  cunners  out  of  certain  inclosed  ones — Duxbury  Bay,  for 
example — in  summer. 

Breeding  haMts. — Cunners  spawn  in  June,  July,  and  August  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  always  close  along  the  coast  or  over  such  shoal  ofi^shore  ledges  as  Cashes. 
Whether  the  few  that  live  on  Georges  Bank  succeed  in  bi-eeding  in  such  deep  water 
is  yet  to  be  learned,  but  this  is  not  unlikely  since  the  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition 
found  cunner  eggs  over  Sable  Island  Bank.  With  the  fish  so  common,  it  is  no 
wonder  that  its  eggs  have  often  been  taken  in  great  numbers  at  our  tow-net  stations 
near  land  in  July  and  August — for  example  near  Race  Point,  Cape  Cod;  in  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  (Avhere  I  have  often  skimmed  them  in  great  numbers  in  the  tideways 
between  the  off-lying  ledges) ;  and  at  the  mouth  of  Penobscot  Bay,  as  well  as  in 
sundry  harbors.  We  have  also  towed  cunner  eggs  off  the  outer  shores  of  Cape 
Cod,  but  most  of  our  stations  have  been  located  too  far  out  from  the  land  to  show 
the  abundance  in  which  the  eggs  occur  in  the  coastal  zone. 


FISHES    OF    THE    GULP    OF    MAINE  285 

Captures  of  eggs  off  Libbey  Island  prove  that  dinners  spawn  eastward  along 
the  Maine  coast  nearly  to  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  though  in  diminishing 
number  beyond  Penobscot  Bay.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether  eggs  produced 
along  the  northern  coast  of  the  Gulf  east  of  Mount  Desert  yield  more  than  a  very 
small  proportion  of  fry,  nor  do  cunners  breed  successfully  in  the  cold  water  of  the 
Bay  of  Fundy,  where  no  small  ones  are  ever  seen,  though  some  few  eggs  are  spawned 
there.  However,  the  Bay  of  Fundy  is  simply  a  gap  in  the  breeding  range,  for  St. 
Mary  Bay  is  a  productive  nursery,  while  both  eggs  and  larvae  were  taken  at 
various  localities  along  the  outer  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  and  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  by  the  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition  during  the  simamer 
of  1915. 

The  eggs  are  buoyant,  transparent,  only  0.75  to  0.85  mm.  in  diameter,  and 
without  an  oil  globule.  In  temperatures  of  70°  to  72°  incubation  occupies  about 
40  hours.  In  the  cooler  waters  of  the  GuK  of  Maine  (55°  to  65°)  probably  about 
3  days  are  required  for  hatching.  At  hatching  the  larvae  are  about  2  to  2.2  mm. 
long,  with  a  large  yolk  sac  that  is  resorbed  after  about  3  days,  by  which  time  the 
larva  has  grown  to  about  2.8  mm.  and  its  mouth  is  formed.  The  caudal  fin  rays 
are  first  visible  at  about  4.2  mm.  The  vertical  fin  rays  and  spines  are  well  devel- 
oped, the  ventrals  have  appeared  (but  are  still  very  small),  and  the  head  and 
caudal  fin  have  begun  to  assume  their  adult  outline  at  about  8  mm.,  while  at  15 
mm.  the  young  cunner  is  of  practically  adult  form.  In  newly  hatched  larvae  the 
pigment  cells  are  scattered  uniformly  over  head  and  trunk,  but  by  the  3-mm.  stage 
they  gather  into  a  pair  of  black  spots,  dorsal  and  ventral,  about  half-way  between 
the  vent  and  the  base  of  the  caudal  rays,  which  are  very  characteristic  of  the  species 
and  persist  to  about  the  10  to  20  mm.  stage.  By  the  time  the  fry  have  grown  to 
about  25  mm.  they  are  as  variable  in  color  as  their  parents  (it  is  on  record  that 
Louis  Agassiz  had  sixty  colored  sketches  of  small  cunners  3  to  4  inches  long,  of 
different  hues,  prepared  at  Nahant  during  a  single  summer) ." 

Larval  cunners  and  small  specimens  generally  are  even  more  closely  confined 
to  the  coast  line  than  are  cunner  eggs — so  closely,  indeed,  that  it  is  impossible  to 
represent  their  localities  on  a  general  chart  of  the  Gulf,  all  the  catches  of  100  or 
more  having  been  made  either  in  harbors  or  at  most  not  a  couple  of  miles  from 
land.    The  precise  records  have  been  published  elsewhere." 

Bate  of  growth. — The  growth  of  the  cunner  has  not  been  traced  in  detail,  but 
since  fry  of  1  to  1.2  inches  have  often  been  taken  in  August  and  young  fish  up  to  2 
inches  in  September  in  southern  New  England,  we  may  assume  that  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine  the  earliest  hatched  fry  grow  to  23^  or  33^  inches  by  the  end  of  the  autumn. 
The  4  to  6  inch  fish,  so  plentiful,  are  then  in  their  second  summer.  Cunners  mature 
as  young  as  this,  for  ripe  fish  no  longer  than  3  inches  have  been  taken. 

"  The  embryology  and  larval  development  of  the  cunner  have  been  described  by  Agassiz  (1882,  p.  290,  pis.  13  to  15),  Agassiz 
and  Whitman  (1885,  p.  18,  pis.  7-19,  and  Memoirs,  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard  College,  vol.  40,  No.  9,  1915, 
pis.  32-39),  and  Kuntz  and  Radcliae  (1918,  p.  99,  flgs.  18-29). 

«  Bulletin,  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard  College,  Vol.  LVIII,  No.  2,  1911,  p.  108,  and  Vol.  LXI,  No.  8, 1917, 
p.  271. 


286  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEKIES 

Commercial  importance. — The  cunner  was  once  a  favorite  pan  fish,  and  in  the 
late  seventies  of  the  past  century  the  annual  catch  of  the  small  boats  fishing  out 
of  Boston  was  estimated  as  not  much  short  of  300,000  pounds,"  while  the  fact 
that  104,100  pounds  of  cunners  were  returned  for  Maine  in  1889,  148,300  pounds 
in  1898,  and  281,500  pounds  in  1905,  shows  that  the  annual  harvest  was  still  con- 
siderable at  that  time.  They  seem  to  have  gone  so  wholly  out  of  fashion  since 
then,  however,  that  very  few  were  marketed  in  1907,  and  these  few  were  sold  mostly 
to  the  poorer  people,  while  in  1919  the  reported  catch  was  only  30,695  poimds  for 
Maine  and  about  10,000  for  the  whole  shore  line  of  Massachusetts,  south  as  well  as 
north  of  Cape  Cod. 

Although  not  a  "game"  fish,  the  humble  cunner  affords  amusement  to  thou- 
sands of  vacationists  near  our  large  cities  and  seaside  resorts;  and  the  number 
thus  caught,  of  which  no  record  is  kept,  is  so  considerable  that  it  must  be  classed  as 
a  very  useful  little  fish  from  the  recreational  standpoint. 

107.  Tautog  {Tautoga  onitis  Linnaeus) 
Blackfish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  596. 

Description. — The  tautog  suggests  an  overgrown  cunner,  but  it  is  a  heavier, 
stouter  fish  (about  three  times  as  long  as  deep,  counting  caudal)  with  caudal  peduncle 
so  broad  and  caudal  fin  so  little  wider  than  the  pedimcle  that  it  is  hard  to  hold  a 
heavy  one  by  the  tail.  The  most  obvious  differences  between  the  two  fish  are  that 
the  dorsal  profile  of  the  head  of  the  tautog  is  high  arched,  its  nose  is  very  blunt,  its 
lips  are  much  thicker,  its  eye  is  high,  and  its  mouth  is  low,  giving  it  a  facial  aspect 
quite  different  from  that  of  a  cunner.  A  more  precise  if  less  obvious  character  is  that 
the  cheek  region  close  in  front  of  the  gill  opening,  scaly  in  the  cunner,  is  naked 
and  velvety  to  the  touch  in  the  tautog.  In  relative  size  and  location  its  fins  prac- 
tically reproduce  those  of  the  cunner.  The  dorsal  fin  (16  to  17  spines  and  10  rays) 
originates  over  the  upper  corner  of  the  gill  opening  and  runs  back  the  whole  length 
of  the  trunk.  The  anal  (3  stout  spines  and  10  rays)  corresponds  in  outline  to  the 
soft  portion  of  the  dorsal,  under  which  it  stands.  The  caudal  fin  is  slightly  roimded 
at  the  corners,  the  pectorals  are  large  and  rounded,  and  the  ventrals  have  one  stout 
spine.  The  soft  part  of  the  dorsal  fin  is  considerably  higher  than  the  spiny  part 
in  the  tautog,  while  it  is  only  slightly  so  in  the  cunner.  The  jaw  teeth  of  the  tautog 
(in  two  series)  are  stout,  conical,  with  the  two  or  three  in  the  front  of  each  jaw 
larger  than  others.  The  tautog  has,  besides,  two  groups  of  flat,  rounded,  crushing 
teeth  in  the  rear  part  of  the  mouth  which  the  cunner  also  has. 

Color. — The  tautog  is  a  very  dark  fish,  generally  mouse  color,  chocolate  gray, 
deep  dusky  green,  or  blackish,  with  the  sides  irregularly  mottled  or  blotched  with 
darker.  These  mottlings  are  more  evident  in  the  young  than  in  adults  and  usually 
occur  as  three  pairs  of  more  or  less  continuous  bars.  Large  fish  are  often  almost 
plain.  The  belly  is  but  slightly  paler  than  the  sides.  Tautogs,  like  cunners,  vary 
greatly  in  color  on  different  bottoms,  and  also  in  their  markings. 

*"  Unfortunately  published  statistics  throw  little  light  on  the  actual  catch  of  cunners,  for  not  only  are  many  consumed 
locally,  but  the  fishery  is  such  that  only  a  fraction  of  the  catch  is  reported. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


287 


Size. — Maximum  length  about  3  feet.  The  22 1^^ -pounder,  36J^  inches  long, 
mentioned  by  Goode  (188S)  as  caught  off  New  York  in  1876  and  preserved  in  the 
United  States  National  Museum,  still  remains  the  heaviest  fish  definitely  recorded. 
This  was  a  monster,  fish  over  14  pounds  being  very  rare,  with  12-pounders  unusual. 
As  they  come  to  market  tautog  average  hardly  more  than  2  or  3  pounds. 


Fig.  132.— Tautog  ( Tauioga  onitis) 
a.  Adult,    b,  Egg.    c,  Larva,  1  day  old,  2.9  millimeters,    d,  Larva,  5  millimeters,    e,  Fry,  10  millimeters. 

General  range. — Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States  from  the  Bay  of  Fundy  to 
South  Carolina,  chiefly  south  of  Cape  Ann,  and  most  abundant  between  Capo  Cod 
and  the  Delaware  Capes. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — -The  tautog  is  not  and  never  lias  been  a  very 
plentiful  fish  in  the  Gulf.  Its  center  of  abundance  lies  farther  south.  Most  authors 
102274—2.51 19 


288  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEKIES 

who  have  written  of  it  have  accepted  without  question  Mitchill's  (1815,  p.  400) 
dictum  that  it  was  not  native  north  of  Cape  Cod  but  was  introduced  there  shortly- 
prior  to  1814;  but  although  we  find  no  definite  record  of  tautog  in  the  Gulf  prior  to 
that  date  it  seems  to  us  far  more  likely  that  the  anonymous  writer  who  stated  in 
the  Gloucester  Telegraph  of  May  5,  1860,  that  tautog  were  plentiful  many  years 
before  and  had  merely  reappeared  there  after  a  period  of  scarcity  was  correct,  and 
that  this  reappearance  would  have  taken  place  in  any  event  even  if  none  had  been 
liberated  north  of  Cape  Cod.  Apart  from  Mitchill's  vague  statement  that  by  1814 
tautog  had  multiplied  so  that  the  Boston  market  then  had  a  full  supply  (which  may 
have  come  from  south  and  not  north  of  Cape  Cod,  for  all  that  is  known  to  the 
contrary) ,  the  first  positive  record  of  a  Massachusetts  Bay  specimen  is  of  one  caught 
among  the  rocks  ofi'  Cohasset  in  1824,*'  which  the  local  fishermen  said  was  a  species 
new  to  them.  By  1839,  however,  tautog  were  being  caught  in  numbers  in  the  inner 
parts  of  Massachusetts  Bay  (e.  g.,  Lynn,  Nahant,  Boston  Harbor) ;  they  were  more 
abundant  about  Manomet  Headland  in  Plymouth,  and  especially  so  at  Wellfleet 
where  they  already  supported  a  considerable  hook  and  line  fishery.  A  few  years 
later  the  presence  of  this  fish  was  established  for  the  coast  of  Maine,  and  in  1851  it 
was  reported  common  in  St.  John  Harbor,  tributary  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  Accord- 
ing to  Perley,  however,  these  Bay  of  Fundy  fish  were  introduced — not  native. 
In  1876  the  weirs  north  of  Cape  Cod  took  2,274  pounds  of  tautog,  and  in  1879  Goode 
and  Beane  described  it  as  abundant  in  many  localities  about  Cape  Ann. 

At  present,  or  within  the  last  few  years  (for  this  fish  fluctuates  in  abundance 
from  year  to  year),  the  regular  range  of  the  tautog  includes  the  whole  coast  line 
from  Cape  Cod  to  Cape  Ann  in  suitable  localities.  North  of  this  it  is  less  regular, 
less  abundant,  and  more  local,  but  there  are  some  tautog  grounds  about  the  Isles  of 
Shoales,  off  Cape  Porpoise,  and  about  Casco  Bay.  We  have  also  heard  of  tautog 
as  not  uncommon  along  the  ledges  off  Boothbay  Harbor  and  in  Penobscot  Bay. 
East  of  the  latter  the  tautog  is  apparently  unusual  now,  and  it  is  so  rare  in  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  (it  has  long  since  vanished  from  St.  John  Harbor)  that  Huntsman 
learned  of  but  one  specimen  taken  within  recent  years.  Cranberry  Head,  Nova 
Scotia,"  is  the  most  northerly  record  for  the  species. 

Being  an  extremely  local  fish,  perhaps  more  so  than  any  other  Gulf  of  Maine 
species  interesting  either  to  angler  or  to  commercial  fisherman,  we  would  require  a 
local  acquaintance  far  more  detailed  than  we  can  boast  to  describe  its  precise  haunts 
along  the  whole  coast  of  the  Gulf.  In  Massachusetts  Bay  the  more  prolific  tautog 
grounds  are,  so  far  as  we  know,  off  Wellfleet,  Sandwich,  Manomet  Headland, 
Gurnet  Point  at  Duxbury,  Cohasset,  Swampscott,  Nahant,  Marblehead,  Magnolia, 
and  here  and  there  along  the  rocky  shores  from  Gloucester  Harbor  to  Cape  Ann. 
Following  are  listed  the  returns  from  traps  at  various  localities  around  Massachusetts 
Bay  for  1915 — a  good  tautog  year. 

"  Goode,  et  al.,  18S4. 

<»  Fowler,  Proceedings,  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  Vol.  LXVII,  1915  (1916),  p.  517,  Philadelphia. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  289 

Locality  Pounds 

Pro  vincetown 206 

Eastham 271 

Truro 2,834 

Brewster 189 

Wellfleet 527 

Sandwich "18,  100 

Sagamore 9,  044 

Nahant 501 

Manchester 11 

Gloucester . 212 

A  few  tautog  are  taken  in  one  or  other  of  these  traps  every  summer  though 
seldom  in  such  numbers  or  at  as  many  localities  as  in  1915. 

Only  on  particular  rocks  is  it  worth  while  to  fish  for  tautogs.  In  other  places 
apparently  equally  favorable  and  harboring  as  many  cunners  never  a  tautog  is  to 
be  caught.  But  even  though  they  gather  and  linger  only  at  certain  choice  spots 
they  must  travel  along  shore  a  good  deal  to  account  for  their  capture  at  so  many 
localities  in  traps  few  if  any  of  which  are  situated  on  or  near  the  rocky  or  bowlder- 
strewn  bottom  which  tautog  usually  frequent  in  the  Gulf. 

Habits. — The  habits  of  the  tautog  being  such  that  the  catches  of  the  traps  are 
usually  insignificant,  and  with  no  regular  commercial  fishery  for  it  north  of  Cape 
Cod,  published  statistics  throw  little  light  on  the  yearly  fluctuations  of  the  local 
stock.  As  far  as  they  go,  however,  they  suggest  a  decrease  during  the  past  20  years, 
for  the  comimercial  catch  by  all  methods  for  the  coast  line  of  Massachusetts  notrh 
of  Boston  fell  from  2,200  pounds  in  1902  and  over  5,000  pounds  in  1915,  to  only  158 
pomids  in  1919.  This  is  in  line  with  the  fact  that  all  along  the  coast  of  Massa- 
chusetts, after  the  ahnost  Arctic  winter  of  1918,  tautog  were  reported  very  scarce, 
but  they  seem  to  have  increased  somewhat  in  1920  and  1921.  It  is  not  surprising 
that  fluctuations  in  the  stock  of  tautog  should  parallel  the  character  of  our  winters, 
warm  or  cold,  for  great  numbers  of  them  are  sometimes  chilled  and  killed  along  the 
southern  shore  of  Massachusetts  and  off  Rhode  Island  by  unusually  severe  winter 
weather,  as  happened  in  1841,  1857,  1875,  February,  1901,  and  no  doubt  on  many 
other  occasions  that  have  not  foimd  their  way  into  print  or  into  the  records  of  the 
Bureau  of  Fisheries. 

Although  tautog  are  seldom  seen  before  well  into  April  or  after  November, 
they  are  year-round  residents  off  the  southern  shores  of  New  England.  It  is  well 
established  that  they  merely  drop  off  into  slightly  deeper  water  in  winter  to  spend 
the  cold  season  among  eelgrass,  often  buried  in  the  mud,  lying  in  the  crevices  of 
rocks,  or,  in  the  case  of  the  young  ones,  in  empty  oyster  and  clam  shells,  usuaUy  in 
a  torpid  state,  moving  and  feeding  little,  but  occasionally  they  have  been  caught 
in  lobster  pots  or  on  hook  and  line  off  Rhode  Island  even  in  winter.  The  vent  of 
this  fish  has  been  said  to  close  over  in  winter — a  most  unlikely  event  for  which 
there  is  no  definite  evidence. 

"  The  accuracy  of  this  item  is  questionable.     Perhaps  part  of  the  catch  was  from  the  Vineyard  Sound,  not  the  Massachusetts 
Bay,  shore. 


290  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

We  have  not  been  able  to  learn  of  a  tautog  taken  anyu'here  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine  between  the  first  part  of  November  and  the  last  week  in  May,^"  vdth  very  few 
caught  before  July.  It  is  a  question  whether  this  fish  is  as  strictly  resident  in  the 
Gulf  as  it  is  farther  south.  Its  nonmigrating  habit  elsewhere  is  a  point  in  favor  of 
such  a  supposition,  but  the  fact  that  successful  breeding  is  yet  to  be  demonstrated 
for  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  that  no  tautog  less  than  3  to  4  inches  long  has  been 
credibly  reported  north  of  Provincetown,  that  the  fish  appear  later  in  the  season 
south  than  north  of  Cape  Cod  and  by  all  reports  increase  in  number  as  the  autumn 
draws  on,  and  that  no  winter  mortality  of  tautog  has  ever  been  reported  in  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  are  opposed  to  it.  Perhaps  a  few  tautog  may  be  reared  there,  but 
probably  the  local  stock  is  more  or  less  recruited  every  year  by  migrants  from  the 
south,  most  of  which  withdraw  again  to  the  southward  around  the  Cape  in  autumn. 

In  the  Gulf  of  Maine  the  tautog  is  found  about  steep  rocky  shores  and  off-lying 
ledges,  or  over  bowlder-strewn  bottoms — seldom  in  other  situations,  except  that 
stragglers  are  sometimes  caught  about  the  piers  in  harbors  (of  which  there  is  record 
at  Provincetown  and  Boston),  and  that  the  traps  pick  up  a  few,  as  we  have  just 
remarked.  Breakwaters  are  favorite  haunts,  as  is  the  "rip  rap"  of  the  recently 
constructed  Cape  Cod  Canal.  South  of  Cape  Cod  they  are  not  so  strictly  confined 
to  rocky  bottom  and  small  ones  are  often  seined  on  sandy  beaches,  but  we  have  not 
heard  of  this  happening  in  Massachusetts  Bay.  Tautog  are  strictly  coastwise  fish. 
Not  only  are  they  unknown  on  the  offshore  ledges  and  banks  but  it  is  unusual  for 
one  to  be  caught  more  than  a  mile  or  so  from  land  in  the  Gulf  of  Mame,  though 
they  are  not  so  closely  confined  to  the  coast  line  farther  south.  On  the  other  hand 
it  is  exceptional  for  them  to  run  up  into  brackish  water,  though  an  odd  tautog  has 
been  taken  in  the  tidal  part  of  a  stream  mouth  in  Casco  Bay;  and  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine  they  are  so  closely  restricted  to  the  zone  from  just  below  tide  mark  (with 
the  big  tides  there  they  are  often  above  low-water  mark  at  high  tide),  to  3  or  4 
fathoms  depth,  that  they  are  never  caught  on  long  lines  set  for  cod  or  haddock. 

Food. — Tautog  feed  on  invertebrates,  chiefly  on  shellfish  (both  univalves  and 
bivalves),  especially  mussels  and  clams,  and  on  barnacles  that  they  pick  off  the 
rocks  and  which  are  the  chief  diet  of  the  fishes  living  about  ledges.  Hermit  crabs 
are  favorite  morsels.  They  also  eat  sand  dollars,  scallops,  amphipods,  shrimps, 
isopods,  crabs,  and  lobsters,  swallowing  the  smaller  whole,  but  cracking  the  larger 
with  the  crushing  teeth  (p.  286).  A  tautog  of  about  2  pounds  caught  off  Cohasset, 
Mass.,  September  3,  1922,  had  made  a  meal  of  Gammarid  amphipods  ("sand 
fleas"),  though  cunners  caught  at  the  same  time  and  place  were  fuU  of  barnacles. 

Breeding  habits. — About  Woods  Hole  the  tautog  spawn  chiefly  in  June,  and  the 
season  for  such  of  them  as  breed  north  of  Cape  Cod  is  probably  the  early  summer. 
The  eggs  are  buoyant,  lacking  oil  like  those  of  the  cunner,  but  slightly  larger 
(0.9  to  1  mm.  in  diameter).  At  a  temperature  of  68°  to  72°  incubation  occupies 
42  to  45  hours  and  probably  10  to  12  hours  longer  in  the  cooler  water  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay.     The  larvae  "  are  about  2.2  mm.  long  at  hatching.     When  4  days  old 

50  The  earliest  date  we  have  found  is  May  24. 

"  Kuntz  and  Radclifle  (1918,  p.  92)  describe  its  eggs,  larvce,  and  fry. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  291 

(temperature  of  68°  to  72°)  they  have  grown  to  3.3  mm.,  the  yolk  has  been  resorbed, 
and  the  mouth  is  fully  formed.  Larvas  of  5  mm.  show  the  first  traces  of  the  caudal 
fin  rays.  At  10  mm.  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins  are  differentiated,  and  by  the  time 
the  little  fish  are  about  30  mm.  long  they  show  the  fin  forms,  deep  caudal  peduncle, 
and  blunt  nose  of  the  adult  tautog.  The  larvffi  and  youngest  fry  of  tautogs  and 
cunners  resemble  each  other  in  general  form,  but  the  arrangement  of  the  pigment 
offers  a  ready  means  of  identification  of  all  but  the  very  earliest  stages,  for  in  the 
tautog  the  black  pigment  cells  remain  more  or  less  uniformly  scattered  over  the 
whole  trunk,  whereas  in  the  cunner  they  soon  cluster  in  the  two  definite  patches 
described  elsewhere  (p.  285). 

We  have  found  no  tautog  eggs  nor  larvie  in  our  towings  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine, 
but  being  comparatively  so  scarce  a  fish  and  breeding  close  to  the  coast,  we  may 
simply  have  missed  them.  Probably  Tracy  (1910,  p.  137)  is  correct  in  assuming 
that  the  young  of  3  to  6  inches,  which  may  be  seined  in  abundance  along  the  shores 
of  southern  New  England  in  summer,  are  1  year  old,  but  nothing  definite  is  known 
of  the  rate  of  growth  of  older  tautog,  nor  at  what  age  they  mature. 

With  so  few  fish  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  that  can  be  classed  as  "game"  (that  is, 
affording  sport  on  rod  and  reel),  we  may  well  wish  this  fish  were  more  plentiful 
there,  for  tautog  fishing  is  very  good  sport  indeed. 

Commercial  importance. — The  Gulf  of  Maine  catch  is  so  small  that  it  is  of  no 
commercial  importance  north  of  Cape  Cod,  but  there  is  ready  sale  for  all  tautog 
that  are  brought  to  market,  most  people  thinking  this  a  very  good  table  fish. 

THE    JOHN    DORIES.     FAMILY   ZEIDM 

108.  John  Dory  "  {Zenopsis  ocellatus  Storer) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1660. 

Description. — The  John  Dory  is  easily  distinguishable  from  all  other  Gulf  of 
Maine  fishes  of  similar  body  form  by  its  long  spines,  armor,  tiny  tail  fin,  and  by  the 
curious  outline  of  its  head.  Like  the  butterfish  it  is  very  deep  (only  about  one  and 
three-fourths  times  as  long  as  deep)  and  very  much  compressed,  rounded  in  outline, 
with  the  dorsal  profile  of  its  head  noticeably  concave,  its  large  mouth  set  verj- 
obliquely,  and  its  caudal  peduncle  very  slender.  The  dorsal  fin  is  in  two  parts, 
spiny  and  soft  rayed,  the  former  originating  over  the  upper  corner  of  the  gill  cover 
and  having  9  to  10  spines — first,  second,  and  third  very  long,  the  others  graduated, 
and  all  filamentous  at  the  tips.  The  soft  dorsal  (26  rays)  is  considerably  longer  than 
the  spiny  dorsal  but  less  than  half  as  high,  and  of  nearly  even  height  from  front 
to  rear.  The  two  dorsals  together  occupy  the  entire  length  of  the  back  of  the  fish 
from  nape  to  caudal  peduncle.     The  anal  fin  (24  rays  preceded  by  3  short  stout 

"  Separable  from  the  common  "John  Dory"  of  Europe  by  three  instead  of  four  anal  spines,  and  a  greater  development  of  bony 
plates. 


292 


BULLETIN    or   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


spines)  corresponds  to  the  soft  dorsal  in  location,  height,  and  outline.  The  caudal 
is  brush  shaped.  The  ventrals  are  very  long,  with  the  rays  free  at  their  tips,  and 
are  situated  in  front  of  the  pectorals.  The  latter  are  short  and  rounded.  The 
skin  is  naked  except  for  a  series  of  bony  bucklers,  each  with  a  hooked  spine  and 
arranged  as  follows:  Seven  along  the  base  of  the  dorsal,  two  in  front  of  the  ventrals, 
one  in  the  midline  follow-ed  by  six  pairs  between  ventrals  and  anal,  and  four  along 
the  base  of  the  latter. 

Color. — Described  as  plain  silvery  with  a  black  lateral  spot. 


Fig.  133.— John  Dory  (Zenopsis  ocellatus) 

Size. — Six  inches  long. 

Range. — Very  little  is  known  of  the  distribution  and  nothing  of  the  habits  of 
this  fish.  It  was  originally  described  from  a  single  specimen  found  at  Provincetown, 
Mass.,  many  years  ago  (Storer,  1858,  p.  386) ,  and  was  not  seen  again  until  November, 
1912,  when  J.  T.  Nichols,  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  saw  half  a 
dozen  taken  by  an  otter  trawler  off  New  York  on  the  outer  part  of  the  Continental 
Shelf  (lat.  about  39°  39';  long.  72°  07')  in  52  to  86  fathoms,'' which  is  presumably 
its  normal  habitat. 


^3  The  .American  Museum  Journal,  Vol.  XIII,  January,  1913,  No.  1,  p.  44,  amplified  by  personal  letter. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  293 

THE    TRIGGERFISHES.     FAMILY    BALISTID^ 

The  triggerfishes  are  very  divergent  from  the  ordinary  spiny-rayed  fishes 
anatomically,  and  then-  external  appearance  is  so  characteristic  that  they  are  not 
apt  to  be  mistaken,  unless  for  their  close  relatives,  the  filefishes  (p.  294) .  Their  most 
interesting  external  characteristics  are  that  the  first  spine  of  the  first  dorsal  fin  is 
very  much  stouter  than  the  others  and  can  be  locked  erect  by  the  second,  and  that 
the  large  bony  scales  form  a  hard  armor.  Other  distinctive  features  are  mentioned 
below  in  the  description  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  species.  Most  of  the  triggerfishes 
are  purely  tropical,  and  it  is  only  casually  that  the  family  enters  into  the  Gulf  of 
Maine  fauna.     Some  of  the  tropical  species  are  poisonous  if  eaten. 

109.  Triggerfish  {Balistes  carolinensis  Gmelin) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1701. 

Description. — The  readiest  field  marks  of  the  triggerfish  are  its  deep  compressed 
body  and  slender  caudal  peduncle;  small  terminal  mouth  with  both  dorsal  and 


Fig.  134.— Triggerfish  (Bahstes  carolinensis) 

ventral  profiles  of  the  nose  nearly  straight;  eye  situated  so  high  as  to  give  its  face 
a  very  peculiar  aspect;  large  projecting  incisor  teeth;  and  especially  its  unusually 
stout  first  dorsal  spine;  very  short  gill  openings  wholly  above  the  insertions  of  the 
pectorals;  and  the  plate  armor  of  thick  scales  with  which  its  entire  head  and  body 
are  clad.  The  spinous  dorsal  fin  is  triangular,  with  three  spines,  the  first  so  stout 
that  it  is  more  like  a  horn,  situated  close  behind  the  eye  and  with  the  second  spine 
acting  as  a  trigger  to  lock  the  first  erect,  whence  the  common  name  of  the  fish.  The 
soft  dorsal  (27  rays),  separated  from  the  first  by  a  considerable  interspace,  is  rhom- 
boid in  outline,  with  the  third  or  fourth  rays  longest,  and  tapers  back  to  the  base  of 
the  caudal  peduncle.     The  anal  (25  rays)  corresponds  to  the  soft  dorsal  in  outline 


294  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

and  location.  The  caudal  is  of  moderate  size  and  emarginate  in  a  very  characteris- 
tic curve.  The  pectorals  are  short  and  rounded  and  situated  below  the  gill 
opening.  The  ventrals  are  reduced  to  one  short,  stout,  blunt  spine,  mostly  imbedded 
in  the  skin  and  connected  with  the  general  outline  of  the  abdomen  by  a  sort  of 
dewlap. 

Color. — Described  as  olive  gray,  the  back  spotted  with  violet,  the  sides  with 
two  more  or  less  distinct  dark  crossbars,  one  under  the  forward  end  of  the  second 
dorsal,  the  other  under  its  last  ray.  The  eye  is  surrounded  by  a  ring  of  blue  or 
greenish  dots  and  streaks.  The  first  dorsal  is  clouded  with  bluish,  the  second  dorsal 
is  pale  yellowish  marbled  with  sky  blue  and  olive  green,  the  base  of  the  pectoral 
is  bluish  with  olive  dots,  and  the  anal  is  like  the  soft  dorsal. 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  tropical  Atlantic,  including  the  Mediterra- 
nean; casual  north  to  Ireland  on  the  European  coast,  and  to  the  southern  coast  of 
Nova  Scotia  and  to  Banquereau  Bank  off  Canso  on  the  American  coast. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — ^A  specimen  of  this  warm-water  fish  was 
taken  at  Annisquam,  near  Gloucester,  Mass.,  many  years  ago.  It  is  very  rare,  even 
at  Woods  Hole,"  and  only  an  accidental  stray  from  the  south  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

THE    FILEFISHES.     FAMILY  MONACANTKIDiE 

Filefishes  recall  triggerfishes  in  general  form,  being  similarly  deep  and  compressed 
with  the  same  peculiar  profiles,  small  terminal  mouths,  projecting  incisor  teeth, 
eyes  set  high  up,  very  stout  dorsal  spines,  short  gill  openings,  and  in  the  fact  that 
the  ventral  fin  is  either  wanting  altogether  or  is  reduced  to  a  single  short  blunt 
movable  spine  at  the  end  of  the  very  long  pelvic  bone,  which  makes  a  keel-like  con- 
tinuation of  the  general  ventral  profile  of  the  head  and  is  connected  with  that  of 
the  belly  by  a  dewlap  of  skin.  They  differ  from  triggerfishes  in  having  but  one 
dorsal  spine  instead  of  three,  and  in  the  fact  that  the  scales  are  so  minute  that  the 
skin  is  velvety  to  the  touch  although  very  tough.  Most  of  the  species  are  tropical 
or  subtropical  and  none  has  any  commercial  or  sporting  value.  Adults  of  the 
three  species  known  from  the  Gulf  of  Maine  are  separable  as  follows: 

KEY   TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   FILEFISHES 

1.  Dorsal  spine  barbed;  gill  opening  nearly  vertical;  ventral  spine  present 2 

Dorsal  spine  smooth;  gill  opening  very  oblique;  no  ventral  spine 

Orange  fllefish  {Alutera  schcspfii),  p.  296 

2.  First  soft  dorsal  ray  much  elongated  and  filamentous;  caudal  peduncle  without  lateral 

hook-like  spines;  ventral  flap  extends  only  very  slightly  behind  the  ventral  spine 

Filefish  {Monacanthus  hispidus),  p.  295 

First  soft  dorsal  ray  not  elongate;  caudal  peduncle  with  lateral  spines,  ventral  flap 
extends  far  behind  tip  of  ventral  spine Filefish  {Monacanthus  ciliatus),  p.  296 

"  The  "leather  jacket"  (.Balisles  vetula)  is  more  common  at  Woods  Hole  and  is  recorded  from  Nantucljet,  but  as  yet  it  has 
not  been  taken  in  the  GuJf  of  Maine.  It  is  separable  from  the  triggerflsh  by  the  fact  that  the  anterior  rays  of  the  soft  dorsal  and 
the  comers  of  the  caudal  are  elongated  and  filamentous,  and  by  the  presence  of  2  blue  bars  on  each  side  of  the  head. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


295 


110.  FilefisU  {Monacanihus  hispidus  LinnaBus) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1715. 

Description. — In  this  species  the  rear  margin  of  the  dorsal  spine,  which  is 
situated  over  the  rear  margin  of  the  eye,  is  armed  with  a  double  series  of  barbs,  but 
the  sides  of  the  rounded  caudal  peduncle  bear  no  spines.  The  soft  dorsal  (31  to  33 
rays)  originates  behind  the  middle  of  the  body,  its  first  ray  being  much  elongated 
in  adults  and  with  a  filamentous  tip.  Otherwise  the  fin  is  rounded  in  outline, 
narrowing  from  the  front  to  the  rear.  The  anal  (32  to  33  rays)  is  below  the  soft 
dorsal,  and  of  the  same  shape  except  that  none  of  its  rays  are  elongate.  The  caudal 
fin  is  roimded.  The  pectorals  are  short,  rounded,  and  situated  below  the  gill  open- 
ing like  those  of  triggerfishes.  In  the  only  specimen  I  have  seen  the  fold  of  skin 
that  occupies  the  space  between  the  end  of  the  pelvic  bone  and  the  general  belly 
profile — the  so-called  "ventral  flap" —  is  rounded  in  outline,  not  straight  as  in  the 
illustration,  and  it  extends  only  slightly  behind  the  tip  of  the  spine. 


\ 


',/\ 


-V-V-, 


:;^-c^' 


FiQ.  135.— Fileflsh  (,Monacanlhus  hispidus) 

Color. — Green,  varying  from  bright  to  olive.  The  back  and  sides  of  young 
fish  are  mottled  with  irregular  darker  blotches  but  adults  are  plain  colored.  Dorsal 
spine  and  caudal  fin  are  green.    The  soft  dorsal  and  anal  fins  are  pale  and  translucent. 

Size. — Maximum  length  about  10  inches. 

General  range — A  tropical  species  common  on  the  south  Atlatitic  coast  of  the 
United  States  and  in  the  West  Indies.  It  is  known  south  to  Brazil  as  well  as  from 
the  Canaries  and  Madeira  in  the  eastei'n  Atlantic  and  probably  from  the  East 
Indies.  It  is  not  uncommon  as  far  north  as  Woods  Hole.  So  far  its  northern 
recorded  limit  has  been  St.  Margarets  Bay  on  the  outer  coast  of  Nova  Scotia. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Odd  specimens  of  this  filefish  have  been 
recorded  from  Hingham,  Ljmn,  Nahant,  and  Boston  Harbor  in  Massachusetts  Bay 
and  from  Cape  Cod,  all  many  years  ago.  It  is  only  a  stray  north  or  east  of  Cape  Cod. 
102274— 25 1 20 


296 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHEEIES 


111.  Fileflsh  (Monacanthus  ciliatus  Mitchill) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1S96-1900,  p.  1714. 

Description. — This  filefish  closely  resembles  the  species  just  described,  but  its 
first  dorsal  ray  is  never  elongate,  the  ventral  dewlap  extends  far  behind  the  tip  of 
the  ventral  spine,  and  the  caudal  peduncle  in  the  adult  is  armed  with  2  or  3  pairs  of 
strong  forward-curving  spines  on  either  side. 

Color. — Described  as  varying  from  olive  gray  and  grass  green  to  yellowish 
brown  with  darker  blotches  or  crossbands.  The  dorsal  and  anal  fins  are  pinkish 
and  usually  have  three  dark  spots  at  the  base.  The  ventral  flap  is  edged  with 
scarlet  and  the  caudal  is  greenish,  mottled  dark  and  pale. 

Size. — Four  to  eight  inches  long. 

General  range. — Warmer  parts  of  the  Atlantic,  from  Cape  Cod  to  Brazil  on  the 
American  coast. 


Fig.  136. — Filefish  (MoTiacanthvs  ciliatus) 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Storer's  Massachusetts  Bay  specimen  is  still 
the  only  record  of  this  filefish  within  the  limits  of  the  Gulf,  nor  is  it  kno'WTi  at 
Woods  Hole.    It  is  only  a  very  rare  stray  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  from  the  south. 

112.  Orange  filefish  (Alutera  schoepjii  Walbaum) 

Foolfish;  Turbot;  Hogfish;  Sunfish;  Unicornfish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1718. 

Description. — This  filefish  resembles  its  relatives  of  the  genus  Monacanthus 
in  most  respects  (p.  294),  but  while  equally  compressed  it  is  relatively  shallower — 
not  over  half  as  deep  as  long.  The  pelvic  bone  is  as  elongate  as  it  is  in  the  other 
filefishes,  but  there  is  neither  ventral  spine  nor  dewlap,  the  ventral  profile  of  the  body 
being  rounded  instead  of  straight.  The  eye,  too,  is  set  lower  down  on  the  side  of 
the  head  and  the  gill  openings  are  noticeably  oblique  instead  of  nearly  vertical. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


297 


The  dorsal  spine  is  relatively  shorter  and  the  lower  jaw  projects  considerably 
beyond  the  upper.  The  soft  dorsal  (about  36  rays)  originates  behind  the  middle  of 
the  trunk  and  is  rounded  in  outline,  and  the  anal  (about  36  rays)  corresponds  to  it 
in  size,  outline,  and  position.  The  short  rounded  pectorals  are  situated  below  the 
oblique  gill  opening  and  the  caudal  is  relatively  narrower  here  than  in  the  other 
filefishes  or  triggerfishes. 

Color. — Described  as  varying  from  uniform  olive  gray  to  rich  orange  yellow  or 
milky  white  above,  mottled  with  darker  hues  of  the  same  tints ;  bluish  white  beneath ; 
the  caudal  usually  yellowish  in  the  adult  but  sometimes  dusky,  edged  with  white. 

Size. — Maximum  length  about  2  feet. 

General  range. — Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts  of  the  United  States;  not  uncommon 
in  summer  as  far  north  as  Cape  Cod;  casual  to  Portland,  Me. 


Fig.  137. — Orange  fileSsh  {Alutera  schcepfii) 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Although  the  foolfish  is  not  uncommon  at 
Woods  Hole  during  the  summer,  only  three  specimens  have  been  reported  east  of 
the  elbow  of  Cape  Cod — one  from  Portland,  Me.,  and  two  from  Salem,  Mass. — all 
of  them  taken  many  years  ago.  Evidently  it  reaches  the  Gulf  of  Maine  only  at 
long  intervals  as  a  waif  from  the  south. 

THE  PUFFERS   AND   PORCUPINE-FISHES.    FAMILIES    TETRAODONTID.S;    AND 

DIODONTID.a; 

These  two  families  are  so  closely  allied  to  each  other — not  only  anatomically 
but  in  general  appearance — that  they  may  be  mentioned  together.  They  have  but 
one  dorsal  fin  (the  soft  rayed),  the  spiny  dorsal  being  entirely  obsolete,  and  they 
lack  ventrals.  Their  gill  openings  are  reduced  to  short  slits  like  those  of  their 
allies,  the  triggerfishes  and  tilefishes  (pp.  293  and  294),  their  teeth  are  fused  into 
cutting  plates,  and  they  are  scaleless.  The  two  families  are  separable  by  the  struc- 
ture of  the  teeth,  as  described  below  in  the  accounts  of  the  two  species  concerned, 
and  by  certain  anatomical  characters. 

KEY  TO   GULF  OF  MAINE   PUFFERS   AND   PORCUPINE-FISHES 


1.  Skin  set  with  large  conical  spines Burrfish  p.  300 

Skin  merely  prickly Puffer,  p.  298 


298  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

113.  Puffer  (Spheroides  maculatiis  Bloch  and  Schneider) 
Swellfish;  Swell  toad;  Blower;  Balloonfish;  Bellowsfish;  Globefish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1733. 

Description. — When  not  inflated  the  puffer  is  moderately  elongate  (about  three 
times  as  long  as  deep)  but  not  at  all  compressed,  and  tapers  from  abreast  the  gill 
opening  to  a  moderately  slender  caudal  peduncle  in  one  direction  and  to  a  moderately 
rounded  snout  in  the  other.  The  very  small  mouth  is  situated  at  the  tip  of  the 
snout  as  in  the  triggerfishes  and  filefishes.  There  are  no  true  teeth  but  the  bones 
of  the  upper  and  lower  jaws  form  cutting  edges,  each  divided  in  the  middle  by  a 
suture,  giving  the  appearance  of  two  large  incisors  above  and  as  many  below. 
TheJgLll^lopening  is  very  small  and  set  oblique,  but  its  obliquity  is  just  the  reverse 
of  that  of  the  foolfish  (p.  296) — that  is,  backward  and  downward.  The  eyes  are 
set  very  high  and  are  horizontally  oval  in  outUne.  The  skin  is  scaleless,  but  the 
sides  of  both  head  and  body,  the  back  from  snout  to  dorsal  fin,  and  the  belly  as 


Fig.  138. — Puffer  (.Spheroides  maculatua) 

far  back  as  the  vent  are  rough  with  small,  stiff,  close-set  pricldes.  The  soft  dorsal 
is  very  short  (7  rays),  rhomboid  in  outline,  about  twice  as  high  as  long,  and  set 
far  back  close  to  the  caudal  peduncle,  with  the  anal  similar  to  it  in  shape  and  size 
(6  rays)  and  rising  close  behind  it.  There  is  no  spiny  dorsal.  The  caudal  fin 
is  of  moderate  size,  slightly  rounded,  with  angular  corners.  The  pectorals  are 
fan-shaped  and  are  situated  close  behind  the  gill  opening.  There  are  no  ventrals. 
The  most  interesting  morphologic  character  of  the  puffer  is  its  ability  to  inflate 
itself  with  air  or  water  until  the  skin  of  the  belly  is  stretched  tight  as  a  football 
and  the  fish  is  almost  globular,  and  to  deflate  again  at  will,  when  the  abdomen 
shrinks  back  to  its  normal  dimensions. 

Color. — Dark  oUve  green  above,  sometimes  ashy  or  dusky,  the  sides  greenish 
yellow  to  orange,  crossbarred  with  6  to  S  rather  indefinite  dark  bands  or  blotches. 
The  belly  is  white. 

Size. — This  fish  is  said  to  grow  to  a  length  of  14  inches,  but  it  is  seldom  more 
than  10  inches  long.     Females  average  larger  than  males. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  299 

General  range. — Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States  from  Florida  to  Casco 
Bay;  very  common  as  far  north  as  Cape  Cod. 

Occurrence  in  tie  Gvlf  of  Maine. — The  center  of  abundance  of  tliis  species  lies 
south  of  the  limits  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  but  it  has  been  taken  at  Monomoy,  Truro, 
and  Provincetown,  and  is  not  imcommon  in  Cape  Cod  Bay,  for  Prof.  A.  E.  Gross 
informs  us  that  he  has  seen  as  many  as  four  or  five  taken  in  the  trap  at  the  mouth 
of  Barnstable  Harbor  at  a  tide  during  the  early  summer  of  1920.^^  We  have  never 
heard  of  one  at  Cohasset,  however;  and  while  Storer  described  it  as  common  at 
Nahant,  a  few  miles  northeast  of  Boston,  this  seems  to  have  been  an  error,  for 
Wheatland  (1852,  p.  124),  writing  about  the  same  period,  not  only  spoke  of  it  as 
seldom  seen  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  but  considered  a  single  specimen  taken  in 
Salem  Harbor  in  the  summer  of  1848  worthy  of  note.  This  still  remains  the  only 
record  for  Essex  County.  There  is  also  a  puffer  labeled  "Massachusetts  Bay"  in 
the  collection  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History.  During  the  summer  of 
1896  two  puffers  were  taken  in  a  trap  in  Casco  Bay,  this  being  the  northernmost 
record  for  the  species.  It  is  quite  as  rare  a  fish  north  of  Boston  as  the  paucity  of 
this  printed  record  suggests. 

Habits  and  food. — Puffers  are  simimer  fish  on  the  southern  New  England  coast, 
appearing  late  in  May  or  early  in  June,  to  disappear  in  October  or  November. 
They  are  rarely  seen  far  from  land,  usually  in  water  only  a  few  fathoms  deep, 
where  they  feed  on  small  crustaceans  of  all  sorts,  especially  crabs,  shrimp,  and 
amphipods,  as  well  as  on  small  mollusks,  worms,  barnacles,  sea  urchins,  and  other 
invertebrates,  which  they  find  on  bottom.  Young  fry  of  7  to  10  mm.,  examined 
by  Doctor  Linton  at  Woods  Hole,  had  eaten  copepods  and  crustacean  and  moUuscan 
larvJE. 

Puffers  inflate  on  the  slightest  disturbance,  in  which  state  they  float,  belly  up, 
until  they  deflate. 

It  is  probable  that  puffers  pass  the  winter  in  a  more  or  less  quiescent  state  on  the 
bottom  in  water  slightly  deeper  than  their  usual  summer  haunts.  They  spawn  in 
summer,  from  June  on,  and  in  shoal  water  close  to  shore.  The  eggs  (about  0.9 
mm.  in  diameter,  wdth  many  small  oil  globules)  sink  and  stick  fast  to  each  other  or  to 
whatever  they  touch.  Incubation  occupies  4}/^  to  5  days  at  a  temperature  of  67° 
F.  (19.5°  C).  The  larvae  at  hatching  are  about  2.4  mm.  long  and  brilliantly  pig- 
mented with  red,  orange,  yellow,  and  black.  In  three  days  the  mouth  functions  and 
at  7  days  the  larvae  are  2.6  mm.  long.  The  later  larval  stages  have  not  been  de- 
scribed, but  at  a  length  of  7  mm.  the  young  fish  show  most  of  the  diagnostic  charac- 
ters of  the  adults,^"  and  can  inflate  themselves  even  more — in  fact  until  the  bulging 
skin  entirely  hides  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins. 

»  See  also  The  Auk,  Vol.  XL,  No.  1,  January,  1933,  p.  24. 

"  Welsh  and  Breder  (Zoologica,  Vol.  II,  No.  12,  January,  1922,  New  York)  describe  stages  in  the  life  history  of  the  pufier. 


300  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

114.  Burrfish  (ChUomycterus  sch(£iifi  W&lh&um) 
Porcupinefish;  Rabbitfish;  Oysterfish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1748. 

Description. — The  burrfish  resembles  the  puffer  (p.  298)  in  general  appearance 
and  in  the  location  of  its  dorsal  and  anal  fins,  but  its  skin  is  armed  with  short,  stout, 
triangular  spines  instead  of  being  merely  prickly.  These  spines  are  sparsely  scat- 
tered all  over  the  trunk,  with  about  9  or  10  from  nose  to  tail  along  any  given  line. 
Furthermore,  the  burrfish  is  oval  in  outline,  not  fusiform  like  the  puffer ;  the  open- 
ings of  its  nostrils  are  prolonged  in  a  single  tubular  tentacle;  the  bony  jaw  plates  are 
not  divided  by  a  median  suture  as  they  are  in  the  pufler — hence  each  jaw  apparently 
is  armed  with  a  single  very  broad  incisor  instead  of  with  two;  the  pectoral  fin  is  not 
only  much  larger  than  in  the  puffer  but  is  situated  behind  instead  of  below  the  gill 
opening;  the  eye  is  round,  not  oval;  and  the  anal  fin  is  below,  not  behind  the 
dorsal.     We  need  only  note  in  addition  that  these  two  fins  (there  is  no  spiny  dorsal) 


Fig.  139.— Burrfish  ( Chilomydenis  schapfii) 

are  both  rounded  and  of  10  to  12  rays,  the  caudal  is  very  narrow  and  round-tipped, 
the  pectorals  are  much  broader  than  long,  and  that  there  are  no  ventrals. 

Color. — The  ground  color  varies  from  green  to  olive  or  brownish  above,  with 
pale,  usually  yellow  tinted,  belly.  The  back  and  sides  are  irregularly  striped  with 
olive  brown,  dusky,  or  black  lines  that  run  roughly  parallel  with  one  another  and 
obliquely  downward  and  backward.  There  is  a  dark  blotch  on  each  side  at  the 
base  of  the  dorsal  fin,  a  smaller  one  between  the  latter  and  the  anal,  one  above  the 
base  of  the  pectoral,  and  a  fourth  close  behind  the  latter  fin. 

Size. — Length  to  10  inches. 

General  range. — Coast  of  the  United  States,  Massachusetts  Bay  to  Florida; 
plentiful  from  the  Carolinas  southward. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — A  specimen  from  Massachusetts  Bay  now 
in  the  collection  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History  affords  the  only  record  of 
this  southern  fish  in  the  Gulf.  Like  so  many  other  southern  species  it  is  only  a 
chance  stray  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


301 


THE    HEADFISHES.     FAMILY    MOLID^ 

Although  the  headfishes  or  sea  sunfishes  are  aUied  anatomically  to  the  puffers 
and  porcupine  fishes,  with  which  they  agree  in  the  very  small  gill  openings  and  in  the 
fusion  of  the  teeth  into  a  sort  of  bony  beak,  they  bear  no  resemblance  whatever  to 
them  in  general  appearance,  apparently  consisting  of  nothing  but  a  "huge  head  to 
which  the  fins  are  attached,"  as  Jordan  and  Evermann  (1896-1900,  p.  1752)  aptly 
express  it.  There  is  no  spiny  dorsal,  the  soft  dorsal  and  anal  are  short  and  very 
high,  and  there  is  no  caudal  peduncle.  The  caudal  fin,  so  short  that  it  is  apparently 
nothing  more  than  a  flap  of  skin,  extends  around  the  rear  outline  of  the  trunk. 
Corresponding  to  their  extraordinary  conformation  the  sunfishes  have  only  16  or 

17  vertebrre. 

11.5.  Suiiflsh  {Mola  mola  Linnpeus) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1S96-1900,  p.  1753. 

Description. — In  its  general  appearance  the  oblong  body  of  an  adult  sunfish — 
and  adults  alone  are  seen  regularly  in  the  Gulf — suggests  the  head  and  fore  trunk  of 


Fig.  140.— Suaflsh  {Mola  mola) 

some  enormous  fish  cut  off  short,  the  oblong  body  being  truncate  immediately  back 
of  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins  and  without  caudal  peduncle.  In  front  of  the  fins,  how- 
ever, it  tapers  toward  the  snout  so  that  the  forward  half  of  the  trunk  is  oval  in 
profile.  The  fish  is  less  than  twice  as  long  as  deep,  strongly  compressed  (about  one- 
fourth  as  thick  as  deep) ,  with  a  very  small  terminal  mouth,  teeth  completely  united 
in  each  jaw,  a  very  small  eye  in  line  with  the  mouth,  and  remarkably  short  gill 
openings,  while  the  nose  overhangs  the  upper  jaw  as  a  kind  of  rough,  mobile  wart 
or  pad.  The  soft  dorsal  (there  is  no  spiny  dorsal)  and  anal  fins  stand  one  over  the 
other  close  behind  the  middle  of  the  fish.  Both  are  very  much  higher  than  long, 
triangular,  with  rounded  tips,  consisting  of  15  to  18  rays,  the  seventh  ray  being 


302  BULLETIN    or   THE   BUKEAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

the  longest.  The  fins  can  not  be  depressed,  as  in  most  bony  fishes,  but  the  sunfish 
sculls  itself  along  by  waving  them  from  side  to  side.  The  caudal  fin  extends  around 
the  whole  posterior  naai^in  of  the  body.  In  the  young  it  is  confluent  with  the 
dorsal  and  anal  fins  and  is  hardly  separated  from  them  in  the  adult — so  short  and 
with  its  rays  so  hidden  by  the  thick  opaque  skin  that  it  looks  more  like  a  dermal 
fold  than  a  typical  fin.  Its  general  outline  is  rounded,  paralleling  the  rear  outline 
of  the  body,  but  its  margin  is  scalloped  in  the  line  of  each  ray  (11  to  14)  by  a 
rounded  bony  thickening  in  a  notch.  We  have  counted  11  such  notches  in  a  fish 
3}/2  feet  long.  The  pectoral  fin  is  small,  rounded,  and  situated  about  halfway  up 
the  body  immediately  behind  the  tiny  gUl  opening.  There  are  no  rentrals.  The 
skin  is  unusually  thick  (about  1 J^  inches  in  one  47  inches  long  which  we  harpooned 
near  La  Have  Bank  on  August  7,  1914),  very  tough  and  elastic  in  texture,  and 
crisscrossed  with  low  ridges,  while  fins  as  well  as  trunk  are  clothed  with  small  bony 
tubercles,  giving  the  appearance  of  shark  skin. 

The  sunfish  is  described  as  glowing  phosphoresceitt  at  night  in  the  water. 
This,  however,  we  can  not  verify  first  hand,  but  we  can  bear  witness  that  it  grunts 
or  groans  when  hauled  out  of  the  water,  that  its  skin  is  covered  with  a  thick  layer 
of  tough  slime,  and  that  it  is  the  host  of  a  great  variety  of  parasites,  external  and 
internal,  with  copepods  and  trematodes  clinging  to  its  skin  and  infesting  its  gills, 
its  muscles  harboring  round  worms  and  its  intestines  various  round  and  flat  worms. 

Color. — Dark  gray  above,  the  back  with  a  brownish  cast,  the  sides  paler  with 
silvery  reflections,  the  belly  dusky  to  dirty  white.  Some  descriptions  mention  a 
broad  blackish  bar  along  the  bases  of  the  unpaired  fins,  but  nothing  of  the  sort  was 
to  be  seen  in  the  only  example  we  have  handled  fresh  from  the  water. 

Size. — The  sunfish  grows  to  a  great  size.  Heilner^'  describes  the  capture  of  one 
10  feet  11  inches  long  off  Avalon  (California),  while  Jordan  and  Evermann  record 
another  Californian  specimen  8  feet  2  inches  in  length,  weighing  about  1,800  pounds. 
One  measming  8  feet  in  length  and  11  feet  from  tip  to  tip  was  exhibited  in  London 
in  1883,^'  and  an  8-foot  specimen  was  taken  off  Cape  Lookout  (North  Carolina)  in 
1904,^°  but  such  monsters  as  this  are  quite  exceptional,  the  general  run  being  from 
3  to  5  feet  (very  rarely  6  feet)  long  and  175  to  500  pounds  in  weight.  A  fish  4}/^ 
feet  long  is  about  31  inches  across  the  body  and  6J^  feet  from  the  tip  of  the  dorsal 
fin  to  the  tip  of  the  anal.  A  fish  4  feet  1  inch  long,  caught  off  Boston  Harbor  on 
August  14,  1922,  scaled  516  pounds.*"" 

General  range. — Oceanic  and  cosmopolitan  in  tropical  and  temperate  seas; 
known  northward  to  northern  Norway  on  the  European  side  of  the  Atlantic,  to 
the  Newfoundland  banks  and  outer  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  on  the  American  side,  and 
recorded  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  as  well. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  sunfish  is  only  a  casual  visitor  to  the 
Gulf,  which  it  enters  now  and  then  from  the  warmer  and  more  congenial  waters 
outside  the  continental  slope.    Every  year  odd  sunfish  are  reported  here  or  there 

"  Bulletin,  New  York  Zoological  Society,  Vol.  XXIII,  No.  6,  November,  1920,  p.  126. 
'»  Smitt.    Scandinavian  Fishes.  1892,  p.  626. 

»  Smith.    North  Carolina  Geological  and  Economic  Survey,  Vol.  II,  1907.    Raleigh. 
™  Reported,  with  photograph,  in  the  Boston  Daily  Post  for  Aug.  14,  1922. 


PISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  303 

within  the  limits  of  the  Gulf.  There  are  printed  records  of  it  in  St.  John  Harbor 
in  the  Bay  of  Fundy;  near  Seguin  Island,  off  Small  Point,  and  off  Cape  Elizabeth 
(Maine),  where  it  has  been  reported  repeatedly;  off  Cape  Ann;  and  from  various 
localities  in  Massachusetts  Bay.  Sunfish  have  even  been  seen  in  Boston  Harbor, 
and  on  August  18,  1918,  one  4J^  feet  long  was  killed  in  a  narrow  creek  at  Quincy, 
Mass.  The  Grampus  sighted  sunfish  near  the  Isles  of  Shoals  in  1896  (Doctor 
Kendall's  field  notes),  in  1912,  and  in  1914,  one  in  the  eastern  basin  of  the  gulf  in 
1912,  and  seaside  dwellers  reported  one  or  two  near  Cape  Porpoise  in  1921.  In 
short,  as  many  fishermen  have  told  us,  sunfish  may  be  expected  anywhere  in  the 
Gulf  and  even  right  up  to  the  land,  but  so  few  visit  the  inner  parts  that  to  see  one 
is  always  something  of  an  event.  During  July  and  August  of  1912,  for  example, 
the  Grampus  sighted  only  one,  none  at  all  in  August,  1913,  and  only  one  in  the 
Gulf  and  another  near  La  Have  Bank  during  the  mid  and  late  summer  of  1914. 
Report  has  it,  however  (we  can  not  verify  this  from  first-hand  observation),  that 
sunfish  are  more  plentiful  over  and  along  the  southern  edge  of  Georges  Bank,  as 
indeed  might  be  expected  from  their  oceanic  origin.  In  the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf 
it  seems  that  sunfish  are  most  often  seen  in  midsummer  and  usually  some  distance 
offshore.  When  sighted,  these  unlucky  vagrants  have  usually  been  chilled  into 
partial  insensibility,  floating  awash  on  the  surface,  feebly  fanning  with  one  or  the 
other  fin,  the  personification  of  helplessness.  Usually  they  pay  no  attention  to  the 
approach  of  a  dory,  but  we  have  seen  one  "come  to  life"  with  surprising  suddenness 
and  sound  swiftly,  sculling  with  strong  fin  strokes,  just  before  we  came  within  har- 
poon range.  When  one  is  struck  it  struggles  and  thrashes  vigorously  while  the 
tackle  is  being  slung  to  hoist  it  aboard,  suggesting  that  they  are  far  more  active  in 
their  native  haunts  than  their  feeble  movements  in  fatally  cold  surroundings 
might  suggest. 

Habits  and  food. — The  sunfish  lives  on  an  unusual  diet,  for  as  a  rule  the  con- 
tents of  the  stomach  consists  either  of  jellyfish,  ctenophores,  or  salpae,  or  of  a  slimy 
liquid  that  probably  represents  their  partially  digested  remains.  This  has  been  the 
case  with  all  the  sunfish  brought  in  to  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  at  Woods  Hole ;  but 
various  crustacean,  moUuscan,  hydroid,  and  serpent-star  remains,  even  bits  of  algse  and 
eelgrass  (Zostera) ,  have  been  found  in  sunfish  stomachs  in  European  Avaters,  prov- 
ing that  at  times  it  either  feeds  on  the  bottom  in  shoal  water  or  among  patches  of 
floating  weed,  and  certainly  its  jaws  seem  fit  for  harder  food  than  jellyfish. 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  sunfish  ever  breeds  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  but  Putnam  (1870b,  p.  255)  records  young  ones  about  2  inches  long  from 
Massachusetts  Bay.*"  Its  spawning  habits  are  not  known,  but  presumably  the  eggs 
are  buoyant,  with  many  oil  globules,  such  being  the  case  with  the  closely  allied 
species,  Mola  lanceolata.  The  young  sunfish  is  spiny  and  very  different  in  appear- 
ance from  the  adult. 

Commercial  importance. — This  is  a  wortldess  fish,  neither  edible  nor  oily  enough 
to  be  worth  trying  out,  even  could  enough  of  them  be  caught. 

«  Schmidt  (Meddelelser  fra  Kommissionen  for  Havunders^gelser,  Serie,  Fiskeri,  Bind  VI,  1921,  No.  6,  p.  11)  believes  these 
were  M.  lanceolata,  not  M.  mola. 


304  BULLETIlSr    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

THE   ROCKFISHES.     FAMILY    SCORP^NID^ 

Although  the  rockfishes  are  perchlike  or  bassHke  in  general  appearance  they 
are  actually  related  to  the  sculpins  (p.  314)  and  sea  robins  (p.  344)  by  the  fact  that  a 
bony  stay  (an  extension  of  one  of  the  suborbital  bones)  stretches  right  across  the 
cheek,  giving  the  latter  a  characteristic  bony  appearance.  Furthermore  the  cheeks  •■ 
are  spiny,  and  in  most  of  the  species  the  top  of  the  head  is  marked  by  ridges  that 
terminate  in  spines.  Both  spiny  and  soft  portions  of  the  dorsal  are  well  developed, 
either  as  a  continuous  fin  or  subdivided  by  a  deep  notch.  The  ventrals  are  thoracic. 
There  are  many  species,  the  temperate  Pacific  being  especially  rich  in  them,  but  only 
one  occurs  regularly  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  with  a  second  appearing  as  a  stray  in  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  area  covered  by  this  report. 

KEY   TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   ROCKFISHES 

1.         The  lower  rays  of  the  pectoral  fin  are  not  free.     There  are  15  dorsal  spines 

Rosefish,  p.  304 

The  lower  8  pectoral  rays  are  free  for  the  outer  half  of  their  length.     There  are  only  12 
dorsal  spines Black-bellied  rosefish,  p.  313 

116.  Roselisli  (Sehastes  marinus  Linnaeus) 

Redfish;  Red  bream;  Red  perch;  Norway  haddock 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1760. 

Description. — The  rosefish  is  perchlike  in  general  appearance,  moderately  com- 
pressed, about  one-third  as  deep  as  long,  with  large  bony  head,  and  tapers  back  from 
the  shoulders  to  a  moderately  slender  caudal  peduncle.  The  dorsal  profile  of  the 
head  is  concave,  the  mouth  is  large,  very  oblique,  and  gapes  to  below  the  eye,  the 
lower  jaw  projects,  and  there  is  a  bony  knob  at  its  tip  fitting  into  a  corresponding 
notch  in  the  upper.  Both  jaws  are  armed  with  small  teeth.  The  eye  is  very  large 
and  set  high.  The  sides  of  the  head  are  armed  with  spines,  of  which  two  near  the 
gill  cover  and  a  series  of  five  confluent  ones  on  each  cheek  are  the  most  prominent. 
These,  with  a  ridge  behind  and  above  each  eye  socket,  give  the  head  a  "bony" 
appearance  that  is  extremely  characteristic.  The  giU  opening  is  very  wide,  with 
pointed  gill  cover.  There  is  one  continuous  dorsal  fin  running  from  nape  to  caudal 
peduncle,  the  spiny  part  (14  to  15  spines)  considerably  longer  than  the  soft  part 
(13  to  15  rays),  but  the  latter  higher  than  the  former.  The  precise  outline  is  easier 
illustrated  (fig.  141)  than  described  verbally.  The  anal,  consisting  of  three  gradu- 
ated spines  and  seven  longer  rays,  is  shorter  than  the  soft  portion  of  the  dorsal,  under 
which  it  stands.  The  caudal  is  relatively  small,  slightly  emarginate,  and  with  angu- 
lar corners.  The  pectorals  are  very  large,  and  the  smaller  ventrals  are  situated 
below  them.     Both  head  and  body  are  clad  with  scales  of  moderate  size. 

The  rosefish  agrees  with  the  cunner,  tautog,  and  sea  bass  in  the  combination 
of  tlie  spiny  and  soft  portions  of  its  dorsal  into  a  single  long  fin  and  in  its  generally 
perclilike  conformation.  Apart  from  its  brilliant  color,  however,  which  is  of  itself  a 
sufficient  field  mark,  it  is  separable  from  the  first  two  by  its  much  larger  mouth, 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


305 


spiny  head,  large  eye,  more  slender  caudal  peduncle,  and  larger  pectoral;  and  from 
the  sea  bass  by  its  large  spiny  head,  the  small  size  and  outline  of  its  caudal  fin,  and  by 
the  fact  that  its  anal  and  the  soft  portion  of  its  dorsal  are  relatively  much  lower. 

Color. — Orange  to  flame  red,  rarely  varying  to  grayish  or  brownish  red,  with  the 
belly  a  paler  red  fading  to  white  after  death.  Sometimes  there  is  a  dusky  blotch  on 
the  gill  cover  and  irregular  dusky  patches  on  the  back.  The  black  ej'es  make  a  vivid 
contrast  to  its  brightly  colored  body. 

Size. — On  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  and  in  Arctic  seas  the  rosefish  grows  to  a 
length  of  3  feet  or  more,°^  but  about  2  feet  and  a  weight  of  12  to  14  pounds  seems  to 
be  about  the  maximum  off  the  American  coast.  In  European  waters  there  are  two 
forms  of  tliis  fish  (intergrading,  however) — a  larger  offshore  and  a  smaller  in  shoal 
water  inshore.  American  fish  also  run  much  smaller  near  the  coast  (usuall}'  8  to 
12  inches  long)  than  on  the  offshore  banks. 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic  and  in  Arctic  seas,  north  to 
Spitzbergen,  Nova  Zembla,  Greenland,  Davis  Straits,  and  Labrador.  Off  the 
American  coast  it  occurs  as  far  south  as  New  Jersey  in  deep  water. 


<.r 


8® 


Fig.  141.— Roseflsh  (Sfftasto  marinus). 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  is  a  fairly  common  fish  in  all  but  the 
shoalest  parts  of  the  Gulf,  alike  on  the  offshore  banks,  in  or  over  the  deep  central 
basin,  and  along  shore.  To  list  its  known  occurrences  would  be  to  mention  prac- 
tically every  station  where  hook-and-line  or  otter-trawl  fishing  is  carried  on  at  more 
than  20  fathoms  depth.  Thus  considerable  numbers  are  sometimes  taken  on  lines 
or  trawls  in  15  to  20  fathoms  or  more  in  Massachusetts  Bay  both  winter  and  summer, 
especially  on  or  near  rocky  bottom,  wliile  we  ourselves  have  trawled  it  in  27  to  33 
fathoms  off  Gloucester  and  off  Boston  Harbor.  Manj'  are  caught  along  the  northern 
shore  of  the  bay,  also,  as  well  as  on  and  near  Jeffreys  Ledge  and  between  Cape  Ann 
and  Boon  Island.  The  fact  that  the  Grampus  took  rosefish  in  6  out  of  7  hauls  in  25 
to  60  fathoms  between  Cape  Ann  and  Penobscot  Bay  in  July,  1912,  with  a  trawl 


63  It  has  been  said  to  reach  4  feet. 


306  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEBIES 

only  8  feet  across  the  mouth,  shows  how  universal  they  are  in  this  part  of  the  Gulf 
in  suitable  depths.  But  whether  in  trawl  nets,  gill  nets,  or  by  hook  and  line,  the 
catches  are  always  small  compared  to  those  of  haddock  and  pollock.  Unfortunately  - 
the  published  fisheries  statistics  throw  little  light  on  their  actual  abundance  along 
the  coast  of  Maine,  for  not  being  an  important  market  fish,  they  do  not  appear  at  all 
in  the  general  surveys  for  the  j'ears  1898,  1902,  or  1905,  while  it  is  certain  that  only  a 
small  part  of  the  catch  was  reported  in  1899  (as"bream")  orin  1919  (as"rosefish"). 
However,  returns  of  about  27,000  pounds  between  Cape  Elizabeth  and  Penobscot 
Bay  in  the  latter  year  corroborate  the  statement  that  rosefish  are  to  be  found  in 
plenty  all  along  the  northern  shores  of  the  Gulf  in  depths  of  25  fathoms  or  more. 
They  are  also  common  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  even  in  such  inclosed  waters  as  Passa- 
maquoddy  Bay  and  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix  River.  Huntsman  found  them  in 
St.  Mary  Bay,  they  are  well  known  along  western  Nova  Scotia,  have  been  reported 
near  Seal  Island,  and  are  plentiful  on  the  neighboring  fishing  grounds  generally. 

Habits. — In  the  southwestern  part  of  the  Gulf  rosefish  are  found  only  below 
1 5  to  20  fathoms  depth  during  the  summer.  So  few,  for  instance,  are  taken  in  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  traps  that  they  do  not  figure  in  the  local  returns,  though  recorded 
for  Provincetown.  Goode,  et  al.  (1884) ,  long  ago  described  them  as  coming  right  up 
to  the  docks  in  the  northern  parts  of  the  Gulf  (presumably  at  Eastport)  with  cunners 
and  sculpins,  even  during  the  warm  months.  The  collection  of  the  Museum  of 
Comparative  Zoology  contains  many  small  rosefish  2  to  6  inches  long  taken  in  that 
harbor  probably  in  summer  or  autumn,  and  according  to  Huntsman  they  occur  in 
Passamaquoddy  Bay  at  that  season  in  water  no  deeper  than  5  fathoms.  This  local 
difference  in  vertical  distribution  suggests  that  the  rosefish  shuns  temperatures 
warmer  than  about  50°,  which  is  corroborated  by  the  fact  that  they  have  been  known 
to  run  up  into  Gloucester  Harbor  in  great  nimibers  in  winter  "^  but  never  in  summer; 
and  although  we  have  not  heard  of  them  in  numbers  in  any  other  harbor  south  of 
Cape  Elizabeth,  the  frequency  with  which  they  are  taken  in  the  gill  nets  early  in 
spring  suggests  a  general  winter  migration  into  water  shoaler  than  the  simimer 
haunts,  succeeded  by  a  movement  out  into  deeper  water  at  the  approach  of  warm 
weather. 

Rosefish  living  in  water  shoaler  than  50  fathoms  are  mostl}'  on  bottom — witness 
the  catches  on  line  trawls  (p.  305) — chiefly  on  rock  or  on  mud,  and  seldom,  if  ever, 
on  sand.  It  does  not  necessarily  follow,  however,  that  they  hug  the  bottom  as 
closely  in  the  deep  central  basin  of  the  Gulf,  where  the  presence  of  this  fish  is  attested 
not  only  by  fishermen  who  catch  them  when  setting  for  hake  but  by  the  abundance 
of  fry  (p.  309),  but  where  the  ground  is  soft  sticky  mud,  for  rosefish  live  bathypelagic 
over  deep  water  both  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  in  north  European  waters. 
Practical  fishing  experiments  alone  can  settle  this  point. 

Rosefish  are  more  abundant  locally  and  at  certain  times  on  Georges  Bank 
(from  report  this  applies  to  Browns,  also)  than  near  land.  For  example,  Welsh 
noted  240  taken  on  Georges  in  the  four  days  June  20  to  26,  1912.  The  schedules 
of  the  otter-trawl  investigations  of  1913  list  3,887  rosefish  as  caught  in  22  successive 
hauls  on  Georges  Bank  from  September  26  to  30  (that  is,  more  than  one-third  as 

<^  Qoode,  et  al.,  1884. 


FISHES   OF   THE  GULF    OF   MAINE  307 

many  as  haddock);  11,592  (nearly  as  many  as  haddock)  at  about  the  same  locality 
in  the  three  days,  October  10  to  13;  4,267  during  a  four-day  trip  to  the  South 
Channel,  from  October  23  to  27;  and  12,191  in  the  same  general  locality  in  six 
days  two  weeks  later  (November  9  to  15).  During  the  year  in  question  rosefish 
formed  1.8  per  cent  of  the  total  catch  of  fish  of  all  kinds  by  several  trawlers  oper- 
ating on  Georges  Bank  during  the  months  June  to  December,  and  5.9  per  cent  in 
South  Channel,  which  is  a  better  index  to  the  relative  abimdance  of  the  fish  than  the 
annual  landings  from  the  Banks  (30,000  to  50,000  pounds  in  1915),  for  the  larger 
part  of  the  catch  is  thrown  away  because  the  market  will  not  absorb  it. 

In  1913  not  a  single  rosefish  was  scheduled  for  Georges  Bank  between  December 
1  and  mid  June,"*  with  all  the  largest  catches  occurring  in  September,  October,  and 
November,  but  inasmuch  as  all  the  winter  trips  were  to  the  eastern,  southeastern, 
and  central  parts  of  the  bank,  all  the  trips  reporting  large  hauls  of  the  fish  either 
to  its  western  and  northwestern  portions  or  to  the  South  Channel,  the  precise  locality 
where  fishing  was  carried  on  and  not  the  time  of  year  may  have  been  the  factor 
governing  whether  rosefish  were  caught  or  not.  Seeing  that  1,400  were  caught  on 
April  4  on  Brown's  Bank  in  two  sets  of  a  line  trawl,  we  doubt  whether  there  is 
any  periodicity  in  the  presence  of  rosefish  on  these  offshore  grounds. 

Rosefish  inhabit  a  wide  range  of  temperature.  The  maximimi  may  be  set  at 
about  48°  to  50°,  and  probably  it  is  the  seasonal  warming  of  the  surface 
stratum  that  drives  them  to  summer  in  deep  water  off  the  coasts  of  Maine  and 
Massachusetts,  whereas  the  low  surface  temperature  of  parts  of  the  Bay  of  Fimdy, 
where  the  upper  10  fathoms  or  so  may  be  as  cool  as  50°  even  in  midsummer,  allows 
them  to  remain  in  shoal  water  there  the  year  round  as  just  noted  (p.  306) .  At 
the  other  extreme  they  winter  in  Massachusetts  Bay  and  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay 
in  water  as  cold  as  33°  to  35°,  and  perhaps  colder,  though  they  could  easily  escape 
from  these  low  temperatures  by  a  short  offshore  migration.  In  fact,  the  rosefish 
has  often  been  described  as  an  "Arctic"  species,  but  while  this  is  true  to  the  extent 
that  its  range  extends  to  Arctic  Seas,  we  are  convinced  that  this  is  a  misnomer  if 
taken  to  mean  that  it  is  characteristic  of  Polar  temperatures,  the  records  of  its 
occurrence,  horizontal  and  bathymetric,  proving  that  though  it  is  able  to  survive 
any  temperature  down  to  freezing  when  adult,  the  great  majority  of  rosefish  inhabit 
waters  warmer  than,  say,  35°,  and  over  the  greater  part  of  their  geographic  range. 

The  distribution  of  this  fish  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  is  especially  instructive 
in  this  respect,  for  there  it  is  characteristic  of  the  comparatively  warm  water  (39°  to 
42°)  in  the  bottom  of  the  deep  channels, °*  not  of  the  icy  intermediate  layer  (about 
32°)  which,  generally  spealdng,  is  so  nearly  an  impassible  barrier  to  its  upward 
migration  that  it  is  seldom  if  ever  taken  on  the  shoal  banks.  Its  bathymetric 
range  in  relation  to  temperature  is  apparently  much  the  same  off  the  west  coast  of 
Greenland.  Here  Fabricius  ""  long  ago  described  it  as  confined  to  water  so  deep 
that  when  one  accidentally  comes  to  the  surface  it  is  "poke  blown"  and  dies,  while 
Jensen,"  who  has  recently  published  an  interesting  study  of  the  rosefish  in  Greenland 

*'  This  takes  account  only  of  the  vessels  that  carried  observers  from  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries. 

"  Huntsman,  1918a,  p.  63. 

'•  Fauna  Groenlandica,  1780,  pp.  167-169. 

"  Videnskabelige  Meddelelser  fra  Dansk  naturhistorisk  Forening  i  Kj0benhavn,  Bind  74,  1922,  pp.  89-109. 


308  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

seas,  states  that  it  is  very  seldom  taken  shoaler  than  75  fathoms  there  and  chiefly 
below  90  fathoms.  That  is  to  say,  they  are  living  at  about  37°  to  39°  °' — not  in  the 
coldest  layer — and  in  west  Greenland,  says  Jensen,  nmnbers  of  them  sometimes 
come  to  the  surface  dead  in  winter,  apparently  having  succumbed  to  cold.  The 
fishery  experiments  of  the  Norwegian  fisheries  steamer  Michael  Sars"^  have  proven 
that  the  rosefish  is  no  more  characteristic  of  Arctic  temperatures  on  the  European 
than  on  the  American  side  of  the  Atlantic,  for  while  its  geographic  range  extends 
far  to  the  north,  indeed  right  up  to  Nova  Zembla  and  Spitzbergen,  it  is  caught 
there  only  in  the  overlying  layer  of  Atlantic  water  at  temperatures  of  39°  to  43°, 
never  in  the  colder  Polar  water  deeper  down,  though  the  latter  supports  typically 
Arctic  fishes  in  abundance.  It  is  worth  emphasizing  that  in  thus  avoiding  Polar 
temperatures  the  rosefish  occupies  very  different  bathymetric  zones  in  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence  and  in  west  Greenland  waters  on  the  one  hand,  where  it  is  confined 
to  the  bottom  stratum,  than  off  northern  Europe  on  the  other. 

This  is  perhaps  an  appropriate  place  to  note  that  there  is  no  positive  record  of 
the  rosefish  from  the  east  coast  of  Labrador,  north  of  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle, 
Packard's  young  specimens  (dredged  in  15  fathoms)  being  as  likely  from  the  north 
shore  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  It  therefore  remains  to  be  seen  whether  it  is 
endemic  in  the  undiluted  Polar  water  of  the  Labrador  current,  and  for  this  same 
reason  it  is  most  desirable  to  establish  its  status  on  the  east  coast  of  Newfoundland 
more  definitely  than  can  be  done  from  data  yet  available. 

Food. — The  diet  of  the  rosefish  includes  a  great  variety  of  crxistaceans,  espe- 
cially mysids  and  euphausiids,  shrimps,  small  mollusks,  and  various  other  inverte- 
brates as  well  as  small  fish,  and  it  bites  on  any  bait.  In  turn  it  is  itself  the  prey 
of  all  larger  predaceous  fish,  its  fry  being  devoured  in  quantity  by  cod,  older 
rosefish,  and  halibut. 

Breeding  habits. — It  has  long  been  known  that  this  fish  is  viviparous,  the  eggs 
developing  and  hatching  within  the  oviduct  of  the  mother.  It  is  not  likely  that 
any  rosefish  are  born  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  before  late  May,  for  we  have  found  no 
gravid  females  or  larvje  prior  to  the  end  of  that  month.  Breeding  is  evidently 
well  mider  way  in  June,  for  not  only  did  Welsh  see  several  mother  fish  containing 
well-developed  yoimg  taken  on  Georges  Bank  from  the  20th  to  26th  in  1912,  but 
we  have  towed  a  few  newborn  fish  (7  to  10  mm.)  off  Boothbay  and  Mount  Desert 
on  May  31  and  June  14.  July  8,  however,  is  the  earliest  that  we  have  taken  them 
in  any  numbers  in  our  tow  nets  (57  larvffi  off  Cape  Cod  in  1913),  with  July  and 
August  covering  the  height  of  the  breeding  season  and  with  very  few  young  pro- 
duced after  the  first  week  of  September,  while  our  latest  seasonal  record  for  young 
rosefish  (a  single  specimen  from  Southwest  Harbor)  is  for  the  14th  of  that  month. 
Previous  authors  have  similarly  described  it  as  breeding  from  June  to  September 
off  Massachusetts,  and  most  of  the  Canadian  records  of  rosefish  larvae,  both  within 
and  wathout  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  are  likewise  for  late  June,  July,  and  the 
first  half  of  August.  In  north  European  waters  young  rosefish  are  produced  over 
a  longer  period — from  mid-April  through  August,  according  to  locality. 

•'  See  The  Danish  Ingolf-Eipedition,  Vol.  I,  Part  2,  1S99,  tor  temperatures  in  this  general  region. 

••  Captured  in  abundance  on  line  trawls  suspended  at  50  to  100  fathoms  over  much  greater  depths  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  Norwegian  Sea.    Murray  and  Hjort,  The  Depths  of  the  Ocean,  1912,  pp.  435,  648.    London. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


309 


The  fact  that  we  have  taken  the  pelagic  young  of  this  species  in  our  tow  nets 
at  many  locaUties  distributed  over  the  whole  northern  part  of  the  Gulf,  both  in 
deep  water  and  in  shallow  (even  Southwest  Harbor  on  Mount  Desert  Island), 
instead  of  concentrated  in  shoal  water  in  the  southwest  corner  as  is  the  case  with 
larval  gadoids  (p.  437)  and  flatfish,  is  sufficient  evidence  that  rosefish  breed  in- 
differently wherever  found  and  do  not  gather  in  special  localities  for  this  purpose. 


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Fig.  142. — Localities  where  larval  rosefish  have  been  taken  in  the  tow  net.    O.  less  than  100;  •,  100  or  more. 

The  rosefish,  unlike  most  of  the  fishes  producing  buoyant  eggs,  breeds  successfully 
in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  the  pelagic  larvje  of  this  species  having  been  found  at  the 
mouth  of  the  bay  and  for  some  distance  up  the  center  during  the  late  summer.'" 

We  have  only  one  record  of  very  young  rosefish  on  Georges  Bank.  Indeed, 
we  have  found  very  few  anywhere  south  of  a  line  from  Cape  Cod  to  Cape  Sable 
(fig.  142),  but  the  presence  of  gravid  females  on  the  bank  (p.  308),  together  with 
the  local  abundance  of  large  fish  there,  suggests  that  it  is  none  the  less  an  important 


■1  Huntsman,  1922a. 


310  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   PISHEEIES 

breeding  ground.  The  rosefish  reproduces  considerably  farther  west  than  this  on 
the  outer  edge  of  the  continental  shelf,  for  thousands  of  young  fry,  as  well  as  adults 
full  of  spawn,  were  collected  in  100  to  180  fathoms  off  the  southern  coast  of  New 
England  during  the  early  years  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries. 

Although  we  have  found  rosefish  larvae  so  universal  over  the  offshore  parts  of 
the  Gulf,  the  notable  centers  of  abundance  have  all  been  located  within  a  few 
miles,  one  side  or  the  other,  of  the  50-fathom  contour,  whether  it  be  the  general 
slope,  the  boundary  of  an  offshore  bank,  or  some  isolated  sink,  in  which  locations 
they  may  locally  rival  the  swarms  encountered  by  Schmidt  between  Iceland  and 
the  Faroes."  As  examples  we  may  mention  catches  of  several  hundred  off  Cape 
Elizabeth  on  July  29,  1912;  near  Cape  Sable  on  August  11,  1914;  near  Cashes 
Ledge  on  August  10,  1913,  and  again  on  September  1,  1915;  in  the  sink  off  Glou- 
cester on  August  9,  1913;  and  on  Platts  Bank  on  August  7,  1912.  Outside  the 
100-fathom  contour,  on  the  contrary,  the  records  are  usually  based  on  occasional 
specimens  only,  and  it  is  only  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  Gulf  that  they  appear 
with  any  frequency  over  the  deepest  water  (fig.  142).  We  have  seldom  taken 
young  Sebastes  in  the  western  basin,  though  we  have  towed  there  frequently  and 
at  all  seasons,  and  never  in  the  deep  southeastern  trough  of  the  Gulf  nor  in  the 
eastern  channel.  All  this  suggests  that  the  chief  production  of  rosefish  in  the  Gulf 
of  Maine  occm^3  at  about  50  fathoms  depth,  which  probably  apphes  equally  to  the 
Bay  of  Fundy,  where,  according  to  Huntsman  (1922a,  p.  16),  "the  spawning  indi- 
viduals at  least  move  out  into  deep  water."  However,  the  presence  of  larvae  no 
longer  than  6.5  to  10  mm. — that  is,  new  born — at  every  station  where  the  species  has 
been  represented  in  our  tow  nettings  by  more  than  one  or  two  examples,  shows  that 
some  rosefish  breed  in  the  deepest  parts  of  the  Gulf,  though  it  does  not  necessarily 
follow  that  the  fish  are  on  bottom  there. 

Apparently  the  rosefish  never  breeds  in  less  than  20  to  30  fathoms  west  or 
south  of  Penobscot  Bay.  About  Moimt  Desert,  however,  and  further  east  along 
the  coast  of  Maine,  it  may  perhaps  do  so  in  shoal  water.  According  to  the  European 
observations  rosefish  larvae  five  close  to  the  surface  until  they  attain  a  length  of 
60  mm.  (nearly  2J^  inches),  and,  similarly,  young  larvae  (8  to  10  mm.)  occasionally 
occur  in  great  numbers  on  the  surface  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  but  most  of  our  records 
are  from  20  fathoms  or  deeper.  The  fact  that  we  have  never  caught  one  larger 
than  21  mm.  in  our  tow  nets,  whereas  fry  of  1 J^  to  3  inches  are  plentiful  on  bottom 
in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and  have  been  trawled  in  abundance  in  deep  water  off  southern 
New  England  (p.  310),  suggests  that  they  seek  the  ground  at  an  earher  age  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  than  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

The  temperature  in  which  rosefish  breed  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  is  easily  estab- 
lished with  the  spaAvning  period  so  brief  (p.  308)  and  with  the  adult  fish  smnmering 
below  the  zone  most  subject  to  seasonal  warming.  Thirty-seven  to  thirty-nine 
degrees  may  be  set  as  the  lower  limit,  for  by  the  time  breeding  is  well  under  way — ■ 
say  late  in  June  or  early  July — there  is  no  water  colder  than  this  in  the  Guff.  On 
the  other  hand  the  temperature  at  the  20-fathom  level  rises  only  to  46°  or  48°  by 
the  end  of  August,  except  locally  in  regions  of  active  vertical  mixing,  where  it  may 

"  Schmidt.    Skrifter  Udgivne  of  Kommissionen  tor  Havundersjigelser,  Nr.  1, 1904,  p.  46. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


311 


Fig.  143.— Egg  from  the  oviduct  of  a  temaJe 


Fig.  144.— Larva,  6  millimeters 


Fig.  143.— Larva,  9  millimeters 


Fig.  146.— Larva,  12  millimeters 


Fig.  147.— Fry,  20  millimeters 
HOSEFISH  {Sebastes  marinus) 


312  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

be  a 'degree  or  two  higher.  Thus,  practically  the  entire  production  of  rosefish  takes 
place  in  water  colder  than  47°,  and  apparently  this  upper  temperature  limit  is  a 
rather  definite  one,  for  there  is  some  evidence  that  at  breeding  time  the  adult  fish 
move  out  of  Passamaquoddy  Bay  (which  is  then  but  a  few  degrees  warmer)  into 
deeper  and  cooler  water  in  the  open  Bay  of  Fundy. 

Turning  to  other  seas  we  find  rosefish  breecUng  in  39°  to  42°  in  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence,  in  water  at  least  as  warm  as  39°  to  40°  on  the  outer  edge  of  the 
Grand  Banks,"  and  in  37°  to  39°  or  warmer  off  southern  Newfoundland."  The 
hosts  of  rosefish  fry  to  be  found  all  over  the  Norwegian  Sea  are  likewise  produced 
in  comparatively  warm  water  (39°  to  43°),  as  Hjort  has  emphasized.  In  fact  it  is 
doubtful  whether  Sebastes  breeds  at  temperatures  lower  than  35°  to  36°  anywhere, 
for  although  it  grows  to  a  large  size  off  west  Greenland,  Jensen  states  that  females 
with  large  eggs  and  the  early  larval  stages  are  both  unknown  there,  but  that  the 
local  stock  is  all  produced  in  the  Atlantic,  reaching  Greenlandic  waters  as  immigrants 
with  the  current  while  still  young.  However,  until  the  temperature  at  which  it 
breeds  is  definitely  established  for  the  outer  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  where  tliis  would 
depend  upon  the  precise  depth  at  which  the  fish  are  living,  the  minimum  tempera- 
ture at  wliich  Sebastes  can  reproduce  must  remain  in  doubt. 

The  salinity  in  which  rosefish  breed  is  as  definitely  Umited  in  one  direction  as 
is  the  temperature,  if  not  in  the  other,  for  its  young  are  for  the  most  part  produced 
in  sahnities  upwards  of  32  per  mille. 

The  larvEe  are  about  6  mm.  long  at  hatching  (fig.  144),  with  the  yolk  mostly 
absorbed,  the  mouth  already  formed,  and  the  first  traces  of  the  caudal  rays  already 
visible.  At  a  length  of  12  mm.  (fig.  146)  the  dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays  appear, 
the  ventrals  are  visible,  and  the  head  spines  are  already  prominent,  wliile  fry  of  20 
mm.  (fig.  147)  show  most  of  the  diagnostic  characters  of  the  adult  except  that 
head  and  eye  are  relatively  larger.  The  red  color  is  not  developed  until  the  little 
fishes  are  about  to  take  to  bottom,  but  all  but  the  very  youngest  larvae  are  easily 
recognizable  by  their  large  spiny  heads,  large  eyes,  short  tapering  bodies,  very 
short  digestive  tract,  and  the  presence  of  two  rows  of  post  anal  pigment  cells,  a 
dorsal  and  a  ventral.  Nothing  definite  is  known  of  the  rate  of  growth  of  the  older 
rosefish. 

Commercial  importance. — Although  a  very  common  fish  and  an  excellent  one 
on^the  table,  as  we  ourselves  can  bear  witness,  as  well  as  attractive  in  appearance, 
there  is  so  Httle  market  for  it  that  but  a  small  part  of  the  fish  caught  are  brought 
in  (p.  307),  and  what  httle  was  landed  in  1919  (54,095  pounds)  was  valued  at  only 
two  to  three  cents  a  poimd.  Every  kind  of  fishing  gear  used  in  deep  water  catches 
rosefish. 

"  Murray  and  Hjort.   The  Depths  of  the  Ocean,  1912,  p.  110.    London. 

"  Dannevig.    Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919),  Department  of  the  Naval  Service,  p.  12. 


riSHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


313 


117.  Black-bellied  roseflsli  (Helicolenus  maderensis  Goode  and  Bean) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1837. 

Description. — This  species  resembles  the  common  rosefish  so  closel}'  in  its 
general  form  and  in  the  outline  and  arrangement  of  its  fins  that  it  would  be  apt 
to  be  mistaken  for  the  latter  were  it  not  that  the  lower  eight  rays  of  the  pectoral 
fins  are  free  from  the  membrane  for  the  outer  one-half  to  one-third  of  their  length, 
giving  the  fin  an  aspect  very  different  from  that  of  the  rosefish.  Furthermore, 
there  are  only  12  spines  in  the  spiny  portion  of  its  dorsal  fin  instead  of  14  to  15,  as 
is  the  case  in  the  rosefish,  and  only  5  soft  anal  rays  (in  addition  to  3  stiff  spines) 
instead  of  7,  while  its  caudal  fin  is  relatively  larger  than  that  of  the  rosefish.  A 
more  important  difference  anatomically  is  that  the  present  species  has  only  24  ver- 
tebra, whereas  the  rosefish  has  31. 


Fig.  148.— Black-bellied  rosefish  (Helicolenus  maderensis) .    After  Lowe 

Color. — Described  (we  have  not  seen  it)  as  pale  to  brilliant  scarlet  or  flesh 
color,  the  gill  cover  with  a  vague  leaden  or  dusky  patch  and  the  back  and  upper 
sides  with  five  irregular  cross  bands  of  darker  or  brighter  scarlet.  All  the  fins  are 
scarlet,  the  spiny  part  of  the  dorsal  mottled  with  white,  and  the  soft  portion  of  the 
dorsal,  the  ventrals,  and  the  anal  edged  A\'ith  white.  The  lining  of  the  belly  is 
intense  black,  whence  we  have  coined  the  English  name  "black-bellied  rosefish." 

Size. — About  15  inches  in  length. 

General  range. — This  fish  was  first  described  from  Madeira,  but  it  has  since 
been  found  at  many  localities  off  southern  New  England,  off  New  York,  and  thence 
southward  to  Florida,  in  depths  of  71  to  373  fathoms. 

Occurrence  in  the  Oulf  of  Maine. — This  species  is  included  here  on  the  strength 
of  three  records — off  Nantucket  in  93  fathom  ,  208  fathoms,  and  264  fathoms, 
respectively'^ — but  since  this  is  apparently  near  its  northern  limit  on  the  American 
coast  it  is  not  hkely  that  it  ever  enters  further  into  the  Gulf  of  Maine  except  as 
a  straj'. 


"  The  precise  localities  are  40°  N.,  69°  19'  W.;  39°  51'  N., 
all  the  American  records. 


'  51'  W.;  and  39°  56'  N., 


'  22'  W.    Qoode  and  Bean  (1896)  list 


314  BULLETIN    OP   THE   BXJKEAU   OF   FISHEKIES 


THE    SCULPINS.     FAMILY    COTTID^ 

The  several  sculpins  known  from  the  Gulf  of  Maine  are  a  homogeneous  group 

characterized  by  large  spiny  heads,  very  wide  gill  openings,  enormous  mouths, 

slender  tapering  bodies,  separate  spiny  and  soft-rayed  dorsal  fins  (except  in  rare 

species),  large  fanlike  pectorals  but  small  caudals,  and  ventrals  reduced  to  three 

long  rays.     All  of  them,  too,  have  a  fashion  of  spreading  the  gill  covers  and  flattening 

the  head  when  taken  in  the  hand.     They  likewise  produce  grunting  sounds,  and 

some  sculpins  have  the  power  of  inflating  themselves  with  air  when  molested. 

The  only  other  GuK  of  Maine  fishes  that  at  all  resemble  them  in  general  form  are  the 

sea  robin   (p.  345),  toadfish  (p.  357),  and  angler.     However,  the  entire  head  of  a 

"robin"  is  armed  with  bony  plates,  quite  different  from  the  soft-skinned  head  of  a 

sculpin;  in  the  toadfish  the  soft  portion  of  the  dorsal  fin  is  many  times  as  long  as 

the  spiny  part,  at  most  twice  as  long  in  a  sculpin;  and  not  only  are  the  fins  of  the 

angler  very  small  and  weak  as  compared  with  the  present  family,  but  its  lower  jaw 

projects  far  beyond  the  upper  and  its  mouth  is  full  of  very  large  pointed  teeth, 

whereas  in  the  sculpins  the  teeth  are  small  and  the  jaws  are  of  approximately 

equal  length. 

KEY   TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   SCULPINS 

1.  There  are  two  separate  dorsal  fins 2 

There  is  only  one  dorsal  fin,  the  spiny  and  soft  parts  being  united. Deep-sea  sculpin,  p.  329 

2.  The  first  dorsal  fin  is  deeply  notched  between  the  spines;  the  lower  jaw  and  the  top  of 

the  head  are  adorned*with  fleshy  tags Sea  raven,  p.  330 

The  first  dorsal  is  not  deeply  notched  between  the  spines;  no  fleshy  tags  about  the 
head 3 

3.  The  long  spine  on  each  cheek  is  branched  at  the  tip Staghorn  sculpin,  p.  328 

These  spines  are  simple,  not  branched 4 

4.  The  anal  fin  is  long  (25  rays);  there  is  a  series  of  bony  plates  along  the  sides 

Mailed  sculpin,  p.  316 

The  anal  fin  is  short  (14  rays  or  less);  there  are  no  bony  plates  on  the  sides 5 

5.  The  long  spine  on  the  cheek  is  hooked  upward Hook-eared  sculpin,  p.  314 

This  spine  is  straight,  not  hooked 6 

6.  The  longest  (uppermost)  cheek  spine  is  four  times  as  long  as  the  one  below  it,  reaching 

back  to  the  margin  of  the  gill  cover;  all  head  spines  are  very  sharp. Longhorn  sculpin,  p.  325 
The  uppermost  cheek  spine  is  not  more  than  twice  as  long  as  the  one  below  it,  nor  reach- 
ing more  than  about  halfway  to  the  margin  of  the  gill  cover;  head  spines  are  blunter..     7 

7.  The  first  dorsal  fin  is  decidedly  higher  than  the  second;  small  fish^(not  over  S  inches 

long) ' Grubby,  p.  318 

First  and  second  dorsal  fins  are  about  equal  in  height Shorthorn  sculpin,  p.  320 

lis.  Hook-eared  sculpin  (Artediellus  atlanticus  Jordan  and  Evermann) 

Arctic  sculpin 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1906. 

Description. — The  most  distinctive  feature  of  this  species  among  local  sculpins 
is  the  long  hooklike  spine  on  the  cheek,  pointing  backward  and  upward,  plainly 
shown  in  the  illustration  (fig.  149).  There  is  also  a  short  backward-pointing  spine 
covered  by  a  flap  of  skin  at  the  upper  corner  of  the  gill  cover,  two  short  spines  on 


FISHES   OP   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


315 


the  top  of  the  nose  between  the  two  pairs  of  nostrils,  and  a  pair  of  blunt  knobs 
above  the  eyes.  Head,  mouth,  and  tapering  body  are  of  the  usual  sculpin  form. 
The  skin  is  smooth  and  naked.  The  spiny  dorsal  is  short  (7  to  9  spines)  and  rounded 
in  outline,  the  soft  dorsal  is  more  than  twice  as  long  (13  rays),  and  the  anal  (11  rays) 
is  slightly  shorter  than  the  soft  dorsal,  which  it  resembles  in  outline  and  under  which 
it  stands.  The  ventrals  each  consist  of  three  long  rays  reaching  back  to  the  vent; 
the  pectorals,  wide  at  the  base  and  rounded  in  outline,  reach  beyond  the  beginning 
of  the  soft  dorsal  when  laid  back,  and  the  caudal  fin  is  narrower  than  in  the  commoner 
GuK  of  Maine  sculpins.  The  jaws  and  the  roof  of  the  mouth  are  armed  with 
several  series  of  small  bristlelike  teeth. 

Color. — Described  (after  preservation)  as  reddish  brown  above  with  creamy 
sides  and  dirty  white  belly,  the  sides  showing  vague  crossbars  of  the  same  color  as 
the  back.  There  is  a  dark  blotch  at  the  base  of  the  caudal  fin,  and  the  head  is  mottled 
with  brown.  The  spiny  dorsal  is  blackish  with  two  or  three  irregular  white  cross 
streaks,  while  the  soft  second  dorsal  shows  six  or  seven  dark  crossbands;  the 
pectoral  and  caudal  fins  are  marked  with  two  or  three  and  the  anal  with  four  irreg- 
ular dark  bars. 


Fig.  149. — Hook-eared  sculpin  (ArtedicUus  atlantkus) 

Size. — Only  about  4  inches  long — one  of  the  smallest  of  sculpins.  The  lai^est 
of  the  few  trawled  by  the  Grampus  (p.  315)  was  only  about  2}^  inches  (63  mm.) 
long. 

General  range. — This  is  a  cold-water  species  known  from  Labrador  to  Cape 
Cod.  It  is  replaced  in  the  littoral  waters  of  arctic  Europe,  Siberia,  and  Greenland 
by  a  form  {Artediellus  uncinatus)  so  closely  related  that  we  suspect  a  critical  exami- 
nation of  the  two  would  lead  to  their  union. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — In  the  Gidf  this  species  is  confined  to  depths 
of  about  40  fathoms  or  deeper.  Evidently  it  is  fairly  common  in  the  deeper  parts 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  for  it  was  dredged  there  in  abundance  in  40  to  90  fathoms  on 
several  occasions  many  years  ago.  Other  definite  records  for  it  in  the  inner  parts 
of  the  Gulf  are  as  follows:  Two  were  trawled  by  the  Grampus  off  Cape  Elizabeth 
in  40  fathoms  and  four  off  Monhegan  Island  in  60  fathoms  in  July,  1912.  It  has 
been  reported  "off  Cape  Cod"  in  110  fathoms;  the  Albatross  trawled  it  in  the  south- 
east basin  of  the  Gulf  (42°  17'  N.  66°  37'  W.,  150  fathoms)  and  at  the  offshore 
entrance  to  the  eastern  channel  (42°  03'  N.  65°  49'  W.,  131  fathoms);  also  on  the 


316 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUBEAU   OF   FISHEEIES 


slopes  of  Georges  Bank  (40°  03'  N.  6S°  07'  W.),  as  well  as  at  various  localities  thence 
northward  and  eastward  to  the  Grand  Banks  in  40  fathoms  and  deeper.  When  the 
bottom  of  the  Gulf  is  more  systematically  explored  this  Arctic  sculpin  will  probably 
be  found  very  generally  distributed  there  at  50  to  75  fathoms  on  sandy  or  stony 
bottom,  but  we  doubt  if  it  haunts  the  soft  sticky  mud  that  floors  the  greater  part  of 
the  deep  basin.  Presumably  it  is  resident  in  small  numbers,  sculpins  not  being 
migratory,  but  nothing  whatever  is  known  of  its  life  or  breeding  habits. 

119.  Mailed  sculpin   {Triglops  ommatistius  Gilbert) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900  {Triglops  pingelli),  p.  1923. 
Gilbert,  Proceedings,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  Vol.  44,  1913,  p.  465. 

Description. — The  most  diagnostic  feature  of  this  sculpin,  apart  from  its  very 
long  anal  fin  (p.  314),  is  the  presence  of  a  row  of  about  45  broad  plate-like  scales 
along  its  lateral  line,  vnth.  smaller  spiny  scales  below  the  dorsal  fins,  while  the  skin 
of  the  lower  sides  is  gathered  in  obliquely  transverse  folds.  The  body,  too,  is  more 
tapering  than  in  our  other  sculpins,  while  the  caudal  peduncle  is  more  slender  and 
the  tail  is  smaller.     Furthermore,  the  head  is  smaller  and  smoother  than  in  any 

^///.'/  /A 


Fig.  150.— Mailed  sculpin  C  Triglops  ommatistius) 

of  the  sculpins  common  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  with  short  spines  and  many  prickles. 
The  first  dorsal  fin  (11  spines)  originates  over  the  base  of  the  pectoral  and  is  higher 
but  only  about  haK  as  long  as  the  second  dorsal  (21  to  22  rays).  The  anal  fin  is 
similar  to  the  latter  in  form  and  stands  below  it,  but  is  slightly  shorter  (20  to  21 
rays).  The  ventrals  (3  rays  as  is  the  rule  among  sculpins)  reach  about  as  far  back 
as  the  end  of  the  first  dorsal,  while  the  pectorals  (17  rays)  are  of  the  usual  fanlike 
outline.  In  the  males  there  is  a  very  large  and  noticeable  anal  papilla,  which  is 
lacking  in  females. 

Color. — Described  as  olivaceous  above,  the  back  with  four  dark  crossbars 
running  down  the  sides  to  the  lateral  fine,  and  with  a  series  of  blackish  blotches 
below  the  latter.  In  males  there  is  a  large  roundish  black  spot  margined  with 
silvery  white  on  the  margin  of  the  first  dorsal  fin  behind  its  middle,  and  the  second 
dorsal  is  marked  with  wide  oblique  or  nearly  horizontal  bars.  Females  lack  the 
eye  spot  on  the  first  dorsal,  and  A\nth  them  the  barring  of  the  second  dorsal  is  in  the 
form  of  narrow  lines  of  dots.  There  are  no  markings  on  the  other  fins.  The  breast 
and  belly  are  silvery  white. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  317 

Size. — This  is  a  small  species,  probably  growing  to  a  maximum  length  of 
about  8  inches,  this  being  the  largest  size  recorded  for  its  European  representa- 
tive." 

General  range. — It  is  impossible  as  yet  to  state  the  geographic  limits  of  this 
species.  Sculpins  of  this  general  type  are  circumpolar,  ranging  south  to  Cape 
Cod  along  the  American  coast  and  to  the  Baltic  on  the  European  side  of  the 
Atlantic  in  rather  deep  water.  They  show  a  tendency  to  split  up  into  local  races, 
however,  the  constancy  of  which  is  yet  to  be  tested  by  a  study  of  large  series. 
Newfoundland  specimens,  for  example,  differ  sufficiently  from  typical  Triglops 
ommatistius  in  the  arrangement  and  number  of  folds  of  skin  along  the  sides  for 
Gilbert  to  have  dignified  them  with  a  separate  name  (as  the  subspecies  ierrxnovse) ; 
and  both  these  American  forms  are  distinguished  from  the  east  Greenland  and 
European  mailed  sculpins  by  the  presence  of  the  eyespot  on  the  first  dorsal  fin 
(which  the  latter  lack),  and  by  slightly  fewer  fin  rays.  We  do  not  feel  convinced, 
however,  that  all  these  forms,  together  with  the  Bering  Sea  form  {Triglops  heanii), 
will  not  finally  prove  to  be  local  varieties  of  a  single  wide-ranging  species. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  cold-water  fish  must  be  rare  in  the 
Gulf,  for  the  only  specimens  so  far  definitely  recorded  from  there  are  from  the 
neighborhood  of  St.  Andrews  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  taken  in  15  fathoms  in  April 
and  July,  1919  (reported  by  Huntsman);  a  few  from  Massachusetts  Bay  and  from 
off  Race  Point,  Cape  Cod  (in  the  collection  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural 
History);  11  others  now  in  the  United  States  National  Museum  from  Gloucester, 
Cape  Cod,  and  Georges  Bank;  and  two  which  we  ourselves  trawled  on  the  Grampus 
in  July,  1912,  one  of  them  off  Gloucester  and  the  other  off  Boston  Harbor,  at  33 
and  27  fathoms,  respectively.  The  fact  that  Gilbert  foimd  differences  between 
the  Gulf  of  Maine  and  Newfoundland  specimens,  and  others  from  Chebucto  Head 
(Nova  Scotia)  and  from  Georges  Bank  intermediate  between  them,  suggests  that 
the  mailed  sculpin  is  a  permanent  resident  of  the  iimer  parts  of  the  Gulf,  rather 
than  that  it  appears  there  only  as  an  occasional  stray  past  Cape  Sable  from  the 
east  and  north. 

Habits. — Little  is  known  of  its  habits  beyond  the  bare  fact  that  it  is  a  bottom 
fish  like  other  sculpins.  If  it  breeds  at  all  this  side  of  Cape  Sable  it  probably 
spawns  in  midsummer,  Cox'"  having  reported  a  ripe  female  at  Cape  Breton  in 
July.  The  eggs  of  the  latter  were  pinkish,  2  mm.  in  diameter,  with  many  oil 
globules.  Presumably  the  eggs  sink  like  those  of  other  sculpins.  The  European 
mailed  sculpin  is  known  to  eat  worms  and  various  small  crustaceans  and  probably 
the  diet  of  the  American  form  is  the  same. 

"  CoIIett.    Den  Norske  Nordhaus- Expedition,  1876-78,  Bind  3,  Zoologi,  Fiske,  1880,  p.  38.    Christiania. 
™  Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology,  191S-1920  (1921),  p.  111.    Ottawa. 


318  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

120.  Little  sculpin  {Myoxocephalus  seneus  Mitchill) 

Grubby 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1972. 

Description. — The  most  diagnostic  features  of  the  grubby,  as  compared  with 
others  of  its  tribe,  are  a  high  first  dorsal  fia  combined  with  small  size  and  short 
head  spines.  It  is  of  the  typical  sculpin  form  (p.  314),  though  proportionately  a 
stouter  fish  than  either  the  short  or  long-spined  species — that  is,  about  one-fourth 
as  deep  as  long — with  smooth  skin  but  showing  the  head  ridges  and  spines  typical 
of  its  genus.  Most  noticeable  of  these  are  a  ridge  with  three  spines  running  along 
the  top  of  the  head  over  each  eye,  a  pair  of  spines  above  the  nostrils,  and  six  (all 
short)  on  each  side  of  the  face  between  snout  and  gill  opening.  None  of  the  cheek 
spines  are  long  (p.  314).  The  spiny  dorsal  (9  spines),  originating  slightly  in  front 
of  the  upper  corner  of  the  gill  opening,  is  decidedly  higher  but  shorter  than  the 
second  (13  to  14  soft  rays),  and  the  two  fins  are  so  close  together  that  there  is  no 
free  space  between  them.     The  anal  (10  to  11  rays)  is  slightly  shorter  than  the 


Fig.  151.— Little  sculpin  (.Myoxocephalus  seneus) 

second  dorsal,  under  which  it  stands.  The  pectoral  is  of  the  fanlike  outline  char- 
acteristic of  this  family,  while  the  ventrals  have  the  usual  three  rays.  There  is 
no  slit  or  pore  behind  the  last  gill  (usually  there  is  such  a  slit  or  pore  in  the 
shorthorn  sculpin,  p.  320). 

Color. — Grubbies,  like  other  sculpins,  vary  in  color  according  to  the  bottom 
on  which  they  lie.  All  that  we  have  seen,  however  (this  confirms  the  published 
descriptions),  have  been  light  to  dark  gray  or  greenish-gray  above,  with  darker 
shadings  or  irregular  barrings  particularly  evident  on  the  sides  and  fins.  The 
sides  of  the  head  are  usually  mottled  light  and  dark;  the  belly  pale  gray  or  white. 

Size. — This  is  the  smallest  of  our  common  sculpins,  being  seldom  more  than 
5  and  perhaps  never  more  than  8  inches  long. 

General  range. — -North  American  coastal  waters.  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  New 
Jersey." 

'^  Maine  has  sometimes  been  given  as  its  northern  limit,  but  Doctor  Huntsman  writes  us  that  in  1915  he  obtained  it  in  tide 
pools  at  Souris,  Prince  Edward  Island,  and  Cox  (Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology,  191S-1920  (1921),  p.  Ill)  describes  it  as 
the  commonest  sculpin  at  the  Magdalen  Islands. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  319 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Probably  this  little  sculpin  is  to  be  found  in 
suitable  localities  all  around  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  for  it  is  common  along 
both  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  on  the  one  hand  and  has  been  obtained  at  various 
localities  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region — e.  g.,  Cape  Ann,  Gloucester,  Salem, 
Cohasset,  Provincetown — on  the  other.  It  seems  decidedly  local  in  its  distribu- 
tion, however,  for  the  'only  locality  where  it  has  been  definitely  reported  on  the 
intervening  coast  line  is  Casco  Bay,  where  it  is  not  uncommon,  nor  have  we  our- 
selves caught  it  in  any  of  the  harbors  of  Maine  where  we  have  fished.  Being 
common  in  St.  Mary  Bay  (Huntsman,  1922a),  it  is  to  be  expected  along  the  western 
coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  but  it  is  far  outnumbered  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  by  the  two  larger 
sculpins  to  be  mentioned  next. 

Habits. — Practically  nothing  is  known  of  the  life  of  the  grubby  north  of  Cape 
Cod  except  that  it  associates  with  other  sculpins,  with  the  young  of  wliich  it  is  usuallj'' 
confounded.  On  the  southern  shores  of  New  England,  where  it  is  not  only  more  nearly 
universal  but  far  more  plentiful  than  anywhere  north  of  Cape  Cod,  it  is  found  from 
close  to  tide  mark  down  to  15  fathoms  or  so,  and  it  seems  that  it  is  similarly  re- 
stricted to  comparatively  shoal  water  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  for  we  have  found  no 
record  of  it,  nor  have  we  seen  it  dredged  or  trawled,  in  deep  water.  In  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence,  however,  Cox  found  it  in  the  stomachs  of  cod  taken  in  60  to  70  fathoms. 
It  is  found  on  all  sorts  of  bottom  but  most  abundantly  among  eelgrass,  and  it 
is  resident  the  year  round.  It  is  the  only  sculpin  that  summers  in  shoal  water  at 
Woods  Hole,  and  it  has  been  recorded  far  up  Narragansett  Bay  in  very  shoal  water 
in  midsummer,  and  is  to  be  found  in  Gravesend  Bay  at  the  mouth  of  New  York 
Harbor  throughout  the  year.  In  the  GuK  of  St.  Lawrence  (e.  g.,  at  the  Magdalen 
Islands)  it  is  found  in  estuaries  just  as  it  is  in  the  southern  part  of  its  range,  as  well 
as  outside,  but  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  it  seems  more  restricted  to  the  open  coast, 
for  Huntsman  found  it  rare  as  far  up  Passamaquoddy  Bay  as  St.  Andrews,  though 
common  at  its  mouth,  and  more  plentiful  in  St.  Mary  Bay  and  in  Annapolis 
Basin  than  in  the  Basin  of  Minas  on  the  Scotian  side  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  Nor 
have  we  seen  it  in  salt  creeks  about  Massachusetts  Bay. 

The  known  distribution  of  the  grubby  in  summer  proves  that  it  is  certainly 
at  home  in  water  as  warm  as  69°  and  perhaps  a  degree  or  two  warmer.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  winter  it  necessarily  survives  temperatures  as  low  as  32°,  if  not 
lower,  both  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  about  Woods  Hole.  Its  presence 
in  such  estuarine  situations  as  the  inner  parts  of  Narragansett  Bay  on  the  one  hand 
and  off  open  coasts  on  the  other  prove  it  resistant  to  a  wide  range  of  saUnity,  but  so 
far  as  we  can  learn  it  never  runs  up  into  appreciably  brackish  water,  and  certainly 
the  great  majority  of  the  species  keeps  to  waters  more  saline  than  31  per  miUe. 

The  spawning  season  of  the  grubby  lasts  all  winter  off  southern  New 
England  and  until  June  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  for  Cox  reports  a  ripe  female 
on  the  18th  of  that  month,  at  Amherst  Island  (Magdalen  group).  The  eggs,  which 
are  described  as  of  a  beautiful  green  color  and  1  mm.  in  diameter,  sink  like  those 
of  other  sculpins  and  stick  to  seaweeds  or  to  any  object  they  chance  to  rest  upon, 
including  the  nets  in  which  the  grubbies  are  caught.  Young  sculpins  (this  species 
among  them)  are  caught  in  the  tow  net  at  Woods  Hole  from  January  to  May. 
102274— 25 1 21 


320  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OE   FISHEBIES 

Probably  the  grubby  breeds  throughout  its  geographic  range,  certainly  as  far 
north  as  the  southern  part  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  Bay  of  Fundy  is 
the  site  of  successful  reproduction,  for  Huntsman  found  grubbies  of  all  sizes  there. 

Food. — This  sculpin  is  omnivorous  like  its  relatives,  feeding  on  all  sorts  of  small 
animals  which  it  finds  on  the  bottom,  such  as  annelids,  prawns,  shrimps,  gastropods, 
nudibranchs,  ascidians,  crabs,  copepods,  and  on  small  fish,  including  alewives, 
cunners,  eels,  mummichogs,  launce,  silversides,  sticklebacks,  and  tomcod.'*  It 
also  scavenges  any  kind  of  animal  refuse. 

Commercial  importance. — Too  small  to  be  worth  catching  for  lobster  bait,  and 
never  eaten,  the  grubby  is  of  no  commercial  value,  but  wherever  it  is  common  it 
is  something  of  a  nuisance  to  anglers  fishing  for  flounders  and  cunners  for  it  bites- 
as  greedily  at  any  bait  as  do  its  larger  relatives. 

121.  Shorthorn  sculpin  {Myoxocephalit^  scorpiuslAansens) 

Daddy  sculpin;  Black  sculpin;  Greenland  sculpin 

Jordan  and  Evermann  (M.  scorpius  and  M.  grcenlandicus) ,  1896-1900,  p.  1974. 

Description.- — -The  most  precise  character  by  which  to  distinguish  the  young  of 
this  species  from  the  grubby  (no  one  could  confuse  the  adults)  is  that  there  is  a 
pore,  small  but  evident,  behind  the  last  gill.  Readier  field  marks  are  that  its  spiny 
dorsal  is  no  higher  than  the  soft  dorsal  (p.  314),  and  that  its  anal  fin  originates  farther 
back  in  relation  to  the  latter  and  is  usually  longer  (at  least  13  rays  in  the  shorthorn 
and  only  10  to  11  in  the  grubby).  Furthermore,  there  are  usually  16  or  17  soft 
dorsal  rays,  while  in  the  grubby  there  are  only  13  or  14.  The  niunber  of  fin  rays 
varies  widely  among  European  representatives  of  the  shorthorn  sculpin  '"  and  the 
same  may  be  expected  with  American  fish. 

The  most  obvious  difference  between  the  shorthorn  and  the  longhorn  sculpins 
is  that  the  upper  cheek  spine  of  the  former  is  less  than  twice  as  long  as  the  one 
below  it  and  does  not  reach  much  more  than  halfway  to  the  edge  of  the  gill  cover. 
Furthermore,  all  its  spines  are  usually  blunt,  while  those  of  the  longhorn  are  very 
sharp  (p.  325).  The  general  arrangement  of  head  spines  and  ridges  is  the  same  in 
the  two,  however,  there  being  a  longitudinal  ridge  with  three  knobs  or  spines  run- 
ning along  each  side  of  the  crown  above  the  eye,  and  about  6  (sometimes  5  or  7) 
short  triangular  spines  on  each  side  of  the  face  between  snout  and  gill  opening. 
There  is  also  a  short  but  sharp  spine  at  the  upper  corner  of  the  gill  cover  pointing 
backward  and  lying  on  a  skin  flap,  besides  two  thornlike  spines  on  each  shoulder 
close  behind  the  upper  angle  of  the  gill  cover. 

The  first  dorsal  fin  has  9  to  11  spines,  the  caudal  is  small  and  slightly  rounded,, 
the  anal  is  considerably  shorter  than  the  second  dorsal  and  originates  under  its 
fourth  or  fifth  ray,  and  the  pectorals  are  fanlike.  There  are  two  series  of  prickly  plate- 
like scales  along  each  side  of  the  body,  one  above,  the  other  below  the  lateral  line, 
and  this  species  resembles  other  sculpins  in  its  large  head,  wide  mouth,  and  tapering 
body  (p.  314). 

"  This  list  of  fish  fry  is  from-Vinal  Edwnrds's'notes  at  Woods  Hole. 
"  Smitt.    Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892,  p.  180. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


321 


Fig.  156.— Fry,  18  millimeters.    Alter  Ehrenbaum 
SHORTHORN  SCULPIN  (.Myaxocephalus  scorpius) 


322  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Males  and  females  differ  in  appearance,  the  former  being  the  more  slender  and 
with  higher  fins.  Each  of  the  scales  along  the  lateral  line  bears  three  or  more 
prickles  in  males,  but  only  one  or  two  at  the  most  in  females,  while  some  of  the 
latter  have  no  scales.  Furthermore  the  inner  edges  of  the  rays  of  the  pectoral  and 
ventral  fins  are  armed  with  teeth  or  prickles  in  the  male  but  not  in  the  female. 

Color. — The  basic  hue  of  the  upper  parts  is  usually  some  shade  of  brown, 
ranging  from  a  warm  reddish  tint  to  almost  black,  with  the  top  sides  of  the  head 
marked  with  pale  blotches  and  the  back  and  sides  \nt\i  broad  dark  bars.  The 
lower  sides  are  more  or  less  spotted  with  yellow.  The  belly  is  yellowish  in  females 
and  reddish  orange  with  large  round  white  spots  in  males,  this  being  a  good  field 
mark  for  distinguishing  the  sexes.  The  dorsal  fins  are  dark  and  pale  mottled,  the 
second  often  with  3  or  4  definite  crossbars,  and  the  caudal  with  various  dark  mot- 
tlings.  The  rays  of  the  pectoral  and  anal  fins  are  yellow  with  2  or  3  irregular  dark 
crossbars.  Males  are  more  brightly  colored  than  females  in  the  breeding  season, 
their  red  and  yellow  tints  becoming  very  brilliant,  with  the  intensification  of  the 
red  or  coppery  ground  color  of  the  belly  bringing  out  the  white  spots  more  clearly 
than  at  other  seasons. 

Size. — This  is  the  largest  Gulf  of  Maine  sculpin,  growing  to  a  length  of  about 
3  feet,  but  the  average  run  of  the  adults  taken  there  is  only  about  8  to  14  inches. 
This  species  increases  in  size  from  south  to  north,  Greenland  fish  averaging  much 
larger  than  those  taken  off  New  England  or  the  Maritime  Provinces.'" 

General  range. — One  or  another  race  of  this  variable  fish  is  known  from  Great 
Britain  northward  all  along  the  coasts  of  Europe,  in  Arctic  seas  generally,  including 
Spitzbergen,  Nova  Zembla,  north  Siberia,  west  Greenland,  and  northern  Lab- 
rador, and  southward  along  the  American  coast  to  New  York. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  is  one  of  the  most  familiar  shore  fishes, 
common  all  around  the  whole  coast  line  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  though  neither  as 
abundant  nor  as  universal  as  the  longhorn  sculpin  (p.  325).  Perhaps  50  fathoms, 
from  which  depth  Huntsman  records  one  near  Campobello  Island  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Bay  of  Fundy,  may  be  set  as  its  lower  depth  limit.  It  is  seldom  caught  on 
cod  or  hake  trawls  deeper  than  15  to  20  fathoms,  and  although  a  day's  codlishing 
on  any  of  the  shoaler  ledges,  in  say  8  to  10  fathoms,  is  likely  to  yield  an  occasional 
"shorthorn"  among  other  fish,  the  great  majority  live  in  depths  of  less  than  5  or 
6  fathoms.  Although  more  strictly  confined  to  shoal  water  than  is  the  longhorn 
sculpin  (p.  326),  it  is  less  often  seen  close  to  tide  mark,  usually  being  in  at  least  a 
fathom  of  water.  It  does  not  run  as  far  up  the  estuaries  and  never  into  bracldsh 
water.  This  sculpin  has  not  been  positively  recorded  from  Georges  or  Browns 
Banks.  Sculpins  of  some  sort,  it  is  true,  are  so  common  on  the  former  that  the 
otter  trawls  often  catch  from  20  to  100  per  set,  and  equally  so  on  Browns  Bank, 
but  fishermen  Imnp  this  and  the  next  species  together,  and  the  fact  that  the  few 
that  have  been  positively  identified  on  the  banks  have  all  proved  to  be  longhorns 

6"  Most  American  ichthyologists  recognize  two  subspecies  of  this  fish — the  true  "shorthorn"  (scorpius)  and  the  "Green- 
land sculpin"  igrcEnlandicus) — and  with  the  prevailing  tendency  to  call  American  and  European  fish  by  different  names  it  is  as 
the  latter  that  our  local  sculpin  has  usually  been  recorded.  The  differences  between  the  two  (size,  relative  breadth  of  the  top  of 
the  head,  and  length  of  the  spines  of  the  dorsal  fin)  are  so  very  slight,  however,  and  all  of  them  have  proven  so  variable,  that 
we  follow  Huntsman  C  1922a)  in  uniting  the  two,  the  more  willingly  since  both  forms  have  been  found  on  each  side  of  the  Atlantic. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  323 

(p.  326),  with  the  general  predilection  of  the  shorthorn  for  water  shoaler  than  these 
offshore  grounds,  makes  it  doubtful  whether  it  is  to  be  found  there  in  any  numbers. 

Habits. — Bays  and  the  vicinity  of  ledges  that  rise  from  comparatively  smooth 
bottom  in  shoal  water  are  the  chief  habitat  of  the  shorthorn  sciilpin.  It  is  found 
indifferently  on  mud,  sand,  or  pebbles,  on  bare  bottom  or  among  weeds.  Many 
are  caught  off  piers  and  along  our  rocky  shores  by  cunner  fishermen.  In  Scandi- 
navian waters  this  fish  is  said  to  vary  widely  in  abundance  from  year  to  year, 
years  of  plenty  alternating  with  longer  periods  of  scarcity,  but  this  does  not  seem 
to  be  the  case  to  any  noticeable  extent  in  the  GuK  of  Maine  where  it  is  always 
common. 

Like  its  commoner  relative  (p.  32.5)  it  is  a  sluggish  fish,  often  to  be  seen  lying 
motionless,  and  as  a  rule  it  hugs  the  bottom  so  closely  that  it  is  hard,  even  by 
dangling  a  bait  over  it,  to  tempt  one  to  rise  as  much  as  a  few  feet.  Nor  does  it 
ever  come  to  the  surface  voluntarily  imless,  when  caught  in  some  tide  pool,  the 
surface  drops  to  the  sculpin  on  the  ebbing  tide.  Sculpins  usually  swim  slowly 
with  undulating  motion,  spreading  the  great  pectorals  like  bat's  wings.  They 
move  only  a  little  way  when  disturbed,  but  on  occasion  they  can  dart  ahead  with 
folded  "wings."  They  are  among  the  most  voracious  of  fishes,  feeding  chiefly 
on  crustaceans,  particularly  crabs,  of  which  they  are  often  full,  and  on  shrimps, 
sea  urchins,  worms,  the  fry  of  various  other  fish,  and  rarely  on  shellfish.  They 
are  eager  scavengers  of  any  kind  of  refuse,  congregating  about  fish  wharves,  lobster 
cars,  etc.,  to  feast  on  the  debris.  Like  all  species  of  sculpins  they  bite  on  any  bait, 
and  so  greedily  that  time  and  again  I  have  caught  one,  thrown  it  back,  and  seen 
it  bite  again  almost  as  soon  as  a  fresh  bait  reached  bottom.  The  shorthorn  has  been 
described  as  hiding  in  dark  crevices  or  among  weeds  by  day,  to  emerge  at  night. 
This,  however,  has  not  been  our  experience,  nor  did  GUI  (1905,  p.  352)  find  it 
so  at  Grand  Manan.  This  fish,  like  the  longhorn  sculpin,  grunts  or  gurgles  when 
drawn  out  of  the  water,  particularly  when  handled,  and  it  is  also  kno^Ti  to  grunt 
in  the  water. 

The  shorthorn  sculpin  is  resident  the  year  round  off  the  open  coasts  of  the 
Gulf  of  Maine,  and  may  be  caught  in  winter  as  well  as  in  summer.  In  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  where  it  is  very  common,  it  is  the  only  fish  remaining  near  shore  during 
the  coldest  part  of  the  year,  and  it  has  been  described  as  most  plentiful  along  the 
shores  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in  winter,  as  it  certainly  is  south  of  Cape  Cod.  This 
does  not  apply  to  shallow  bays  with  broad  expanses  of  flat  left  bare  at  every  tide, 
however,  such  as  Duxbury  Harbor  where  sculpins  are  plentiful  in  spring  and 
autumn  but  which  they  so  completely  desert  both  in  the  coldest  part  of  the  winter 
and  during  the  heat  of  midsummer  that  local  lobster  fishermen  are  forced  to  turn 
to  other  sources  for  bait.  Probably  the  explanation  is  that  like  many  other  fishes 
they  avoid  both  very  high  and  very  low  temperatures,  and  that  during  the  breeding 
season,  which  falls  in  winter,  practically  the  whole  stock  of  adults  gathers  on  grounds 
that  for  some  reason  are  especially  suitable  for  spawning. 

Breeding  Jiahits. — This  is  the  only  one  of  our  local  sculpins  whose  breeding  has 
been  followed,  and  even  for  this  one  we  must  turn  to  European  sources,  little  atten- 
tion having  been  paid  to  this  phase  of  its  life  by  American  ichthyologists.^' 

8'  Gill  (1905,  p.  35)  gives  a  summary  of  its  life  history. 


324  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEKIES 

The  spawning  season,  both  about  Woods  Hole  and  in  north  European  waters,  is 
from  November  until  February,  with  the  chief  egg  production  in  December,  and 
no  doubt  this  applies  equally  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  At  this  season  the  adult 
sculpins  have  been  described  as  gathering  in  schools  on  sandy  or  weedy  bottom, 
with  the  females  greatly  outnumbering  the  males.  Discussion  has  centered  about 
the  manner  of  fertilization  of  the  eggs,  whether  invariably  external  or  sometimes 
internal,  it  being  generally  agreed  that  they  are  fertilized  externally  as  a  rule  but 
that  in  parts  of  the  Baltic  they  may  be  fertilized  within  the  body  of  the  mother. 
In  either  case  they  are  discharged  in  clumps,  sink  '^  and  stick  together  in  irregular 
spongy  masses  through  which  the  water  circulates,  and  which  retain  considerable 
moisture  even  if  left  bare  by  the  ebbing  tide,  as  often  happens.  These  egg  masses 
are  deposited  on  sandy  bottom,  in  pools  in  the  rocks,  among  seaweeds,  or  in  any 
crevice  or  hollow — a  tin  can,  for  instance,  or  an  old  shoe.  Sometimes  the  male 
makes  a  nest  of  seaweed  and  pebbles,  while  he  has  been  described  as  sometimes 
clasping  the  egg  mass  with  his  pectoral  and  ventral  fins  and  has  been  photographed, 
too,  while  so  employed.'^ 

The  eggs  are  of  varying  shades  of  red  or  yellow,  1.5  to  2  mm.  in  diameter. 
Incubation  is  so  slow  (occupying  4  to  12  weeks,  according  to  temperature)  that 
egg  masses  with  advanced  embryos  have  often  been  found  as  late  in  the  spring  as 
April  or  even  May.  Newly  hatched  larvas  are  about  7  to  8  mm.  in  length.  In  a 
month  they  are  10  mm.  long  and  the  yolk  sac  has  been  absorbed.  The  young 
larvEe  come  to  the  surface,  where  quantities  of  them  have  been  taken  in  tow  nets 
in  British  waters  in  March,  April,  and  May.  By  May  and  June  some  have  grown 
to  a  length  of  22  to  25  mm.,  and  at  about  this  size,  or  soon  after,  they  abandon 
their  pelagic  life  for  the  bottom.  By  July  they  may  be  38  mm.  long  and  show  all 
the  diagnostic  characters  of  the  adult.'*  This  time-table,  compiled  from  European 
sources,  probably  applies  equally  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  for  larvae  are  found  as 
early  as  February  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and  thereafter  throughout  the  spring.'^ 
The  subsequent  rate  of  growth  is  not  definitely  known.  Probably,  however,  this 
sculpin  is  2  or  3  inches  long  by  the  end  of  its  first  year  and  4  to  5  inches  by  the  end 
of  its  second  year,  when  a  few  are  mature;  but  most  of  them,  it  seems,  do  not  mature 
until  at  least  6  inches  long  or  3  years  old. 

Commercial  importance. — Although  this  is  an  edible  fish,  and  by  account  a  good 
one,  its  repulsive  appearance  and  scavenging  habits  wiU  probably  close  our  markets 
to  it  as  long  as  better  fish  are  plentiful.  Nevertheless,  it  is  of  some  commercial 
importance,  being  one  of  the  best  baits  for  lobster  pots,  for  which  purpose  great 
numbers  are  speared  locally  in  Massachusetts  in  spring  and  caught  all  along  the 
coast  of  the  Gulf  on  hook  and  line. 

"  Pelagic  eggs  taken  in  the  tow  net  (Agassiz,  1882,  pi.  3)  belonged  to  some  other  fish. 

'!  Ehrenbaum.    Wissenschaftliche  Meeresuntersuchungen,  Helgoland,  Neue  Folge,  Band  6,  1904,  Taf.  Vni.    Kiel  und 
Leipzig. 

"  Mcintosh  and  Masterman.    The  Life-Histories  of  British  Marine  Food-Fishes,  1897,  p.  129.    London. 
"  Buutsman,  1922a,  p.  16. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


325 


122.  Longhorn  sculpin    {Myoxocephalns  octodecimspinosus  Mitchill) 

Gray  sculpin;  Hacklehead;  Toadfish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1976. 

Description. — This  fish  resembles  the  shorthorn  sculpin  so  closely  that  the 
description  may  be  confined  to  the  points  of  difference  between  the  two.  Chief 
of  these  is  the  great  length  of  the  uppermost  cheek  spines,  which  usually  are  about 
four  times  as  long  as  the  spine  just  below  and  reach  at  least  as  far  back  as  the  edge 
of  the  gill  cover.  This  serves  equally  to  distinguish  the  young  from  the  grubby, 
which  is  short-horned.  All  the  head  spines,  too,  are  so  sharp  that  one  must  be 
cautious  in  grasping  one  of  these  fish  for  it  turns  its  spines  rigidly  outward  by 
spreading  its  gill  covers.  Furthermore  the  long  horns  are  naked  at  the  tip.  The 
number  and  arrangement  of  the  head  spines  is  the  same  as  in  the  shorthorn 
sculpin  (p.  320),  hence  need  not  be  described,  and  there  are  two  thorns  on  each 
shoulder  and  a  larger  one  just  above  the  origin  of  the  pectoral  fin.  The  first  dorsal 
fin  is  higher  than  the  second  (in  the  shorthorn  sculpin  these  two  fins  are  about 


Fig.  157. — Longhorn  sculpin  (Afyoiocephalas  octodecimspinoMts) 


equally  high),  of  rather  different  outhne  from  that  of  the  shorthorn  (compare  fig. 
157  with  fig.  152),  and  proportionately  shorter  though  with  about  the  same  number 
of  spines  (9).  The  anal  fin  originates  under  the  second  or  third  ray  of  the  second 
dorsal  instead  of  under  the  fifth  ray,  though  these  two  fins  have  the  same  number 
of  rays  (15  to  16  dorsal  and  about  14  anal)  in  the  two  fish,  and  the  pectorals  are 
of  the  same  fanhke  form.  The  lateral  line  of  the  longhorn  sculpin  is  marked 
by  a  series  of  smooth  cartilaginous  plates  instead  of  by  the  prickly  scales  of  the 
shorthorn,  a  difference  obvious  to  the  touch,  and  its  body  is  more  slender  (about 
five  and  one-half  times  as  long  as  deep)  and  its  head  flatter. 

Color. — The  longhorn,  like  other  sculpins,  varies  in  color  with  its  surroundings. 
The  ground  tint  of  the  back  and  sides  ranges  from  dark  oHve  to  pale  greenish- 
yellow,  greenish-brown,  or  pale  mouse  gray,  but  is  never  red  or  black  as  the  short- 
horn so  often  is.  As  a  rule  there  are  four  irregular  obscure  dark  crossbars,  but 
these  are  often  broken  up  into  blotches  and  may  be  indistinct.  The  coarseness 
of  pattern  often  corresponds  to  that  of  the  bottom,  as  does  the  degree  of  contrast 
between  pale  and  dark.  On  mud  and  sand  bottom  this  sculpin  is  often  nearly 
plain,  but  when  lying  on  pebbles  with  white  coralHnes  its  back  is  often  nearly 


326  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

white  with  dark  gray  blotches,  rendering  it  ahnost  invisible.  The  first  dorsal  fin 
is  pale  sooty  -vrith  pale  and  dark  mottUngs  or  spots,  the  second  dorsal  is  paler  ohve 
with  three  irregular  obhque  dark  crossbands,  and  the  caudal  is  pale  gray  and  the 
pectorals  yellowish,  both  with  4  to  6  rather  narrow  but  distinct  dark  crossbands. 
The  anal  is  pale  yellowish  with  dark  mottUngs.  There  is  often  an  obscure  yellowish 
band  along  the  lower  sides  marking  the  transition  from  the  dark  upper  parts  to  the 
pure  white  belly. 

Size. — This  is  a  smaller  fish  than  the  shorthorn  sculpin,  growing  to  a  maximum 
length  of  about  IS  inches  but  rarely  more  than  10  to  14  inches  long. 

General  range. — East  coast  of  Xorth  America  from  Labrador  to  Virginia. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  is  the  commonest  local  sculpin,  to  be 
caught  anywhere  and  everywhere  along  the  entire  coast  line  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 
We  dare  venture  there  is  not  a  bay,  harbor,  estuary,  or  a  fishing  station  from  Cape 
Sable  to  Cape  Cod  where  it  is  not  to  be  found.  Not  only  is  it  more  plentiful  in 
most  places  than  is  its  short-horned  relative,  but  it  occupies  a  wider  depth  zone, 
being  very  abundant  on  the  one  hand  in  many  shoal  harbors,  where  it  comes  up 
on  the  flats  at  high  tide  to  leave  them  at  low,  while  on  the  other  it  is  caught  in 
considerable  numbers  down  to  50  fathoms  or  so.  We  have  ourselves  trawled  it 
at  27  to  33  fathoms  in  Massachusetts  Bay  and  at  50  fathoms  off  Cape  Elizabeth, 
but  since  this  is  about  its  lowest  limit  (it  has  not  been  reported  from  the  deep  basin) 
its  range  in  the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf  is  restricted  to  a  narrow  peripheral  zone. 
It  also  occurs  on  Georges  Bank,  and  while  the  composition  of  the  sculpin  population 
of  that  region  is  yet  to  be  determined,  the  fact  that  this  was  the  only  sculpin  (except 
the  sea  raven,  which  it  outnumbered)  that  Welsh  saw  taken  there  on  an  otter- 
trawUng  trip  in  June,  1912,  is  presumptive  evidence  that  it  is  the  commonest 
member  of  its  tribe  on  the  bank.  It  is  fair  to  assiune  that  this  appHes  equally 
to  Browns  Bank,  where  fishermen  report  sculpins  of  one  sort  or  another  as  not 
uncommon. 

Habits  ar?^ /oo(Z. ^^Plentiful  and  omnipresent  though  this  fish  is,  little  attention 
has  been  paid  to  its  fife  history.  Everyone  who  has  fished  along  the  shores  of  the 
Gulf  is  perforce  more  or  less  familiar  with  it,  for  it  is  a  nuisance  to  cunner  and 
flounder  fishermen,  and  often  puzzles  a  "greenhorn"  to  xmhook  it  when  it  spreads 
aU  its  needle-sharp  spines  and  erects  its  spiny  dorsal.  It  grunts  when  pulled  out 
of  the  water  and  bites  any  bait. 

Xo  doubt  it  is  as  omnivorous  as  the  shorthorn.  Specinaens  examined  by 
Vinal  Edwards  at  Woods  Hole  had  fed  chiefly  on  shrimp,  crabs,  and  mussels,  also 
on  hydroids,  annelids,  amphipods,  sundry  moUusks,  ascidians,  squids,  and  a  consid- 
erable list  of  fish  fry,  including  alewives,  curmers,  eels,  mummichogs,  herring, 
mackerel,  menhaden,  puffers,  launce.  scup,  sdversides.  smelts,  tomcod,  sdver  hake, 
and  other  sciilpins. 

This  sculpin  is  as  useful  a  scavenger  as  the  shorthorn  and  equally  voracious, 
gathering  wherever  there  is  carrion  to  be  had  about  wharves,  sardine  factories, 
and  particularly  under  lobster  cars,  and  always  keeping  to  the  bottom.  Along 
most  of  our  coast  line  it  is  resident  throughout  the  year  in  waters  of  moderate 
depth,  but  it  carries  out  more  or  less  definite  inshore  and  ofi^shore  journeys  within 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  327 

narrow  limits.  Thus  in  winter  it  deserts  the  shoalest  baj^s  where  the  flats  are 
laid  bare  at  low  tide  (Duxbury  Bay,  for  example),  no  doubt  to  avoid  the  extreme 
cold,  reappearing  there  in  March,  moving  out  again  in  midsummer  when  the  water 
on  the  flats  is  warmest,  to  work  back  to  the  shallows  once  more  in  September  or 
October.  In  the  estuaries  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  however,  where  the  summer 
temperature  of  the  shoal  water  is  lower  than  in  similar  locations  in  other  parts  of 
the  Gulf,  longhorn  sculpins  are  most  plentiful  during  the  warm  months  and  almost 
all  of  them  move  out  into  the  open  bay  to  pass  the  winter.  Along  the  southern 
shores  of  New  England,  where  the  coastal  waters  are  much  warmer  in  summer  than 
in  most  parts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  this  sculpin  is  abundant  in  autiunn  and  winter, 
but  rarely  taken  in  very  shoal  water  in  summer. 

These  migrations  are  probably  induced  by  temperature  and  they  are  sufficient 
evidence  that  this  species  avoids  both  the  wannest  and  coldest  water — that  is, 
temperatures  higher  than  55°  to  60°  and  lower  than  35°.  However,  even  freezing 
temperatures  are  not  fatal  to  it,  for  we  find  no  evidence  that  sculpins  are  ever 
killed  by  cold  when  caught  on  the  flats  in  severe  freezes,  a  fate  that  occasionaUy 
overtakes  cunners  and  tautog. 

Breeding  Tidbits. — All  that  is  known  of  the  breeding  habits  of  this  sculpin  is 
that  it  spawns  in  November  and  December  about  Woods  Hole,  its  eggs  sinking 
together  in  clumps  Uke  those  of  the  shorthorn  sculpin,  and  often  being  thrown 
up  on  the  beach  in  masses.  Presumabl}'  the  spawning  season  is  the  same  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine,  but  whether  it  gathers  in  particular  localities  or  at  any  precise  depth 
to  spawn  or  does  so  indifferently  on  all  kinds  of  bottom  is  yet  to  be  learned.  The 
presence  of  sculpins  of  all  sizes,  from  very  young  fry  to  adult,  proves  that  it  breeds 
generally  along  the  coasts  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  Maine,  probably  along 
western  Nova  Scotia  as  well;  but  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  it  seems  restricted  as  a  breeder 
to  the  Scotian  side,  the  absence  of  young  on  the  New  Brunswick  shore  proving 
that  the  half-grown  and  adult  fish  that  are  so  plentiful  there  are  immigrants  either 
from  across  the  bay  or  from  the  GuK  outside. 

The  larval  stages  have  not  been  described  previously;  hence  it  was  interesting 
to  tow  four  young  sculpins  in  April,  1920  (three  on  the  eastern  part  of  Georges 
Bank  and  one  in  the  Eastern  Channel),  which  probably  belonged  to  this  species 
because  of  their  long  cheek  spines.  The  smallest  of  these  larvje  was  13  mm.  long, 
showing  the  first  traces  of  the  dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays,  and  the  largest  was  21  mm. 
long.  The  larvae  are  more  slender  than  corresponding  stages  of  the  shorthorn 
sculpin  (p.  321),  and  differ  from  them  in  the  outline  of  the  dorsal  fin,  for  in  the' 
longhorns  (if  our  identification  be  correct)  it  is  continuous  from  end  to  end, 
only  the  largest  of  them  showing  a  shallow  notch  to  separate  its  spiny  from  its 
soft  portion,  whereas  in  the  shorthorn  the  two  sections  are  separate  from  the  time 
the  fin  first  takes  finite  form.  Nothing  defuiite  is  known  of  the  rate  of  growth 
of  this  fish  nor  of  the  age  at  which  it  matures. 

Commercial  importance. — The  ordy  conoimercial  value  of  this  sculpin  is  as  bait 
for  lobster  pots,  for  which  it  is  used  in  great  nmnbei"s,  being  speared  in  some  locali- 
ties and  caught  on  hook  and  line  in  others.     It  is  a  fairly  good  fish  on  the  table 
and  a  few  are  eaten  by  the  foreign-born  population,  but  there  is  no  market  for  them. 
102274 — 25  f 22 


328  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHERIES 

123.  Staghorn   sculpin  {Gymnocardhus  tricuspis  Reinhardt) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2008. 

Description. — This  sculpin  is  easily  distinguishable  from  its  more  common 
relatives  by  the  fact  that  the  uppermost  of  the  three  cheek  spines  is  broad,  fiat,  and 
3-branched  at  the  tip  instead  of  cylindrical  and  single  pointed;  also  by  the  fact 
that  the  anal  fin  (16  to  18  rays)  originates  well  in  front  of  the  second  dorsal  instead 
of  behind  it,  and  that  its  two  dorsals  are  separated  by  a  distinct  space  instead  of 
being  practically  continuous  at  the  bottom  of  the  notch  that  demarks  them.  Fur- 
thermore the  spines  characteristic  of  the  top  of  the  head  and  shoulders  of  the  other 
sculpins  on  our  coast  are  either  lacking  in  the  staghorn  or  are  very  short,  and 
the  corner  of  its  gill  cover  is  rounded  instead  of  sharp  pointed.  Diagnostic,  also, 
if  less  obvious,  is  the  fact  that  the  top  of  the  head  is  more  or  less  prickly  or  warty. 
The  length  of  the  ventrals  has  been  stated  variously  by  different  authors.  Accord- 
ing to  Smitt  *"  they  do  not  reach  back  to  the  vent,  but  H.  R.  Storer  "  represents 
them  and  Jordan  and  Evermann  describe  them  as  much  longer,  extending  to  the 
anal  fin.^'  The  first  dorsal  is  of  11  or  12  spines;  the  second  of  15  to  17  rays.  The 
caudal  and  pectoral  fins  and  the  general  form  of  the  fish  are  of  the  usual  "sculpin" 
type. 


Fig.  158. — Staghorn  sculpin  {Gymnocanthus  tricuspis).    After  Smitt 

Color. — Described  as  dark  bro^\^lish  or  gray  above,  the  sides  marked  with 
dark  crossbands  or  with  alternate  light  and  dark  greenish  spots.  The  belly  is 
described  as  white  or  yellowish  with  an  irregular  line  of  demarkation  between 
dark  sides  and  pale  belly.  The  dorsal  and  pectoral  fins  are  pale,  the  former  with 
three  and  the  latter  with  four  or  five  irregular  dark  brown  or  black  crossbands. 
The  ventrals  and  anal  are  yellow  raj^ed,  with  membranes  of  the  same  color  as  the 
belly 

Size. — -About  10  inches  long. 

General  range. — Arctic  Ocean  and  North  Atlantic,  south  to  northern  Norway 
on  the  European  coast,  and  to  Eastport,  Me.,  on  the  American  coast. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine — The  most  southerly  record  for  this  Arctic 
sculpin,  and  the  only  Gulf  of  Maine  capture,  is  a  specimen  caught  at  Eastport,  Me., 
in  1872,  and  now  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museiun.  It  is  only  as  a  rare  stray  from 
colder  waters  to  the  east  and  north  that  it  ever  reaches  the  Gulf. 

"  Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892. 

"  A  specimen  from  Labrador  figiured  by  Storer  (1850,  pi.  7,  fig.  2)  has  longer  and  sharper  spines  than  are  credited  to  it  by- 
Jordan  and  Evermann  or  by  Smitt. 

88  Unfortunately  we  had  not  seen  this  sculpin.    In  one  recently  examined  the  ventrals  fall  short  of  the  vent. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


329 


124.  Deep-sea  sculpin  (Cottunculus  microps  Collett) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  1992. 

Description — In  this  species  the  head  spines,  so  characteristic  of  most  sculpins, 
are  reduced  to  bony  knobs,  of  which  there  are  four  on  the  top  and  several  on  the 
sides  of  the  head.  The  two  portions  of  the  doreal  fin  (spiny  and  soft)  are  united 
into  one  continuous  fin,  a  feature  that  marks  it  off  from  all  other  local  sculpins, 
while  the  spiny  part  (only  6  spines)  is  shorter  and  lower  than  the  soft  part  (19  rays). 
The  very  large  bony  head,  wide  mouth,  slender  tapering  body,  large  fan-shaped 
pectorals,  and  the  location  of  the  ventrals  below  the  pectorals,  give  the  fish  a  typical 
sculpin  aspect,  however.  The  anal  fin  (about  10  rays)  is  slightly  shorter  than  the 
soft  portion  of  the  dorsal,  and  the  caudal  fin  is  small  and  rounded.  The  skin  is 
roughened  with  small  warts. 

Color. — Described  as  pale  with  dusky  crossbars,  one  on  the  head,  two  on  the 
body  and  fins,  and  one  at  the  base  of  the  caudal  fin.  Scandinavian  specunens 
have  been  represented  as  showing  still  another  band  across  the  tip  of  the  caudal 
and  with  the  anal  and  pectoral  fins  dark  mottled.*'* 


Fig.  159.— Deep-sea  sculpin  ( Cottunculus  microps) 

Size. — About  8  inches  long. 

General  range  and  occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  is  a  deep-water  species 
known  off  east  Greenland  and  about  Spitzbergen  in  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  from 
both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic.  Off  the  American  coast  it  has  been  talten  at 
numerous  localities  on  the  continental  shelf  and  slope  abreast  of  New  England  in 
depths  of  122  to  487  fathoms.  Its  depth  range  in  Scandinavian  waters  is  about  the 
same.  Only  two  of  these  records  fall  within  the  geographic  limits  covered  by  this 
report — one  in  the  extreme  southeast  corner  of  the  basin  of  the  Gulf  (lat.  42°  23', 
long.  66°  23')  in  141  fathoms,  and  the  other  in  the  eastern  channel  between  Browns 
and  Georges  Banks  (lat.  42°  15',  long.  65°  48')  in  122  fathoms,  but  this  is  enough  to 
show  that  it  is  to  be  expected  anyu'here  in  the  deep  basin  below  100  fathoms."" 
Nothing  is  known  of  its  habits. 

"  Smitt.    Scandinavian  fishes,  1892. 

"  Goode  and  Bean  (1896)  list  the  American  records. 


330  BULLETIN   OF  THE  BUREAU  OF  FISHERIES 

125.  Sea  raven    (Hemitripterus  americanus  Gmelin) 
Ked  sculpin;  Sea  sculpin;  Raven;  Toadfish;  Keng  o'Norway 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2023. 

Description. — No  one  would  be  likely  to  confuse  the  sea  raven  with  any  other 
sculpin,  for,  as  Jordan  and  Evermann  (1896-1900,  p.  2023)  remark,  it  is  "a  most 
remarkable  looking  fish."  It  is  stouter  bodied  than  our  other  common  sculpins, 
about  three  and  three-fourths  times  as  long  as  deep  (counting  caudal  fin) ,  with  very 
large  head.  Both  the  jaws  of  its  wide  mouth  are  armed  with  several  rows  of  very 
sharp  teeth  noticeably  longer  and  stouter  than  the  teeth  of  either  the  long-horned 
or  the  short-horned  sculpins.  Its  most  distinctive  features,  however,  which  identify 
it  at  a  glance  or  a  touch,  are  the  fleshy  tags,  simple  and  branched,  on  the  head ; 
the  outline  of  its  dorsal  fin ;  and  the  textui'e  of  its  skin.  There  is  a  series  of  4  to  8 
of  the  tabs  along  each  side  of  the  lower  jaw,  three  pairs  on  the  top  of  the  snout, 
and  others,  variable  in  number  and  size,  above  and  in  front  of  the  eyes  and  along  the 
upper  jaws.     There  is  also  a  short  but  high  keel  on  the  top  of  the  snout  with  a  deep 


Fio.  160.— Sea  raven  (.Hemitripterus  americanus) 

hollow  behind  it,  another  high  ridge  above,  and  a  lower  one  below  each  eye. 
These,  with  about  12  roimded  knobs  on  the  crown  and  several  low  bosses,  besides 
2  short  spines  on  each  cheek  give  the  head  a  peculiarly  bony  appearance. 

The  first  two  or  three  spines  of  the  first  dorsal  fin  are  longest;  the  fourth  and 
fifth  spines  are  shorter  than  those  further  back,  giving  the  fin  an  outline  quite 
unlike  that  of  any  other  sculpin;  from  the  third  spine  backward  the  fin  mem- 
brane is  deeply  emarginate  between  every  two  spines  but  expanded  at  the  tips  of 
the  latter  into  irregular  flaps ;  and  the  margin  of  the  anal  fin  is  similarly  but  less 
deeply  scalloped  between  the  rays.  Furthermore  the  fii-st  dorsal  fin  originates 
further  forward  than  in  any  other  Gulf  of  Maine  sculpin — that  is,  well  in  front  of 
the  giU  opening — and  is  much  longer  (16  spines)  than  the  second  (12  rays),  whereas 
in  our  other  sculpins  the  second  dorsal  is  longer  than  the  first.  The  pectorals  are 
fanhke  and  the  caudal  brush  shaped  as  in  other  sculpins. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  331 

The  entire  skin  of  the  sea  raven,  below  as  well  as  above,  is  prickly,  the  prickles 
being  largest  on  the  back  and  along  the  lateral  line;  smallest,  but  still  obvious  to 
the  touch,  on  the  lower  sides  and  belly.  In  all  other  Gulf  of  Maine  sculpins  the 
belly  is  smooth.  We  may  point  out  in  passing  that  the  ventral  fins  are  fleshy,  each 
with  3  rays  only,  not  4  as  shown  in  Jordan  and  Evermann's  illustration. 

Color. — The  sea  raven  varies  in  color  from  blood  red  to  reddish  purple,  choco- 
late, or  yellowish  brown,  but  it  is  invariably  paler  below  than  above  and  usually  with 
a  yellow  belly.  Many  are  plain  colored.  For  instance,  one  18  inches  long,  which  I 
caught  off  Mount  Desert  recently,  was  uniform  red  chocolate  on  back  and  sides, 
but  others  are  variously  mottled  with  a  paler  or  darker  cast  of  the  general  ground 
tint  or  even  with  white.  The  fins  are  variously  barred  with  light  and  dark,  the 
pectorals  and  anal  often  being  yellow-rayed. 

Size. — One  of  25  inches  and  5  pounds  weight,  mentioned  by  Storer,  is  the 
largest  on  record,  but  ravens  are  often  18  to  20  inches  long  and  weigh  from  2  to 
3  pounds. 

General  range. — Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  from  Labrador,  Newfound- 
land, and  the  Grand  Banks  to  Chesapeake  Bay.  Most  common  east  and  north  of 
Cape  Cod. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  geographic  range  of  the  sea  raven  in  the 
Gulf  covei-s  the  whole  coastal  belt  from  a  fathom  or  two  down  to  about  50  fathoms, 
including  the  passages  among  the  islands  that  fringe  Maine  and  Nova  Scotia  as 
well  as  the  larger  estuaries  such  as  St.  Mary,  Passamaquoddy,  Machias, 
Penobscot  (it  runs  up  the  latter  to  its  head  at  Bucksport),  and  Casco  Bays,  and 
the  deeper  harbors,  for  example  Boston,  Salem,  Eastport,  and  St.  Johns.  Fish- 
ermen also  report  them  on  Cashes  Ledge,  while  the  otter  trawlers  and  line  trawlers 
pick  up  odd  ones  over  the  whole  of  Georges  Bank  and  likewise  on  Browns,  but  it 
is  not  known  to  occur  in  the  basin  deeper  than  about  75  fathoms.  Probably  its 
lower  limit  is  set  as  much  by  the  character  of  the  bottom  as  by  depth,  our  own 
experience,  confirmed  by  our  various  inquiries,  being  that  ravens  are  to  be  caught 
only  on  rocky  ground  (which  is  its  chief  haunt  from  Massachusetts  Bay  northward) , 
pebbles,  hard  sand,  or  clay  (which  it  haunts  off  Cape  Cod  and  on  the  ofl'shore 
Banks),  never  on  such  soft  sticky  mud  as  floors  the  deeper  sinks  and  the  basin. 
There  is  no  definite  upper  limit  to  its  vertical  wanderings  other  than  the  surface, 
but  on  the  whole  it  keeps  to  deeper  water  than  do  the  other  sculpins  common  in 
the  Gulf,  being  caught  very  seldom  within  the  smaller  estuaries  and  perhaps  never  on 
the  tidal  flats.  At  least  we  have  never  seen  it  in  such  situations  at  Cohasset, 
Mass.,  though  it  is  not  uncommon  about  the  oft'-lying  ledges  close  by. 

Although  so  generally  distributed  in  the  Gulf,  sea  ravens  seem  to  be  nowhere 
abundant  as  compared  with  other  sculpins;  and  this  is  as  true  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
as  it  is  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  where  one  expects  to  catch  a  few  about  any  of  the 
fishing  ledges  but  where  it  would  be  unusual  for  one  man  to  land  any  considerable 
number  in  a  day.  Similarly,  the  schedules  of  the  catches  made  by  certain  otter 
trawlers  in  1913  show  that  sea  ravens  are  much  less  numerous  on  Georges  Bank  than 
are  other  sculpins.     In  fact,  15  was  the  most  caught  on  any  trip. 


332  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BrKEAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Habits  and  food. — Although  this  fish  is  so  easily  recognized  that  fishermen 
have  long  been  familiar  with  it  and  scientists  acquainted  with  it,  little  is  known  of 
its  mode  of  life.  Certainly  it  is  quite  as  voracious  as  its  relatives,  for  it  takes  any 
bait  and  is  said  to  eat  whatever  invertebrates  it  finds  on  the  bottom — e.  g.,  moUusks 
(both  bivalve  and  univalve) ,  various  crustaceans,  sea  urchins,  and  worms.  Sea  ravens 
also  eat  fish,  Vinal  Edwards  having  found  herring,  launce,  sculpins,  tautog,  silver 
hake,  and  both  sculpin  and  sea-raven  eggs  in  specimens  taken  at  Woods  Hole. 

The  sea  raven  alone  among  Gulf  of  Maine  sculpins  has  the  power  of  inflating  its 
belly  like  a  balloon  when  lifted  from  the  water.  If  thrown  back  again  in  this 
condition  it  floats  helplessly  on  its  back,  feebly  waving  its  tail  to  and  fro,  and  we 
can  not  say  whether  it  can  deflate  again  at  \vill  like  a  puffer  (p.  29S)  or  must  await 
the  gradual  escape  of  the  air  it  has  swallowed.  Another  point  in  which  the  raven 
differs  from  our  other  sculpins  is  that  it  can  bite  sharply,  due  to  its  larger  teeth. 

Off  the  southern  shores  of  New  England  sea  ravens  work  inshore  in  autumn  and 
out  again  into  slightly  deeper  water  in  spring,  but  no  seasonal  movement  of  this  sort 
has  been  reported  in  the  cooler  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine;  and  apart  from  such 
bathic  migrations  (which,  after  all,  mean  merely  that  shoal  water  is  too  warm  for 
their  comfort  in  summer)  sea  ravens  are  resident  throughout  the  j'ear  wherever 
found. 

Breeding  haiits. — All  that  is  definite^  known  of  its  breeding  habits  (to  which 
we  can  contribute  nothing  first  hand)  is  that  ripe  females  have  been  foimd  off' 
southern  New  England  in  November  and  December;  that  the  eggs  are  very  large 
(about  4  mm.  in  diameter),  yellow  when  first  spawned,  soon  changing  to  amber 
color,  and  that  they  sink  and  stick  together  in  masses.^'  The  period  of  incubation 
is  unknown.  We  can  give  no  account  of  its  larval  stages,  for  the  identity  of  the 
cottid  larvse  referred  to  the  sea  raven  by  Agassiz  and  Whitman  (1885)  was  not  certain, 
but  in  summer,  when  the  young  have  grown  to  about  1^  inches  (45  mm.),  they  are 
to  be  found  on  the  bottom. 

Presumably  the  sea  raven  breeds  throughout  its  geographic  range,  but  so  far  as 
we  can  learn  the  Bay  of  Fundy  is  the  only  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  where  fry  as 
small  as  this  have  been  definitely  recorded.  There,  however.  Huntsman  found 
them  on  both  the  New  Brunswick  and  on  the  Nova  Scotian  shore  in  summer. 

Commercial  importance. — Although  the  sea  raven  is  said  to  be  a  good  table  fish 
(we  have  never  tried  it)  there  is  no  more  market  for  it  than  for  other  sculpins  in 
New  England  or  Canada,  but  it  is  generally  considered  the  best  of  all  baits  for 
lobster  pots,  hence  shore  fishermen  save  what  ravens  they  catch  for  this  purpose. 

ALLIGATORFISHES.     FAMILY   AGONIDJE 

These  curious  little  fishes  are  connected  with  tlie  sculpins  anatomically,  though 
their  general  appearance  gives  no  hint  of  the  fact.  Their  most  striking  external 
feature  is  that  the  body  is  armed  -with  several  rows  of  overlapping  plates.  The  only 
Gulf  of  Maine  species  somewhat  suggests  a  pipefish  in  this  and  in  its  slender  form, 
but  the  mouth  being  of  ordinary  form  there  is  no  danger  of  confusing  it  with  the 
latter.  Some  agonids  have  a  spiny  dorsal  fin  ^nd  others  lack  it,  while  the  ven- 
trals  of  all  are  thoracic. 

"  Described  by  Bean  (1903,  p.  547).    The  pelapc  eggs  previously  referred  to  this  species  (.\gassiz  and  Whitman,  1885, 
p.  10)  belonged  to  some  other  fish. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  333 

126.  Alligatorfish  {Aspidophoroides  monopterygius  Bloch) 
Seapoacher 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1S96-1900,  p.  2091. 

Description. — The  readiest  field  marlcs  for  tlie  identification  of  thi.s  curious 
little  fish,  so  odd  in  appearance  that  it  is  not  likely  to  be  mistaken  for  any  other, 
are  that  its  entire  head  and  body  are  clad  with  bony  plates,  that  there  is  only  one 
dorsal  fin  (the  soft  rayed) ,  and  that  it  is  very  slender  (about  12  to  13  times  as  long  as 
deep,  not  counting  caudal),  rather  thicker  than  deep,  and  tapers  rearward  from 
the  head  to  a  very  slender  caudal  peduncle.  The  plates  are  smooth,  arranged  in 
longitudinal  rows  as  follows:  A  double  row  on  the  back  running  from  the  base 
of  the  head  to  just  behind  the  dorsal  fin  where  they  unite  into  a  single  dorsal  row 
(altogether  45  to  50  double  and  single  plates  along  the  back),  two  rows  on  each 
side,  and  two  along  the  lower  surface  to  just  behind  the  anal  fin,  where  they  unite 
in  one  row.  Thus  the  trunk  is  octagonal  in  front  of  the  unpaired  fins  and  hex- 
agonal behind  them.  There  are  likewise  two  large  and  several  small  plates  in  front 
of  each  pectoral  fin.  The  eyes  are  very  large,  with  prominent  ridges  above  them, 
and  there  are  two  sharp  recurved  spines  on  top  of  the  nose.  The  mouth  is  small 
with  minute  teeth.     The  dorsal  and  anal  fins  (each  of  5  or  6  rays)  are  fanshaped, 


Fig.  161.— Alligatorfish  (AspidophOTOides  moTiopterygius) 

one  over  the  other  about  midway  of  the  trunk.  The  caudal  fin  is  small  and 
rounded,  the  pectorals  are  larger  than  the  unpaired  fins,  and  the  ventrals  are 
reduced  to  one  spine  and  two  rays  each. 

Color. — The  few  we  have  seen  have  agreed  with  the  pubhshed  descriptions 
in  being  brown  above  with  five  or  six  darker  brown  or  black  crossbands  and  paler 
brown  below. 

Size. — -Five  to  six  inches  long. 

General  range. — From  west  Greenland  and  the  northeast  coast  of  Labrador 
southward  to  Rhode  Island  and  New  Jersey. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Being  of  no  interest  to  fishermen,  and  living 
too  deep  to  strand  on  the  beach,  this  fish  is  seldom  reported.  It  has  been  taken 
in  15  to  100  fathoms  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  at  Eastport, 
in  60  fathoms  off  Monhegan,  near  Portland,  in  30  fathoms  ofl  Casco  Bay,  in  Ips- 
wich Bay,  off  Gloucester,  Nahant,  and  Boston  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  ofl  Prov- 
incetown,  and  off  Cape  Cod,  records  enough  to  show  that  it  may  be  expected 
anywhere  in  the  Gulf  in  depths  of  10  to  100  fathoms  and  perhaps  deeper.  Goode 
and  Bean  (1879,  p.  13)  described  it  as  abundant  in  the  deeper  parts  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  but  our  experience  on  the  Grampus  suggests  "not  uncommon"  as 
a  better  description,  our  largest  catches  being  8  and  6  specimens  from  32  fathoms 


334  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

in  Ipswich  Bay  and  27  fathoms  in  the  inner  part  of  Massachusetts  Bay;  and  the 
fact  that  we  found  it  at  only  4  of  our  10  trawling  stations  of  1912  (all  in  the  western 
part  of  the  Gulf)  is  in  line  with  Huntsman's  statement  that  it  is  found  only  occa- 
sionally in  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 

HaMts. — Nothing  whatever  is  known  of  its  life  except  that  it  is  a  bottom  fish 
and  that  it  has  been  repeatedly  foimd  in  the  stomachs  of  cod,  haddock,  and  halibut, 
although  it  is  not  "much  thicker  or  softer  than  an  iron  spike."  °-  The  Grampus 
trawled  it  both  on  pebbly  bottom,  on  sand  and  broken  shells,  as  well  as  on  soft 
mud.  So  far  as  known  adults  never  stray  into  water  shoaler  than  10  fathoms. 
Its  breeding  habits  are  unlcnown.  Probably,  however,  its  eggs  sink  like  those 
of  sculpins.  The  presence  of  its  larvfe  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  off  Boothbay,  and 
near  Seal  Island,  Nova  Scotia,  from  April  to  June  points  to  late  autumn  and  early 
winter  as  the  spawning  season.  It  does  not  take  to  the  bottom  until  of  consid- 
erable size,  for  we  have  captured  young  as  long  as  29  mm.  in  the  tow  net  (Bigelow, 
1917,  p.  272). 

It  is  of  no  commercial  value. 

THE   LUMPFISHES.     FAMILY    CYCLOPTERID^ 

The  lumps  are  characterized  among  GuK  of  Maine  fishes  by  their  short, 
thick,  high-arched  bodies,  the  presence  of  a  bony  sucking  disk  on  the  chest  with 
the  very  much  reduced  ventral  fins  as  its  center,  and  by  the  fact  that  the  skin 
is  set  with  tubercles. 

KEY   TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   LUMPFISHES 

1.         Body  nearly  round  in  cross  section;  skin  tubercles  sharply  pointed.     First  dorsal  fin 

persists  throughout  life Spiny  lumpfish,  p.  339 

Body  roughly  triangular  in   end  view;    skin  tubercles  blunt.     When  adult,  the  first 
dorsal  fin  is  entirely  inclosed  in  the  thick  fleshy  skin Lumpfish,  p.  334 

127.  Lumpfish  {Cydo'pterus  lumpus  Linn£eus) 

Lump;  Lump  sucker 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2096. 

Description. — The  lumpfish  is  about  twice  as  long  (counting  caudal)  as  deep, 
with  a  short  head,  and  the  dorsal  profile  of  its  trunk  is  much  more  arched  than  the 
ventral.  There  are  seven  longitudinal  ridges  on  the  body — one  running  along  the 
back  as  a  cartilaginous  flap  inclosing  the  first  dorsal  fin  in  adults  and  as  two  ridges 
from  the  latter  to  the  second  dorsal;  one  ridge  on  the  upper  part  of  each  side  over 
the  eye;  and  two  more  ridges  paralleling  it  lower  down,  the  first  close  above  the 
level  of  the  pectoral  and  the  second  marking  the  boundary  from  side  to  belly. 
Each  of  these  ridges  is  marked  by  a  line  of  large  pointed  tubercles,  and  the  entne 
skin  between  the  ridges  is  thickly  studded  vnih  small  knobs.  As  a  result  of  the 
presence  of  these  ridges  the  trunk  of  the  lumpfish  is  rouglily  triangular  in  end  view, 
with  flat  belly  (except  when  swollen  by  milt  or  roe)  and  sharp  back,  but  the  caudal 

«  Goode,  et  al.,  18S4,  p.  258. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


335 


peduncle  is  rounded.  The  profile  of  the  head  is  characteristic,  being  concave  above, 
convex  below,  with  terminal  mouth,  small  teeth  and  eyes,  and  gill  openings  of 
moderate  size.  The  first  dorsal  fin  (visible  only  in  very  small  specimens)  is  of  6  to 
8  spines.  The  second  dorsal  and  the  anal  below  it  are  alike  in  outline,  both  of  9 
to  11  rays,  while  the  caudal  is  broad  based  and  square  tipped  and  the  pectorals 


Fig.  164.— Fry,  34  millimeters.    After  Garman 
LUMPFISH  (.CycIoptcTUslumpus) 


are  large,  rounded,  and  so  broad  based  that  they  nearly  meet  on  the  throat.  The 
ventrals  are  not  visible  as  such,  being  altered  into  6  pairs  of  fleshy  knobs  in  the 
center  of  the  sucking  disk,  surrounded  by  a  roughly  circular  flap  of  skin.  The 
entire  disk,  so  formed,  is  about  as  wide  as  the  width  of  the  head  and  is  situated 
close  behind  the  throat. 


336  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Color. — Descriptions  of  this  fish  credit  it  with  a  great  variety  of  tints  and 
this  we  can  corroborate.  When  adult  the  ground  tint  may  be  bluish  gray,  olive, 
brownish  or  yellow  green,  chocolate  or  kelp  brown,  or  slaty  blue,  with  the  belly 
usually  a  paler  or  more  yellowish  cast  of  the  same  hue  but  sometimes  whitish. 
During  the  breeding  season  the  belly  of  the  adult  male  turns  red,  brightest  near  the 
sucking  disk.  In  some  specimens  the  back  and  sides  are  marked  with  dark  blotches 
and  more  or  less  dotted  with  black.  Others,  however,  are  plain  colored  or  nearly 
so,  except  that  the  tubercles  are  usually  dark  tipped.  Young  lumpfish  (and  it  is 
with  such  that  we  are  omselves  most  famiUar)  often  match  their  surroundings 
very  closely  in  color,  usually  being  mottled  olive  green  and  ochre  yellow  with 
white  belly  when  living  among  floating  masses  of  rockweed,  and  sometimes  with 
silvery  dots  and  stripings. 

Size. — On  the  American  coast  a  length  of  20  inches  and  weight  of  18^  pounds 
(a  fish  examined  by  Storer)  seems  to  be  the  maximum,  and  few  are  larger  than 
14  to  16  inches  long  or  heavier  than  3  to  6  pounds.  The  largest  we  ourselves  have 
seen  was  about  15  laches  long.°^  Females  average  larger  than  males.  Fidton,'* 
for  example,  WTites  that  39  females  taken  in  the  Bay  of  Nigg  (Scotland)  averaged 
about  16  inches  and  6  pounds,  and  30  males  only  11  inches  and  slightly  less  than 
2  pounds. 

General  rangre.— Both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic,  northward  to  Disko  (lat. 
70°  N.)  in  West  Greenland,  Davis  Straits,  Hudson  Bay,  Labrador,  Newfoundlaud, 
and  the  GuK  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  south  to  New  Jersey  (exceptionally  to  Chesa- 
peake Bay)  on  the  western  side. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gvlf  of  Maine. — The  lumpfish  is  to  be  found  aU  around  the 
shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  It  has  been  reported  at  Yarmouth  and  St.  Mary 
Bay  on  the  Nova  Scotian  side,  and  is  abundant  in  all  stages  at  various  localities 
in  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  There  are  many  records  for  it  along  the  Maine  coast — e.  g., 
Eastport,  Penobscot  Bay,  off  Seguin,  and  Casco  Bay;  it  is  common  near  Boothbaj', 
and  in  Massachusetts  waters  where  it  has  been  reported  repeatedly,  as  at  Nahant, 
Swampscott,  Plymouth,  Truro,  along  Cape  Cod,  and  at  Monomoy.  It  even  enters 
river  mouths,  but  so  far.  as  we  can  learn  never  where  the  water  is  appreciably 
brackish.  According  to  fishermen  large  liunps  are  seldom  seen  on  the  offshore 
banks,  but  we  towed  newlj'  hatched  larvae  (only  6  to  10  mm.  long)  on  the  northeast 
part  of  Georges  Bank  on  July  23,  1914. 

Habits. — The  adult  lump  is  primarily  a  bottom  fish  but  is  also  made  semi- 
pelagic  by  its  habit  of  hiding  in  floating  masses  of  rockweed.  In  European  seas  it 
covers  a  very  wide  depth  range — from  tide  mark  down  to  150  to  200  fathoms,  but 
we  have  never  heard  of  one  taken  in  more  than  a  few  fathoms  in  the  GuK  of  Maine. 
It  is  probably  restricted  to  a  comparatively  shoal  zone  there  by  the  nature  of 
the  bottom,  if  not  by  the  absolute  depth,  for  the  soft  sticky  mud  of  the  deeper  basin 
can  hardly  be  a  favorable  environment.  Large  lumpfish  are  usually  found  hiding 
in  rockweed  or  holding  fast  by  the  sucker  to  stones  or  other  objects.     About  Massa- 

"  Smitt  (Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892)  gives  24  inches  as  the  maximum  for  Scandinavian  and  European  waters  generally,  ap- 
parently not  accepting  the  enormous  size  (up  to  48  inches)  credited  to  it  by  Mobius  and  Heincke  (Vierter  Bericht,  Kommission 
zur  wissenschaftlichen  Untersuchung  der  deutschen  Meere  in  Kiel,  1883,  p.  226). 

"  Twenty-fourth  Annual  Report,  Fisheries  Board  for  Scotland,  1905  (1906),  Part  III,  p.  171.    Glasgow. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  337 

chusetts  Bay  lobster  pots  are  favorite  resorts  for  them  when  set  on  stony  bottom. 
For  instance,  W.  F.  Clapp  tells  us  that  one  pot  in  every  8  or  10  will  yield  a  Imnpfish 
on  the  broken  ground  off  the  entrance  to  Duxbury  Harbor.  Lumps  often  hold  to 
the  lower  sides  of  lobster  cars,  probably  for  their  shade.  Occasionally  one  is  found 
clinging  to  one  of  the  poles  of  a  trap  or  weir,  though  this  is  a  much  less  common 
event  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  than  in  Scottish  waters,  where  they  are  frequently 
caught  ir^  salmon  nets  set  along  shore.  Welsh  notes  one  entangled  in  a  gill  net 
set  off  Great  Boars  Head  in  April,  1913.  They  have  (rarely)  been  found  clinging  to 
floating  logs  or  inside  a  box  or  barrel.  Sometimes  they  strand  on  the  beach,  and 
there  is  at  least  one  record  of  a  lump  sucking  to  a  mackerel. 

The  young  fry  swim  at  the  surface,  and  we  have  taken  them  so  often  in  our 
tow  nets  that  we  have  learned  to  expect  them  wherever  there  are  floating  masses  of 
rockweed  (a  refuge  in  which  all  but  the  smallest  regularly  hide  or  to  the  fronds  of 
which  they  cling). 

Most  species  of  fish  that  are  pelagic  when  young  but  live  on  the  sea  floor  when 
adult  leave  the  surface  at  a  rather  definite  stage  in  growth.  This  hardly  applies 
to  the  lump,  however,  for  while  most  of  those  taken  in  tow  nets  or  dipped  up  are  less 
than  2  inches  long,  very  large  adults  are  sometimes  seen  at  the  surface,  more  often, 
perhaps,  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  than  elsewhere  in  the  Gulf,  and  their  presence  at 
the  surface  is  determined  less  by  the  age  of  the  individual  fish  than  by  the  presence 
or  absence  of  floating  seaweed. 

Most  of  the  young  lumps  have  left  the  surface  by  winter;  indeed  very  few  have 
been  taken  at  any  depth  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  diu-ing  the  cold  months,'"  but  we 
picked  up  one  on  the  surface  off  Lurcher  Shoal  on  April  12,  1920,  and  another  off 
Yarmouth,  Nova  Scotia,  on  January  4,  1921.  Although  this  is  an  ungainly  fish  it 
can  swim  more  rapidly  for  a  short  distance  by  its  vigorous  tail  strokes  than  its 
shape  might  suggest,  and  the  young  pelagic  fry  are  very  active. 

Food. — We  have  no  first-hand  information  to  offer  as  to  the  diet  of  the  limipfish. 
In  British  watere  this  has  been  found  to  consist  chiefly  of  isopods,  amphipods, 
and  other  small  criLstaceans,  with  various  other  invertebrates — e.  g.,  worms  and 
soft-bodied  mollusks — and  its  diet  is  much  the  same  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  for  Cox 
and  Anderson  (1922,  p.  9)  report  euphausiid  shrimps  (Meganyctiphanes),  fragments 
of  jellyfish  (Aurelia),  amphipods  (Hyperia) ,  caprellids,  and  the  remains  of  small  fish 
in  the  stomachs  of  lumps  from  Passamaquoddy  Bay.  This  is  one  of  the  few  fish 
that  regularly  feed  on  ctenophores  and  Medusae,  and  25  specimens  examined  at 
Woods  Hole  by  Vinal  Edwards  contained  nothing  but  ctenophores.  Lumps  also 
eat  fish,  and  large  numbers  of  young  clupeids  have  occasionally  been  found  in  their 
stomachs.  But  like  most  other  fishes,  they  cease  feeding  during  the  spawning  season. 

Breeding  habits. — So  far  as  known  the  only  regular  migrations  carried  out  by 
the  lumpfish  are  the  involuntary  drifts  of  its  yoimg  fry  at  the  surface,  and  a  general 
movement  of  the  adults  into  shoal  water  at  spawTiing  time  followed  by  an  offshore 
migration  after  breeding  is  completed.  In  Scottish  waters,  where  many  observa- 
tions have  been  made  on  the  life  of  the  lump,'"  spawning  (and  the  corresponding 

"  Coi  and  Anderson  (1922,  p.  5)  state  that  the  Canadian  Research  steamer  Prince  has  taken  only  two  (both  small)  in  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  in  winter. 

"  Mcintosh,  Fourteenth  Annual  Report,  Fishery  Board  for  Scotland,  1895  (1896),  Part  III,  pp.  173-178,  and  Fulton,  Twenty- 
fourth  Annual  Report,  Fishery  Board  for  Scotland,  1903  (1906),  Part  III,  pp.  169-178. 


338  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAXX   OF   FISHERIES 

inshore  migration)  takes  place  from  February  until  near  the  end  of  May;  and 
the  evidence  afforded  by  our  tow  nettings,  if  not  conclusive,  suggests  an  equally 
protracted  spawning  season  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  for  on  the  one  hand  we  have 
taken  larviE  already  27  mm.  long  as  early  as  May  10,  and  on  the  other,  newly 
hatched  larvse  (only  6  to  7  mm.)  as  late  as  June  19  in  the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf 
and  as  late  as  July  23  on  Georges  Bank.  In  fact  we  took  one  only  10.5  mm.  long 
on  August  22  in  1912  off  Seguin  Island.  In  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,. however, 
where  vernal  warming  is  later  than  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  lumps  probably  do  not 
commence  spa^vning  until  the  middle  of  April,  for  Cox  and  Anderson  found  no 
larvae  imtil  late  in  June,  their  observations  pointing  to'  late  May  as  the  height  of 
the  breeding  season  there  and  to  mid-Jime  as  about  its  termination, °'  assimiing 
that  the  period  of  incubation  is  about  as  long  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  as  in 
European  waters  of  like  temperature — that  is,  six  weeks  to  two  months. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  spawning  takes  place  in  very  shallow  water 
chiefly  close  to  low-tide  mark,  but  the  fact  that  the  egg  masses  (more  or  less  familiar 
objects  on  European  shores)  seem  never  to  have  been  reported  along  the  coast  of  the 
Gulf  of  Maine,  although  the  local  presence  of  larvae  is  proof  that  lumps  breed  all 
around  its  periphery,  suggests  that  the  eggs  are  deposited  at  least  a  fathom  or  two 
down.  Our  capture  of  recently  hatched  larvae  over  Georges  Bank  is  evidence  that 
the  latter  also  serves  as  a  spawning  ground  in  15  to  25  fathoms  or  deeper,  but  the 
lower  limit  to  spawning  is  yet  to  be  determined. 

Females  are  prolific,  large  ones  of  18  inches  producing  up  to  136,000  eggs 
which  sink  and  stick  together  in  large  spongy  masses  through  which  the  water 
circulates  freely.  In  north  European  waters  these  egg  masses  are  often  found 
adhering  to  rocks  or  other  objects  or  in  crannies  near  low-water  mark,  and  watch 
should  be  kept  for  them  along  the  rocky  coast  line  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  The 
male  lump,  like  the  sticklebacks,  guards  the  eggs  until  they  hatch,  his  courage  and 
his  devotion  to  his  charge  having  often  been  described."*  Throughout  the  period 
of  guardianship,  which  he  performs  fasting,  he  constantly  fans  the  egg  mass,  keeping 
it  free  of  all  silt  and  bathed  in  flowing  water,  never  leaving  it  save  to  drive  off  some 
intruder.  As  soon  as  the  eggs  are  hatched,  however,  his  vigil  ends,  leaving  him 
thin  and  exhausted.  The  females  take  no  part  in  guarding  the  eggs  but  are  said  to 
move  out  into  deeper  water  once  they  have  finished  spawning. 

The  eggs  are  2.2  to  2.6  mm.  in  diameter,  pink  when  first  laid  but  soon  changing 
to  pale  green  or  yellow  and  deepening  in  tint  as  development  progresses.  The 
larvae  are  about  4  to  7.4  mm.  long  at  hatching,  shaped  lilce  a  tadpole  with  lai^e 
head  and  slender  tail,  swimming  actively  and  soon  able  to  chng  with  the  sucker 
to  any  bit  of  weed.  When  12  da^^s  old  the  yolk  disappears.  The  fins  are  dif- 
ferentiated at  10  mm.,  at  34  mm.  the  tubercles  begin  to  appear,  and  except  for 
the  large  first  dorsal  and  slender  form  the  fry  then  show  most  of  the  characters  of 
the  adult. 

^^  The  lumpfish  spawns  from  late  May  through  June  on  the  coast  of  GreenJand,  in  .\pril  and  May  in  the  Baltic,  and  early 
in  the  spring  in  Norwegian  waters. 

"  Fulton  (Twenty-fourth  Annual  Report,  Fishery  Board  for  Scotland,  1905  (1906)  Part  III,  p.  169)  gives  a  very  interesting 
eyewitness  account  of  the  spawning  of  the  lump  and  the  guardianship  of  the  male  parent  over  the  eggs. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


339 


Lumpfish  larvae  and  fry  of  all  sizes  are  to  be  taken  throughout  the  summer,  the 
smaller  undoubtedly  being  that  season's  hatch,  but  the  larger  ones  may  be  either 
those  hatched  earliest  that  spring  or  latest  the  preceding  summer,  for  the  varying 
stage  of  development  reached  by  different  individuals  at  various  sizes  proves  that 
the  rate  of  growth  varies  widely.  Thus  Cox  and  Anderson  (1922)  describe  one 
Cape  Breton  specimen  only  33  mm.  long  in  July,  but  so  mature  in  outline  and  in 
its  dermal  armature  that  it  must  have  been  at  least  a  year  old,  whereas  they  found 
that  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  the  fry  of  the  year  grow  to  40  or  50  mm.  by  December 
\\-ith  yearhngs  averaging  about  58  mm.  in  July  and  August.  As  they  remark,  the 
rate  of  growth  is  apparently  about  the  same  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  (which  probably 
applies  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine  as  a  whole)  as  in  Scottish  waters,  while  in  their  slower 
growth  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  lumps  correspond  to  those  taken  about  Helgoland. 
Presumably  all  Gulf  of  Maine  lumps  upward  of  2)4  inches  long  are  in  their  second 
year.  Cox  and  Anderson  (1922)  have  attempted  to  trace  the  growth  of  older  fish 
from  the  structure  of  the  vertebrae,  and  while  it  proved  difficult  to  trace  the  rings 
with  certainty  they  determined  the  ages  of  a  few  Bay  of  Fundy  specimens  as  fol- 
lows: 50  to  74  mm.  in  the  summer  of  the  second  year,  95  to  110  mm.  (3%  to  i^g 


Fig  165. — Spiny  lumpfish  {EumicToUemus  spinosus) 

inches)  the  third  year,  and  260  mm.  (10)^  inches)  the  fifth  year.     Probably  maturity 
is  attained  in  the  third  year. 

The  lumpfish  is  said  to  be  a  favorite  food  of  seals.  Certainly  it  is  so  weak  a 
swimmer  that  it  would  fall  easy  prey  to  them. 

Commercial  importance. — The  lumpfish  is  never  eaten  in  the  United  States 
and  is  of  no  other  commercial  value,  but  finds  its  way  to  our  markets  as  a  curiosity. 
At  one  time  a  few  were  consumed  locally  in  parts  of  the  British  Isles  and  may  be 
still. 

128.  Spiny  lumpfish  {Eumicrotremus  spinosus  Miiller) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  209S. 

Description. — The  spiny  lumpfish  is  distinguishable  from  its  commoner  relative 
by  the  fact  that  its  first  (spiny)  dorsal  fin  remains  free  through  life  instead  of  becom- 
ing inclosed  by  the  skin,  with  the  tubercles  relatively  much  lai^er,  sharper  pointed, 
studded  at  the  base  with  rough  prickles,  and  irregularly  but  closely  scattered  over 
body  and  head.  Furthermore  its  gill  openings  are  much  smaller,  while  its  body 
is  not  so  high  arched  and  is  nearly  round  in  cross  section  instead  of  compressed. 


340  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

Color. — Described  as  olivaceous  to  brownish. 

General  range. — Arctic  and  northern  parts  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  south  occa- 
sionally to  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Occasional  specimens  of  this  northern  fish 
have  been  reported  from  Eastport,  from  off  Cape  Ann,  and  from  Massachusetts  Bay. 

THE    SEA    SNAILS.     FAMILY   LIPARIDID^ 

The  sea  snails  are  curious  tadpole-shaped,  soft-bodied  little  fishes,  and,  like 

the  lumpfish,  have  a  sucking  disk  on  the  chest  supported  by  the  vestigial  rays 

of  the  ventral  fins,  but  the  skin  is  smooth  and  without  tubercles  and  the  spiny 

and  soft  dorsal  fins  are  continuous  as  a  single  fin.     The  Gulf  of  Maine  supports 

two  species. 

KEY   TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   SEA   SNAILS 

1.         Spiny  (front)  and  soft  (rear)  portions  of  the  dorsal  fiu  are  separated  by  a  notch 

Sea  snail,  p.  340 

There  is  no  separation  between  the  spiny  and  soft  portions  of  the  dorsal 

Striped  sea  snail,  p.  342 

129.  Sea  snail  (Neoliparis  atlanticus  Jordan  and  Evermann) 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2107. 

Description. — Perhaps  the  most  noticeable  character  of  this  and  of  the  striped 
sea  snail  (p.  342)  is  that  due  to  the  cylindrical  fore  part  of  the  trunk,  together  with 
the  broad  rounded  snout  and  fat  soft  belly,  and  the  abrupt  compression  of  the 
body  close  behind  the  vent,  it  is  shaped  more  like  a  tadpole  than  like  the  conventional 
fish.  It  is  also  provided  with  a  sucking  disk  similar  to  that  of  the  lumpfish  (p.  335). 
In  side  view  the  body  is  deepest  abreast  the  pectoral  fin  (about  four  times  as  long 
as  deep,  without  caudal),  tapering  evenly  to  a  moderate  caudal  peduncle.  The 
head  is  rather  flat  above,  the  mouth  terminal  and  moderately  wide,  and  the  jaws 
are  armed  with  many  small  teeth  arranged  in  bands.  The  dorsal  fin  originates 
close  behind  the  pectoral  and  runs  continuously  to  the  base  of  the  caudal  though 
separate  from  the  latter.  The  most  apparent  difference  between  this  species  and 
the  striped  sea  snail  is  that  in  the  former  the  spiny  portion  of  the  dorsal  (6  spines 
hardly  stiff er  than  the  soft  rays)  is  demarked  from  the  much  longer  soft  part  (25  rays) 
by  a  notch,  whereas  in  the  latter  there  is  no  such  separation.  The  dorsal  spines 
are  longer  in  males  than  in  females  and  project  further  beyond  the  membrane,  giving 
the  fin  a  fringed  appearance.  The  anal  fin  (23  to  27  rays)  originates  under  or  slightly 
behind  the  soft  portion  of  the  dorsal,  to  which  it  corresponds  in  size  and  outline. 
The  pectorals  are  not  only  very  large  and  fanlike,  but  their  bases  run  forward  under 
the  throat,  where  they  expand  into  secondary  lobes  or  wings  with  fringed  edges. 
The  ventrals  appear  only  as  a  circle  of  low  knobs  in  the  center  of  the  sucking  disk, 
which  is  situated  on  the  throat  between  the  pectorals.  The  skin  is  scaleless,  and 
is  smooth   except  at  spawning  time,  when  the  male  is  rough  with  small  prickles. 

Color. — Described  as  olive  to  reddish  brown  with  lighter  and  darker  cloudings 
and  dots,  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins  often  with  crossbars.  But  not  only  do  its  tints 
vary  widely,  but  also  its  markings  and  the  strength  of  coloration,  whether  pale 
or  dark,  as  is  the  case  with  so  many  bottom  fishes. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


341 


Size. 


-Maximum  length  about  5  inches. 


General  range. — Rocky  shores  along  the  North  American  coast  from  Newfound- 
land and  the  GuK  of  St.  Lawrence  to  southern  New  England. "^  It  is  rare  west 
and  south  of  Cape  Cod,  but  has  been  taken  at  Woods  Hole  and  on  the  coast  of 
Connecticut. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  sea  snail  is  generally  distributed  around 
the  shore  line  of  the  Gulf.  The  Halcyon  took  it  off  Yarmouth,  Nova  Scotia,  in 
January,  1921.  It  is  rather  common  (according  to  Huntsman)  in  the  Bay  of 
Fundy  and  its  tributary,  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  and  it  has  been  definitely  reported 
at  Grand  Manan,  Eastport,  Seguin  Island,  off  Portland  (where  many  have  been 
collected),  off  Cape  Elizabeth,  at  Kittery,  and  at  various  localities  about  Massa- 


Fig.  160. — Male  adult  sea  snail  (NeoUparJs  atlanticus)  side  view.    After  Garman 


Fig.  167. — Male  adult  sea  snail  (Neolipans  atlanticus),  ventral  view.    After  Garman 

chusetts  Bay.  As  yet  it  has  not  been  reported  from  Georges  or  Browns  Banks,  but 
is  probably  represented  among  the  sea  snails  that  have  been  foimd  living  in  scallop 
shells  on  the  latter  (p.  344).  It  seems  indifferent  to  depth  within  moderate  limits, 
for  while  it  has  been  dredged  as  deep  as  50  fathoms  at  vaiious  localities  in  the  Gulf, 
it  is  often  found  clinging  to  lobster  pots  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  as  lumps  often  do 
in  Massachusetts  Bay  (p.  337),  and  has  been  taken  in  but  a  few  feet  of  water  there 
also.  Nor  would  it  be  surprising  to  find  sea  snails  left  in  rock  pools  or  on  pebbly 
beaches  by  the  ebbing  tide,  for  this  often  happens  with  its  European  representative. 
Habits  and  food. — Sea  snails  are  inconspicuous  little  fish  usually  found  coiled  up, 
tail  tohead,  under  stones  or  attached  by  the  sucker  to  some  kelp  stalk  or  other  seaweed, 
but  occasionally  they  swim  to  the  upper  water  layers  for  the  Ealycon  specimens 
just  mentioned  were  taken  in  the  tow  net  at  8  fathoms  where  the  water  was  about 

'•  This  fish  is  so  closely  allied  to  the  north  European  sea  snail,  N.  montagui  (from  which,  however,  it  is  quite  distinct),  that 
it  masqueraded  under  that  name  prior  to  1898. 


342  BTJLLETIISr   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

22  fathoms  deep.  Young  ones  have  been  found  living  within  the  shells  of  the 
giant  scallop  {Pecten  magellanicus) ,  a  curious  habit  they  share  with  the  striped  snail 
(p.  344),  and  with  the  hakes  of  the  genus  Urophycis  (p.  449).  Little  is  known  of  the 
life  of  this  sea  snail  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  except  that  it  is  supposed  to  work  inshore  in 
winter  to  breed  but  usually  keeps  at  some  little  depth  in  summer.  Presumably  it 
feeds  chiefly  on  small  crustaceans  and  small  shellfish  like  its  European  relative. 

Breeding  Jiahits. — The  spawning  of  tlie  American  sea  snail  has  not  been  observed. 
In  North  Sea  waters  the  spawning  season  of  the  European  N.  montagui  endures 
from  February  until  April,  rarely  until  July.  Sea  snails  must  spawn  at  least  from 
March  to  midsummer  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  for  Huntsman  has  found  the  larvse  in 
Passamaquoddy  Bay  as  early  as  April  while  we  towed  one  only  7  mm.  long  on 
German  Bank  as  late  as  September  2,  1915.  The  eggs  of  the  European  fish,  which 
are  about  1.1  mm.  in  diameter,  pale  straw  color  to  light  salmon  pink,  sink  and 
stick  together  in  little  clusters  that  adhere  to  hydroids,  seaweeds,  sticks,  or  debris 
of  any  kind.  These  clusters  are  often  brought  up  on  trawl  lines  from  4  to  30 
fathoms  and  are  sometimes  found  close  up  to  tide  mark.  There  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  the  males  care  for  the  eggs,  and  the  latter  are  so  hardy  that  they  do 
not  suffer  even  from  exposure  to  the  air  for  hours.  Judging  from  the  dates  when 
newly  hatched  larvss  have  been  seen,  incubation  of  the  European  species  occupies 
a  month — perhaps  longer  in  the  case  of  the  eggs  spa-RTied  earliest  and  at  winter 
temperatures.  The  larvaj  of  the  European  N.  montagui  are  about  3.3  to  4.5  mm. 
in  length  at  hatching,  with  small  rose  red  yolk  sac  containing  a  large  oU  globule  and 
inclosed  in  a  net  of  blood  vessels.  The  yolk  is  absorbed  in  about  14  days  when  the 
larva  is  about  3.9  to  4.2  mm.  long,  and  with  further  growth  the  body,  which  is  at 
first  elongate,  becomes  deeper  and  the  head  larger.  The  fin  rays  appear  and  the 
sucker  is  formed  at  about  7  to  8  mm.,  and  most  of  the  characters  of  the  adult  are 
apparent  at  11  to  12  mm.  length.  Throughout  the  larval  stage  the  pectoral  fins 
are  brilliantly  pigmented  with  yellow  and  black.' 

Commercial  importance. — This  little  fish  is  of  no  importance  either  to  the  pro- 
fessional fisherman  or  to  sportsmen,  but  it  plays  a  role  in  the  economy  of  the  sea 
as  food  for  larger  fish,  fry  of  its  European  relative  having  been  found  in  cod  stomachs. 

130.  Striped  sea  snail  (Liparis  liparis  Cuvier) 

Sea  snail 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2116. 

Description. — This  little  fish  closely  resembles  the  sea  snail  (p.  340),  especially 
in  its  tadpolelike  form,  in  the  presence  of  a  sucking  disk  in  which  the  rays  of  the 
ventrals  (reduced  to  mere  knobs)  serve  as  a  central  support,  and  in  the  peculiar 
outline  of  the  pectorals  with  their  secondary  frilled  basal  lobes.  The  most  obvious 
difference  between  the  two  species  is  that  there  is  no  separation  between  the  spiny 
and  the  soft  parts  of  the  dorsal  fin  of  the  striped  sea  snail.     Furthermore  there  are 

'  Mcintosh  and  Mastermann  (The  Life-Histories  of  the  British  Marine  Food-Fishes,  1897)  and  Ehrenbaum  (Nordisches 
Plankton,  Band  I,  1905-1909)  both  give  good  descriptions  of  the  larvse  of  the  European  species  from  which  the  preceding  is  con- 
densed. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


343 


more  rays  in  both  its  dorsal  and  its  anal  fins — 33  to  35  in  the  former  and  26  to  29 
in  the  latter  as  against  a  maximum  of  32  dorsal  and  27  anal  in  the  other  sea  snail. 
Neither  is  the  separation  of  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins  from  the  caudal  fin  as  definite 
in  this  species  as  in  the  preceding,  and  sometimes  it  is  difficult  to  draw  a  sharp  line 
between  the  two  fins.  A  minor  difference,  which  gives  the  head  a  rather  different 
aspect,  is  that  the  dorsal  profile  is  more  arched. 

Color. — Many  color  varieties  of  this  fish  have  been  described  and  named. 
As  a  rule  the  ground  tint  is  some  shade  of  olive  green,  gray,  or  brown,  variously 
tinged  with  reddish,  yellowish,  or  lilac  and  but  little  paler  above  than  below,  but 
red  ones,  pale  and  dark  striped,  have  been  seen  among  kelp  in  New  England  waters. 
In  varying  situations  they  are  dark  and  pale  in  endless  variety,  some  nearly  plain, 
some  definitely  striped  with  few  or  many  narrow  longitudinal  bands,  others  spotted, 
and  no  two  alike.     Usually  the  fins  are  darkly  blotched  or  barred. 


-  ii^  •vi'>'i<cw'-'-.'----^'^'-"'^^'=*-'':iii--'W-"vSJ 


Fig.  :68.— Adult  striped  sea  snail  (Liparis  liparis),  side  view.    After  Garman 


Fig.  169.— Adult  striped  sea  snail  (Liparis  liparis),  venlral  view.    .4fter  Garman 

Size. — This  fish  grows  to  a  length  of  10  inches  in  Arctic  seas  but  is  seldom 
more  than  5  inches  long  in  temperate  latitudes. 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic;  north  to  Spitzbergen, 
Davis  Strait,  Labrador,  and  circumpolar,  south  to  France  and  to  New  York. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  distribution  of  tliis  sea  snail  parallels 
that  of  the  preceding  species  in  the  GuK.  It  has  been  dredged  not  uncommonly 
in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  region  in  from  5  to  100  fathoms  and  has  been  recorded  from 
Grand  Manan,  Eastport,  and  other  localities  on  the  Maine  coast,  here  and  there 
about  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  also  at  Woods  Hole. 


344  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

Habits. — ^Although  this  fish  is  as  common  in  the  Gulf  as  the  other  sea  snail,  if 
not  more  so,  all  that  is  known  of  its  habits  there  is  that  it  lives  on  rocky  or  stony 
bottom,  usually  among  the  stalks  and  roots  of  kelp  to  which  it  sometimes  clings  fast, 
a  habit  which  European  writers  describe  as  common.  In  British  waters  it  is  often 
to  be  found  hiding  in  the  tiny  pools  of  water  left  under  pebbles  by  the  ebbing  tide, 
and  probably  a  search  of  the  beaches  would  reveal  it  in  similar  situations  in  the  Gulf 
of  Maine  but  of  this  we  find  no  definite  report.  Small  ones  often  live  inside  the 
shells  of  the  giant  scallop  (Pecten  magellanicus) ,  and  it  is  our  impression  (though 
not  backed  by  any  definite  evidence)  that  this  is  a  more  usual  habit  with  this  than 
with  the  preceding  species.  At  any  rate,  W.  F.  Clapp  informs  us  that  it  is  the  rule 
to  find  at  least  one  or  two  sea  snails  in  a  bushel  or  so  of  scallops,  and  fishermen  have 
told  us  that  one  or  the  other  species  of  sea  snail  (probably  both)  is  found  in  scallop 
shells  on  Georges  Bank  where  the  scallops  are  plentiful  locally. 

Food. — Small  Crustacea,  chiefly  amphipods  and  shrimps  of  various  kinds, 
have  been  found  in  stomachs  of  striped  sea  snails  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic, 
and  it  also  feeds  on  small  shellfish  and  was  described  by  Fabricius  ^  as  eating  small 
fish  fry  and  algiB. 

Breeding  Tidbits. — This  fish  is  a  winter  spawner  in  the  western  Atlantic,  as  it  is 
in  the  eastern  Atlantic,  females  full  of  roe  occurring  at  Woods  Hole  in  December 
and  January.  Spawning  continues  until  well  into  the  spring,  for  the  collection 
of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  contains  a  female  distended  with  eggs 
taken  on  April  1  many  years  ago.  Females  with  running  roe  have  likewise  been 
taken  in  Scandinavian  waters  in  May,  and  larvae  only  5.5  mm.  long,  which  we  towed 
near  the  Isles  of  Shoals  on  July  22  and  in  Massachusetts  Bay  on  August  31  in  1912, 
must  have  been  hatched  from  eggs  spawned  at  least  as  late  as  May  if  not  June. 

The  eggs^  (about  1.5  mm. — 0.06  inch — in  diameter)  sink  and  stick  together 
in  bunches,  which  usually  adhere  to  hydroids,  seaweeds,  or  other  objects  like  those 
of  the  sea  snail,  and  apparently  incubation  is  about  as  long  as  with  the  latter — ■ 
that  is,  at  least  a  month.  The  larvae  are  about  5.5  mm.  long  at  hatching  and  they 
live  pelagic  until  upwards  of  16  mm.  long,  at  which  size  the  sucking  disk  is  well 
developed. 

This  little  fish  is  of  no  commercial  importance. 

THE    SEA    ROBINS    OR    GURNARDS.     FAMILY    TRIGLID.^^ 

The  sea  robins  and  their  European  relatives,  the  gurnards,  suggest  sculpins 
in  their  broad  heads,  slender  bodies,  large  fanlike  pectoral  fins,  the  presence  of  two 
separate  dorsal  fins  (a  spiny  and  a  soft  rayed),  and  in  the  location  of  the  ventral 
fins  under  the  pectorals,  but  their  entire  heads  are  armored  with  rough  bony  and 
spiny  plates.  The  Gulf  of  Maine  is  the  northern  limit  of  the  family  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  of  America. 

'  Fauna  Qrcenlandica,  1780. 

'  Ehrenbaum  (Nordisches  Plankton,  Band  1, 1905-1909,  p.  112)  gives  an  account  of  eggs  and  larvae  in  European  waters,  from 
■which  these  lines  are  condensed. 

<  The  so-called  "flying"  robin  ( Cephalacanlhus  volitans)  was  included  by  Holmes  (1862)  and  by  Adams  (1873)  in  their  lists 
ot  Maine  and  New  Brunswick  fishes,  but  in  neither  case  was  a  definite  locality  record  given.  As  it  has  never  been  reported 
north  of  Cape  Cod  before  or  since  we  do  not  feel  obliged  to  include  it  as  a  Qulf  of  Maine  species.  It  would  attract  attention  at 
once  by  its  tremendous  rounded  batlike  pectoral  fins,  which  reach  almost  to  the  base  of  the  caudal  when  folded,  and  by  the  pres- 
ence of  a  long  spine  on  each  cheek  reaching  back  past  the  ventral  fins. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  345 

KEY   TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   SEA   ROBINS  AND   GURNARDS 

1.         The  pectoral  fin  reaches  back  only  to  the  fifth  or  sixth  ray  of  the  second  dorsal.     The 

margin  of  the  caudal  fin  is  concave Common  sea  robin,  p.  345 

The  pectoral  fin  is  larger,  reaching  back  to  the  ninth  or  tenth  ray  of  the  soft  dorsal. 
The  caudal  fin  is  square Red-winged  sea  robin,  p.  34S 

131.  Common  sea  robin  (Prionotus  cafolinus  Linnaeus) 
Sea  robin;  Robin;  Gkeen-ete 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2156. 

Description. — The  large  head,  tapering  body,  and  fanlike  pectoral  fins  of  the 
sea  robin  somewhat  suggest  a  sculpin,  but  the  robin  is  distinguished  from  all  sculpins 
by  the  incasement  of  its  entire  head  in  bony  plates,  by  its  smaller  mouth,  the  flat 
depressed  dorsal  profile  of  its  snout,  its  large  ventrals,  and  by  the  fact  that  the  three 
lower  rays  of  each  pectoral  are  separate  from  the  rest  of  the  fin  and  modified  into 
three  independent  feelers  slightly  dilate  at  the  tips,  a  very  noticeable  and  diagnostic 
feature.  Furthermore  the  anterior  margin  of  the  upper  jaw  is  concave  in  outline 
when  viewed  from  above,  not  convex  as  with  most  fishes,  giving  the  nose  a  very 
characteristic  aspect.  The  head  plates  are  rough  and  there  is  one  sharp  spine  on 
each  cheek,  one  at  the  angle  of  the  gill  cover,  two  short  spines  over  each  eye  pointing 
backward,  a  spine  on  either  side  of  the  nape  of  the  neck,  and  one  on  each  shoulder 
above  the  base  of  the  pectoral  fin.  The  spiny  and  soft-rayed  portions  of  the  dorsal 
are  separate  but  in  contact  at  their  bases.  The  former  (10  spines)  is  rounded  in  out- 
line, decidedly  higher  than  the  soft  dorsal  (13  rays),  but  the  latter  is  considerably  the 
longer.  The  caudal  is  of  moderate  size,  its  margin  slightly  concave.  The  anal 
(12  rays)  is  similar  in  outline  to  the  soft  dorsal,  under  which  it  stands.  The  pectorals 
(their  3  lower  rays  as  just  noted)  are  rounded  in  outline  and  so  large  that  they 
overlap  the  anal  and  the  second  (soft)  dorsal  when  laid  back.  The  ventrals  (each 
of  1  stiff  spine  and  5  rays)  stand  close  behind  the  pectorals. 

Color. — Sea  robins  are  usually  reddish  brown  (some  more  red  and  some  more 
brown)  above  with  the  upper  surface  of  the  head  redder  than  the  trunk  and  the 
body  irregularly  banded  or  blotched  with  pale  and  dark,  while  the  belly  is  dirty 
white  to  pale  yellow.  The  presence  of  a  dusky  spot  on  the  first  doi-sal  fin  between 
its  fourth  and  fifth  spines  is  characteristic.  The  second  dorsal  is  more  or  less  striped 
or  marbled  with  pale  and  dark  and  the  pectorals  are  usually  reddish  brown  but 
sometimes  blackish  above,  slaty  below,  their  lower  feelerlike  rays  browTi  at  the  base 
with  white  or  orange  tips.     The  ventrals  are  white. 

Size. — The  maximum  length  is  15  to  16  inches  but  few  are  more  than  a  foot  long. 

General  range. — Shoal  water  along  the  North  American  coast  from  the  Bay  of 
Fimdy  to  South  Carolina,  cliiefly  south  of  Cape  Cod. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gtdf  of  Maine. — Plentiful  though  the  sea  robin  is  in  Vineyard 
Sound  few  are  taken  north  of  Cape  Cod.  It  has  been  reported  from  various  localities 
about  Massachusetts  Bay — Truro,  off  Lynn,  and  Salem;  most  recently  at  Man- 
chester, where  Welsh  saw  several  in  the  trap  on  June  29,  1913;  and  Prof.  A.  E. 
Gross  informs  us  that  he  has  often  seen  as  many  as  a  dozen  "robins"  taken  in  the 
trap  at  the  entrance  to  Barnstable  Harbor  in  a  single  tide  in  the  early  summer  of 
1920;*  but  I  have  never  seen  it  about  Cohasset  or  Duxbury.     North  of  Cape  Ann 

»  This  is  briefly  mentioned  in  The  Auk,  Vol.  XL,  No.  1,  January,  1923,  p.  24. 


346 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


it  has  been  taken  at  Annisquam,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Saco  River,  and  repeatedly  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Casco  Bay.  Here  it  appears  so  regular  (if  rare)  a  member  of 
the  local  fish  fauna  that  Dr.  W.  C.  Kendall  saw  more  than  25  taken  from  the  traps 
near  Small  Point  between  July  4  and  14  in  1896,  and  the  local  fishermen  were  familiar 
with  it;  but  the  only  record  east  of  Small  Point  is  for  a  single  specimen  caught  at 
Campobello  Island  in  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  in  August,  1911.  Being  a 
shoal-water  fish,  it  is  confined  to  a  narrow  belt  along  the  shores  of  the  Gulf,  but  its 

^/'   ' 


Fig.  170. — Sea  robin  {Prionotus  caroUnus) 
a.  Adult,    i.  Egg.    c,  Larva,  just  hatched,  2.8  millimeters,    i,  Fry,  9  millimeters. 

range  extends  eastward  across  the  south  channel  to  Georges  Bank,  where  the 
trawlers  picked  up  a  few  (never  more  than  a  dozen  or  two  on  a  trip)  during  the 
summer  of  1913.  Probably  the  Eastern  Channel  is  its  easterly  limit,  for  "robins" 
are  not  known  on  Browns  Bank  or  off  the  west  Nova  Scotian  coast.  In  summer  the 
depth  range  of  the  "  robin  "  is  from  close  below  tide  mark  do\vn  to  30  or  40  fathoms — 
perhaps  deeper. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OP   MAINE  347 

Habits. — Along  southern  New  England  sea  robins,  like  many  other  warm-water 
fish,  leave  the  coast  in  October  to  reappear  in  April  or  early  May,  but  it  is  probable 
that  they  merely  move  out  into  deeper  water  below  the  reach  of  winter  chilling  to 
pass  the  cold  months.  If  any  are  resident  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  they  would  no 
doubt  follow  this  same  program;  and  while  the  rarity  of  the  fish,  together  with  the 
facts  that  the  earliest  recorded  date  for  it  in  Massachusetts  Bay  is  for  June  29  and 
that  no  j'oung  ones  have  been  reported  an3rwhere  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  suggest  that 
the  few  taken  north  of  Cape  Cod  have  been  immigrants,  it  is  likely  that  once  past 
the  Cape  they  remain  there,  wintering  offshore;  that  is,  their  status  in  the  Gulf  paral- 
lels that  of  the  cunner  in  parts  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  (p.  285) .  "  Robins,"  like  sculpins, 
keep  to  the  bottom,  where  they  often  lie  with  the  fanlike  pectorals  spread.  When 
disturbed  they  bury  themselves  in  the  sand,  all  but  the  top  of  the  head  and  eyes. 
In  swimming  the  pectorals  are  usually  closed  against  the  body,  and  they  are  said 
to  employ  the  feelerhke  rays  in  stirring  up  the  weeds  and  sand  to  rout  out  the 
small  animals  upon  which  they  feed.  They  are  usually  found  on  smooth  hard 
bottom;  less  often  on  mud  or  about  rocks. 

Food. — The  sea  robin  is  a  very  voracious  fish,  feeding  indifferently  on  shrimps, 
crabs  of  various  lands,  amphipods  (crustaceans  are  its  chief  diet) ,  squids,  bivalves, 
annelids,  and  on  small  fish — e.  g.,  herring,  menhaden,  and  small  winter  flounders. 
Seaweed  has  also  been  found  in  sea  robin  stomachs. 

Breeding  habits. — It  is  doubtful  whether  this  fish  ever  succeeds  in  reproducing 
in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  unless  in  restricted  localities,  such  as  Casco  Bay,  where  the 
summer  temperature  rises  high;  but  although  we  have  never  taken  its  rather  char- 
acteristic eggs  in  our  tow  nets  it  is  probable  that  the  few  that  sojourn  north  of  Cape 
Cod  spawn  there,  if  vainly.  About  Woods  Hole  it  spawns  from  June  to  September 
with  July  and  August  the  peak,  of  the  season. °  The  sea  robin,  unlike  the  sculpin 
tribe,  produces  buoyant  eggs,  which  are  0.94  to  1.15  mm.  in  diameter,  sUghtly 
yellowish  in  color,  with  a  variable  number  (10  to  25)  of  oil  globules  of  unequal  size, 
usually  arranged  in  a  more  or  less  definite  ring.  At  a  temperature  of  72°  incubation 
occupies  about  60  hours,  but  any  eggs  si:)awned  in  the  cooler  water  of  the  Gulf 
would  be  slower  in  hatching.  The  newly  hatched  larvae  are  2.5  to  2.8  mm.  long, 
with  two  transverse  yellow  bands,  one  close  behind  the  pectoral  fins  and  the  other 
midwaj'  between  vent  and  tail.  The  j'olk  is  absorbed,  the  mouth  formed,  and 
the  yellow  markings  no  longer  prominent  in  five  days,  at  a  length  of  3  to  3.4 
mm.  The  dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays  are  visible  and  the  lower  pectoral  rays  have 
separated  from  the  remainder  of  the  fin  at  about  9  mm.,  and  young  fish  of  25  to 
30  mm.  are  darker,  with  transverse  bands,  and  show  most  of  the  anatomic  char- 
acters of  the  adult. 

Commercial  importance. — Although  the  sea  robin  is  edible,  and  its  near  relatives, 
the  gurnards,  serve  as  table  fish  in  Europe,  it  is  not  marketable;  and  at  any  rate  it  is 
too  scarce  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  to  be  of  any  importance  there  either  in  human  or 
natural  economy.  Off  southern  New  England,  where  it  is  abundant,  it  is  a  nuisance 
to  anglers,  taking  bait  planned  for  better  fishes,  while  hordes  of  robins  sometimes 
enter  the  traps. 

'  Euntz  and  BadcliSe  (1918,  p.  105-109)  give  an  account  of  its  embryology  and  larval  stages,  subsequently  confirmed  and 
supplemented  by  Welsh. 


348 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


132.  Red-winged  sea  robin    (Prionotus  strigatus  Cuvier  and  Valenciennes) 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2167. 

Description. — The  red-winged  sea  robin  resembles  the  common  sea  robin  so 
closely  that  one  might  easily  be  taken  for  the  other,  but  its  mouth  is  wider  and  gapes 
back  almost  opposite  the  front  of  the  eye,  with  the  maxillary  bone  more  than  one- 
third  as  long  as  the  head.  Its  head  is  flatter  (compare  fig.  171  with  fig.  170a),  its 
pectoral  fin  is  relatively  longer  (reaching  back  to  the  ninth  or  tenth  ray  of  the  second 
dorsal  instead  of  only  to  the  fifth  or  sixth) ,  its  pectoral  feelers  are  more  slender  and 
tapering,  its  caudal  fin  is  square-ended  instead  of  emarginate,  and  its  reddish  or 
olive-brown  sides  (the  general  ground  tint  varies)  are  banded  longitudinally  below 
the  lateral  line  with  a  dusky  or  bronze-brown  stripe.  However,  the  first  dorsal 
shows  the  same  black  or  dusky  blotch  between  the  fourth  and  fifth  spines,  so  char- 
acteristic of  the  common  robin.  The  pectorals  are  described  (we  have  not  seen  it 
alive)  as  sometimes  dusky,  with  crossbars  and  edged  with  yellow  and  sometimes 


^^mt 


Fig  171.— Red-winged  sea  robin  {Prionotus  strigatus) 

reddish  brown  above,  hence  the  common  name.  The  second  dorsal  is  either  plain 
brown  or  with  two  dark  blotches  at  its  base,  and  the  gill  covers  are  described  as 
sometimes  orange. 

Si2e. — This  is  a  larger  fish  than  the  common  sea  robin,  growing  to  a  maximum 
length  of  about  18  inches. 

General  range. — Shoal  water  along  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North  America  from 
Massachusetts  Bay  to  South  Carolina,  chiefly  south  of  Cape  Cod. 

Occurrenve  in  the  Gvlf  of  Maine. — This  southern  fish  rarely  rounds  Cape  Cod, 
there  being  but  5  definite  records  for  the  Gulf  of  Maine — Monomoy,  North  Truro, 
Salem,  and  Gloucester  (the  latter  its  most  northerly  outpost),  and  for  the  eastern 
part  of  Georges  Bank,  whence  one  was  brought  in  to  the  U.  S.  Fish  Commission 
sometime  between  1877  and  1880. 


•  FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  349 

THE   REMORAS.     FAMILY    ECHENEIDIDiE 

The  several  remoras  are  easily  distinguished  from  all  other  fishes  by  the  fact 
that  the  spiny  part  of  the  dorsal  fin  is  modified  into  a  flat  oval  sucking  plate  com- 
posed of  a  double  series  of  cartilaginous  crossplates  with  serrated  free  edges  situated 
on  the  top  of  the  head  and  neck.  All  remoras,  too,  are  slender  of  form  with  the 
lower  jaw  projecting  far  beyond  the  upper.  Their  large  mouths  are  armed  with  many 
small  pointed  teeth,  their  soft  dorsal  and  anal  fins  similar  in  form  and  size  and  one 
above  the  other,  and  their  pectorals  set  high  up  on  the  sides.  The  lower  surface 
of  the  head  is  convex,  the  upper  flat — just  the  reverse  of  the  usual  rule — with  the 
lower  surface  of  the  body  as  deeply  colored  as  the  upper,  the  back  often  being  mis- 
taken for  the  belly.  The  members  of  this  family  all  attach  themselves  to  other 
fishes  or  to  sea  turtles  by  their  sucking  disk,  usually  clinging  to  the  sides  of  the  hosts 
but  often  within  the  mouth  or  gill  cavities  of  the  larger  sharks  and  giant  rays.' 
Thus  they  are  carried  about,  and  they  feed  on  the  scraps  of  the  meals  of  their  trans- 
porters. All  remoras  are  tropical,  and  they  appear  only  as  strays  in  boreal  seas, 
usually  fast  to  sharks  or  swordfish. 

We  follow  Sumner,  Osborne,  and  Cole  (1913,  p.  766)  in  uniting  under  one 
species  the  shark  sucker  (naucrates) ,  with  more  than  21  plates  but  a  sucking  disk  less 
than  one-f oiu-th  as  long  as  the  body,  and  the  pilot  sucker  {naucrateoides) ,  with  only 
20  or  21  plates  but  longer  sucker — fishes  that  are  otherwise  indistinguishable,  one 
from  the  other. 


Fig.  172.— Shark  sucker  (Echeneis  naucrates) 

KEY  TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   REMORAS 

1.  Pectoral  fins  pointed;  ventrals  attached  to  the  belly  for  less  than  one-third  their  length 

Shark  sucker,  p.  349 

Pectorals  rounded;  ventrals  attached  to  the  belly  for  more  than  half  their  length 2 

2.  Dorsal  fin  of  29  rays  or  more;  at  most  16  plates  in  the  sucker Swordfish  sucker,  p.  350 

Dorsal  fin  of  only  about  23  rays;  about  18  plates  in  the  sucker Remora,  p.  351 

133.  Shark  sucker  (Echeneis  naucrates  Linnfeus) 
Pilot  sucker;  White-tailed  sucker 
Jordan  and  Evermann  {Echeneis  naucrates  and  E.  naucrateoides),  1896-1900,  pp.  2269-2270. 

Description. — The  most  diagnostic  characters  are  mentioned  above.  This 
is  a  very  slim  fish,  11  or  12  times  as  long  as  deep,  nearly  round  in  section,  and 
tapering  to  a  very  slender  caudal  peduncle.  The  sucking  disk,  extending  from 
close  behind  the  tip  of  the  snout  as  far  back  over  the  nape  of  the  neck  as  the  mid- 
dle of  the  pectoral  fin,  is  about  as  broad  as  the  head,  flat,  oval,  and  with  very  con- 
spicuous transverse  plates  20  or  more  in  number.     This  disk  is  the  most  notice- 

'  Gudger  (Natural  History,  Vol.  XXII,  No.  3,  May- June,  1922,  p.  243-249)  gives  an  interesting  account  of  this  habit. 


350  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUKEAU   OF   FISHERIES  • 

able  feature  of  the  fish.  The  soft  dorsal  (32  to  41  rays)  and  anal  (31  to  38  rays) 
fins  both  originate  about  the  mid  length  of  the  body  and  extend  nearly  to  the  base 
of  the  caudal.  Both  taper,  too,  from  front  to  rear,  but  the  latter  is  more  falcate 
than  the  former.  The  caudal  fin  is  slightly  emarginate  in  old  fish  but  in  young 
ones  its  central  rays  are  the  longest.  The  ventrals  are  pointed  like  the  pectorals, 
below  which  they  stand,  and  their  inner  rays  are  attached  to  the  skin  of  the  abdomen 
for  only  a  short  distance.  The  broad-based  pectorals  are  set  so  high  on  the  sides 
that  their  upper  margins  are  close  below  the  overlapping  edge  of  the  sucking  disk. 

Color. — The  general  ground  tint  is  slaty  or  dark  brownish  gray,  with  the  belly 
as  dark  as  the  back.  Each  side  is  marked  by  a  broad  darker  brown  or  sooty  stripe 
with  white  edges,  running  from  the  angle  of  the  jaw  to  the  base  of  the  caudal  fin 
but  interrupted  by  the  eye  and  by  the  pectoral,  and  broadest  close  behind  the 
latter.  The  caudal  fin  is  velvety  black  with  white  corners,  a  character  noticeable 
enough  to  have  given  rise  to  a  vernacular  name.  The  dorsal  and  anal  fins  are 
dark  slate  color  or  black,  more  or  less  margined  with  white.  The  pectorals  and 
ventrals  are  black,  either  plain  or  more  or  less  pale  edged. 

Size. — About  two  feet  long. 

General  range. — Cosmopolitan  in  warm  seas,  north  to  Massachusetts  Bay  on 
the  Atlantic  coast  of  North  America. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — So  far  as  we  can  learn  no  shark  sucker  has 
been  reported  from  the  Gulf  for  many  years;  in  fact,  the  only  positive  records  of 
it  north  of  Cape  Cod  are  for  one  taken  from  the  bottom  of  a  fishing  boat  in  Boston 
Bay  some  time  prior  to  1839  (described  and  illustrated  by  Storer,  1853-1867,  p.  210, 
pi.  32,  fig.  3),  a  second  reported  by  Wheatland  (1852)  from  Salem  Harbor  (reidenti- 
fied  by  Goode  and  Bean  as  naucrateoides) ,  and  a  third  reported  by  Goode  and  Bean 
(1879,  p.  20,  as  naucrateoides)  as  taken  at  the  mouth  of  the  Merrimac  River  in  June, 
1870.  It  is  only  as  the  rarest  of  strays  that  it  ever  wanders  north  of  Cape  Cod, 
clinging  to  some  ship  (for  such  is  a  common  habit  in  its  tropical  home)  or  to  a  shark. 

134.  Swordflsh  sucker  {Remora  hracTiyptera  Lowe) 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  189&-1920,  p.  2272. 

Description. — This  is  a  stouter  fish  than  the  shark  sucker  (p.  349),  being  only 
about  seven  times  as  long  as  deep  (counting  caudal  fin)  and  about  as  thick  through 
the  shoulders  as  deep,  with  a  thicker  caudal  peduncle;  and  although  the  sucking 
disk  is  as  long,  relatively,  there  are  only  14  or  15  plates.  Fm-thermore  the  pectoral 
fins  are  relatively  shorter  than  those  of  the  shark  sucker,  softer,  and  rounded  instead 
of  pointed,  while  because  of  the  deeper  body  the  upper  margins  of  these  fins  are  not 
so  close  to  the  edge  of  the  sucking  disk.  The  ventrals,  too,  are  attached  to  the  skin 
of  the  abdomen  along  their  inner  margins  for  at  least  one-half  their  length,  as  noted 
above  (p.  349).  Its  long  dorsal  fin  (29  to  32  rays)  and  the  smaU  number  of  plates 
in  the  sucking  disk  serve  to  separate  it  from  the  remora  (p.  351). 

Color. — Described  as  light  reddish  brown  above  and  darker  below  with  paler 
dorsal  and  anal  fins.  A  diagnostic  feature  is  that  it  lacks  the  side  stripes  and  white 
fin  edgings  so  characteristic  of  the  shark  sucker. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE 


351 


Size. — ^A  length  of  12  inches  is  the  maximum  so  far  recorded. 
General  range. — Warm  seas  generally,  probably  paralleling  that  of  the  swordfish. 
Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Goode  and  Bean's  (1879,  p.  21)  description  of 
this  sucker  as  not  unfrequently  accompanying  swordfish  into  Massachusetts  Bay 


Fig.  173.— Swordfish  sucker  (Remora  brachyptera) 


probably  applies  to  the  whole  Gulf  except  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  for  specimens 
have  been  brought  in  from  near  Matinicus  Rock  and  near  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  while 
fishermen  occasionally  speak  of  seeing  "suckers"  clinging  to  the  swordfish  they  har- 
poon on  the  offshore  Banks.  Sometimes  several  are  fastened  to  a  single  swordfish, 
but  they  also  report  far  more  swordfish  lacking  than  carrying  these  uninvited  guests, 
and  as  this  has  been  the  case  with  the  few  fish  harpooned  by  the  Grampus  during 
our  cruises  in  the  Gidf  we  have  never  seen  it  in  life. 

Habits  and  food. — Nothing  except  the  bare  fact  just  mentioned  is  known  of  the 
habits  of  the  swordfish  sucker.  Presumably  it  feeds  on  fragments  of  the  fish  killed 
by  its  host,  as  does  the  shark  sucker  whose  actions  are  better  known.  Presumably, 
too,  it  is  as  active  a  swimmer  as  are  its  relatives.  Suckers  are  described  by  eye- 
witnesses as  usually  fast  to  the  shoulder  of  the  swordfish,  nor  have  we  heard  of  one 
actually  within  the  gill  cover  of  the  latter,  though  very  likely  they  refuge  there  as 
do  others  of  their  tribe  in  the  mouths  and  gill  cavities  of  large  sharks  (p.  349). 
Nothing  whatever  is  known  of  their  breeding  habits. 

135.  Remora  (Remora  remora  Linnaeus) 

Jordan  and  Evermaun,  1896-1900,  p.  2271. 

Description. — The  chief  distinction  between  the  remora  and  the  swordfish 
sucker  is  that  there  are  more  plates  in  its  sucking  disk  (about  18  as  against  14  to  15), 


Fig.  174.— Remora  (Remora  remora).    After  Day 

and  there  are  only  about  23  rays  in  its  dorsal  fin  whereas  the  swordfish  sucker  has 
'29  to  32.     Like  the  latter  it  is  a  stouter  fish  than  the  shark  sucker  (p.  349),  and  its 
ventrals  are  similarly  attached  to  the  skin  of  the  abdomen  along  their  inner  edges. 
10227-1— 25  f 23 


352  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Color. — Uniform  blackish  or  sooty  above  and  below. 

Size. — Maximum  length  about  15  inches. 

General  range. — Tropical  seas  generally,  very  common  in  the  West  Indies, 
rarely  north  to  New  York  and  to  Woods  Hole,  and  only  casual  north  of  Cape  Cod. 
It  is  usually  attached  to  large  sharks  or  sea  turtles. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  only  Gulf  of  Maine  record  is  for  a  speci- 
men said  to  have  been  taken  in  Salem  Harbor,  whither,  as  Goode  and  Bean  (1879, 
p.  21)  remark,  it  was  probably  carried  clinging  to  the  bottom  of  some  vessel  in  from 
a  southern  voyage. 

THE    TILEFISHES.     FAMILY    MALACANTHIDjE 

These  are  sea  bass  like  in  appearance,  but  with  the  soft  (rear)  portion  of  the 
dorsal  much  longer  than  the  spiny  (anterior) ,  and  the  ventral  fins  thoracic  in  loca- 
tion. The  only  species  that  occurs  off  the  northeastern  United  States  is  character- 
ized by  a  large  fleshy  flap  on  the  nape,  suggesting,  though  not  corresponding  to, 
the  adipose  fin  of  salmons  and  smelts.     This,  however,  is  not  shared  by  its  relatives. 

136.  Tileflsh  (Lopholatilus  chamxleonticeps  Goode  and  Bean) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2278. 

Description. — The  presence  of  a  thin,  high,  fleshy,  finhke  flap  on  the  nape  of  the 
neck  in  front  of  the  dorsal  fin,  close  behind  the  eye,  suggesting  in  its  appearance  but 
not  in  location  the  adipose  fin  of  the  salmon  tribe,  serves  to  identify  the  tilefish  at  a 
glance  from  all  other  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes.  This  flap  is  as  high  as  the  dorsal  fin, 
much  higher  than  long,  and  rounded  at  the  tip.  Equally  diagnostic,  if  less  conspicu- 
ous, is  a  smaller  fleshy  flap  situated  on  the  side  of  the  lower  jaw  close  to  the  angle 
of  the  mouth,  pointing  backward  (to  be  seen  in  the  illustration,  fig.  175).  The 
outline  of  the  large  head  is  strongly  convex  in  dorsal  profile  and  nearly  flat  in  ventral 
profile,  with  the  eye  high  up  and  the  mouth  wide,  both  jaws  being  armed  with  an 
outer  series  of  large  conical  teeth  and  inner  rows  of  smaller  teeth.  The  trunk 
(moderately  compressed  sidewise)  is  deepest  close  behind  the  head,  tapering  thence 
backward  to  the  flattened  caudal  peduncle.  The  spiny  and  soft  portions  of  the 
dorsal  fin  are  continuous,  extending  back  from  above  the  gill  opening  almost  to  the 
base  of  the  caudal,  as  is  the  case  in  cunner,  tautog,  and  rosefish;  but  in  the  tilefish 
the  soft  part  (14  to  15  rays)  is  two  to  three  times  as  long  as  the  spiny  portion  (7 
spines).  The  caudal  fin  is  small  for  so  large  a  fish,  with  concave  margin.  The  anal 
(14  to  15  rays)  is  about  half  as  long  as  the  dorsal  fin,  under  the  rear  (soft)  part  of 
which  it  stands,  and  like  the  latter  it  is  of  nearly  even  height  throughout  most  of 
its  length  except  that  its  anterior  corner  is  rounded.  The  ventrals  stand  below  the 
pectorals,  which  are  set  low  on  the  sides,  and  both  pectorals  and  ventrals  are  pointed. 
Trunk  and  gill  covers  are  clothed  with  large  scales. 

Color. — This  is  a  brilliant  fish  with  back  and  upper  sides  bluish  or  olive  green, 
changing  to  yellow  or  rosy  on  the  lower  sides,  and  with  its  belly  of  the  latter  tint- 
with  white  midline.  The  head  is  tinged  reddish  on  the  sides;  pure  white  below. 
The  back  and  sides  above  the  level  of  the  pectorals  are  thickly  dotted  with  small 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


353 


irregular  yellow  spots,  particularly  conspicuous  below  the  adipose  dorsal  flap. 
The  dorsal  fin  is  dusky  with  similar  but  larger  yellow  spots,  its  soft  portion  pale 
edged.  The  adipose  flap  is  greenish  yellow,  the  anal  is  pale  pinkish  clouded  with 
purple  and  with  bluish  iridescence,  and  the  pectorals  are  pale  sooty  brown,  with 
purplish  reflections  near  their  bases. 

Sizes. — Tilefish  have  been  reported  up  to  50  pounds  in  weight,  but  this  is 
unusual.  The  largest  fish  we  ourselves  have  seen  (an  unripe  female)  weighed  353^ 
pounds  and  was  about  42  inches  (108  cm.)  long.  Measurements  taken  by  Bumpus 
(1899,  p.  329)  and  more  recently  on  the  Grampus  show  that  a  40-inch  fish  may  be 
expected  to  weigh  about  30  pounds;  fish  of  33  to  36  inches,  20  to  21  pounds;  and 
30  to  32  inch  fish,  17  to  18  pounds. 

General  distribution  arid  occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  geographic 
range  of  the  tilefish  is  surprisingly  circumscribed  for  a  fish  as  large  and  locally  as 
plentiful,  for  it  is  known  only  along  the  outer  edge  of  the  continental  shelf  and  on 
the  upper  part  of  the  slope  abreast  the  east  coast  of  the  United  States.     The 


•  Fig.  175. — Tilefish  (Lopholatilus  chamxieonliceps) 

longitude  of  the  vSouth  Channel  (69°  W.)  is  about  its  ea.stern  limit.  How  far  it 
ranges  to  the  southward  is  still  to  be  determined,  but  none  have  been  reported 
dead  or  alive  below  latitude  37°  29'  N. — that  is,  a  few  miles  north  of  the  mouth  of 
Chesapeake  Bay.  Along  this  zone  the  tilefish  lives  on  the  bottom  in  depths  of 
50  to  about  200  fathoms,  with  the  best  fishing  in  60  to  65  fathoms.  Few  are  caught 
much  deeper  than  100  fathoms  and  none  below  200,  as  far  as  we  know.  Thus  the 
tilefish  touche.-3  only  the  extreme  southwest  corner  of  our  limits,  but  so  interesting 
are  its  history  and  its  relationship  to  hydrographic  conditions  that  it  deserves  more 
attention  than  its  status  as  a  "  Gulf  of  Maine"  fish  would  demand. 

To  begin  with,  it  is  surprising  that  the  very  existence  of  this  large  fish  so  close 
to  our  coast  should  have  been  unsuspected  until  May,  1879,  when  Captain  Kirby, 
cod  fishing  in  150  fathoms  of  water  south  of  Nantucket  Shoals  lightship,  caught 
the  first  specimens  on  his  line  trawl,  as  has  often  been  narrated.  These,  and  others 
caught  in  87  fathoms  in  the  same  general  region  the  following  July  by  the  schooner 
Olara  T.  Friend  (Capt.  William  Dempsey),  drew  so  much  attention  that  the  Bureau 
of  Fisheries  sent  several  trips  thither  during  the  two  subsequent  years,  resulting 
in  the  demonstration  that  the  tilefish  was  so  abundant  within  the  depth  limits 


354  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

outlined  above  that  it  offered  the  opportunity  for  an  important  new  fishery. 
These  early  investigations  likewise  proved  that  it  occupies  a  very  definite  environ- 
ment, for  it  lives  only  along  the  upper  part  of  the  continental  slope  and  on  the 
outer  edge  of  the  shelf  where  the  inner  edge  of  the  Gulf  Stream  bathes  the  sea 
floor  as  a  band  of  warm  water  (47  to  50°) ,  and  never  ventures  into  the  lower  tem- 
peratures on  the  shoaling  bottom  nearer  land  on  the  one  hand,  nor  (so  far  as 
known)  downward  into  the  icy  Atlantic  abyss  on  the  other.  Along  this  narrow 
band  it  ordinarily  finds  the  temperature  not  only  warmer  than  the  waters  on 
either  hand,  but  varying  by  only  a  couple  of  degrees  from  season  to  season,  and  in 
addition  a  bounteous  supply  of  invertebrates  to  prey  upon.  But  the  balance 
between  the  physiological  nature  of  the  fish  and  its  surroundings  is  so  delicate 
that  it  lives  in  constant  danger  of  disaster,  and  hardly  had  its  range  been  mapped 
when  a  submarine  catastrophe  overtook  it.  The  first  news  of  this  disaster  came 
in  March,  1882,  when  the  master  of  a  vessel  reported  dead  and  dying  fish  on  the 
surface,  and  throughout  that  month  and  the  next  vessel  after  vessel  reported 
multitudes  of  dead  tilefish  floating  on  the  surface  between  the  latitudes  of  Nan- 
tucket and  Delaware  Bay.  Digestion  of  all  these  reports  '  outlined  the  area  of 
destruction  as  at  the  least  170  miles  long  by  25  broad — that  is,  an  area  of  at  least 
4,250  square  miles,  and  probably  half  as  large  again,  thus  covering  the  entire  zone 
inhabited  by  the  tilefish  north  of  Delaware  Bay.  At  least  a  billion  and  a  half  dead 
tilefish  were  sighted. 

It  has  generally  been  supposed  (and  we  believe  correctly)  that  the  destruction 
was  caused  by  a  sudden  but  only  temporary  flooding  of  the  bottom  along  the  warm 
zone  by  abnormally  cold  water,  consonant  with  which  is  the  fact  that  other  species 
of  fish  suffered  as  well,  and  that  dredgings  carried  on  the  following  autumn  proved 
that  the  peculiar  invertebrate  fauna  characteristic  of  this  warm  zone  in  previous 
summers  had  likewise  been  exterminated.  Unfortimately,  however,  no  tempera- 
tures were  taken  on  the  tilefish  ground  at  the  season  when  the  mortality  occurred, 
and  by  the  end  of  the  following  August  the  bottom  water  had  again  warmed  to 
48  or  49°. 

So  complete,  indeed,  was  the  destruction  of  the  tilefish  that  fishing  trials  car- 
ried on  off  southern  New  England  by  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  later  in  1882,  1883, 
1884  (when  a  particularly  careful  search  was  made  and  when  the  bottom  water 
along  the  tilefish  ground  was  as  warm  as  it  had  been  in  1880  and  1881),  1885,  1886, 
and  1887  did  not  yield  a  single  fish.'  But  though  decimated  almost  to  the  vanish- 
ing point,  the  species  was  not  quite  extinct,  as  most  people  had  come  to  believe, 
the  Grampus  proving  this  by  catching  8  off  Marthas  Vineyard  in  1892.  From  that 
time  on  the  tilefish  gradually  reestablished  itself,  though  the  building  up  of  the 
stock  must  have  been  a  slow  process  at  first,  for  five  trips  and  18  sets  of  the  line 
trawl  jdelded  only  53  in  1893.  Tilefish  were  next  heard  of  in  1897,  when  a  fishing 
schooner  caught  30  of  6  to  15  pounds  weight  on  a  haddock  line  trawl  south  of 
Marthas  Vineyard,  and  they  had  once  more  become  so  numerous  by  1898  that  the 

'  Collins  (1884b)  has  described  the  event  in  detail,  as  have  many  subsequent  authors.  An  account  will  also  be  found  in 
Economic  Circular  No.  19  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries. 

'  I  have  elsewhere  summarized  (Bulletin,  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard  College,  Vol.  LIX,  1915,  p.  237J  the 
temperatures  taken  in  this  region  during  the  early  years  of  the  bureau. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  355 

Grampus  caught  363  fish,  of  one-half  to  29  pounds  in  weight,  on  three  trips 
each  of  only  one  to  three  days'  duration.  During  the  next  17  years  the  tilefish 
was  kept  in  view  by  occasional  trips  to  the  grounds  by  the  bureau's  vessels  for 
that  express  purpose.  On  the  Grampus,  for  example,  we  caught  19,  weighing  about 
350  pounds,  on  August  26,  1914,  in  one  hour's  set  off  Marthas  Vineyard  in 
105  fathoms.  In  October,  1915,  the  bureau,  believing  the  tilefish  capable  of 
supporting  an  important  fishery  and  knowing  it  to  be  an  excellent  food  fish,  under- 
took to  popularize  it  in  the  market  as  has  been  described  in  the  commissioner's 
report  for  the  year  in  question,  and  it  proved  so  plentiful  and  so  easily  caught  on 
the  line  trawl  that  the  first  trip  stocked  38,383  poimds  in  27  days,  although  the  best 
bait  and  the  most  productive  localities  were  all  to  be  learned.  The  fishery  grew 
so  rapidly  at  first  that  the  landings  for  the  first  eight  months  after  its  inception 
aggregated  upward  of  4,388,500  pounds,  with  a  grand  total  of  11,641,500  pounds 
from  July  1,  1916,  to  July  1,  1917.  But  for  some  reason  (and  the  taste  of  the  con- 
suming public  is  hard  to  analyze)  the  demand  did  not  hold  up;  consequently 
fewer  vessels  now  visit  the  groimds,  and  the  catches  have  diminished  so  that  the 
landings  at  Massachusetts  ports  were  smaller  for  the  whole  of  1919  (188,180  poimds) 
than  for  the  month  of  July  alone  in  1916.  And  although  the  market  is  better  in 
New  York,  tilefish  fislung  is  not  likely  to  prove  regularly  profitable  except  in  a  small 
way  and  for  special  markets,  as  long  as  the  price  of  better  kno\vn  fish,  such  as  cod 
and  haddock,  remains  as  low  as  it  has  been  for  the  past  few  years. 

Hahits. — Very  little  is  lvno^vn  of  the  life  liistory  of  the  tilefish.  Presiunably 
it  is  resident  on  the  grounds  throughout  the  year,  for  its  presence  there  has  been 
established  as  early  in  the  season  as  March  and  as  late  as  January,  while  there  was 
no  general  falling  off  in  the  autumn  and  early  winter  catches  during  the  one  year 
(1917-18)  for  which  monthly  data  are  available.  The  length  of  the  period  which 
the  fish  required  to  reestablish  itself  after  the  mortality  of  1882,  together  with  the 
fact  that  in  1898  the  catch  included  a  considerable  nxmaber  of  young  fish,  is  good 
evidence  that  the  replenishment  of  the  stock  was  chiefly  the  result  of  local  repro- 
duction, though  it  may  have  been  recruited  to  same  extent  by  immigration  from 
the  southern  part  of  the  range,  where  destruction  may  not  have  been  as  complete 
as  it  was  north  of  Delaware  Bay. 

It  is  certain  that  the  eastern  limit  of  the  tilefish  fluctuates  from  year  to  year. 
Sometimes,  as  in  September,  1898,  the  fish  spread  to  the  south  channel  (longitude 
69°).  Evermann  (1905,  p.  85)  records  the  capture  of  a  small  one  on  Banquereau 
Bank  (lat.  44°  26',  long.  57°  13'),  which  is  the  most  easterly  and  northerly  record 
for  the  species,  but  it  has  never  been  reported  in  any  numbers  east  of  longitude  69°. 
In  July,  1916,  for  instance,  the  Grampus  found  none  on  the  southwest  slope  of 
Georges  Bank  (long.  68°  15'  W.)  nor  abreast  of  Marthas  Vineyard,  but  made  a 
fair  catch  off  New  York.  More  thorough  study  of  the  movements  of  the  tilefish 
might  show  that  it  works  eastward  during  the  simimer  with  the  gradual  warming 
of  the  water,  to  withdraw  to  the  westward  again  in  autimin  or  winter,  and  warm  or 
cold  years  no  doubt  largely  govern  such  expansions  and  contractions  of  its  range. 
For  example,  1916  was  a  very  cold  summer  in  these  waters. 


356  ■  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Food. — The  capture  of  tilefish  on  trawl  and  hand  lines  on  bottom  proves  that 
it  is  a  ground  fish,  as  does  the  nature  of  its  food,  for  a  great  variety  of  bottom- 
dwelling  invertebrates  have  been  taken  from  tilefish  stomachs.  Crabs,  of  which 
they  are  often  packed  full,  are  the  most  important  article  of  diet.  The  list '"  also 
includes  squid,  shrimp,  shelled  mollusks,  annelids,  sea  urchins,  sea  cucumbers,  and 
anemones.  Occasionally  they  catch  other  fish,  two  spiny  dogs,  for  instance, 
having  been  found  in  one,  and  an  eel  (probably  a  conger  or  a  slime  eel)  and  uniden- 
tified fish  bones  in  others."  The  presence  of  pelagic  amphipods  (Euthemisto)'^  and 
of  salpae  in  the  stomachs  of  tilefish  caught  on  trawl  lines  proves  that  they  sometimes 
feed  at  higher  levels,  but  they  are  never  known  to  rise  to  the  surface  voluntarily 
and  when  hauled  up  they  are  often  "poke  blown." 

Tilefish  take  any  bait — perhaps  menhaden  best,  salt  herring  not  so  readily. 
Although  they  are  strong  active  fish  it  is  probable  that  they  suffer  from  the  attacks 
of  sharks,  for  fish  caught  on  the  trawl  lines  are  often  bitten  in  two,  and  we  have 
seen  numbers  of  sharks  7  to  8  feet  long  (species  not  determined)  follow  them  up 
to  the  surface  while  the  line  was  being  hauled. 

Breeding  Jiahits. — Ever  since  the  tilefish  was  discovered  it  has  been  known  to 
spawn  in  July,  and  eggs  were  running  from  10  out  of  11  females  caught  by  the 
Grampus  off  New  York  on  the  29th  in  1916,  while  the  roe  of  the  eleventh  was  still 
unripe.  How  early  the  spawning  season  may  open  is  still  to  be  learned,  however, 
though  August  probably  sees  its  close,  for  among  18  females  caught  on  the  26th  of 
that  month  in  1914  the  majority  were  spent,  only  one  or  two  still  having  running 
eggs.  '  Among  the  fish  that  we  ourselves  have  examined  females  have  greatly  pre- 
dominated (only  1  male  to  29  females  in  a  total  of  30  individuals). 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  eggs  are  buoyant  and  about  1.35  mm.  in  diameter,  for 
the  tow  net  yielded  eggs  of  this  size,  indistinguishable  from  those  stripped  from  the 
ripe  fish,  at  the  station  where  the  ripe  females  just  mentioned  were  caught;  but  the 
larval  stages  have  not  been  seen,  nor  is  anything  known  of  the  rate  of  growth  or 
of  the  age  of  the  tilefish  at  maturity. 

Commercial  importance. — This  is  one  of  the  better,  though  not  the  choicest, 
food  fishes,  good  boiled  or  baked,  and  delicious  for  chowder.  It  also  makes  a  good 
smoked  fish,  and  the  sounds  are  valuable  for  isinglass. 

THE    TOADFISHES.     FAMILY   BATRACHOIDID.ffi; 

These  fishes  are  somewhat  sculpin-like  in  appearance,  but  the  resemblance  is 
only  superficial,  for  the  ventral  fins  are  situated  on  the  throat  well  in  front  of  the 
pectorals  ("jugular"),  and  there  are  only  three  gills  and  gill  arches.  Both  soft 
and  spiny  portions  of  the  dorsal  are  present  as  separate  fins,  the  former  much  longer 
than  the  latter.  Most  of  the  species  belong  to  warm  seas,  only  one  reaching  the 
Gulf  of  Maine. 

>»  Linton  (Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  XIX,  1899  (1901),  p.  471),  notes  by  Vinal  Edwards,  and  our  own 
observations. 

"  The  menhaden  credited  to  the  diet  of  the  tilefish  by  Sumner,  Osburn  and  Cole  (1913,  p.  767)  were  merely  the  pieces  of 
bait  on  which  the  fish  were  caught. 

"Collins,  1884b,  p.  244. 


FISHES    OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE 


137.  Toadflsh  {Opsaniis  tau  Linnseus) 


357 


Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2315. 

Description. — The  toadfish,  like  the  sculpins,  has  a  large  flat  head,  round  nose, 
tremendous  mouth,  tapering  body  with  plump  belly,  and  fanlike  pectoral  fins;  but 
it  difi'ers  from  all  sculpins,  and  indeed  from  all  other  spiny-finned  fishes  of  the  Gulf 
of  Maine  except  the  blennies  (p.  359) ,  in  the  location  of  its  ventral  fins,  which  are 
under  the  throat  well  in  front  of  the  pectorals  ("jugular")  instead  of  below  or 
behind  the  latter.  Nor  could  anyone  confuse  it  with  any  blenny,  for  it  is  not  only 
a  totally  different  looking  fish,  but  its  dorsal  fin  is  mostly  soft  rayed  while  that  of 
the  blennies  is  spiny  tliroughout.  The  presence  of  fleshy  flaps  of  irregular  outline 
on  the  tip  of  the  upper  jaw  and  along  the  edge  of  the  lower  jaw,  on  the  cheek,  and 
over  each  eye,  gives  its  head  a  peculiar  warty  appearance.     Distinctive,  also,  is  the 


Fig.  176.— Adult.    After  Storer 


Fig.  177. — Larva,  8  millimeters 
TOADFISH  (Opsanus  tau) 

fleshy  nature  of  all  the  fins  and  the  outline  of  the  dorsal,  the  soft  part  of  which 
(26  to  28  rays)  is  five  to  six  times  as  long  as  the  spiny  part  (three  spines) ,  from  which 
it  is  entirely  separated  by  a  deep  notch,  the  two  together  extending  the  whole  length 
of  the  trunk  from  the  nape  nearly  to  the  base  of  the  caudal.  The  anal  (24  rays) 
is  somewhat  shorter  than  the  second  (soft)  dorsal,  originates  under  about  the  eighth 
ray  of  the  latter,  and  is  similar  to  it  in  outline  except  that  its  margin  is  deeply 
incised  between  every  two  rays,  especially  in  its  forward  half.  The  caudal  fin  is 
irregularly  rounded;  the  ventrals  are  jagged  in  outline,  with  the  first  ray  stouter 
than  the  others,  and  covered  by  thick  fleshy  skin.     There  is  a  large  open  pit  of 


358  BULLETIN   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

unknown  function  in  the  axil  of  each  pectoral  fin.  We  need  only  remark  further 
that  the  skin  is  covered  with  a  thick  layer  of  slimy  mucus,  making  the  toadfish  as 
loathsome  a  fish  to  handle  as  it  is  repulsive  in  appearance,  and  that  there  are  no 
scales,  the  teeth  are  large  and  blunt,  and  there  are  two  short  spines  at  the  upper 
angle  of  the  gill  cover,  hidden,  however,  in  the  thick  skin. 

Color. — The  general  ground  tint  ranges  from  dark  m-uddy  olive  green  to  brown 
or  yellow,  darker  on  back  and  sides,  paler  below,  and  variously  and  irregularly 
marked  with  darker  bars  and  marblings,  which  may  be  restricted  to  head  and  fins 
or  extend  over  the  whole  fish,  belly  as  well  as  back.  And  the  toadfish,  like  many 
other  bottom  fishes,  changes  color  to  match  the  bottom  on  which  it  lies. 

Size. — Exceptionally  15  inches  but  seldom  more  than  12  inches  long. 

General  range. — Shoal  water  along  the  east  coast  of  North  America  from  Cape 
Cod  to  Cuba,  and  casually  northward  to  Maine. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Although  the  toadfish  is  very  common  about 
Woods  Hole  and  thence  westward,  like  sundry  other  southern  fishes  it  so  rarely 
ventures  around  Cape  Cod  that  none  of  the  fishermen  in  Massachusetts  Bay  of 
whom  we  have  inquired  have  seen  or  heard  of  it  there,  nor  further  north.  In  fact 
there  are  only  tliree  definite  records  of  it  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine — "Maine,"" 
Kittery(?),  and  Cohasset  on  the  south  shore  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  where  one 
(now  in  the  collection  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History)  was  caught  by 
Owen  Bryant. 

Habits  and  food. — The  toadfish  lives  in  shoal  water,  is  resident  the  year  around 
wherever  found,  and  probably  becomes  torpid  in  winter  in  the  northern  part  of  its 
range.  It  is  commonest  on  sandj^  or  muddy  bottom,  hiding  among  eelgrass  or  under 
stones  where  it  hollows  out  dens  in  which  it  lies  in  wait  for  prey.  It  is  voracious 
and  omnivorous,  Vinal  Edwards's  diet  list  for  it  at  Woods  Hole  including  blood 
worms  (Nereis),  amphipods,  shrimps,  crabs,  hermit  crabs,  a  variety  of  moUusks 
both  imivalve  and  bivalve,  ascidians,  squid,  and  fish  fry  such  as  alewives,  cunners, 
mummichogs,  menhaden,  puffers,  sculpins,  scup,  silversides,  smelt,  and  winter 
flounders.    No  doubt  any  small  fish  is  acceptable. 

Toadfish  often  snap  viciously  when  caught,  and  fight  among  themselves.  Like 
some  sculpins  they  grunt,  especially  at  night  or  if  handled,  and  in  spite  of  their 
clumsy  appearance  can  dart  out  of  their  hiding  places  and  back  again  with  sur- 
prising speed. 

Breeding  habits. — In  the  northern  part  of  its  range  the  toadfish  spawns  in  June 
and  early  July.  The  very  lai^e  eggs  (about  5  mm.  in  diameter)  are  laid  in  holes 
under  stones,  under  lai^e  shells,  in  old  tin  cans,  among  sunken  logs,  or  among  eel- 
grass,  where  they  adhere  in  a  single  layer  to  whatever  serves  as  a  nest,  which  the 
male  guards  during  the  three  weeks  or  so  occupied  by  incubation.  Even  after  hatch- 
ing the  tadpole-shaped  larvae  remain  attached  to  the  "nest"  by  the  yolk  sac  until 
the  latter  is  absorbed,  when,  at  a  length  of  15  to  16  mm.,  they  break  free.  •* 


"  Storer  (1846a)  gives  no  definite  locality. 

'"  Ryder  (BuUetin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  VI,  1886  (1887),  p.  8)  and  Gudger  (Bulletin,  United  States  Bureau 
of  Fisheries,  Vol.  XXVIII,  1909  (1910),  pp.  1071-1109,  Pis.  CVII-CXIII)  describe  tlie  breeding  habits,  eggs,  and  larvae  of  the 
toadfish.    For  further  accounts  of  its  habits  see  Gill  (Smithsonian  Miscellaneous  Collections,  Vol.  XLVHI,  1907  pp.  388-427.) 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  359 

THE    BLENNIES.     FAMILY   BLENNIID^ 

The  blennies  are  characterized  among  the  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes  by  the  location 
of  the  ventrals,  which  are  weU  in  front  of  the  pectorals,  combined  with  a  single 
dorsal  fin  spiny  thi'oughout  and  running  the  whole  length  of  the  trunk,  and  with 
an  elongate  and  sometimes  eel-like  form.  The  only  Gulf  of  Maine  species  that 
resemble  them  are  the  wolffish  and  the  -m-ymouth,  but  both  of  these  lack  ventral 
fins,  which  are  present  in  aU  our  blennies,  though  they  may  be  very  small.  Fur- 
thermore, the  tremendous  canine  tusks  and  molar  teeth  of  the  wolffish  (p-  370) 
have  no  counterpart  among  the  blennies,  and  the  peculiar  face  of  the  wTymouth 
is  equally  diagnostic  for  it  (p.  368) .  The  eelpout  (Zoarces)  is  also  somewhat 
blennylike  in  appearance,  but  the  greater  part  of  its  dorsal  fin  is  soft,  not  spiny, 
and  there  is  no  demarkation  between  its  anal  and  caudal  fins. 

The  blennies  are  a  numerous  tribe  of  carnivorous  shore  fishes  of  small  size, 
widely  distributed  both  in  northern  and  in  tropical  seas.  Four  species  are  known 
in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

KEY  TO  GULF  OF  MAINE  BLENNIES 

1.  Ventral  fins  very  small,  less  than  one-fifth  as  long  as   the  pectorals;  a  row  of  large 

black  spots  along  the  back  extending  out  on  the  dorsal  fin Rock  eel,  p.  359 

Ventral  fins  well  developed,  at  least  one-third  as  long  as  the  pectoral;  not  black  spotted 
along  the  back 2 

2.  More  than  55  dorsal  spines;   body  elongate,  at  least  8  times  as' long  as  deep;   no  lateral 

line  visible 3 

Less  than  50  dorsal  spines;  body  only  about  7  times  as  long  as  deep-Radiated  shanny,  p.  366 

3.  General  form  extremely  elongate,  about  15  times  as  long  as  deep;  pectoral  fins  rounded, 

their  middle  rays  longest Snake  blenny,  p.  363 

Only  moderately  elongate,  about  8  times  as  long  as  deep;  the  lower  rays  of  pectorals 
much  longer  than  the  upper Shanny,  p.  365 

138.  Rock  eel  {Pholis  gunnellus  LLnnseus) 
Butterfish;  Gunnel 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2419. 

Description. — The  slender  flexible  trunk  (only  about  one-ninth  as  deep  as  long 
and  one-half  as  thick  as  deep),  short  head,  and  rounded  nose  of  this  little  blenny 
suggest  an  eel,  but  the  spiny  nature  of  its  dorsal  fin  betrays  its  true  relationship. 
The  fin  (73  to  86  spines)  extends  from  the  nape  back  over  the  whole  length  of  the 
trunk  to  the  base  of  the  caudal,  from  which  it  is  marked  off  by  a  shallow  notch 
only,  and  is  of  uniform  height  from  end  to  end.  The  anal  (two  very  short  spines 
and  37  to  44  rays)  originates  midway  of  the  dorsal,  to  which  it  corresponds  in  height 
and  outline,  and  similarly  runs  back  to  meet  the  caudal  with  which  it  is  continuous. 
The  latter  fin  is  small  and  roimded.  The  tiny  ventrals,  set  near  together  close  in 
front  of  the  pectorals,  are  reduced  to  one  very  short  spine  and  a  rudimentary  ray 
each.  The  pectorals  are  smaller  than  in  our  other  blennies,  hardly  longer  than 
the  dorsal  fin  is  high  and  oval  in  outline.  The  skin  of  the  trunk  is  clothed  with 
very  small  scales,  hardly  visible,  however,  through  the  thick  layer  of  slimy  mucus 
with  which  the  rock  eel  is  covered.  The  head  is  naked,  the  mouth  small  and  set 
102274— 25  f 24 


360 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


oblique,  with  its  upper  jaw  armed  with  several  rows  of  conical  teeth,  the  lower 
jaw  with  a  single  row  only. 

Color. — A  row  of  about  10  to  14  round  black-centered  and  pale-edged  spots, 
spaced  at  equal  distances  along  the  middle  of  the  back  and  spreading  out  onto 
the  dorsal  fin,  are  the  most  characteristic  feature  of  the  color  pattern  of  this  fish. 
The  ground  tint  of  the  upper  part  is  yellowish,  reddish,  or  olive  brown,  with  pale, 
irregularly  rounded  cloudings  on  the  sides,  and  an  oblique  streak  from  the  eye  to 
the  angle  of  the  jaw.  The  belly  varies  from  pale  gray  to  yellowish  white.  The 
pectorals,   caudal,   and   anal  fins  are  yellowish.     At  Boothbay  we  have  seen   a 


,.„:,U«„'s,»«j^ 


^^^*...  ^^^£^mm:^.'^:,^....,.._ 


F!G.  178.— Adult 


Fig.  179. — Larva  (European),  9.4  millimeters.    After  Ehrenb.ium 


Fig.  180.— Larva  (European),  18  millimeters.    After  Ehrenhaum 


Fig.  181.— Larva  (European),  20  millimeters.    After  Elirenbaum 
ROCK  EEL  (Pholis  gunnellus) 

specimen  brick  red  above  and  below,  light  and  dark  mottled,  flecked  with  tiny 
black  dots,  and  with  the  spots  on  the  dorsal  fin  dark  red  instead  of  black. 

Size. — -The  maximum  length  is  about  12  inches  but  few  of  those  found  are 
more  than  6  to  8  inches  long. 

General  range. — Shoal  waters  on  both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic  from  Hudson 
Straits  to  New  Jersey  on  the  American  coast  and  south  to  France  on  the  European 
coast;  commonest  north  of  Cape  Cod  and  north  of  the  English  Channel. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  little  fish  is  to  be  found  all  along  the 
shores  of  the  Gulf  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Cape  Cod.  It  is  definitely  recorded  at 
Yarmouth  (Nova  Scotia),  at  various  localities  on  both  sides  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
where  it  occurs  nearly  everywhere   (writes  Doctor  Huntsman),   at  half  a  dozen 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  361 

points  along  the  Maine  coast,  at  Portsmouth  (N.  H.),  in  Ipswich  Bay,  here  and 
there  along  the  north  shore  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  at  Provincetown.  We 
can  add  that  it  is  to  be  found  at  Cohasset,  Mass.,  and  W.  F.  Clapp  assures 
us  he  has  seen  many  while  shore-collecting  for  moUusks  among  the  stones  and 
bowlders  of  the  Gurnet,  off  Plymouth,  as  well  as  at  Hampton  Beach,  N.  H., 
while  A.  H.  Clark,  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  reports  it  plentiful  about 
Portsmouth.  No  doubt  it  is  even  more  universal,  in  suitable  locations,  than 
these  records  indicate,  for  being  of  no  consequence  to  the  fisherman  or  angler  it 
comes  to  notice  only  when  scientific  collections  are  made,  but  it  is  certainly  rather 
local.  In  some  places  one  is  to  be  found  under  almost  every  stone;  at  others  you 
may  turn  rocks  in  vain.  Its  presence  or  absence  along  any  particular  stretch  of 
shore  probably  depends  on  the  character  of  the  bottom  immediately  outside,  it 
being  a  lover  of  pebbly,  gravelly,  or  stony  ground,  or  of  shell  beds  and  not  of  mud 
or  eelgrass.  Nor  have  we  found  it  about  the  steep  ledges  so  numerous  along  rock- 
bound  coasts  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

Habits  and  food. — So  far  as  known  rock  eels  are  confined  to  very  shoal  water, 
most  of  them  living  within  2  or  3  fathoms  of  the  surface,  and  perhaps  none  deeper 
than  15  fathoms,  13  fathoms  (near  Woods  Hole)  being  the  deepest  actual  capture 
with  which  we  are  acquainted,  for  which  reason  it  is  not  likely  that  they  occur  on 
the  offshore  Banks.  They  are  often  found  along  low  tide  mark,  left  by  the  ebb  in 
the  little  pools  of  water  under  stones  or  among  seaweed  where  they  await  the 
return  of  the  tide.  Many  have  been  seined  on  gravel  bottom  in  a  few  feet  of  water. 
When  uncovered  they  are  usually  lying  partially  coiled,  and  in  Scandinavian  waters, 
according  to  Smitt,"  they  often  take  refuge  inside  large  empty  mussel  shells,  but, 
as  he  remarks,  there  is  no  ground  for  the  accusation  that  rock  eels  enter  and  devour 
live  bivalves  of  any  sort.  When  disturbed  they  squirm  like  eels.  Eel-like,  they 
swim  by  sidewise  undulations,  and  they  are  so  active  and  so  slippery  (hence  the 
name  "butterfish")  that  it  needs  quick  work  to  catch  one  by  hand  even  in  a  very 
small  puddle.  Very  little  is  known  of  the  diet  of  the  rock  eel  except  that  it  is 
carnivorous  and  that  various  molluscan  and  crustacean  fragments  have  been 
found  in  its  stomach.  Vinal  Edwards  records  small  amphipods,  shrimps,  and  worms 
in  the  few  examined  at  Woods  Hole,  but  we  have  no  first-hand  information  to  offer 
on  this  point.  In  their  turn,  rock  eels  have  been  found  in  the  stomachs  of  various 
larger  fishes,  especially  of  cod,  in  Massachusetts  waters. 

So  far  as  known  the  rock  eel  is  resident  throughout  the  year  wherever  found. 
At  most  it  may  move  out  from  the  beach  into  slightly  deeper  water  in  winter  to 
escape  chilling. 

Breeding  habits. — It  is  necessary  to  turn  to  European  sources  for  information 
on  its  breeding  habits,  for  its  spawning  has  not  been  seen  in  American  waters. 
In  the  eastern  Atlantic  and  North  Sea  region  generally  '"  it  spawns  from  November 
to  February  or  even  March,  and  since  eggs  probably  belonging  to  the  rock  eel 
have  been  found  off  Rhode  Island  late  in  December,"  no  doubt  it  is  similarly  a 

"  Scandinavian  Fislies,  1892. 

>•  Masterman  and  Macintosh  (Tlie  Life-Histories  of  the  British  Marine  Food-Fislies,  1897)  and  Elirenbaum  ( Wissenschaftliche 
Meeresuntersuchungen,  Helgoland,  ncup  Folge,  Band  6,  1904,  p.  160)  give  accounts  of  its  spawning  and  larval  development. 
"Tracy,  1910,  p.  151. 


362  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

late  autumn  and  winter  breeder  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  The  eggs  (by  European 
accounts)  are  about  2  mm.  in  diameter,  whitish  opaque,  iridescent  on  the  surface, 
with  a  single  globule  of  about  0.6  mm.,  and  are  laid  in  holes  or  crannies  where  they 
stick  together.  In  British  waters  the  rock  eel  usually  chooses  empty  oyster  shells 
or  holes  made  in  the  limestone  rocks  by  the  boring  bivalve  Pholas,  but  there  being 
no  oysters  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  except  in  Cape  Cod  Bay,  and  the  local  Pholas 
being  unable  to  bore  into  the  hard  granite  rocks  of  our  coast  line,  the  rock  eels 
must  seek  other  nesting  sites.  Perhaps  large  mussel  shells  may  serve  them,  or  any 
crevice  in  lieu  of  the  latter.  The  eggs  are  adhesive,  and  both  the  parents  have  been 
observed  rolling  the  eggs  into  balls  or  clumps  an  inch  or  so  across,  in  which  they 
stick  together,  by  coiling  around  them.  In  European  watei-s  incubation  occupies 
from  6  to  10  weeks,  during  which  period  the  parent  fish  of  both  sexes  have  been 
seen  lying  close  beside  the  egg  clumps,  but  since  Ehrenbaum  "  described  the  parent 
as  "very  negligent"  of  the  latter  in  the  aquarium  it  seems  that  they  merely  seek 
the  nesting  holes  as  convenient  shelters,  and  not  that  they  actually  guard  the  nest. 
In  the  North  Sea  region  rock  eels  spawn  from  between  tide  marks,  as  in  Scot- 
land, down  to  12  fathoms  or  more,  as  at  Helgoland  where  eggs  have  been  found  in 
the  oyster  beds,  and  probably  the  depth  of  spawning  within  these  moderate  limits 
is  governed  by  the  ability  of  the  fish  to  find  suitable  nesting  sites.  The  larvise  are 
much  larger  at  hatching  (about  9  mm.)  and  further  advanced  in  development 
than  those  of  most  of  the  fishes  that  lay  buoyant  eggs,  with  the  mouth  already 
formed  and  the  yolk  sac  small,  and  the  latter  is  absorbed  by  the  time  the  little 
fish  have  grown  to  about  13  or  14  mm.  in  length.  Older  larvae  of  the  rock  eel  resem- 
ble corresponding  stages  of  the  launce  and  of  the  snake  blenny  in  their  extremely 
slender  form,  but  they  are  among  the  most  easily  recognized  of  fish  larvae  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine,  being  distinguishable  from  both  these  species  by  the  presence  of  a 
row  of  small  black  pigment  spots  below  instead  of  above  the  intestine,  and  from 
the  herring  (the  only  other  very  slender  larvae  apt  to  be  met  in  any  numbers  in  the 
Gulf  at  the  same  season)  by  the  location  of  the  vent  about  midway  of  the  body 
(p.  97)  and  by  the  rounded,  not  forked,  tail. 

The  caudal  rays  are  visible  in  larvae  of  17  mm.,  the  dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays 
are  fully  formed  and  the  ventrals  present  at  20  to  25  mm.,  and  the  12  black  dorsal 
spots  so  characteristic  of  the  adult  are  first  noticeable  against  the  transparent  trunk 
in  young  fry  of  25  to  30  mm.  Up  to  this  time  they  live  at  the  surface,  where  they 
are  taken  at  Woods  Hole  from  April  on.  We  have  towed  them  (20  to  39  mm.  long) 
off  Seal  Island  (Nova  Scotia),  on  German  Bank,  near  Mount  Desert  Island,  off 
Matinicus  Island,  and  off  Ipswich  Bay,  in  April,  May,  June,  and  August  (a  total, 
however,  of  only  six  stations),  while  Huntsman  states  that  they  are  caught  in  early 
summer  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  At  a  length  of  30  to  40  mm.  the  young  fish,  now 
showing  most  of  the  adult  characters,  sink  to  the  bottom,  an  event  which  takes 
place  in  late  summer  or  early  autumn  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  judging  from  what  has 
just  been  said.  Nothing  definite  is  known  of  the  rate  of  growth  of  the  rock  eel 
after  its  first  autumn.     This  little  fish  is  of  no  commercial  importance. 


»  Wissenschaftliche  Meeresuntersuohungen,  Helgoland,  neue  Folge,  Band  6,  1904,  p.  161.    Kiel  und  Leipzig. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  363 

139.  Snake  blenny  {Lumpenus  lampetrseformis  Walbaum) 

Serpent  blenny 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1S96-1900,  p.  2438. 

Description. — This  is  a  very  slender  little  fish,  as  its  name  implies,  being  only 
about  one-fifteenth  as  deep  as  long,  slightly  compressed,  with  moderately  long  head, 
very  large  eye,  wide  mouth,  and  blunt  snout.  It  somewhat  suggests  a  laiuice 
(p.  183)  in  general  form,  but  its  rounded  tail  (that  of  the  launce  is  forked),  its  large 
pectorals,  spiny  dorsal  (the  launce  has  a  soft  dorsal),  and  the  fact  that  its  lower 
jaw  does  not  project  beyond  the  upper,  together  with  its  color,  serve  to  separate 
it  from  the  launce  at  a  glance.  The  chief  anatomic  feature  distinguishing  it  from 
the  rock  eel,  as  noted  above  (p.  359),  is  that  its  ventral  fins  (each  of  one  short  spine 
and  three  longer  rays)  are  well  developed  and  one-third  to  one-half  as  long  as  the 
pectorals,  shghtly  in  advance  of  which  they  stand.  The  pectoral,  too,  is  much 
larger  and  the  dorsal  and  anal  about  twice  as  high,  relative  to  the  depth  of  the 
body,  as  in  the  rock  eel,  while  the  anal  fin  originates  farther  forward,  the  separation 
of  dorsal  and  anal  fins  from  the  caudal  is  more  evident,  and  the  eyes  are  noticeably 

Fio.  182— Snake  blenny  (Lumpenus  lampdrseformis) 

larger.  The  even  rounded  outhne  of  the  pectoral  is  the  most  obvious  difference 
between  this  species  and  its  close  ally,  the  shanny,  in  which  the  lower  pectoral  rays 
are  much  longer  than  the  upper  (p.  365).  The  outline  of  the  caudal  fin,  which  is 
oval  (more  pointed  in  large  than  in  small  fish),  with  the  central  rays  much  longer 
than  the  outer  ones,  is  likewise  diagnostic. 

Color. — The  snake  blenny  is  much  paler  than  is  usual  for  the  rock  eel,  described 
(we  have  not  seen  the  adult  in  life)  as  brownish  or  greenish  yeUow,  its  sides  and 
back  with  many  (about  20)  iaint  brown  blotches,  its  dorsal  fin  barred  obliquely 
with  about  12  and  its  caudal  transversely  with  about  6  dark  bands. 

Size. — One  of  about  16  inches  described  by  Storer  (1867)  from  Massachusetts 
Bay  is  the  largest  on  record. 

General  range. — ^Arctic  and  North  Atlantic  Oceans,  south  to  Scotland  on  the 
eastern  side  and  to  Massachusetts  on  the  western  side. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  northern  fish  finds  its  southern  limit  in 
the  Gulf.  Huntsman  (1922a)  reports  it  from  St.  Mary  Bay  in  August  and  Septem- 
ber, from  Passamaquoddy  Bay  from  April  to  August,  and  in  the  open  waters  of  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  from  January  on,  so  that  it  is  by  no  means  uncommon  in  the  north- 
east corner  of  the  Gulf;  and  although  definite  knowledge  of  the  adult  on  the  coast 
of  Maine  is  confined  to  an  Eastport  record  for  1872,  it  probably  occurs  all  around 
the  shores  of  the  GuK  at  some  little  depth,  for  Goode  and  Bean  (1879,  p.  10)  de- 
scribed it  as  a  common  resident  of  the  deeper  waters  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  We 
have  never  trawled  it,  but  it  would  not  be  surprising  if  it  should  finally  prove  both 


364  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

widespread  and  as  plentiful  as  it  is  in  the  western  Baltic  (where  it  is  now  known 
to  be  a  common  bottom  fish,  though  formerly  looked  on  as  decidedly  rare),  for  we 
took  its  pelagic  larvae  off  Seguin  Island,  near  Cape  Elizabeth,  over  Platts  Bank, 
near  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  off  Ipswich  Bay,  off  Cape  Ann,  off  Boston  Harbor,  and 
in  the  southwest  basin  of  the  Gulf  off  Cape  Cod  during  March,  April,  and  May, 
1920.     It  has  not  been  reported  on  the  offshore  banks,  but  may  be  expected  there. 

Habits. — Little  is  known  of  the  habits  of  the  snake  blenny  on  either  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  Although  it  is  not  found  along  the  littoral  zone,  it  is  a  fish  of  compara- 
tively shoal  water,  never  taken  as  deep  as  100  fathoms  (so  far  as  we  have  been  able 
to  learn)  and  apparently  most  common  from  a  fathom  or  so  below  tide  mark  down 
to  40  or  50  fathoms ;  while  as  most  of  the  specimens  that  have  been  caught  in  Scottish 
waters  were  picked  up  by  the  foot  rope  of  the  otter  or  beam  trawl,  Sim's  ''  suggestion 
that  it  burrows  in  mud  or  clay  bottom  is  probably  correct. 

Food. — ^Amphipods,  copepods,  and  other  tiny  Crustacea,  with  very  small 
starfish,  small  bivalves,  and  holothurians  have  been  found  in  snake-blenny  stomachs 
in  British  seas.  These  blennies  are  eaten  in  their  turn  by  large  fish — cod  and 
halibut,  for  example,  in  Massachusetts  Bay,^"  pollock  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  cod 
in  Northumberland  Strait,  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  as  Capt.  Thor  Iversen  informed 
Doctor  Huntsman  from  his  experience  during  the  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition 
of  1915. 

Breeding  hahits. — The  spawning  season  has  been  stated  as  autumn  or  winter  in 
north  Scandinavian  seas  on  the  strength  of  Nilsson's-^  report  of  the  capture  of 
a  spent  female  at  Christmas  time,  consonant  with  which  is  the  fact  that  its  larvae 
have  been  taken  in  tow  nets  from  February  to  March  in  the  Baltic  on  the  one  side 
of  the  North  Atlantic  and  from  March  to  May  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  on  the  other. 
It  may,  however,  commence  spawning  by  late  summer  or  early  autumn,  Sim  having 
found  its  roe  well  advanced  in  development  as  early  in  the  season  as  the  end  of 
April. 

Neither  the  ripe  fish  nor  the  eggs  of  this  species  have  ever  been  seen,  but  the 
latter  probably  sink  and  stick  together  like  those  of  its  relative,  the  rock  eel. 
Apparently  the  larvte  are  of  considerable  size  at  hatching,  for  the  smallest  we  have 
taken  (the  smallest  on  record)  were  about  11  mm.  long",  though  they  still  lacked  any 
trace  of  the  dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays.  Snake-blenny  larvte  are  very  slender,  resem- 
bling the  corresponding  stages  of  the  rock  eel  and  of  the  launce  in  general  appearance, 
but  are  distinguishable  from  both  of  these  species  by  the  fact  that  the  vent  is  situated 
considerably  in  front  of  the  midlength  of  the  trunk.  A  still  more  diagnostic  feature 
is  the  presence  of  a  large  black  chromatophore  at  the  base  of  each  pectoral  fi;i  and 
a  double  row  of  6  to  9  black  spots  along  the  dorsal  surface  of  the  intestine  with 
several  about  the  vent,  which  are  very  conspicuous  by  contrast  with  the  colorless 
body,  whether  it  be  transparent  in  life  or  opaque  white  after  preservation.  The 
first  traces  of  the  dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays  are  to  be  seen  at  a  length  of  20  to  21  mm., 
while  the  tiny  ventral  fins  are  visible  in  a  specimen  of  34  mm.,  and  our  largest 

"  »  Journal,  The  Linnean  Society,  Zoology,  Vol.  XX,  1890,  p.  38.    London. 
»»  Goodo  and  Bean,  1879,  p.  10. 
"  Skandinavisk  Fauna,  vol.  4,  1855,  p.  195.  Lund. 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  365 

example  (41  mm.  long)  shows  most  of  the  characters  of  the  adult,  although  it  is 
still  transparent  and  with  the  arrangement  of  pigment  characteristic  of  the  earlier 
larval  stages.  Apart  from  the  pigment  there  is  no  danger  of  confusing  the  young 
of  the  snake  blenny  with  the  herring,  which  is  the  only  other  very  slender  pelagic 
fish  larva  (besides  rock  eel  and  launce)  that  is  apt  to  be  found  in  any  numbers 
in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  in  spring,  for  the  tail  of  the  herring  is  forked  from  a  very  early 
stage  and  its  vent  is  situated  much  farther  back  than  that  of  the  blenny  (p.  97). 

140.  Shanny  {Leptoclinus  maculatus  Fries) 

Langbarn 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2433. 

Description. — The  shanny  closely  resembles  the  snake  blenny  in  general  ap- 
pearance and  in  the  location  and  shape  of  its  unpaired  fins,  but  it  is  not  so  elongate 
(only  eight  instead  of  fifteen  times  as  long  as  deep).  The  most  important  point  of 
difference  is  that  the  lower  part  of  the  pectoral  fin  (5  or  6  rays)  is  much  longer  than 
the  upper  and  obliquely  truncate,  as  appears  in  the  illustration  (fig.  183).  Its  tail, 
too,  is  only  slightly  convex  in  outline  instead  of  narrowly  oval  or  pointed  as  in  the 
snake  blenny.  Furthermore  there  are  fewer  fin  rays — only  58  to  61  dorsal  spines 
and  34  to  37  anal  rays,  as  pointed  out  above  (p.  363). 


Fig.  183. — Shanny,  European  (Leptoclinus  maculatiis) .     After  C'ollett 

Color. — Dirty  yellowish,  paler  below,  the  back  and  sides  marked  with  indistinct 
yellowish-brown  blotches  of  various  sizes.  The  dorsal  fin  is  described  as  barred 
obliquely  with  about  10  rows  of  brownish  dots  and  the  pectoral  transversely  with 
about  5  rows,  but  in  the  only  specimen  we  have  examined  these  fins  showed  no  mark- 
ings.    The  caudal  fin,  however,  had  a  broad  but  indistinct  dark  crossbar. 

Size. — About  7  inches  long. 

General  range. — An  Arctic  fish,  south  to  Sweden  and  Norway  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  North  Atlantic  and  to  Massachusetts  Bay  on  the  western  side. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Several  specimens  of  this  Arctic  fish  collected 
in  40  to  90  fathoms  in  Massachvisetts  Bay  by  the  U.  S.  Fish  Commission  in  1877,^^ 
and  one  that  we  took  in  the  tow  net  at  30  fathoms  near  Boone  Island  on  March  4, 
1920,  are  the  only  records  of  it  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  where  it  appears  only  as  a 
chance  straggler  from  the  north,  to  be  sought  in  cold  water  in  the  bottom  of  deep 
isolated  sinks.  In  such  situations  it  may  perhaps  maintain  itself  in  small  numbers 
within  our  limits. 

Habits  and  food. — In  Scandinavian  waters  it  spends  most  of  the  year  in  deep 
water,  probably  coming  up  to  the  shallows  to  spawn,  however.     In  the  aquarium  it 

"  Presumably  the  "Qulf  of  Maine"  specimens  reported  by  Kendall  (1914,  p.  62),  now  in  the  United  States  National  Museum, 
are  this  lot. 


366 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


"keeps  close  to  the  bottom,  with  the  body  extended  and  the  pectoral  fins  expanded, 
and  apparently  supports  itself  on  the  free  lower  rays  of  those  fins",-^  this  being  all  that 
is  known  of  its  mode  of  life.  Annelid  worms  and  pelagic  amphipods  have  been  found 
in  shanny  stomachs.  It  is  supposed  to  spawn  in  winter,  but  neither  its  eggs  nor  its 
larvjB  have  ever  been  seen. 

141.  Radiated  shanny  {Ulvaria  svhMf areata  Storer.) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2440. 

Description.-* — This  is  a  much  stouter  fish  than  either  the  snake  blenny  (p.  363) 
or  the  shanny  (p.  365),  being  only  about  one-fifth  as  deep  as  long.  The  dorsal 
profile  of  the  head  is  more  convex  than  the  ventral,  the  lips  thick  and  fleshy,  the  eye 
of  moderate  size,  and  the  lateral  line  bifurcate  with  its  lower  branch  running  the 
whole  length  of  the  body  but  the  upper  branch  (which  is  much  the  more  obvious  of 
the  two)  reaching  only  about  as  far  back  as  the  tip  of  the  pectoral  fin.  It  is  easily 
distinguished  from  the  rock  eel,  which  it  most  nearly  resembles,  by  its  larger  ventrals, 
their  situation  farther  in  advance  of  the  pectorals,  the  relatively  greater  height  of 
the  dorsal  fin  (compare  fig.  184  with  fig.  178),  the  fact  that  there  are  fewer  fin  rays 


i^/^/r^srffg^ :  '->...._.  .>|?^^^ 


Fig.  184.— Radiated  shanny  (  Ulvaria  svibihircata) 

(43  or  44  dorsal  spines) ,  and  especially  by  the  much  wider  gill  openings,  which 
extend  forward  under  the  throat,  whereas  they  are  confined  to  the  sides  in  the  rock 
eel.  The  outline  of  the  edge  of  the  gill  cover,  with  its  upper  corner  terminating 
in  a  rounded  fleshy  flap  concealing  a  sharp  angle,  is  likewise  diagnostic,  for  it  is 
rounded  in  all  other  Gulf  of  Maine  blennies.  The  relationship  of  dorsal  and  anal 
fins  to  the  caudal  is  an  equally  useful  field  mark,  the  former  being  practically  con- 
tinuous with  the  caudal,  but  the  anal  separated  from  it  by  a  definite,  if  short,  space, 
made  obvious  by  the  abrupt  rear  angle  of  the  fin.  The  pectoral  is  much  larger  than 
that  of  the  rock  eel,  evenly  rounded  in  outline,  and  reaches  back  about  to  the  eighth 
dorsal  spine.  The  caudal  is  evenly  rounded  and  the  anal  is  slightly  more  than  half 
as  long  as  the  dorsal. 

Color. — The  most  distinctive  feature  of  the  color  pattern — one  which  marks 
this  species  among  local  blennies — is  the  presence  of  a  large  oval  dusky  blotch  on 
the  dorsal  fin  extending  from  the  fifth  or  sixth  to  the  eighth  or  tenth  spine.^^  The 
back  and  upper  sides  are  dull  brown  obscurely  barred  or  blotched  alternately 
with  paler  and  darker,  and  the  belly  pale  brownish  (described  also  as   yellowish 

"  Smitt.    Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892,  p.  230. 

"  Based  on  three  specimens  from  Grand  Manan,  the  largest  5H  inches  long. 

'6  Only  to  the  eighth  in  such  specimens  as  we  have  seen. 


FISHES   OF   THE  GULF    OF   MAINE  367 

white).  The  caudal  is  crossbarred  with  3  or  4  series  of  dark  dots  and  the  dorsal 
with  many  tiny  dark  dots  besides  the  blotch  just  mentioned.  The  sides  of  the  head 
are  described  as  marked  with  a  dark  bar  running  obliquely  downward  and  backward 
from  the  eye,  but  this  is  not  visible  in  the  preserved  specimens  we  have  examined. 

Size. — The  largest  one  we  have  seen  or  found  record  of  is  5^  inches  long,  but  the 
maximum  size  may  well  be  larger. 

General  range. — So  far  this  fish  is  known  only  off  the  boreal  coasts  of  eastern 
North  America  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  Cape  Cod,  and  there  are  few 
records  of  it. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  shanny,  first  described  by  Storer  (1853- 
1867,  p.  93),  who  saw  one  "found  at  an  unusually  low  tide  among  the  seaweed  at 
Nahant  (in  Massachusetts  Bay)  in  1838,"  was  long  supposed  to  be  very  rare  and 
is  so  described  by  Jordan  and  Evermann  as  recently  as  1898,  but  it  has  since  proved 
to  be  common  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  ^'  among  seaweed  on  rocky  shores,  a  number 
having  been  taken  both  at  Campobello  Island  and  at  Grand  Manan,  and  one  in 
the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix  River,  as  Doctor  Huntsman  records  in  his  notes  (p.  9). 
He  also  reports  it  from  St.  Mary  Bay  on  the  Nova  Scotia  shore,  while  we  have 
seen  examples  taken  many  years  ago  at  Grand  Manan.  It  has  likewise  been 
reported  at  Matinicus  Rock  and  in  Casco  Bay  on  the  coast  of  Maine,  while  we 
trawled  one  near  Seguin  Island  and  another  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  27  and  25 
fathoms,  respectively,  on  the  Grampus  in  1912,  and  caught  its  larvje  in  tow  nets 
near  Seal  Island  (Nova  Scotia),  in  the  Grand  Manan  Channel,  at  the  mouth  of  Casco 
Bay,  near  Cape  Porpoise,  off  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  near  Cape  Ann,  and  in  Massachu- 
setts Bay.  All  this  suggests  that  it  is  widespread  in  the  coastal  zone  of  the  Gulf, 
but  apparently  more  plentiful  in  the  northeast  than  in  the  southwest  part,  which 
suggests  a  preference  for  comparatively  low  temperatures. 

Habits. — Nothing  is  known  of  the  mode  of  life  of  this  shanny  except  that  it 
lives  among  seaweed  and  stones  from  low  tide  mark  down  at  least  to  30  fathoms, 
and  very  hkely  much  deeper.  It  is  a  bottom  fish  hke  other  blennies  and,  as  Doctor 
Huntsman  writes  in  his  notes,  "is  found  under  stones  near  low  tide  mark"  with 
the  rock  eel,  but  far  less  abundantly  and  only  on  the  more  exposed  shores.  Cornish  ^' 
hkewise  describes  it  as  taken  under  stones  on  the  beach,  as  well  as  in  the  dredge  and 
trawl  in  6  to  30  fathoms  at  Canso,  Nova  Scotia. 

The  eggs  have  never  been  seen,  but  the  fact  that  we  have  taken  larvte  as  smaU 
as  8  to  11  mm.  in  June,  July,  and  October  ^*  points  to  a  breeding  season  lasting 
from  late  spring  throughout  the  summer  (supposing  om*  identification  to  be  correct) . 

»  Huntsman,  1922a,  p.  18. 

"  Further  Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology,  1902-1905  (1907),  p.  87.  In  39th  Annual  Report  of  the  Department  ot  Marine 
anij  Fisheries  (of  Canada),  1906,  Fisheries  Branch. 

28  These  larvae  are  listed  in  Bulletin  of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard  College,  Vol.  LVIII,  No.  2,  1914,  p. 
109;  and  Vol.  LIX,  1917,  p.  273. 


368 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 
THE  WRYMOUTHS.     FAMILY  CRYPTACANTHODIDiE 


The  wrymouths  are  slender  fishes  of  eel-like  form,  close  relatives  of  the  blennies 
but  much  larger.  Like  the  latter  they  have  a  long  dorsal  fin,  spiny  throughout 
its  length,  but  the  demarcation  between  dorsal,  caudal,  and  anal  fins  is  so  vague 
that  they  can  be  described  as  continuous.  There  are  no  ventral  fins  and  the  mouth 
is  so  oblique  that  it  is  nearly  vertical.  Only  three  species  are  known — all  North 
American — of  which  the  Gulf  of  Maine  harbors  one. 

142.  Wrym6uth  (Cryptacanthodes  maculatus  Storer) 

Congo  eel;  Bastard  cusk;  Ghostfish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2443. 

Description. — The  wrymouth  is  eel-like  in  form,  about  thirteen  times  as  long 
as  deep  but  much  compressed,  and,  eel-like,  it  lacks  ventral  fins;  but  its  dorsal 
fin  (which  extends  from  just  behind  the  pectoral  back  to  the  caudal)  is  spiny  (about 
73  spines)  for  its  whole  length  like  that  of  its  close  relatives,  the  blennies,  and,  just 

lllljl^lil""^'' """""■■""""*"  '"'■"'I-«ii«'."*gg 


f/:: 


;^' 


Fig.  185. — Wrymouth  (,CTyptacanthodes  viaculatvs) 

as  in  some  of  the  latter,  there  is  no  definite  demarcation  between  dorsal,  caudal,  and 
anal  (about  50  rays),  the  one  merging  into  the  other  to  form  a  continuous  fin  with  no 
interspaces.  However,  the  absence  of  ventral  fins  marks  it  off  from  all  of  our  local 
blennies,  and  its  peculiar  profile  is  an  equally  useful  field  mark,  the  head  being  flat- 
topped,  the  eyes  set  high  up  in  very  prominent  orbits,  and  the  mouth  strongly 
oblique  with  the  heavy  lower  jaw  lending  the  face  a  "bull-dog"  expression  when 
the  mouth  is  closed.  The  wide  gill  openings,  running  forward  under  the  throat, 
the  small  size  and  rounded  outline  of  the  pectorals,  the  fact  that  both  dorsal  and  anal 
are  low  (less  than  half  as  high  as  the  body  is  deep)  and  of  even  height  throughout 
most  of  their  length,  with  the  latter  only  about  half  as  long  as  the  former,  and  that 
the  caudal  is  oval  in  outline,  are  also  diagnostic. 

Color. — Described  (and  the  few  preserved  specimens  we  have  seen  corre- 
spond with  this)  as  of  varying  shades  of  reddish  brown  with  the  upper  sides  with 
two  or  three  irregular  rows  of  small  darker  brown  spots  running  from  head  to  tail, 
the-  top  of  the  head  as  thickly  speckled,  the  vertical  fins  as  spotted  with  similar  but 
smaller  dots,  and  the  belly  as  grayish  white.  Occasionally  spotless  specunens  have 
been  seen. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  369 

Size. — Maximum  length  about  3  feet. 

General  range. — Coast  of  North  America  from  Labrador  to  Long  Island  Sound. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Published  records  locate  this  fish  in  the 
Bay  of  Fundy,  at  Eastport,  in  Casco  Bay,  at  Portland,  in  the  mouth  of  the  Piscata- 
qua  River,  at  Gloucester,  in  Marblehead  Harbor,  at  Swampscott,  Nahant,  Dor- 
chester in  Boston  Harbor,^"  and  in  the  outer  waters  of  Massachusetts  Baj',  localities 
sufficiently  scattered  to  show  that  it  is  to  be  found  all  along  the  coasts  of  the  Gulf. 
However,  it  seems  to  be  rare,  or  at  least  very  local,  everywhere.  We  have  neither 
caught  the  adult  nor  have  we  seen  it  brought  in  by  fishing  boats.  In  fact,  few 
of  the  fishermen  of  whom  we  have  inquired  have  been  aware  of  its  existence,  a 
fact  no  doubt  associated  with  its  burrowing  habit;  but  in  May,  1915,  and  March 
and  April,  1920,  we  towed  its  late  larvte  and  fry  (a  total  of  11  specimens  ranging 
in  length  from  18  to  40  mm.)  off  Boston  Harbor  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  near  Mount 
Desert  Island,  over  Jeffrey  Bank  off  Penobscot  Bay,  in  the  trough  near  the  Isles  of 
Shoals,  in  the  western  basin  a  few  miles  west  of  Cashes  Ledge,  and  in  the  deep 
basin  off  Machias,  Me. 

Habits. — Very  little  was  known  of  its  habits,  except  that  it  was  a  bottom  fish 
living  from  the  intertidal  zone  down  to  considerable  depths  (where  it  is  sometimes 
taken  on  line  trawls  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy),  until  recently,  but  in  1910  and  again  in 
1920  Willey  and  Himtsman  (1921,  p.  4)  found  fullgrown  wrymouths  living  in  burrows 
in  the  mud  on  the  flats  at  the  mouth  of  the  Magaguadavic  River,  a  tributary  of 
Passamaquoddy  Bay.  These  burrows,  to  quote  from  their  account,  "were  found  in 
very  soft  mud  from  the  lower  part  of  the  Fucus  zone  downward;  that  is,  as  far  up 
as  4  feet  above  low-water  mark,  "  and  "  each  system  of  burrows,  inhabited  by  only 
one  fish,  consisted  of  branching  tunnels  about  5  cm.  in  diameter  and  from  3  to  8 
cm.  below  the  surface, "  originating  from  a  more  or  less  centrally  placed  mound  in 
which  was  the  main  entrance,  with  other  smaller  openings  along  the  tunnels  and  at 
their  terminations. 

It  seems  that  the  burrowing  instinct  is  strong,  for  one  fish  kept  in  a  tank  con- 
stantly inhabited  a  piece  of  hard  rubber  tubing.  Hence  it  is  probable  that  wry- 
mouths  in  other  parts  of  the  Gulf  likewise  live  in  burrows  or  perhaps  under  stones, 
and  apparently  they  are  as  apt  to  be  inshore  in  shoal  water  in  winter  as  in  summer, 
for  one  was  speared  in  Marblehead  Harbor  in  December  many  years  ago.'" 

Food. — Huntsman  and  Willey  found  "beach  fleas"  or  "sand-hoppers"  (Gam- 
marus),  shrimps  (Crago),  and  fragments  of  winter  flounders  in  several  wrymouths 
which  they  opened,  and  the  one  kept  in  captivity  readily  ate  sand-hoppers,  hermit 
crabs,  small  herring,  and  mollusks  such  as  limpets,  periwinkles,  whelks,  clams,  and 
mussels.     Apparently  it  located  food  as  much  by  sight  as  by  smell.^' 

Breeding  habits. — Ripe  wrymouths  are  yet  to  be  seen;  but  the  presence  of  the 
larvae  early  in  spring  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  as  reported  by  Huntsman,  with  the 
seasonal  occui'rence  of  the  fry  just  mentioned,  proves  it  a  winter  spawner  in 
the  Gulf  of  Maine,   though  it  may  breed  later  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  for 

»  A  specimen  given  Storer  by  Dr.  Henry  Bryant. 

30  Putnam,  1874,  pp.  11-13. 

"  Willey  and  Huntsman  (1921)  also  give  interesting  data  on  its  respiration  and  response  to  various  stimuli. 


370  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUKEAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Dannevig^^  records  a  young  wrytaouth  only  38  mm.  long  taken  there  as  late  as  June 
10.  The  localities  where  the  young  fish  have  been  taken  (p.  369)  suggest  that 
wrymouths  spawn  all  around  the  coast  line  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  and  wherever  they 
occur  on  the  offshore  banks. 

Neither  the  eggs  nor  the  early  larval  stages  are  known,  but  by  the  time  the 
young  have  gi-o\vn  to  a  length  of  21  to  22  mm.,  with  the  dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays 
visible,  they  show  the  long  vertical  fins  and  lack  of  ventral  fins  diagnostic  of  the 
species,  though  they  are  relatively  much  less  elongate  than  the  adult,  their  caudal 
fins  larger  and  square  instead  of  rounded,  while  their  mouths  are  stiU  nearly  hori- 
zontal. The  pigmentation  of  the  fry  is  likewise  extremely  characteristic,  the 
upper  sides  from  the  eye  back  to  the  caudal  fin  being  thickly  speckled  with  dark 
brown  dots,  which  become  sparser  on  the  lower  sides.  This  color  pattern,  developed 
in  larvae  as  small  as  18  mm.  (that  is,  even  before  the  dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays  are 
visible),  makes  it  easy  to  distinguish  young  wrymouths  from  any  of  the  blenny 
tribe,  in  which  the  abdominal  region  and  the  ventral  side  of  the  trunk,  but  not  the 
back,  are  pigmented.  Young  wrymouths  are  likewise  deeper  bodied  than  rock-eel 
or  blenny  larvae  and  are  further  advanced  in  development  at  equal  lengths. 

THE    WOLFFISHES.     FAMILY   ANARHICHADID.S 

The  wolffishes  are  closely  allied  to  the  blennies  and  like  the  latter  have  a  single 
long  spiny  dorsal  fin  running  the  whole  length  of  the  back  from  the  nape ;  but  the 
presence  of  large  molar  teeth  and  canine  tusks,  with  the  total  lack  of  ventral  fins 
and  the  fact  that  all  but  the  last  10  or  12  dorsal  fin  spines  are  soft  and  flexible  at  the 
tips,  justify  a  separate  family  for  their  reception.  They  are  much  larger  fish  than 
any  of  the  blenny  tribe,  also.  Two  species  occur  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine — one  com- 
mon and  the  other  very  rare. 

KEY  TO   GULF  OF   MAINE  WOLFFISHES 

1.         Plain  colored  or  dark  barred  and  blotched  but  not  definitely  black-spotted;  the  central 

band  of  molars  in  the  roof  of  the  mouth  is  shorter  than  the  bands  flanking  it 

Common  wolflSsh,  p.  370 

Definitely  black  spotted  on  a  pale  ground;  the  bands  of  molars  in  the  roof  of  the  mouth 
are  all  of  equal  length Spotted  wolffish,  p.  375 

143.  Wolfflsh  (Anarhichas  lupus  Linnaeus) 

Catfish  ^^ 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2446. 

Description. — The  wolffish  suggests  a  huge  blenny  in  its  general  make-up,  but 
only  the  last  10  or  12  spines  of  its  dorsal  fin  are  stiff  to  the  tips,  those  farther  forward 
being  flexible  at  the  outer  ends.  There  are  no  ventral  fins.  The  mouth  is  armed 
with  a  set  of  teeth  more  formidable  than  those  of  any  other  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes 
except  the  sharks.  These  teeth  are  arranged  as  follows:  In  the  upper  jaw  there  is 
a  row  of  about  6  very  large,  stout,  conical  canine  tusks  with  a  cluster  of  5  or  6 

"  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-1915  (1919)  p.  16.     On  pi.  2,  flg.  10,  he  gives  an  excellent  figure  of  this  specimen. 
"  Wbiteflsh  in  the  markets. 


FISHES   OF   THE    GULF    OF    MAINE 


371 


smaller  canines  behind  them ;  the  roof  of  the  mouth  back  of  the  latter  is  armed 
with  three  series  of  crushing  teeth,  the  central  series  consisting  of  a  double  row  of 
about  4  pairs  of  large  rounded  molars  united  into  a  soUd  plate,  and  each  of  the 
outer  series  consisting  of  two  alternating  rows  of  blunt  conical  teeth.  The  lower 
jaw  bears  4  to  6  large  tusks  in  front,  behind  which  there  are  two  longitudinal 
diverging  rows  of  rounded  molars,  and  the  throat  is   also  furnished  with  small 


^f^ 


"-««S&Sijt 


Fig-  186— Adult 


Fig.  187.— Larva  (European),  just  hatched.    After  Ehrenbaum 


^■'-^r^Si^fest^^^Jrt.v. 


Fig.  188.— Larva.  21.5  millimeters 
WOLFFISH  (Anarhkhas  lupus) 

scattered  teeth.  The  great  projecting  tusks,  rounded  nose,  and  small  eyes  give 
the  wolf  a  singularly  savage  aspect.  The  body  is  deepest  close  behind  the  head, 
tapering  back  to  a  slender  caudal  peduncle  and  small  weak  tail.  The  dorsal  fin — 
about  half  as  high  as  the  head  is  long,  and  uniform  in  height  except  for  its  rounded 
comers  (69  to  77  spines) — runs  from  the  nape  of  the  neck  to  the  base  of  the  caudal. 


372  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

The  anal  (42  to  48  rays)  is  only  about  half  as  high  and  slightly  more  than  half  as 
long  as  the  dorsal  and  its  rear  corner  is  angular.  The  pectorals  are  large  and  rounded 
and  the  caudal  slightly  convex  in  outline. 

Color. — Wolffishes  are  always  dull  colored  but  varj-  widely  in  tint.  The  upper 
parts  and  dorsal  fins  of  those  taken  off  the  Massachusetts  coast  have  been  described 
as  purplish  browTi  and  we  have  seen  them  of  this  tint,  but  according  to  Mr.  Clapp 
fish  caught  on  Georges  Bank  are  invariably  dull  olive  green,  while  in  other  seas 
they  are  described  as  purplish,  brownish,  or  bluish  gray,  or  as  slate  colored.  No 
doubt  the  color  of  the  wolf,  like  that  of  many  other  ground  fish,  varies  Avith  that  of 
its  surroundings,  purphsh  and  brown  tints  ruling  among  red  seaweeds  and  olive 
gray  on  clean  bottoms.  Whatever  its  tint,  its  sides  are  transversely  barred  with 
a  variable  number  (usually  10  or  more)  of  irregular  and  broken  darker  bands  or 
blotches  or  scattered  spots  that  extend  out  on  the  dorsal  fin.  The  throat  and  the 
belly  back  to  the  vent  are  dirty  white  tinged  with  the  general  ground  tint  of  the 
upper  parts.  WolfJish  fade  so  soon  after  they  are  caught  that  those  seen  in  the 
markets  are  usually  much  paler  than  they  are  in  life. 

Size. — A  length  of  5  feet  and  a  weight  of  approximately  30  pounds  seems  about  the 
maximum  in  Gulf  of  Maine  waters,  and  one  more  than  4  feet  long  is  seldom  seen,  the 
larger  fish  caught  and  brought  in  not  running  over  3  feet.  European  authors,  it 
is  true,  speak  of  wolffish  of  6  feet  and  even  longer,  but  they  average  only  about  2 
feet  in  Scandinavian  waters,^^  hardly  as  large  as  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic,  north  to  Davis  Strait  and  south 
regularly  to  Cape  Cod,  more  rarely  to  southern  New  England,  and  exceptionally 
to  New  Jersey  in  American  waters. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Although  the  wolfBsh  has  been  recorded  from 
but  few  definite  stations  ^^  in  scientific  literature,  it  is  actually  a  fairly  common  fish 
in  the  Gulf,  though  hardly  to  be  described  as  abundant,  and  is  to  be  caught  very 
generally  on  suitable  bottom  in  all  parts  of  the  Gulf  though  nowhere  in  any  great 
numbers.  Thus  it  is  taken  regularly  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  (not  listed  in 
the  Canadian  fishery  statistics,  however)  and  about  Grand  Manan.  A  few  are  yearly 
brought  in  from  off  Mount  Desert  and  from  the  other  small  fishing  grounds  between 
Eastport  and  Penobscot  Bay,  larger  numbers  are  taken  off  the  islands  from  Penob- 
scot Bay  to  Casco  Bay  (the  catch  by  the  shore  fishermen  of  this  part  of  the  coast 
aggregated  nearly  23,000  pounds  in  1902),  but  the  most  productive  grounds  for 
Maine  are  off  Casco  Bay,  whence  no  less  than  29,829  pounds  were  brought  in  by 
small  boats  in  1919,  17,700  pounds  in  1905,  and  146,700  pounds  in  1902.  More  or 
less  catfish,  as  most  fishermen  call  them,  are  also  caught  on  hand  and  trawl  lines  along 
the  coast  southward  to  Massachusetts  Bay.  In  the  year  1905,  for  example,  small- 
boat  fishermen  landed  16,000  pounds  between  Cape  Elizabeth  and  the  New  Hamp- 
shire line,  and  over  37,000  pounds  in  Essex  County,  Mass.,  most  of  the  latter  coming 
from  Jeffreys  Ledge  and  Stellwagen  Bank  and  from  the  deeper  rocky  spots  near 
Gloucester  and  Nahant,  grounds  where  fishermen  report  them  as  fairly  plentiful 
but  running  smaller  than  on  Georges  Bank. 

3<  Smitt.    Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892,  p.  232. 

"  The  North  Channel,  off  Cape  Sable,  in  St.  Mary  Bay,  at  Grand  Manan,  at  Campobello,  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy, 
Eastport,  Mussel  Ridge  Channel,  Casco  Bay,  Ipswich  Bay,  Annisquam,  ofL  Gloucester,  Massachusetts  Bay,  North  Truro, 
Nantucket  Shoals,  and  Georges  Bank. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  373 

The  catch  from  any  given  region  varies  widely  from  year  to  year.  For  example, 
the  landings  in  Barnstable  County,  Mass.,  rose  from  less  than  300  pounds  in  1905  to 
more  than  13,000  in  1919,  whereas  less  than  half  as  many  fish  were  caught  off 
Gloucester  during  the  latter  year  as  in  the  former.  The  total  coastwise  catch  for 
Massachusetts  and  Maine  combined  shrank  by  over  50  per  cent  from  1902  to  1919 
and  1920,  either  because  the  fish  have  actually  diminished  in  number  on  the  inshore 
grounds,  or  because  the  fishermen  have  resorted  to  localities  less  productive  of  this 
particular  species,  which  is  a  more  likely  explanation  since  the  wolffish  is  very  local 
in  its  occurrence. 

The  wolffish  is  general  on  Georges  Bank  (probably  on  the  other  offshore  banks 
also) ,  where  it  is  caught  regularly  both  by  otter  trawlers  and  by  hand-line  fishermen, 
it  being  usual  for  vessels  of  these  classes  to  bring  in  anywhere  from  1  to  40  or  50  per 
trip.  Although  it  is  a  solitary  fish,  one  living  here  and  one  there,  and  is  nowhere 
abundant  in  the  sense  that  the  term  is  applied  to  cod,  haddock* pollock,  or  our  other 
important  commercial  fishes,  these  offshore  grounds  yielded  about  three  times  as 
much  weight  of  wolffish  as  did  those  inshore  in  1919.  We  may  add,  to  illustrate  the 
abundance  of  the  stock  of  this  species  as  compared  with  other  fishes,  that  the  total 
catch  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  in  that  year  was  between  300,000  and  400,000  pounds.^^ 

The  depth  zone  occupied  by  the  wolffish  at  one  time  or  another  extends  from  a 
fathom  or  so  below  tide  mark  down  to  85  fathoms  at  least  and  very  likely  deeper. 
It  has  been  reported  in  tide  pools  at  Eastport,  but  we  have  never  heard  of  it  in  such 
situations  or  at  low-water  mark  anywhere  else  in  the  Gulf,  nor  does  it  run  up  estu- 
aries. Probably  most  of  the  local  stock  lives  in  depths  of  10  to  40  fathoms.  It  is  a 
ground  fish,  always  caught  on  hard  bottom,  never  on  mud,  a  weak  swimmer,  moving 
by  sinuous  side  to  side  undulations  like  a  blenny  or  an  eel,  and  probably  it  spends 
most  of  its  life  hidden  among  seaweed  or  rocks  or  nosing  about  such  surroundings 
for  food.  As  it  passes  through  only  a  brief  pelagic  stage  when  young  (p.  375),  the 
wolf  may  be  classed  as  a  comparative!}'  stationary  fish,  with  much  less  interchange 
from  one  locality  to  another  than  is  the  case  with  cod  or  haddock. 

Although  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  the  wolffish  ever  attacks  other  fish,  it 
snaps  like  a  bulldog  and  with  good  aim  at  anything  in  its  way — one's  hands,  an 
oar,  or  at  other  fish  among  which  it  is  thrown  when  hauled  out  of  the  water — and  so 
serious  a  bite  can  it  inflict  that  fishermen  hasten  to  knock  it  on  the  head  as  soon  as 
it  is  brought  aboard.  Goode  (et  al.,  1884),  indeed,  remarks  that  it  has  been  known 
to  attack  furiously  persons  wading  among  the  rock  pools  of  Eastport,  Me.,  but  we 
have  never  heard  of  such  an  occurrence  of  late  years. 

The  wolf  is  resident  wherever  found,  to  be  caught  throughout  the  year.  For 
example,  about  as  many  are  brought  in  from  Georges  Bank  in  one  month  as  in 
another. 

Food. — The  diet  of  this  fish  consists  wholly  of  hard-shelled  mollusks,  crusta- 
ceans, and  echinoderms.  So  far  as  we  can  learn  fish  have  never  been  found  in  the 
stomach  of  a  wolffish  and  the  old  myth  that  it  is  a  terror  to  other  fishes  has  been 
exploded  long  since.  Mr.  Clapp  found  that  the  50  or  60  fish  that  he  opened  on 
Georges  Bank  had  all  eaten  large  whelks  (Buccinum),  cockles  (Lunatia,  Chryso- 

3"  The  amount  can  not  be  stated  more  exactly  for  want  of  statistics  for  Nova  Scotia  and  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 


374  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

domus,  and  Fusus),  sea  clams  (Mactra),  and  other  shells,  which  the  wolfEsh  crushes 
easily  in  its  vicelike  molars.  Sometimes,  however,  these  mollusks  are  swallowed 
whole.  In  north  European  waters  wolffish  are  said  to  subsist  largely  on  mussels, 
and  one  taken  and  examined  by  Vinal  Edwards  at  Woods  Hole  was  full  of  these; 
but  although  mussels  are  plentiful  on  Georges  Bank  none  were  found  in  stomachs 
of  the  fish  caught  there,  which  points  to  a  definite  preference  for  the  other  shellfish 
just  mentioned.  The  wolf  is  also  known  to  feed  on  large  hermit  crabs,  ordinary 
crabs  and  other  crustaceans,  starfish,  and  sea  urchins,  a  quart  of  the  latter  having 
been  taken  from  one  caught  at  Eastport;^'  and  Mr.  Clapp's  observations  that  every 
one  he  has  opened  contained  food  of  some  sort  is  good  evidence  of  its  constant 
search  for  anything  edible.  With  such  a  diet  it  is  not  surprising  that  wolffish  are 
more  often  caught  on  hand  lines  baited  with  cockles  or  clams  than  on  line  trawls, 
which  are  usually  baited  with  herring. 

Breeding  habits.-*-The  breeding  habits  of  the  wolffish  have  not  been  followed  on 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  In  north  European  waters  it  spawns  chiefly  from  November 
until  January,  ^^  and  apparently  the  breeding  season  is  about  the  same  in  the  Gulf 
of  Maine,  for  we  have  taken  larvae  of  20  to  22  mm.  (fig.  188) — that  is,  2  to  3  months 
old  from  the  time  the  eggs  were  deposited — as  early  as  January  30  in  1913,  and  as 
late  as  March  4  in  1920. 

The  e^s,  5.5  to  6  mm.  in  diameter,  among  the  largest  fish  eggs  known,  yellowish, 
opaque,  and  with  an  oil  globule  of  1.75  mm.,  are  laid  on  the  bottom  in  shoal  water 
where  they  stick  together  in  lai^e  loose  clumps  among  weeds,  stones,  etc.  The 
fish  have  been  described  as  making  an  annual  shoreward  journey  for  spawning  pur- 
poses, but  there  is  Uttle  evidence  of  this.  The  precise  duration  of  incubation  is  yet 
to  be  learned.    Probably  it  is  long,  as  with  most  fishes  laying  eggs'  that  lie  on  bottom. 

The  slender  transparent  larvae  are  about  half  an  inch  (12  mm.)  long  at  hatching, 
with  an  enormous  baglike  yolk  sac  inclosed  in  a  net  of  highly  developed  blood 
vessels  (see  fig.  187,  p.  371),  thus  remotely  suggesting  salmon  or  trout  larvae  in 
appearance.  This  yolk  gradually  shrinks  as  the  larva  grows,  but  it  persists  much 
longer  than  in  species  producing  buoyant  eggs.  Wolffish  hatched  by  Mcintosh  and 
Prince  in  the  aquarium  at  St.  Andrews,  Scotland,  did  not  absorb  the  yolk  sac  wholly 
until  about  3 >^  months  old  and  upward  of  20  mm.  long,  but  in  natural  surround- 
ings larvae  as  small  as  17  mm.  have  been  found  free  of  yolk,  nor  is  any  trace  of  it 
visible  in  the  larvae  of  21  mm.  and  upward  which  we  have  towed  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine.  Larvae  of  20  to  22  mm.  show  the  dorsal  and  ventral  spines  and  fin  rays 
in  their  final  number,  but  the  large  head,  enormous  eyes,  and  tiny  teeth,  and  the  fact 
that  there  is  no  definite  separation  between  the  anal  and  dorsal  fins  and  the  caudal, 
give  the  young  fishes  an  aspect  very  different  from  that  of  the  adult  until  they  are 
llito\%  inches  long.  In  life  the  wolf  is  silvery  on  the  sides  at  this  stage,  but  this 
metallic  hue  fades  after  preservation,  leaving  only  the  dark  brown  pigment  granules 
with  which  the  sides  are  thickly  dotted.  The  largest  fry  we  have  seen  (44  mm. 
long)  show  similar  but  somewhat  paler  pigmentation. 

"  VerrUl,  1871,  p.  400. 

»» It  was  formerly  thought  to  spawn  in  spring,  but  Mcintosh  and  Prince  (Transactions,  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh,  Vol. 
XXXV,  Part  III  (No.  19),  1890),  to  whom  we  owe  all  that  is  known  of  its  early  larval  development,  proved  it  an  autumn  and 
winter  spawner  both  by  examination  of  its  ovaries  and  by  the  discovery  of  its  eggs. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  375 

When  first  hatched  the  larvae  lie  on  bottom,  resting  on  the  yolk  like  young 
trout  or  salmon,  becoming  more  active  as  the  yolk  is  absorbed;  but  it  is  not  until 
the  latter  is  considerably  reduced  in  size  (that  is,  until  several  weeks  after  hatching) 
that  they  swim  much,  and  they  do  no  more  than  dart  upward  for  a  few  inches  and 
then  settle  back  again  until  a  month  or  more  old.  Thus  the  wolfBsh  spends  the  early 
part  of  its  development  period  close  to  bottom  instead  of  drifting  at  the  mercy 
of  tide  and  current,  as  do  all  the  fishes  that  produce  buoyant  eggs.  While  some  of 
the  older  larvffi  and  young  fry  adopt  a  pelagic  habit  for  a  time  after  the  yolk  is 
absorbed  (for  we  took  some  20  specimens  of  various  lengths  from  21  to  44  mm., 
in  tow  nets  during  March  and  April,  1920),  it  seems  that  they  seldom  rise  to  the 
uppermost  water  layers,  for  only  two  of  the  eight  hauls  were  at  the  surface,  the  others 
being  at  depths  of  30  to  60  fathoms;  and  as  fry  no  larger  than  this  have  been  trawled 
on  bottom  in  European  waters,  some  of  them  may  never  leave  the  ground  at  all. 
It  follows,  then,  that  the  wolfFish  probably  is  not  subject  to  the  long  involuntary 
migrations  carried  out  by  most  members  of  the  cod  and  flatfish  tribes,  but  that  it 
passes  through  its  entire  larval  stage  near  where  it  is  hatched,  and  hence  that  the 
localities  where  the  young  are  taken  are  evidence  of  local  spawning.  On  this  basis 
it  seems  that  the  wolffish  breeds  generally  in  the  eastern  as  well  as  in  the  western 
part  of  the  Gulf,  for  we  have  taken  its  larvse  in  the  North  Channel,  near  Seal 
Island  (Nova  Scotia),  on  and  off  the  slope  of  German  Bank,  off  Lurcher  Shoal, 
in  the  deep  off  Machias  (Maine),  on  Jeffrey  Bank  (off  Penobscot  Bay),  and  in 
Massachusetts  Bay  a  few  miles  off  Gloucester.  The  brevity  of  the  pelagic  stage  also 
implies  that  it  is  on  local  reproduction  that  the  stock  depends  for  its  maintenance 
in  any  given  locality. 

In  Scottish  waters  wolffish  fry,  no  doubt  hatched  the  preceding  autumn,  have 
been  taken  as  long  as  5  to  6  inches  in  July,  and  7  to  8  inches  in  August,  pointing 
to  a  rapid  rate  of  growth  for  the  first  summer.  Nothing  is  known  of  the  later 
growth. 

Commercial  importance. — Although  so  repellant  in  appearance  that  the  market 
demand  for  it  is  of  comparatively  recent  growth,  the  wolf  is  an  excellent  table  fish, 
selling  readily  as  "catfish"  or  as  "ocean  whitefish." 

143.  Spotted  wolffish  (AnarMclias  minor  Olafsen) 
Spotted  catfish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,   1896-1900,  p.  2446. 

Description. — This  species  closely  resembles  the  common  wolffish  in  its  general 
form  and  in  the  arrangement  of  its  fins,  the  chief  difference  between  the  two  being 
that  while  the  central  ("vomerine")  band  of  teeth  on  the  roof  of  the  mouth  is 
shorter  than  the  band  on  either  side  ("  palatine  ")  in  the  common  wolffish,  these  bands 
are  of  about  equal  length  in  the  spotted  wolffish,  while  its  teeth  are  described  (we 
have  never  seen  it)  as  red,  not  white.  Furthermore  the  dorsal  fin  is  continuous  with 
the  caudal,  although  with  its  last  3  to  6  spines  much  shorter  than  those  further 
forward,  whereas  the  two  fins  are  quite  separate    in    the  common  wolf.     Color, 


376  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

however,  is  its  best  field  mark,  the  pale  olive  or  chocolate^'  upper  parts  of  the 
present  species,  together  with  the  dorsal  and  caudal  fins,  being  thickly  sprinkled 
with  blackish  brown  spots  of  varying  size  and  irregular  shape. 

Size. — Notwithstanding  its  Latin  name  this  is  fully  as  large  a  fish  as  the  common 
wolffish,  said  to  grow  to  a  length  of  6  feet. 

General  range. — Chiefly  north  of  the  Arctic  Circle,  south  to  Norway  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  North  Atlantic  and  to  Massachusetts  Bay  on  the  western  side. 

Occurrence  in  the  Oulf  of  Maine. — Goode  and  Bean's  (1879,  p.  11)  statement 
that  "  the  Fish  Commission  has  specimens  from  off  the  mouth  of  Gloucester 
Harbor  and  from  Eastport,  Me.,"  long  remained  the  only  notice  of  this  northern 
fish  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  but  Walter  Rich,  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  has 
recently  obtained  a  specimen  taken  in  35  fathoms  off  Cape  Elizabeth  and  now  in  the 
collection  of  the  Portland  Society  of  Natural  History.  Shore  fishermen  of  whom 
we  have  inquired  have  either  never  seen  it  or  fail  to  discriminate  between  it  and  the 
common  wolffish  (this  is  hardly  likely,  so  striking  is  its  color  pattern),  though 
vessel  fishermen  are  familiar  with  it  in  more  northern  waters.  Nor  did  Huntsman 
hear  of  it  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  In  short,  this  side  of  Cape  Sable  it  is  only  an 
accidental  waif  from  its  Arctic  home,  one  to  be  watched  for  but  hardly  expected." 

Habits. — Very  little  is  known  of  its  habits  except  that  its  diet  is  much  the  same 
as  that  of  its  more  common  relative,  and  it  is  said  to  keep  to  rather  deeper  waters, 
having  been  caught  as  deep  as  200  to  240  fathoms  off  Banquereau."" 

THE    EELPOUTS.     FAMILY    ZOARCID.^ 

The  eelpouts  are  elongate  eel-like  fishes  with  the  anal  fin  continuous  with  the 
caudal.  In  most  members  of  the  family  the  dorsal  joins  the  caudal  equally,  making 
one  continuous  fin  extending  around  the  tip  of  the  tail,  but  in  the  only  common 
Gulf  of  Maine  species  the  rear  portion  of  the  dorsal  is  so  low  that  there  is  apparently 
a  bare  space  between  it  and  the  caudal.  Eelpouts  are  readily  separable  from  the 
true  eels  by  the  presence  of  ventral  fins,  small  but  unmistakable,  situated  slightly 
in  advance  of  the  pectorals.  Their  closest  affinities  among  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes  are 
with  the  blennies  (p.  359),  the  wolffishes  (p.  370),  and  the  wrymouths  (p.  368),  but 
they  are  easily  separable  from  the  blennies  and  wiymouths  by  the  fact  that  at  least 
the  major  part  of  the  dorsal  fin  is  soft  rayed,  not  spiny,  and  from  the  wolffish  by 
their  more  slender  form  and  smaller  teeth. 

KEY  TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   EELPOUTS 

1.  The  dorsal  fin  is  apparently  separated  from  the  caudal  by  a  considerable  gap.-Eelpout,  p.  378 
Dorsal,  caudal,  and  anal  fins  together  form  one  uninterrupted  fin 2 

2.  Extremely  elongate,  at  least  12  times  as  long  as  deep Wolf  eel,  p.  382 

Only  about  8  times  as  long  as  deep Arctic  eelpout,  p.  383 

^  The  general  ground  tint  has  been  variously  described. 
-   "  Qoode's  statement  that  it  has  been  seen  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  (Goode,  et  al.,  1384)  apparently  refers  to  the  Eastport  record 
just  mentioned. 

"  Bean,  1881,  p.  82. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OP    MAINE 


377 


3 


fr  ;3t"*f 


378  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

145.  Eelpoilt   {Zoarces  anguillaris  Peck) 
Yowler;  Conger  eel;  Congo  eel;  Muttonfish;  Lamper  eel;  Ling 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2457. 

Description. — ^The  eelpout  is  blennylike  or  eel-like  in  form,  its  body  about 
eight  times  as  long  as  deep,  moderately  compressed  but  noticeably  sway  bellied, 
and  tapering  backward  from  the  pectorals,  where  it  is  deepest,  to  a  pointed  tail. 
It  is  very  soft,  its  scales  very  small,  and  its  skin  as  slimy  as  an  eel.  Its  ventrals 
are  very  small  like  those  of  the  rock  eel  (p.  359),  and  situated  well  forward  of  the 
pectorals.  The  most  useful  field  mark  for  the  identification  of  the  eelpout  among 
the  several  eel-like  fishes  with  which  it  might  be  confused  are  its  vertical  fins. 
Its  anal  is  continuous  with  the  caudal  and  with  no  trace  of  a  notch  of  demarcation 
between  the  two,  just  as  is  the  case  with  the  true  eels.  In  reality  this  is  true  of 
the  dorsal  fin  also,  but  a  few  of  the  dorsal  rays  near  the  rear  end  of  the  fin  are  so 
short  as  to  be  hardly  visible,  so  that  apparently  there  is  a  considerable  free  interspace 
between  the  dorsal  and  caudal  fins.  Furthermore,  these  short  rays  are  spiny  instead 
of  soft  like  all  the  others.  The  dorsal  fin  runs  from  the  nape  back  along  the  whole 
length  of  the  trunk  and  consists  of  about  128  rays — first  about  95  soft  rays  and 
then  the  16  to  18  short  spines  followed  by  about  17  more  soft  rays.  The  anal 
(about  105  soft  rays)  originates  shghtly  in  front  of  the  midlength  of  the  fish. 
Except  as  just  noted,  both  the  dorsal  and  the  anal  are  of  nearly  even  height,  but 
the  former  is  nearly  twice  as  high  as  the  latter.  The  pectoral  fins  are  large  and 
rounded  like  those  of  the  wolffish.  The  mouth  is  wide,  gaping  back  of  the  small 
eye,  and  set  so  low  that  it  gives  the  profile  a  diagnostic  aspect,  with  thick  and 
fleshy  lips.  Both  jaws  are  armed  with  two  series  of  strong,  blunt  conical  teeth, 
largest  in  front,  but  the  mouth  lacks  the  crushing  teeth  so  characteristic  of  the 
wolffish. 

Color. — Although  this  fish  has  usualh^  been  described  as  reddish  brown 
mottled  with  oHve,  or  as  salmon  colored,  most  of  those  we  have  seen  caught — a 
fair  number — have  been  of  some  shade  of  muddy  yellow,  paler  or  darker,  some 
with  brownish,  some  with  salmon,  and  some  with  orange  tinge,  while  a  few  have 
been  pure  olive  green;  and  since  fishermen  usually  describe  them  as  "yellow,"  this 
is  evidently  the  prevailing  hue  in  the  offshore  parts  of  the  Gulf.  Other  eelpouts 
that  we  have  caught  inshore  along  the  coast  of  Maine,  however,  have  shown  yeUow 
only  on  the  margins  of  the  fins,  particularly  the  lower  edge  of  the  pectorals,  the 
general  ground  tint  of  sides  and  back  ranging  from  pale  gray,  sometimes  with 
piurplish  tinge,  to  dull  brown  or  dark  dusky  olive  below  as  well  as  above.  One 
of  a  pair  caught  side  by  side  in  Northeast  Harbor,  Moimt  Desert,  was  pale  grayish 
white  below  while  the  other  was  amethyst  pink  on  the  belly  and  lower  side  of  the 
head.  Whatever  the  ground  tint,  the  sides  are  dotted  with  small  dark  spots 
clustered  in  irregidar  crossbars  and  extending  out  on  the  dorsal  fin. 

Size. — The  eelpout  is  said  to  reach  a  length  of  3}4  feet  and  a  weight  of  12 
pounds,  but  most  of  those  caught  are  much  smaller.  Two  feet  10  inches  was  the 
longest  we  have  seen,  and  2  feet  is  a  large  one,  with  1}4  feet  in  length  a  fair  average 
for   adults.     Fish   measured   by  Clemens  and    Clemens    (1921)    weighed   approxi- 


FISHES   OF   THE  GULF    OF    MAINE  379 

mately  J^  pound  at  12^  inches,  J^  pound  at  15  inches,  %  pound  at  17  inches,  1 
pound  at  18  inches,  134  pounds  at  19  inches,  2  pounds  at  21  inches,  3  pounds  at 
24  inches,  and  4  pounds  at  27  inches. 

General  range. — Coast  of  North  America  from  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle  and 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  south  to  Delaware.**  The  eelpout  of  North  Europe  {Zoarces 
viviparus  Linnisus),  a  very  close  relative,  is  distinguishable  only  by  fewer  fin  rays 
(about  100  dorsal  rays  and  6  to  10  spines;  80  to  89  anal  rays). 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  fish,  known  as  "yowler"  by  vessel 
fishermen,  "ling"  on  Cape  Cod,  and  "laniper,"  "conger,"  or  "congo  eel"  in 
Maine,  is  familiar  in  the  Gulf  and  very  abundant  locally,  both  near  shore  in 
moderate  depths  of  water,  and  on  the  outer  banks.  It  is  common  off  western 
Nova  Scotia,  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  all  along  the  coasts  of  Maine  and  Massachusetts, 
and  is  taken  in  considerable  numbers  on  Georges  Bank  both  by  otter  trawlers 
and  by  line  fishermen.*' 

There  seems  to  be  a  wide  difference  in  the  depth  zone  frequented  by  the  eelpout 
in  different  parts  of  the  Gulf.  In  the  Bay  of  Fundy  some  of  them  run  up  into  shoal 
water  in  summer  and  young  ones  are  to  be  found  under  stones  and  among  seaweed 
between  tide  marks.  Similarly,  as  we  can  bear  witness,  one  is  always  apt  to  catch 
several  in  a  half  day 's  flounder  fishing  in  1  to  3  fathoms  in  Penobscot  Bay  or  in 
Northeast  Harbor,  and  this  probably  applies  to  bays  and  harbors  all  along 
the  coast  of  Maine  east  of  Cape  Elizabeth.  We  have  never  seen  one  taken  in  less 
than  10  fathoms  of  water  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region,  where  most  fishermen 
speak  of  it  as  a  comparatively  deep-water  fish,  though  it  has  been  recorded  from 
Gloucester  Harbor.  On  the  offshore  banks  eelpouts  live  at  20  to  50  fathoms,  and, 
taking  the  Gulf  as  a  whole,  the  majority  of  the  stock  of  eelpouts  would  probably  be 
foimd  between  10  and  45  fathoms.  We  can  not  state  the  lower  depth  limit. 
Probably,  however,  few  occur  deeper  than  60  or  70  fathoms,  for  we  have  not  heard 
of  them  on  the  soft  slimy  ooze  in  the  bottoms  of  the  deeper  basins. 

Eelpouts  seek  different  types  of  bottom  in  different  localities.  They  are 
hardly  ever  caught  on  the  good  fishing  grounds — that  is,  stony  or  gravelly  bottoms 
or  about  ledges — in  Massachusetts  Bay,  but  if  the  line  trawl  chances  to  run  off 
these  the  portion  resting  on  the  soft  sticky  mud  that  floors  the  deeper  parts  of  the 
bay  often  brings  in  eelpouts  and  nothing  else  except  an  odd  hake,  and  so  frequently 
does  this  happen  that  such  places  are  commonly  termed  "yowler  bottom."  We 
have  trawled  them  on  rather  sticky  sand  in  Ispwich  Bay  (22  fathoms),  however, 
among  a  good  catch  of  hake  and  plaice,  likewise  on  broken  bottom  at  the  mouth 
of  Casco  Bay,  and  on  pebbles  and  mud  in  Penobscot  Bay.  East  of  the  latter  they 
are  commonly  caught  on  stony  ground,  while  Huntsman  describes  them  as  taken 
on  hard  bottom  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 

The  eelpout,  broadly  speaking,  is  a  resident  fish  wherever  found,  its  only 
migrations  taking  the  form  of  on  and  offshore  movements,  and  even  these  are 


"  There  is  a  doubtful  record  for  North  Carolina  (Smith,  North  Carolina  Geological  and  Economic  Survey,  Vol.  II,  1907, 
p.  379). 

"  Clemens  and  Clemens  (1921,  p.  69)  give  a  general  account  of  the  life  history  of  the  eelpout  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and  a  list 
of  the  localities  whence  it  has  been  recorded. 


380 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 


irregular.  In  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  Huntsman  describes  them  as  working  inshore  in 
spring,  moving  out  again  into  deeper  water  in  October  or  early  November,  and  as 
absent  from  the  estuaries  from  January  to  April.  Their  abundance  in  Penobscot 
Bay  in  midsummer  suggests  that  some  of  them  perform  a  similar  on  and  ofi'shore 
migration  there.  However,  this  probably  does  not  apply  to  the  coast  south  of  Cape 
Elizabeth  and  certainly  not  to  Massachusetts  Bay,  where  as  careful  an  observer  as 
Goode  (et  al.,  1884)  long  ago  described  them  as  coming  most  often  into  shoal  water 
in  winter.  Probably  the  truth  is  that  their  presence  or  absence  close  inshore,  in  any 
particular  locality  and  season,  depends  not  only  on  the  local  supply  of  food  but  on 
temperature,  for  the  upper  10  to  15  fathoms  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Gulf  as  a 
whole  may  well  be  too  warm  for  them  in  summer,  and  estuaries  particularly  subject 
to  severe  chilling  too  cold  in  winter. 

Hahits. — The  eelpout  is  a  ground  fish,  and  judging  from  its  habits  in  aquaria 
probably  spends  most  of  its  life  hiding  among  weeds  and  stones.  Being  of  no  value 
little  attention  would  be  paid  to  it  did  it  not  make  a  nuisance  of  itself  by  snarling 
the  trawl  lines.  It  is  almost  incredible  to  what  a  hopeless  tangle  of  cord,  fish,  and 
slime  a  few  "yowlers"  can  reduce  many  fathoms  of  line. 

Food." — The  American  eelpout  feeds  on  shelled  mollusks,  both  bivalve  and 
univalve,  crustaceans  large  and  small,  echinoderms  and  other  invertebrates,  and 
less  often  on  fish.  The  Bay  of  Fundy  fish  opened  by  Clemens  and  Clemens  (1921), 
who  give  a  considerable  list,  had  dieted  chiefly  on  the  two  common  mussels,  Mytilus 
and  Modiolaria,  whelks  (Buccinum),  periwinkles  (Littorina),  scallops,  sea  urchins, 
brittle  stars,  and  barnacles,  while  various  other  bottom-living  mollusks  have  been 
found  in  them  and  also  an  occasional  fish  (smelt  and  others  unrecognizable).  Since 
they  bite  fish  (herring,  etc.)  as  greedily  as  clam  or  cockle  bait,  and  take  fish  readily 
when  kept  in  captivity,  no  doubt  they  eat  fish  when  occasion  offers,  as  their  European 
relative  does.  A  large  specimen  caught  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  January,  1924,  was 
packed  full  of  brittle  stars  (ophiurans) ,  spider  crabs,  and  small  sea  scallops  (Pecten 
magellanicus) . 

Groivth. — Clemens  and  Clemens  estimated  the  ages  of  Bay  of  Fundy  eelpouts 
from  the  annual  rings  on  their  otoliths,  as  follows: 


Age 


First  year 

Second  year . . 
Third  year... 
Fourth  year.. 

Fifth  year 

Sixth  year 

Seventh  year 
Eighth  year- 
Ninth  year... 


Length  in 
inches 


1.  5  to  4 

4. 8  to  5. 9 

7      to  8.4 

8.  7  to  10.  5 

10.  2  to  12.  4 

12.  5  to  14 

13.  7  to  14 
15  to  19 
16. 4  to  20 


Age 


Tenth  year. 

Eleventh  year 

Twelfth  year 

Thirteenth  year.. 
Fourteenth  year. 
Fifteenth  year... 

Sixteenth  year 

Seventeenth  year 
Nineteenth  year. 


Length  in 
inches 


17. 4  to  21.  6 
18. 2  to  22. 4 
22.  6  to  22.  8 
24 
23.8 
23.8 
24       to  29 
24.  6  to  27.  2 
27 


Although  these  estimates  are  only  tentative  for  the  larger  specimens,  few  of 
which  were  examined,  they  show  that  this  is  a  slow-growing  but  long-lived  fish, 
most  of  those  caught  being  5  to  10  vears  old  according  to  this  schedule. 


"  Willey  and  Hunstman  (1921,  p.  6)  relate  some  observations  on  the  habits  and  reactions  of  one  kept  in  an  aquarium  at  St. 
Andrews. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  381 

Breedinri  habits. — Little  is  definitely  known  of  the  breeding  habits  of  the 
American  eelpout,  no  ripe  specimens  of  either  sex  having  been  seen.  Females 
with  eggs  in  advanced  stages  of  development,  4  to  5  mm.  in  diameter,  have  been 
taken  about  St.  Andrews  from  May  until  July  and  in  Massachusetts  Bay  in  mid- 
summer (for  instance  one  in  this  state  caught  near  Boston  was  brought  in  to  the 
Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  on  August  10, 1922),  and  it  was  on  the  strength  of 
females  in  this  condition  that  Goode  (et  al.,  1884)  assumed  July  and  August  as  the 
spawning  season.  However,  the  sexual  condition  of  specimens  caught  in  different 
months  near  St.  Andrews,  where  no  spent  eelpouts  were  taken  before  October,  coupled 
with  the  discovery  of  fry  (one  from  the  stomach  of  a  sculpin)  in  April,  convinced 
the  authors  just  mentioned  (and  we  believe  cori-ectly)  that  spawning  takes  place  in 
autumn.  They  likewise  suggest  that  their  failure  to  find  either  males  or  females 
closely  approaching  sexual  maturity  at  St.  Andrews  is  evidence  that  the  fish  move 
offshore  to  spawn.  This  does  not  necessarily  follow,  however,  because  eelpouts, 
like  many  other  fish,  may  cease  feeding  at  this  time,  and  hence  the  ripe  fish  might  not 
be  caught  on  hook  and  line  no  matter  how  plentiful  they  were.  The  fact  that  fish 
taken  in  summer  differed  widely  in  the  state  of  development  of  their  sexual  products 
suggested  to  Clemens  and  Clemens  that  they  do  not  breed  every  year,  but  it  seems 
to  us  more  probable  that  this  is  evidence  simply  of  a  protracted  breeding  period, 
some  individuals  ripening  early  in  autumn,  others  perhaps  not  until  winter. 

The  European  eelpout  (Zoarces  viviparus)  is  viviparous,  as  its  name  suggests, 
but  whether  this  is  also  true  of  the  American  fish  is  not  known.  However,  the 
latter  produces  so  many  more  eggs  than  the  former  (Clemens  and  Clemens  counted 
1,800  in  a  female  of  3%  pounds,  as  against  200  to  400  in  the  European  fish)  that  if 
the  eggs  are  not  deposited  before  hatching  the  young  must  be  liberated  soon  after 
and  not  retained  within  the  oviducts  of  the  mother  until  40  to  50  mm.  long,  as 
is  said  to  be  the  case  with  the  European  species. 

The  smallest  fish  with  large  eggs  seen  by  Clemens  and  Clemens  were  16  to 
18  inches  long,  indicating  that  this  species  does  not  mature  until  about  8  years 
old,  if  their  schedule  of  age  and  size  (p.  380)  be  correct.  The  young  of  the  Amer- 
ican eelpout  have  not  been  described.  Those  of  its  European  relative  are  not 
only  very  large  when  set  free,"  as  just  noted,  and  of  adult  form  and  structure, 
but  some  even  mature  their  eggs  shortly  thereafter.  They  take  to  the  bottom  at 
once  without  passing  through  a  pelagic  stage,  but  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether 
this  applies  equally  to  the  American  eelpout. 

Commercial  importance. — Although  the  eelpout  is  described  as  a  very  sweet 
fish  (we  have  never  eaten  it)  there  is  no  regular  market  for  it  and  the  offshore 
fishermen  throw  away  all  they  catch,  but  a  few  are  brought  in  by  the  smaller  boats 
and  hawked  on  the  streets  of  Boston. 

"  Mcintosh  (The  Annals  and  Magazine  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  XV,  Filth  Series,  1S85,  p.  429).     Stuhlmann  (Abhand- 
ungen,  naturwissenschaftlicher  Verein,  Hamburg,  vol.  10,  1887,  No.  12,  pi.  4,  flg.  87,  88). 


382  BULLKTIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

146.  Wolf  eel  {Lycenchelys  verriUii  Goode  and  Bean) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2470. 

Description.— This  fish  is  eel-like  in  form  and  resembles  the  eelpout  in  most 
respects,  but  is  more  slender  (12  to  14  times  as  long  as  deep),  and  there  is  no  sepa- 
ration, apparent  or  real,  between  dorsal,  caudal,  and  anal  fins,  the  one  continuous 
vertical  fin  running  along  the  back,  around  the  tail,  and  forward  on  the  lower 
surface  to  the  vent.  The  dorsal  fin  not  only  originates  farther  back  than  in 
the  eelpout  (over  the  tip  of  the  pectoral  instead  of  in  front  of  the  base  of  the  latter), 
but  all  the  dorsal  rays  (about  92)  are  soft.  Furthermore  the  anal  (about  88  rays)  ex- 
tends relatively  farther  forward.  The  pectorals  are  rounded  like  those  of  the  eel- 
pout,Tthe  small  ventrals  similarly  located  well  forward  of  the  pectorals,  and  in 
small  specimens  the  head  resembles  that  of  its  relative  in  profile  except  for  a  some- 
what wider  mouth.  Old  males  (fig.  191)  "are  transformed  almost  beyond  specific 
recognition  by  an  extraordinary  development  of  the  entire  head  in  advance  of  the 
eyes.  The  snout  becomes  shovel-shaped,  its  length  equal  to  two-fifths  that  of 
the  head,  while  in  the  normal  condition  it  is  one-fourth."  *" 


Fig.  191.— Wolf  eel,  male  (Lycenchelys  verrilUi) 

Color. — Described  as  light  grayish  brown  above  the  lateral  line,  pearly  white 
below,  with  livid  blue  belly,  the  sides  marked  with  irregular  brown  patches  bisected 
by  the  lateral  line,  and  dotted  with  wliite  above  the  latter.  We  have  no  color 
notes  from  hfe,  but  preserved  specimens  show  these  patches  clearly. 

Size. — Seven  to  ten  inches  long. 

General  range. — So  far  known  only  off  the  coasts  of  New  England  and  Nova 
Scotia,  in  rather  deep  water. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  is  certainly  a  rare  fish  in  the  Gulf,  a 
few  specimens  trawled  off  the  mouth  of  Passamaquoddy  Bay  in  35  to  50  fathoms, 
one  4  inches  long  taken  off  Monhegan  Island  by  the  Grampus  on  August  2,  1912. 
in  60  fathoms,  with  several  collected  off  Cape  Ann  m  75  to  110  fathoms,  in  the 
Western  Basin  in  115  fathoms,  and  off  Cape  Cod  by  the  U.  S.  Fish  Commission 
many  years  ago,  being  the  only  records  in  its  inner  waters.  It  has  been  trawled 
at  many  localities  on  the  continental  slope  at  200  to  400  fathoms  between  longitudes 
68°  22'  and  75°  W.,  and  probably  it  occurs  aU  along  this  zone  thence  eastward,  for 
it  is  known  from  the  fishing  banks  off  the  outer  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  off  Cape  Negro, 
and  off  Halifax  (90  to  101  fathoms). 

«  Qoode  and  Bean,  1896,  p.  310. 


FISHES   OF   THE  GULF   OF   MAINE  383 

It  is  a  bottom  fish,  living  on  mud  or  sand  and  confined  to  considerable  depths 
of  water.  Normally  25  to  30  fathoms  is  its  upper  limit,  but  the  fact  that  the 
Gra^n^Jtis  specimen  just  mentioned  was  taken  in  a  tow  net,  though  close  to  bottom, 
proves  that  it  sometimes  rises  from  the  groimd. 

Nothing  is  known  of  its  life  history  or  of  its  breeding  habits.**' 

147.  Arctic  eelpout  (Lycodes  reticulatus  Reinhardt) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2465. 

Description. — -This  fish  resembles  the  eelpout  in  its  general  appearance  and 
in  the  arrangement  of  its  fins.  The  readiest  field  mark  for  it  is  that  the  dorsal  fin 
is  not  interrupted,  but  together  with  the  caudal  and  anal  forms  one  continuous 
fin  extending  around  the  tip  of  the  tail,  and  that  it  originates  behind  the  base  of  the 
pectoral  instead  of  in  front  of  it,  while  the  fanlike  pectoral  fins  are  even  larger, 
relatively,  than  those  of  the  eelpout.  Furthermore  the  upper  jaw  projects  far 
beyond  the  lower,  giving  it  a  distinctive  cast  of  countenance  (compare  fig.  192  with 
fig.  190) .  The  most  obvious  difference  between  this  Lycodes  and  the  wolf  eel  (p.  3S2) 
is  that  the  former  is  much  the  stouter  and  less  elongate  of  the  two,  being  only 
about  8  times  as  long  as  deep,  whereas  the  wolf  eel  is  12  or  13  times  as  long;  and 
the  dorsal  fin  of  Lycodes  reticulatus  originates  farther  forward — that  is,  close 
behind  the  base  of  the  pectoral  instead  of  over  the  tip  of  the  latter. 

Fig.  192.— Arctic  eelpout  (Lycodes  reticulatus) 

Color. — Described  as  brownish,  with  a  network  of  black  lines  on  the  head  and 
several  groups  of  such  lines  or  sohd  dark  bands  on  the  body.  The  dorsal  fin  is 
dark  edged.  The  young  fry  are  marked  with  a  series  of  large  dark  spots  on  the  back 
and  extending  out  on  the  dorsal  fin.*" 

Size. — -Maximum  length  about  22  inches. 

General  range. — Greenland  and  Spitzbergen  and  both  sides  of  the  North  At- 
lantic. Off  the  American  coast  this  Lycodes  has  been  taken  on  the  Grand  Banks, 
on  St.  Pierre  Bank,  and  off  the  slope  of  Banquereau  Bank  in  depths  of  82  to  300 
fathoms;  likewise  in  shoal  water  in  Vineyard  Sound  and  Narragansett  Bay.  As 
yet  it  has  not  been  found  within  the  limits  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  but  it  is  to  be 
expected  there  in  view  of  its  occurrence  off  southern  New  England." 

"  A  closely  allied  deep-water  speqies  (i.  paiillm  Goode  and  Bean)  has  been  taken  at  numerous  localities  on  the  continental 
slope  abreast  of  the  Gulf  and  oil  southern  New  England  in  depths  of  365  to  904  fathoms.  It  is  separable  from  the  wolf  eel  by  its 
numerous  fin  rays  (about  118  dorsal  and  110  anal)  and  darker  color.    Goode  and  Bean  (1896)  desicribe  and  illustrate  it. 

<»  See  Smitt  (Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892,  p.  60S)  for  the  coloration  of  this  genus  in  general. 

•'  Two  other  species  of  Lycodes  (£.  esmarki  Collett  and  L.  atlanticiia  Jensen,  described  bj  Gooile  and  Bean  as  L.  frigidus 
CoUett)  have  been  trawled  in  considerable  depths  on  the  continental  slope  abreast  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  or  on  both  sides  of  it, 
but  being  deep-water  forms  they  are  not  to  be  expected  within  our  limits.  For  accounts  of  them  and  records  of  their  occurrence 
In  this  general  region  we  refer  the  reader  to  Goode  and  Bean  (1896). 

102274r— 251 25 


384 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 


abits. — Little  is  knoAvn  of  its  habits  except  that  it  is  a 
ground  fish,  usually  hving  in  moderately  deep  water,  and  car- 
nivorous, for  worms,  crustaceans,  and  small  fish  have  been 
found  in  the  stomachs  of  European  specimens.  In  its  turn  it 
falls  a  prey  to  larger  fishes  and  frequently  to  Greenland  sharks.^" 

THE  CUSK   EELS.     FAMILY  OPHIDIID.a; 


148.  Cusk  eel  {Lepophidium  cervinum  Goode  and  Bean) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2484. 

Description. — The  cusk  eel  is  eel-like  in  form,  all  its  fins 
are  soft  and,  eel-like,  there  is  no  separation  between  the  dorsal, 
caudal,  and  anal,  but  the  three  form  one  continuous  fin  running 
backward  along  the  back,  around  the  tip  of  the  tail,  and  for- 
ward on  the  lower  surface.  It  is  separated  from  all  the  true 
eels,  however,  by  the  presence  of  ventral  fins,  which  are  situated 
on  the  throat  far  in  front  of  the  pectorals  and  are  reduced  to 
forked  barbel-like  structures.  The  structure  of  the  ventral  fins 
and  the  uninterrupted  dorsal  fin  separate  it  from  the  eelpout,  its 
nearest  relative  among  local  fishes,  and  the  presence  of  a  short 
sharp  spine  on  the  top  of  the  snout  pointing  forward  and  down- 
ward, and  easily  felt  if  not  seen  (for  it  is  nearly  concealed  in  the 
skin),  likewise  differentiates  it  from  such  other  Gulf  of  Maine 
species  as  it  resembles  in  general  appearance.  The  shape  of  the 
snout  is  likewise  diagnostic,  as  are  its  large  scales,  for  the  other 
genera  of  its  family  have  naked  heads  with  the  scales  on  the 
body  very  small. 

Color. — Described  as  brownish  yellow,  the  upper  sides  and 
back  marked  with  roundish  white  spots,  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins 
with  narrow  black  margins. 

General  range  anel  occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This 
fish  has  been  taken  at  various  localities  along  the  outer  part  of 
the  continental  shelf  from  off  Florida  to  abreast  of  Nantucket 
in  depths  of  52  to  102  fathoms.  It  is  mentioned  here  because 
of  the  capture  of  one  specimen  in  76  fathoms  off  Nantucket 
Shoals." 

w  Smitt.   Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892,  p.  613. 
J'  Goode  and  Bean,  1896. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  385 

THE  SILVER  HAKES  AND  CODS.     FAMILIES  MERLUCCIID^  AND  GADID^ 

The  silver  hakes  and  the  cods  are  so  closely  allied  that  many  European  ichthy- 
ologists group  them  in  a  single  family.  American  practice,  however,  is  to  separate 
them  because  of  certain  differences  in  the  structure  of  the  skull  and  ribs.  They 
are  soft-finned  fishes,  lacking  true  spines  at  any  stage  in  development  (though  in 
one  local  species  (the  silver  hake)  the  basal  parts  of  the  dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays  are 
so  stiff  as  to  feel  like  spines  to  the  touch)  but  distinguishable  from  all  other  spineless 
Gulf  of  Maine  fishes  by  the  fact  that  the  large  ventrals  are  situated  under  or  in  front 
of  the  pectorals,  and  not  behind  them,  as  in  herring,  salmons,  etc.  They  and  their 
relatives,  the  grenadiei-s  (p.  467),  are  also  separated  from  most  of  the  typical  spiny 
rayed  fishes  by  the  structure  of  the  skull." 

KEY   TO   GULF   OF   MAINE   HAKES,  CODS,  ETC. 

1.  Three  separate  dorsal  and  two  anal  fins;  ventrals  of  ordinary  form 2 

Two  separate  and  well-developed  dorsal  fins 5 

Only  one  well-developed  dorsal  fin 11 

2.  Lateral  line  black;  a  black  blotch  on  the  shoulder Haddock,  p.  432 

Lateral  line  pale;  no  shoulder  blotch 3 

3.  Lower  jaw  projects  beyond  upper;  tail  forked;  chin  barbels  very  small  or  wanting 

Pollock,  p.  396 

Upper  jaw  projects  beyond  lower;  chin  barbels  large 4 

4.  Ventrals  narrow,  prolonged  in  filamentous  feelers  as  long  as  the  rest  of  the  fin;  eye 

small Tomcod,  p.  406 

Ventrals  broad,  their  filamentous  tips  less  than  one-third  as  long  as  the  remainder  of 
the  fin ;  eye  large Cod,  p.  409 

5.  The  anal  fin  originates  under  or  behind  the  point  of  origin  of  the  second  dorsal  fin 6 

The  anal  fin  originates  considerably  in  front  of  the  point  of  origin  of  the  second  dorsal 

fin Hakeling,  p.  457 

6.  Ventrals  short;  of  ordinary  form Silver   hake,  p.  386 

Ventrals  very  long  and  feeler-like 7 

7.  First  dorsal  hardly  higher  than  second,  and  none  of  its  rays  elongate  or  filamentous  - 

Spotted  hake,  p.  455 

First  dorsal  much  higher  than  second,  with  one  or  two  long  filamentous  rays 8 

8.  The  ventrals  do  not  reach  back  to  the  middle  of  the  anal  fin 9 

The  ventrals  reach  nearly  or  quite  to  the  rear  end  of  the  anal  fin_.Long-fitined  hake,  p.  456 

9.  Anal  fin  so  deeply  notched  about  midway  of  its  length  as  to  suggest  two  separate 

fins Blue  hake,  p.  444 

An  al  fin  continuous  and  of  about  equal  height  from  end  to  end 10 

10.  About  140  rows  of  scales  along  the  lateral  line  from  gill  opening  to  base  of  caudal 

fin White  hake,  p.  446 

Only  about  110  rows  of  scales  along  the  lateral  line Squirrel  hake,  p.  447 

11.  The  dorsal  fin  is  preceded  by  a  fringe  of  short  rays  and  one  long  ray;  the  top  of  the 

snout  as  well  as  the  chin  bears  barbels 12 

There  are  no  isolated  rays  in  front  of   the  dorsal  fin  nor  barbels  on   the  top  of  the 
snout Cusk,  p.  462 

12.  Top  of  nose  with  three  barbels Four-bearded  rockling,  p.  458 

Top  of  nose  with  oly  two  barbels Three-bearded  rockling,  p.  462 

"  The  hypercoracoid  bone  lacks  a  foramen. 


386  .  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUKEAU   OP   FISHERIES 

149.  Silver  hake  (Merluccius  bilinearis  Mitchill) 
Whiting;  New  England  hake 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2530. 

Description. — The  presence  of  two  separate  and  well-developed  dorsal  fins, 
both  soft-rayed,  the  second  much  longer  than  the  first,  combined  with  the  jugular 
location  of  the  ventrals,  is  sufficient  field  mark  to  distinguish  the  silver  hake 
from  all  other  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes  except  the  true  hakes  (Urophycis,  p.  446).  Nor 
is  there  any  danger  of  confusing  it  with  any  of  the  latter,  for  it  lacks  the  chin 
barbels  so  characteristic  of  them,  and  its  ventrals  are  of  the  ordinary  finlike  form, 
those  of  the  true  hakes  altered  into  long  feelers.  It  is  a  rather  slender  fish,  about 
63^  times  as  long  as  deep,  its  body  compressed  in  front  of  the  vent  but  rounded 
behind  it,  with  large  flat-topped  head  occupying  about  one-fourth  of  the  total 
length,  large  eye,  and  wide  mouth  armed  with  two  or  more  rows  of  very  sharp 
recurved  teeth,  its  lower  jaw  projecting  beyond  the  upper.  The  first  dorsal  fin 
(13  to  14  rays)  originates  close  behind  the  gill  opening.  It  is  roughly  an  equilateral 
triangle  and  is  separated  by  a  short  space  from  the  second,  which  is  about  four 
times  as  long  (41  rays)  but  hardly  more  than  half  as  high  and  is  of  very  characteristic 
outline,  being  deeply  emarginate  two-thirds  of  the  way  back,  with  its  rear  section 
highest  and  rounded,  suggesting  an  incomplete  separation  into  the  three  dorsal 
fins  of  the  cod.  The  anal  fin  (40  rays)  corresponds  in  height  and  outline  to  the 
second  doreal,  under  which  it  stands.  The  caudal  is  square-tipped,  the  pectorals 
broad,  slightly  rounded,  and  reaching  back  far  enough  to  overlap  the  second  dorsal. 
The  ventrals,  situated  slightly  in  front  of  the  pectorals,  are  slightly  shorter  than 
the  latter  with  about  half  as  many  (7)  rays.  The  scales  are  of  moderate  size, 
relatively  smaller  than  those  of  the  true  hakes. 

Color. — When  fresh  caught  the  silver  hake  is  dark  gray,  of  a  brownish  cast, 
showing  golden  reflections  above  and  with  its  lower  sides  and  belly  silvery,  as  its 
name  impUes.     The  inside  of  its  mouth  is  dusky  and  the  lining  of  its  belly  is  blackish. 

Size. — Maximum  length  about  2  feet  and  weight  8  pounds,  but  adults  average 
only  about  14  inches  long. 

General  range. — Known  from  the  Bahamas  to  the  Grand  Banks,  from  the  coast 
line  out  to  the  continental  slope,  and  from  tide  mark  down  to  about  300  fathoms, 
most  abundantly  between  Cape  Sable  and  Cape  Cod.  According  to  Doctor 
Himtsman  all  ostensible  reports  of  its  presence  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  belong 
in  reality  to  the  other  hakes  (Urophycis,  p.  446),  and  it  is  these  that  are  meant 
when  "hake"  are  spoken  of  in  the  earlier  publications  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries — 
for  instance,  in  Baird's  (1889)  report  on  the  fisheries  of  eastern  North  America. 
The  silver  hake  is  represented  in  Europe  by  a  close  relative — the  European  hake 
{Merluccius  merluccius) — an  excellent  account  of  the  natural  history  and  migrations 
of  which  is  given  by  Le  Danois.^' 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — In  season,  and  allowing  for  wide  fluctuations 
from  year  to  year,  the  silver  hake  is  a  famfliar  fish  all  aroimd  the  coasts  of  the  Gulf 
of  Maine  from  western  Nova  Scotia  to  Cape  Cod.     It  is  common,  also,  in  the  south 

M  Notes  et  Memoirs  No.  2,  Offlce  ScientiUque  et  Techniriue  dcs  PSches  Maritimes,  Juin  1920,  32  pp.    Angers. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


387 


channel,  on  Georges  Bank,  and  on  the  outer  part  of  the  shelf  off  southern  New 
England,  and  though  we  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  definite  data  as  to  its 
status  on  Bro'WTis  Bank,  it  probably  visits  the  latter  also.  It  occurs  in  such  multi- 
tudes in  Massachusetts  Bay  and  on  the  sandy  shores  of  Cape  Cod  that  millions  are 


Fig.  194. — Silver  hake  (Mfrluccius  bilineaTis) 
a,  Adult,    h,  Egg.    f,  Larva,  6.5  millimeters,    d,  Larva,  11  millimeters,    e.  Fry,  23  millimeters 

taken  in  the  local  weirs  every  summer,  and  some  idea  of  the  present-day  abundance 
of  this  fish  along  our  shores  may  be  gained  from  the  fact  that  in  1919  the  shore 
fisheries  reported  687,970  pounds  in  Maine  and  more  than  13,000,000  poimds  (at 
least  7,000,000  fish)  in  Massachusetts,  which  was  but  a  fraction  of  the  actual  total 


388  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF   FISHERIES 

catch,  for  although  a  demand  for  it  has  recently  arisen  the  market  is  still  so  uncertain 
that  multitudes  are  often  thrown  away.  Silver  hake  are  usually  most  plentiful 
between  Cape  Cod  and  Casco  Bay,  with  Cape  Cod  Bay  perhaps  the  chief  center  of 
abundance.  Great  numbers  are  caught  all  along  the  eastern  coast  of  Maine  and 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fund)"  in  autumn. 

The  schedules  of  catches  from  the  otter-trawl  investigations  of  1913  afford 
the  only  available  data  on  the  numerical  strength  of  silver  hake  on  Georges  Bank 
with  relation  to  other  fish,  nor  can  these  be  held  conclusive  because  this  gear  is 
not  as  well  suited  to  the  capture  of  such  an  active  mid-water  species  as  of  the  more 
lethargic  ground  fish,  hence  probably  understate  it.  So  far  as  they  go,  however, 
the  records  suggest  not  only  that  silver  hake  are  much  less  plentiful  than  haddock 
on  the  bank,  the  average  catches  per  trip  (April  to  September)  being  about  14,000 
individuals  of  the  latter  and  only  about  1,800  of  the  former,  but  that  it  is  less 
regular,  for  several  trips  missed  them  altogether. 

The  silver  hake,  like  the  mackerel,  is  strictly  a  summer  fish  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine, 
sometimes  appearing  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay-Cape  Ann  region  as  early  as  the 
last  week  in  March  and  regularly  striking  there  by  May.  In  1913  (a  fairly  repre- 
sentative season)  Welsh  saw  odd  fish  in  Ipswich  Bay  in  March  and  April, 
considerable  numbers  in  May,  and  an  abundance  was  seined  there  in  June,  which 
may  be  taken  as  typical  for  the  whole  coast  line  of  the  Gulf  south  of  Portland. 
This  applies  equally  to  Georges  Bank,  where  in  1913  the  first  silver  hake  were  taken 
by  the  otter  trawlers  from  April  27  to  29  and  on  almost  every  trip  thereafter. 
We  have  not  been  able  to  learn  how  early  silver  hake  appear  on  the  coast  of  Maine 
east  of  Portland,  or  off  western  Nova  Scotia,  where  it  is  only  within  the  past  few 
years  that  any  attention  has  been  paid  them;  but  this  certainly  happens  by  the 
end  of  May,  for  Huntsman  says  they  are  to  be  found  in  summer  in  the  Bay  of 
Fundy.  They  vanish  from  the  coastwise  waters  and  from  the  offshore  banks  alike 
sometime  late  in  the  autumn.  General  report  and  my  own  experience  is  that 
November  sees  the  last  of  them  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  while  they  linger  on 
Georges  Bank  until  well  into  December  (latest  catch  December  3  to  12  in  1913) 
none  were  reported  there  during  the  last  half  of  that  month  or  in  January,  February, 
or  March  during  1913. 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  this  appearance  in  spring  and  the  correspond- 
ing disappearance  from  the  northern  parts  of  its  range  in  autumn  is  the  visible 
evidence  of  an  actual  and  widespread  seasonal  migration.  Essentially  this  is  a 
vernal  movement  inshore  into  shoal  water  and  an  offshore  journey  into  deeper 
water  for  winteiing,  but  for  such  fish  as  visit  the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
this  necessarily  entails  a  considerable  north  and  south  journey  as  well,  for  it  is 
probable  that  silver  hake  do  not  winter  in  the  deep  basin  of  the  Gulf  but  with- 
draw from  it  altogether  at  the  approach  of  cold  weather.  The  European  silver 
hake  performs  a  corresponding  immigration  into  the  North  Sea  in  early  summer 
and  emigrates  out  again  in  autumn.  However,  the  parallel  is  not  complete,  for 
while  the  North  Sea  serves  chiefly  as  a  feeding  ground  for  the  spent  fish,  the  Gulf 
of  Maine  is  an  important  spav/Tiing  area;  and  while  hosts  of  silver  hake  repair 
thither  and  to  its  offshore   banks,  other  multitudes  summer  on  the  continental 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  389 

shelf  abreast  of  southern  New  England  in  depths  of  from  50  down  to  300  fathoms, 
a  fact  proven  by  the  capture  of  great  numbers  of  them,  and  of  all  sizes  from  fry  of 
one-half  to  3  inches  to  adults  of  12  to  18  inches,  green,  ripe,  and  spent,  by  the  vessels 
of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries.^*  Probably  it  is  this  body  of  silver  hake 
and  not  the  Gulf  of  Maine  fish  that  are  sometimes  common  at  Woods  Hole  in  sum- 
mer and  that  congregate  along  the  shores  of  southern  New  England  for  a  brief 
period  in  autumn,  to  vanish,  however,  in  winter. 

The  wintering  ground  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  stock  of  silver  hake  is  not  definitely 
known.  Analogy  with  the  European  species  suggests  that  the  bottom  along  the 
upper  part  of  the  continental  slope  so  serves,  and  this  is  corroborated  by  the  fact 
that  on  February  20  to  21,  1920,  the  Albatross  trawled  several  specimens  in  90  and 
190  fathoms  along  the  continental  edge  off  Chincoteague,  Va.,  and  off  Delaware 
Bay,  together  with  spiny  dogfish  {SquaJus  acanthius,  p.  47).  Once  the  silver  hake 
have  journeyed  out  past  Cape  Cod  and  Georges  Bank  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose 
they  turn  southward,  but  rather  that  they  simply  descend  the  slope  until  they  find 
suitable  physical  surroundings,  whether  of  temperatm-e,  salinity,  or  of  absolute  depth. 
Definite  information  on  this  point  is  much  to  be  desired,  and  tliis  may  be  hoped 
for  from  scale  studies,  which,  by  revealing  the  existence  df  local  races  on  different 
sections  of  the  coast,  differing  in  their  rate  of  growth,'^  have  afforded  positive 
evidence  that  the  migrations  of  the  European  hake  are  primarily  in  and  off  shore, 
not  north  and  south. 

While  sojourning  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  silver  hake  are  caught  regularly 
from  the  surface  (for  they  come  right  up  to  tide  mark)  down  to  40  or  50  fathoms, 
and  they  have  been  trawled  down  to  100  fathoms  and  more  in  its  basin  even  in 
summer,  and  to  300  fathoms  on  the  continental  slope,  as  just  noted.  In  short, 
this  fish  is  independent  of  depth  within  wide  limits,  and  of  the  bottom,  inhabiting 
the  mid-levels  of  the  sea,  its  movements  governed  by  spawning  and  by  the  pur- 
suit of  food.  It  is  a  very  interesting  fact  that  all  the  great  armies  of  silver  hake 
that  enter  the  traps  and  strand  on  the  beaches  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  are  composed 
of  good-sized  individuals  of  8  inches  and  longer,  and  that  immature  fish  from  year- 
lings on,  such  as  make  up  the  greater  part  of  the  catch  of  herring,  are  so  rare  that 
most  of  the  local  fishermen  of  whom  we  have  inquired  know  nothing  of  them 
north  of  Cape  Cod  except  that  fry  about  3  inches  long,  hence  probably  of  the 
same  summer's  hatch,  have  been  reported  to  us  as  found  on  the  flats  at  Plymouth. 
Huntsman,  however,  reports  all  stages  from  yearlings  on  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 
Such  evidence  at  face  value  might  indicate  that  adults  actually  dominate  the 
bodies  of  silver  hake  in  most  parts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  most  of  the  immature  fish 
lingering  nearer  their  wintering  ground;  but  an  equally  reasonable  and  far  more 
probable  explanation  is  that  immature  fish  are  in  reality  as  plentiful  in  the  inner 
parts  of  the  Gulf  as  the  abundance  of  adults  suggests,  but  that  they  are  not 
caught  in  the  traps  because  they  do  not  come  so  close  inshore. 

Food  and  habits. — Silver  hake  are  strong  swift  swimmers,  well  armed  and 
extremely  voracious.  They  prey  on  herring  and  on  any  other  of  the  smaller  school- 
ing fish,  such  as  young  mackerel,  menhaden,  alewives,  silversides,  etc.;  also  on 

"  These  records  are  listed  by  Goode  and  Bean,  1896,  p.  387. 

"  Belloc.    Notes  et  Memoirs  No.  21,  Offlce  Scientiflque  et  Technique  des  PSches  Maritimes,  Janvier  1923,  32  pp.    Paris. 


390  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

squid  and  occasionally  on  crabs  and  other  crustaceans.  Probably  a  complete  diet 
list  would  include  the  young  of  practically  all  the  common  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes, 
for  Vinal  Edwards  recorded  the  following  considerable  list  from  the  silver  hake 
taken  at  Woods  Hole:  Alewife,  butterfish,  cimner,  herring,  mackerel,  menhaden, 
launce,  scup,  silversides,  smelt,  and  its  own  species,  and  probably  the  silver  hake 
that  frequent  Georges  Bank  feed  chiefly  on  yoimg  haddock. 

Though  they  do  not  school  in  definite  bodies  multitudes  of  these  fish  often 
swim  together,  and  such  bands  often  drive  herring  ashore  and  themselves  strand 
in  pursuit.  Events  of  tliis  sort  are  oftenest  reported  in  early  autumn  when  the 
spent  fish  are  feeding  ravenously  after  the  effort  of  spawning,  but  they  may  also 
happen  at  any  time  during  the  summer.  For  example,  Prof.  A.  E.  Gross  saw 
the  beach  at  Sandy  Neck,  Barnstable,  Mass.,  literally  covered  with  them  on 
several  occasions  in  Jime  and  July,  1920.''''  Doctor  Huntsman  informs  us  that  spent 
fish  frequently  strand  on  the  beaches  on  both  sides  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  in  Sep- 
tember. We  once  saw  an  army  of  silver  hake  harrying  a  school  of  sperling  in  but 
a  few  inches  of  water  on  a  shelving  beach  at  Cohasset,  Mass. — in  fact,  half  filled 
a  canoe  with  pursuers  and  pursued  with  my  bare  hands — and  from  time  to  time 
visitors  to  the  seashore  complain  that  the  air  is  fouled  with  the  stench  of  the  rotting 
carcasses.  In  fact  we  doubt  if  we  have  ever  walked  a  couple  of  miles  along  the 
beach  about  Massachusetts  Bay  at  any  time  between  June  and  October  without 
seeing  at  least  one  silver  hake  high  and  dry. 

It  is  said  that  European  silver  hake  rest  on  the  bottom  by  day  and  hunt  by 
night,  and  it  is  usually  at  night  that  the  American  fish  run  up  into  the  shallows 
and  enter  the  traps,  but  strandings  also  take  place  by  day.  When  they  are  on 
bottom  they  keep  to  sandy  or  pebbly  ground,  seldom  being  caught  on  mud  or 
about  rocks,  in  which,  as  in  most  of  their  ways,  they  correspond  to  the  European 
species.  It  has  long  been  known  that  the  latter  fluctuates  widely  in  abundance 
from  year  to  year  throughout  its  range.  Unfortunately  fishery  statistics  throw 
no  light  on  this  point  for  the  American  fish,  wliich  was  looked  on  as  nothing  but  a 
nuisance  until  half  a  dozen  years  ago.  Silver  hake  were  reported  relatively  scarce 
in  the  GuK  of  Maine  during  the  few  and  brief  periods  when  bluefish  have  abounded 
there  (p.  239) ,  nor  is  this  unlikely,  as  the  latter  prey  upon  the  former  as  silver  hake 
do  on  herring. 

Breeding  Tiabits. — The  silver  hake  is  the  most  important  summer  spawner 
among  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes,  just  as  the  haddock  is  for  spring  and  the  pollock  for 
autumn,  and  the  Gulf  is  probably  its  most  prolific  nursery.  It  likewise  spawns 
over  the  outer  part  of  the  Nova  Scotian  Banks  as  far  east  as  Sable  Island,  Dannevig" 
having  recorded  large  egg  catches  off  Halifax.  This  is  probably  its  eastern  breed- 
ing limit,  however,  for  the  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition  found  no  silver  hake 
eggs  or  iYj  on  Banquereau  or  Misaine  Banks,  in  the  Laurentian  Channel,  or  on  the 
Newfoundland  Banks.  On  the  other  hand  our  most  westerly  egg  record  was  off 
Nantucket  Shoals  (fig. 195),  nor  is  it  likely  that  silver  hake  spawn  inshore  far  west 
of  Cape  Cod,  unless  they  do  so  much  earlier  in  the  season  there  than  in  the  Gulf 

>»  The  Auk,  Vol.  XL,  January,  1923,  No.  1,  p.  19. 

':  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919),  p.  27. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


391 


of  Maine.^^     Kuntz  and  Radcliffe  (1918)  were  unable  to  hatch  its  eggs  at  the  Wbods 
Hole  hatchery,  though  they  were  taken  from  ripe  females  caught  in  the  local  weirs, 


and  though  eggs  in  fair  number  were  taken  in  the  tow  nets  in  July  and  August,  but  it 
may  spawn  successfully  to  the  southern  limit  of  its  range  in  deep  water  offshore. 

5»  The  European  silver  hake  spawns  from  January  until  May  in  the  Mediterranean,  but  not  until  July  and  August  in  British 
waters. 

102274— 25t 26 


392  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHEKIES 

The  silver  hake  spawns  here  and  there  along  the  entire  coastal  zone  from  Cape 
Cod  to  Grand  Manan,  as  proven  by  the  locations  of  the  egg  catches  (fig.  195),  but 
apparently  it  does  not  breed  successfully  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
where  neither  its  eggs  nor  its  fry  have  ever  been  found.  The  observations  related 
below  (p.  393),  suggest  that  it  is  the  low  surface  temperature  of  this  locality  that 
prevents  its  successful  reproduction  there,  but  the  capture  of  a  few  eggs  in  Petit 
Passage  in  our  tow  nets  on  June  10,  1915,  suggests  that  it,  like  the  cunner,  may 
spawn  on  the  southern  side  of  the  bay.  Tliere  is  no  positive  evidence  at  hand 
that  it  breeds  along  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  but  this  is  to  be  expected ;  and 
its  presence  in  abundance  on  Georges  Bank  throughout  the  summer  is  also  pre- 
sumptive evidence  of  local  spawning,  though  we  have  taken  no  silver  hake  eggs  or 
larvae  there. 

The  silver  hake  that  spawn  within  the  Gulf  of  Maine  do  so  chiefly  in  water 
shoaler  than  50  fathoms,  corresponding  in  this  to  our  other  numerically  important 
gadoids,  whereas  the  Eureopean  silver  hake  usually  spawns  in  50  to  100  fathoms. 
We  made  one  rich  haul  of  its  eggs  in  the  center  of  the  eastern  basin,  which  need  be 
no  surprise,  the  silver  hake  being  more  pelagic  in  its  habits  than  the  cod  tribe  and 
wandering  far  and  wide  in  pursuit  of  prey.  The  discovery  of  ripe  as  well  as  of  green 
and  spent  fish  in  depths  as  great  as  300  fathoms  off  southern  New  England  (p.  389), 
and  of  its  eggs  outside  the  continental  slope  off  Nova  Scotia  by  the  Canadian  Fish- 
eries Expedition, ^°  prove  that  it  spawns  over  deep  water  as  well  as  in  shoal  water. 

The  silver  hake  of  British  waters  congregate  on  certain  definite  banks  to  spawn. 
Whether  our  American  fish  does  the  like  is  yet  to  be  learned,  but  judging  from  its 
wandering  habits  it  is  not  likely  to  be  as  select  in  its  choice  as  is  the  haddock,  for 
example.  The  sloping  sandy  bottom  around  the  northern  extremity  and  off  the 
eastern  slope  of  Cape  Cod  is  evidently  an  important  center  of  reproduction,  for 
not  only  did  we  find  an  abundance  of  eggs  off  Race  Point  on  July  7,  1915,  but  our 
tow  nets  yielded  swarms  of  young  larvae  and  many  eggs  at  two  stations  off  the  outer 
side  of  the  cape  on  July  22  of  the  following  year,  with  the  fish  still  spawning  there 
a  month  later,  as  proved  by  the  presence  of  eggs.  Other  localities  where  we  have 
taken  silver  hake  eggs  in  large  numbers  are  off  Duck  Island  near  Mount  Desert 
on  July  19  and  August  18,  1915;  near  Monhegan  Island,  August  4,  1915;  off  Wooden 
Ball  Island  near  the  mouth  of  Penobscot  Bay  on  August  6,  1915;  and  off  Rye, 
New  Hampshire,  on  July  23  of  that  same  year;  but  we  have  never  found  them  in 
any  number  in  Massachusetts  Bay  though  odd  eggs  have  been  taken  there  on  sev- 
eral occasions  (fig.  195).  Unfortunately  no  quantitative  hauls  were  made  at  any 
of  the  more  productive  egg  stations,  hence  the  number  of  silver  hake  eggs  actually 
present  in  the  water  can  not  be  approximated,  and  our  general  experience  has  been 
that  vertical  hauls  with  small  nets  are  of  little  use  for  fish  eggs  when  there  are  less 
than  50  or  so  of  the  latter  per  square  meter  of  sea  surface.  But  the  vertical  net 
yielded  about  190  per  square  meter  at  the  eastern  basin  station  just  mentioned, 
where  eggs  also  occurred  in  fair  number  in  the  horizontal  hauls. 

'»  Dannevig.    Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919),  p.  28. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE 


393 


Although  silver  hake  appear  as  early  as  April  or  May  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
we  have  no  evidence  that  they  commence  to  spawn  before  June  north  of  Cape  Cod, 
our  earliest  egg  record  being  for  the  11th  of  that  month.  Spawning,  as  evidenced 
by  captures  of  the  eggs  in  tow  nettings,  is  at  its  height  in  July  and  August  and 
continues  through  September,  though  less  freely,  with  October  22  as  our  latest 
date.  Similarly,  the  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition  found  no  silver  hake  eggs  in 
Nova  Scotian  waters  east  of  Cape  Sable  in  May,  but  many  in  July,  wliile  Kuntz 
and  Radcliffe  describe  the  silver  hake  as  spawning  in  July  and  August  about  Woods 
Hole 

According  to  their  observations  ""  only  part  of  the  eggs  mature  at  a  time, 
hence  the  silver  hake,  like  the  mackerel,  belongs  to  the  rather  numerous  category 
of  fishes,  individuals  of  which  spawn  over  a  considerable  period. 

The  temperatures  and  salinities  in  which  silver  hake  spawn  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine  vary  widely,  consequent  on  the  considerable  area  serving  as  spawning 
grounds  and  on  the  prolonged  spawning  season.  Owing  to  the  sharp  temperature 
gradient  prevailing  in  most  parts  of  the  Gulf  at  the  height  of  the  breeding  season 
it  is  impossible  to  establish  the  exact  temperature  at  wliich  silver  hake  are  spawn- 
ing at  any  particular  station  without  knowing  at  what  level  in  the  water  the  ripe 
fish  are — which  may  be  an3rvvhere  between  the  surface  and  the  bottom  with  this 
species.  It  may  be  definitely  stated,  however,  that  they  never  spawn  in  as  cold 
water  as  cod  and  haddock  usually  do  in  the  western  Atlantic.  In  1915,  for  example 
(a  representative  season),  it  was  not  until  the  entire  column  of  water  was  slightly 
warmer  than  41°  at  the  locality  in  question  that  we  found  the  first  silver  hake  eggs. 
If  the  parent  fish  were  in  the  upper  water  layers,  which  the  general  habit  of  this 
species  suggests,  all  the  rich  spawnings  we  encountered  in  the  Gulf  during  that  and 
the  following  year  took  place  in  temperatures  considerably  higher. 


10300. 
10302. 
10303. 
10305. 
10344. 
10345. 
10355. 


Date 


July  7, 1915... 
July  19,  1915.. 
Aug.  4,  1916.. 
Aug.  18,  1915. 
July  22,  1916.. 

do 

July  25,  1916.. 


Depth, 
fathoms 


Surface 

temper- 
ature 


62 

52.9 

52.9 

51.5 

60.5 

50 

53.5 


Bottom 
temper- 
ature 


44.1 

45 

42.7 

47.8 

39.5 

39.2 

51.7 


Similarly  the  silver  hake  eggs  taken  off  Halifax  by  the  Canadian  Fisheries 
Expedition  in  July,  1915,  and  off  Shelburne,  Nova  Scotia,  by  the  Grampus  on 
September  6  of  that  year,  may  have  been  spawned  in  water  warmer  than  50°,  and 
probably  were  in  temperatures  higher  than  41°,  there  being  no  necessity  for  assum- 
ing that  the  parent  fish  were  lying  in  the  colder  bottom  stratum.  As  the  spawn- 
ing season  draws  to  its  close  in  September  and  October  the  minimum  temperatures 
for  most  of  our  egg  stations  have  been  higher  than  46°,  with  one  (our  latest  record 
for  the  season)  as  warm  as  57°.  These  data  point  to  41°  to  45°  as  about  the  lower 
temperature  limit  to  the  spawning  of  the  silver  hake,  with  45°  to  55°  as  the  range 
of  temperature  within  which  most  of  the  eggs  are  produced. 


**  Kimtz  and  Radcliffe  (1918.  p.  109)  describe  the  spawning  and  early  development. 


394  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU    OF   FISHERIES 

In  the  case  of  any  fish  producing  buoyant  eggs  the  tendency  of  the  latter  to 
rise  insures  (unless  it  be  counteracted  by  active  vertical  circulation  of  the  water) 
that  development  shall  take  place  in  the  temperature  of  the  surface  layer,  not  of 
the  deeper  lying  water  in  which  they  are  spawned.  In  most  parts  of  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  too,  where  the  surface  is  much  warmer  than  the  underlying  water  strata 
in  summer,  it  follows  that  buoyant  eggs  produced  as  much  as  a  few  fathoms  down 
incubate,  and  the  larvae  at  hatching  find  themselves  in  temperatures  considerably 
higher  than  those  in  which  spawning  takes  place.  The  silver  hake  is  no  exception 
to  tliis  rule.  While  we  have  towed  its  eggs  in  June  when  the  surface  was  still  only 
about  42°,  most  of  the  egg  records,  with  all  the  rich  catches,  were  made  in  temper- 
atures ranging  from  51°  to  63°;  and  at  the  few  localities  where  we  have  taken 
newly  hatched  larvae  (less  than  4  mm.  long) ,  the  upper  stratum  of  5  fathoms  or  so, 
where  hatching  may  be  assumed  to  have  taken  place,  has  invariably  been  warmer 
than  50°  and  usually  warmer  than  55°,  with  the  temperature  of  the  immediate 
surface  60°  or  higher  in  most  cases.  Such  evidence  suggests  that  incubation  does 
not  proceed  normally  in  water  cooler  than  about  50°,  and  that  development  is  most 
successful  in  temperatures  as  high  as  55°  to  60°.  Thus,  though  the  silver  hake 
may  spawn  in  low  temperatures,  a  comparatively  warm  surface  layer  is  necessary 
for  the  later  stages  in  its  propagation.  This  is  interesting  in  its  application  to 
the  Gulf  of  Maine  for  it  offers  a  reasonable  explanation  of  the  failure  of  this  fish 
to  breed  successfully  along  the  New  Brunswick  shore  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  where 
active  vertical  circulation  maintains  surface  temperatures  as  low  as  50°  to  55° 
throughout  the  summer.  On  the  other  hand,  however,  the  failure  of  the  eggs 
to  develop  in  the  hatchery  at  Woods  Hole  points  to  65°  to  70°  as  the  upper  limit 
to  successful  incubation. 

Spawning  takes  place  in  comparatively  low  salinities  in  the  GuK  of  Maine, 
with  a  vertical  range  at  the  "egg"  stations  of  from  about  31.5  to  about  32.5  per 
mille,  while  33  per  mille  may  be  set  provisionally  as  the  maximum  salinity  in  which 
any  silver  hake  eggs  develop  in  the  Gulf,  water  far  less  saline  than  that  in  which 
the  European  silver  hake  spawns  and  in  which  its  eggs  develop. 

Our  frequent  captures  of  silver  hake  larvoe  at  many  localities  (fig.  195)  prove 
that  it  not  only  spawns  freely  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  but  that  the  eggs  develop,  and 
that  the  southwest  part  of  the  Gulf  at  any  rate  (p.  395)  is  a  favorable  nursery  for 
them.  Furthermore  silver  hake  have  been  the  subject  of  our  richest  haul  of  young 
fish,  a  15-minute  haul  at  20  fathoms  with  a  net  one  meter  in  diameter  off  Cape  Cod 
on  July  22,  1916  (sta.  10344)  having  yielded  approximately  25,000  larvae  of  3  to 
7  mm. 

We  know  of  no  estimate  of  the  number  of  eggs  a  single  female  may  produce. 
The  eggs  are  buoyant,  transparent,  about  0.8S  to  0.95  mm.  in  diameter,  with  a 
single  yellowish  or  brownish  oil  globule  of  0.19  to  0.25  mm.  Incubation  is  rapid; 
Kuntz  and  Radcliffe  assumed  48  hours  at  Woods  Hole,  but  its  duration  has  not  been 
determined  for  the  cooler  water  in  which  the  eggs  are  produced  naturally  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine.  The  larvo3  are  about  2.8  mm.  long  at  hatching,  slender,  with  com- 
paratively small  yolk  sac,  and  recognizable  by  the  facts  that  the  vent  is  located  close 
behind  the  latter  on  one  side  near  the  base  of  the  larval  fin  fold  as  in  the  cod  family, 
not  at  its  margin  as  in  most  larval  fishes,  and  that  the  tnink  behind  the  vent  is 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULiF   OF   MAINE  395 

marked  with  two  black  and  yellow  transverse  bars.  In  larviB  of  6  to  7  mm.  the 
yolk  has  been  absorbed  and  the  caudal  fin  rays  have  appeared;  the  dorsal  and  anal 
fins  assmne  their  definite  outlines  by  the  time  the  little  fish  is  10  to  11  mm.  long; 
and  fry  of  20  to  25  mm.  begin  to  resemble  their  parents."  The  position  of  the  vent 
together  with  the  transverse  pigment  bars  are  diagnostic  for  the  youngest  larvse, 
while  the  large  head,  slender  trunk,  and,  in  older  larvse,  the  outlines  of  the  dorsal 
fins  are  diagnostic  of  the  later  larval  stages. 

The  locations  at  which  silver  hake  eggs  and  larvse  have  been  taken  (fig.  195) 
exhibit  one  very  striking  phenomenon — total  failure  to  find  larvae  at  the  more  north- 
ern and  eastern  stations  or  eggs  at  the  more  southern  and  western  stations.  Dan- 
nevig""  has  already  called  attention  to  the  absence  of  larvse  contrasted  with  the  abun- 
dance of  eggs  in  Nova  Scotian  waters,  suggesting  that  the  disparity  may  mirror  the 
percentage  of  eggs  that  survive  and  hatch  there.  Such  calculations,  it  is  true,  must 
rest  on  very  slender  bases  until  more  is  kno^vn  of  the  biology  of  this  fish,  nor  does  the 
presence  of  larvse  contrasted  with  apparent  absence  of  eggs  west  of  Cape  Cod  in  sum- 
mer prove  that  the  former  pass  the  cape  onl}'^  as  immigrants  from  east  and  north, 
for  silver  hake  may  spa^vn  there  so  early  in  the  season  that  their  eggs  have  escaped 
the  smnmer  tow  nettings.  We  have  towed  so  often  along  the  coast  of  Maine  in 
August,  September,  and  October,  however — that  is,  just  the  season  when  the 
larva3  spawned  from  June  to  August  might  have  been  expected — that  failure  to  find 
larvse  east  of  Cape  Elizabeth  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  contrasted  with  their  frequent 
capture  and  local  abundance  (p.  394)  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region,  seems  suffi- 
cient evidence  that  they  are  actually  limited  in  their  occurrence  to  the  southwestern 
part  of  the  Gulf,  in  which  young  silver  hake  parallel  the  young  cod,  haddock,  and 
flatfish.  This  phenomenon,  with  other  similar  facts  of  distribution  suggests  a 
peripheral  drift  around  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  from  northeast  to  southwest,  in 
which  first  the  eggs  and  then  the  resultant  larvoi3  take  part.  So  well,  indeed,  has 
this  type  of  circulation  been  established  for  the  Gulf  by  hydrographic  evidence  that 
some  such  involuntary  migration  is  inevitable,  not  only  for  buoyant  fish  eggs  and 
larvas  produced  near  the  coast  line,  but  liivewise  for  the  whole  category  of  pelagic 
invertebrates  and  plants. 

Presumably  the  young  silver  hake  takes  to  the  bottom  during  its  first  autimm 
when  about  1  to  1}^  inches  long,  as  does  its  European  relative.  Indeed,  such  small 
fry  have  been  trawled  in  deep  water  off  southern  New  England  (p.  389). 

The  rate  of  growth  of  the  American  silver  hake  is  yet  to  be  studied,  nor  can 
it  be  deduced  from  that  of  the  European  species,  for  the  latter  grows  to  a  con- 
siderably greater  length,  averaging  as  much  as  30  inches  at  8  years  in  the  extreme 
north  of  its  range  (Iceland)  and  considerably  larger  in  the  south  (Gulf  of  Gascony 
and  off  Morocco  *^) .  It  is  fair  to  assume,  however,  that  the  growth  of  the  American 
fish  varies  similarly  with  latitude  (that  is,  is  most  rapid  in  high  temperatures)  and 

"  Kuntz  and  Radcliffe  (1918.  p.  109)  describe  the  early  stages. 

"n  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919). 

83  Belloc     Notes  et  M6raoires  No.  21,  Office  Scientifique  et  Technique  des  Pfiches  Maritimes,  Janvier  1923,  32  pp.    Paris. 


396  BULLETIN'   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

that  the  American  female,  like  the  European,  grows  faster  than  the  male.  The 
European  Merluccius  matures  at  2  years,  which  is  probably  true  of  the  American, 
also. 

Commercial  importance. — Although  this  is  one  of  our  sweetest  fish  if  eaten  per- 
fectly fresh,  it  so  soon  softens  that  there  was  no  regular  sale  for  it  until  very  recently, 
and  we  can  remember  it  used  locally  as  manure.  The  demand  has  grown  so 
rapidly,  however,  that  whereas  only  37,000  pounds  were  saved  in  Massachusetts 
and  Maine  in  1895,  more  than  2,300,000  pounds  were  marketed  there  in  1902,  almost 
4,500,000  in  1905,  and  more  than  14,000,000  in  1919.  Practically  all  the  silver 
hake  sold  are  from  the  weirs  and  traps,  the  price  they  command  still  being  so  low 
that  the  bank  fishermen  throw  them  overboard  as  trash. 

150.  American  pollock    (PollacMus  virens  Jjinnseus) 
Pollock;  Boston  bluefish;  Coalfish  (European) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2534. 

Description. — The  American  pollock  °'  is  a  shapely  fish  with  deep,  plump  body 
(about  four  and  one-fourth  times  as  long  as  deep)  tapering  to  a  pointed  nose  and  slen- 
der caudal  peduncle.  Its  mouth  is  of  moderate  size.  The  projecting  lower  jaw  (giving 
it  an  undershot  facial  aspect),  its  forked  sharp-cornered  tail,  small  ventrals,  and  small 
chin  barbel  (as  a  rule  the  latter  is  lacking  altogether  in  large  fish) ,  with  its  beau- 
tiful green  color,  are  ready  field  marks  when  it  is  taken  with  cod  and  haddock.  Its 
first  dorsal  fin  (13  rays) ,  originating  slightly  behind  the  pectoral,  is  triangular, 
slightly  the  highest  of  the  three  dorsals.  The  second  dorsal,  also  triangular,  is 
longest  (22  rays)  and  separated  by  a  considerable  space  from  the  third  (20  rays), 
which  is  more  rhomboid  in  outline.  The  second  anal  fin  (20  rays)  corresponds  in 
shape  and  size  to  the  third  dorsal,  under  which  it  stands,  but  the  first  anal  is  con- 
siderably longer  than  the  second  dorsal  though  of  similar  outline.  The  ventrals 
are  slightly  in  front  of  the  pectorals  and  only  about  half  as  long.  The  pectorals 
are  set  high  on  the  sides,  longer  than  the  first  and  shorter  than  the  second  dorsal, 
with  rounded  lower  corners  and  bluntly  pointed  tips.  The  caudal  fin  is  noticeably 
forked,  with  angular  corners  unless  spread  to  its  widest,  when  its  margin  becomes 
early  straight. 

Color. — Pollock  are  alwaj^s  of  a  greenish  hue,  usually  deep  rich  olive  or 
brownish  green  above,  paling  to  yellowish  or  smoky  gray  on  the  sides  below  the 
lateral  line  and  to  silvery  gray  on  the  belly.  The  lateral  line  is  white  or  very  pale 
gray,  contrasting  strongly  with  the  dark  sides.  The  dorsal,  caudal,  pectoral,  and 
anal  fins  are  olive,  the  latter  pale  at  the  base.  The  ventrals  are  white  with  a  reddish 
tinge.  Young  fish  are  darker  than  large  ones  and  often  more  tinged  with  yellow 
on  their  sides. 

Size. — Gulf  of  Maine  pollock  reach  a  maximum  length  of  33-^  feet  and  a  weight 
of_about  35  pounds,  but  fish  as  heavy  as  this  are  exceptional,  few  growing  larger 
than  40  inches  or  25  pounds,  with  about  2  to  3  feet  and  4  to  12  pounds  as  the  average 

"  This  is  the  "coalfish,"  green  cod,"  or  "saithe"  of  European  fisherman.    The  European  "pollack"  is  a  different  species 
{Gadus  poUachius). 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


397 


for  adults.  A  ripe  female  of  40  inches  will  weigh  about  24  pounds,  w^hile  one  of 
38  inches  will  weigh  17  pounds.  The  proportion  of  length  to  weight  was  as  follows 
among  fat  fish  taken  off  Boon  Island  on  April  22  to  25,  1913,  and  measured  by 
Welsh: 


Length,  in  inches 

Weight, 
iu  pounds 

Length,  in  inches 

Weight, 
in  pounds 

35. 

13M 
12 

n'A 

10 
12 

11 

10 
10 

t^ 

9 

8,H 

29H 

29>i 

29H - - 

9 

33  . 

9 

32 

m 

9 

32 

291^ 

29 

29                                 

32 

8 

32 

9 

31H - 

28H 

g 

31 

27H 

BH 

m 

30.. 

27 

30 

26 

30            

24>2 

4 

30. 

24)4 

30 

24H 

jH'  '"U 


6 Fig.  197— Egg  (European). 
After  Mcintosh 


Fig.  198. — Larva  (European),  5  days  old,  4.3  millimeters. 
After  Mcintosh 


Fig.  199.— Larva  (European),  6.75  milli- 
meters.   After  Schmidt 


Fig.' 200.— Larva  (European),  12.5  millimeters. 
After  Schmidt 


Fig.  201— Fry  (European),'23  millimeters.    After  Schmidt 
AMERIC.\N  POLLOCK  (Pollachius  virens) 


398  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEBIES 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic.  On  the  American  coast 
pollock  have  been  taken  as  far  south  as  Chesapeake  Bay,"  though  they  are  very 
rare  beyond  New  York.  They  occur  regularly  in  small  numbers  in  Narragansett 
Bay  and  are  plentiful  from  the  Woods  Hole  region,  Nantucket  Shoals,  and  Cape 
Cod  to  Cape  Breton.  They  also  enter  the  southeastern  part  of  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence  but  are  not  plentiful  enough  farther  in  to  appear  in  the  fishing  returns, 
and  they  are  unknown  along  its  north  shore  though  odd  fish  have  been  reported 
as  far  north  as  Hudson  and  Davis  Straits. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  Gulf  of  Maine .  is  the  chief  center  of 
abundance  for  this  fish  on  the  western  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  it  is  one  of  the  half 
dozen  species  that  support  the  great  commercial  fisheries  of  the  Gulf.  Pollock  are 
caught  in  abundance  all  around  its  shores  from  Cape  Sable  to  Cape  Cod. 

Pollock,  unlike  cod  and  haddock,  are  most  abundant  in  the  coastal  belt  from 
close  to  land  out  to  about  the  75-fathom  contour,  but  though  pollock  are  seldom 
reported  over  the  deep  basin  they  are  caught  in  fair  numbers  on  the  offshore  banks. 
The  reader  will  gain  some  idea  of  the  abundance  of  this  fish  and  how  universal 
it  is  along  the  coasts  of  the  Gulf  from  the  following  statistics  of  the  shore  catch 
for  the  year  1919.  The  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  from  Cape  Sable  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  reported  about  1,000,000  pounds;  the  Scotian  side  of  the 
bay,  more  than  4,500,000  pounds;  the  New  Brunswack  shore  nearly  8,000,000; 
the  coast  of  Maine  east  of  Casco  Bay  nearly  3,000,000  (these  three  items  just 
mentioned  include  the  landings  from  German  Bank,  from  the  vicinity  of  Lurcher 
Shoal,  and  from  Grand  Manan  Bank) ;  and  Casco  Bay  to  the  Merrimac  River  more 
than  1,000,000  pounds.  Twelve  million  odd  pounds  were  also  taken  by  the  gill- 
netters  between  Portland  and  Provincetown,  chiefly  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boon 
Island  and  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  on  Jeffreys  Ledge,  and  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  while 
6,000,000  pounds  more,  caught  inshore  by  larger  vessels,  can  not  be  classified  by 
locality.     This  totals  nearly  36,000,000  pounds. 

Pollock  can  not  be  described  as  abundant  anywhere  west  of  Cape  Cod  and 
Nantucket,  but  small  amounts  (small  by  comparison  vdth  the  Gulf  of  Maine  land- 
ings) are  yearly  caught  in  season  (p.  400)  along  the  southern  shores  of  New  England 
and  in  New  York  waters,  and  a  few  even  as  far  as  New  Jersey.  For  instance, 
Rhode  Island  reported  291,430  pounds  in  1905  and  about  100,000  pounds  in  1919; 
Connecticut,  322,116  and  28,400  pounds,  respectively,  in  these  two  years;  New 
York,  81,710  pounds  in  1915  and  279,451  pounds  in  1917;  and  New  Jersey 
12,824  pounds  in  1915  and  40,611  pounds  in  1917. 

Practically  all  the  fish  that  compose  the  shore  catch  are  caught  within  20  and 
most  of  them  within  10  miles  of  land.  Many,  in  fact,  are  taken  right  along  the 
shore,  as  appears  from  the  fact  that  the  weirs  and  traps  of  Maine  and  Massachusetts 
yielded  1,000,000  pounds  in  1919,  but  the  most  successful  fishing  is  with  gill  nets, 
as  just  noted. 

Pollock  has  always  been  one  of  the  principal  fish  caught  with  hook  and  line 
on  the  banks  and  ledges  in  the  inner  part  of  the  gulf,  near  Lurcher  Shoal  for  in- 

B*  W.  C.  Schroeder  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  informs  us  that  a  pollock  12  inches  long  (identifled  by  Dr.  W.  C.  Kendall)  was 
taken  at  Buckroe  Beach,  Va.,  on  March  26, 1S94.     Previous  to  this  its  most  southerly  record  was  oS  New  Jersey. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


399 


stance,  on  Grand  Manan  Bank,  on  Jeffreys  Ledge,  and  on  Stellwagen  Bank  at  the 
entrance  to  Massachusetts  Bay. 

They  are  also  caught  regularly  by  the  line  trawlers  and  in  less  amount  by  the 
otter  trawlers  on  all  the  offshore  fishing  grounds,  but  as  a  rule  the  catches  brought 
in  thence  are  insignificant  compared  with  those  of  the  inshore  fishery,  as  the  follow- 
ing figures  for  1919,  a  fairlj^  representative  year,  will  illustrate: 

Location  Pounds 

Browns  Bank  ^* 157,  080 

Georges  Bank  and  "off  Chatham" 1,  059,  512 


Cashes  Ledge  and  vicinity. 

South  Channel 

Nantucket  Shoals 

Jeffreys  Ledge 

Platts  Bank 


15,  988 
672,  335 
38,  467 
92,  890 
30,  555 


POUNDS 

L/N»[D 

l.'SOO.OOO 

1,300,000 

1,200,000 

1,100,00  0 

1,000.00  0 

900,000 

800,000 

700,000 

600,00  0 

9»0,0  0  0 

+00,0  0  0 

300,00  0 

200,0  0  0 

100,0  0  0 


M 

Mi 

p  g 

v^^ 

>■■■ 

f.m 

Z  \^ 

■  "^ 

''.  ■  v^ 

L_| 

-Tl 

,wS 

]  ~ 

;3s: 

ss 

?r3 

E- 

"- 

ZL. 

Sometimes,  however,  larger  quantities  are 
brought  in  from  one  or  the  other  of  the  outer 
fishing  grounds  than  in  the  year  just  analyzed — 
3,260,000  pounds  from  the  South  Channel  in 
1921,  for  example.  In  the  grand  total  the  yield 
of  pollock  may  be  expected  to  average  at  least 
35,000,000  to  40,000,000  pounds  for  the  whole 
Gulf  of  Maine— say  5,000,000  to  6,000,000  fish, 
taking  one  year  with  another. 

Small  pollock  4  to  10  inches  long  and  weigh- 
ing less  than  half  a  poimd  (that  is,  1  or  2  years 
old)  swarm  inshore  after  early  April,  when  we 
have  seen  thousands  taken  from  the  traps  at 
Gloucester  and  Magnolia.  In  the  southern  part 
of  Massachusetts  Ba}'  these  "harbor  pollock," 
as  they  are  called  locally,  move  out  in  June, 
probably  to  avoid  the  rising  temperature,  to  work  back  in  autumn,  but  they  remain 
very  abundant  all  summer  and  autumn  in  the  harbors  and  bays  and  among  the 
islands  all  along  the  coast  from  Gloucester  north  and  east  to  Nova  Scotia.  In 
winter,  however,  most  of  them  seek  slightly  deeper  water,  probably  to  avoid  the  cold. 

The  larger  fish,  as  is  usually  the  case,  keep  farther  offshore  than  the  small 
ones,  and  on  the  whole  live  deeper  except  when  pursuing  some  particular  feed 
(p.  401).  They  are  caught  in  more  definite  localities — not  everywhere  and  any- 
where along  the  coast  as  the  little  immature  fish  are.  In  the  southern  part  of  the 
Gulf,  as  exemplified  by  Massachusetts  Bay  and  the  belt  from  Cape  Ann  to  the 
Isles  of  Shoals,  large  pollock  are  taken  in  greatest  number  in  late  autumn  and  early 
winter  when  the  gill-net  fishery  taps  the  spawning  fish  (fig.  202),  and  they  often 
appear  in  abundance  near  land  during  April  and  May.  However,  they  so  generally 
move  out  and  into  deeper  water  as  the  surface  warms  up  with  the  advance  of  the 


Fig.  202. — Monthly  landings  of  fresh  pollock  at 
Gloucester  for  the  year  1921 


"  These  are  only  the  landings  by  United  States  vessels. 
Bank  in  various  Nova  Scotian  ports. 


Probably  Canadian  vessels  landed  as  much  more  from  Browns 


400  BULLETIIv"    OF   THE   BUKEAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

season  that  few  are  taken  inshore  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region  during  July  and 
August,  though  they  do  not  travel  far  or  sink  deep,  for  good  fares  of  large  fish  2  to  3 
feet  long  are  brought  in  by  line  fishermen  from  Jeffreys  Ledge  throughout  the 
summer,  most  of  them  caught  some  distance  above  bottom. 

North  of  the  Isles  of  Shoals  pollock  are  more  commonly  seen  on  the  surface 
during  the  hot  months.  For  example,  small  boats  from  Cape  Porpoise  and  neigh- 
boring ports  were  doing  well  drailing  during  July  and  early  August,  1922,  and 
great  numbers  of  large  pollock  are  caught  all  summer  in  the  cool  surface  waters  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fimdy  in  ripplings  and  tide  rips,  while  middle-sized  fish 
swarm  for  some  distance  up  the  bay  in  the  strong  tideways  on  both  sides — for 
instance,  about  Eastport  and  in  Digby  Gut.  However,  pollock  decrease  in  munbers 
passing  up  the  bay  and  fail  altogether  at  its  extreme  head. 

When  the  breeding  season  draws  on  in  autumn  large  pollock  again  congregate 
in  abundance  along  the  coast  line  from  Cape  Porpoise  to  Cape  Ann  and  off  Massa- 
chusets  Bay,  and  it  is  in  late  autumn  and  winter  that  the  gill-netters  make  their 
largest  catches  there.  But  few  are  caught  there  after  spawning  until  the  following 
April,  showing  that  the  spent  fish  do  not  winter  on  particular  grounds  but  scatter 
and  wander  to  and  fro  in  search  of  food. 

On  Georges  Bank  and  the  other  offshore  fishing  grounds  pollock  are  caught  all 
through  the  year,  with  no  greater  seasonal  fluctuation  in  tho  landings  than  might 
result  from  the  various  vicissitudes  of  chance,  weather,  and  the  market. 

Although  its  spawning  and  feeding  journeys  may  lead  the  pollock  right  across 
the  Gulf  of  Maine  it  is  not  a  "migratory"  fish  there  in  the  sense  in  which  that  term 
is  popidarly  understood,  but  one  of  the  most  characteristic  residents.  It  becomes 
migratory  west  of  Cape  Cod,  however,  because  the  bodies  of  fish  that  appear  off 
southern  New  England  in  autumn  and  spring  vanish  thence  when  the  water  warms 
to  about  60°  and  65°,  all  probably  withdrawing  to  the  eastward  to  Nantucket 
Shoals  and  past  Cape  Cod  to  pass  the  summer,  and  most  of  them  breeding  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine. 

Habits  and  food. — The  pollock  is  an  active  wandering  fish,  living  at  any  level 
between  bottom  and  surface,  often  schooling  like  the  mackerel,  and  sometimes  gath- 
ering in  bodies  so  large  that  it  is  on  record  that  a  purse  seiner  once  took  60,000  out 
of  one  school  at  a  single  set.  It  is  predaceous,  feeding  chiefly  on  small  fish  and  on 
pelagic  crustaceans — among  the  latter  most  often  on  the  large  pelagic  shrimplike 
euphausiids,  and  it  is  the  local  presence  or  absence  of  prey  that  govei'ns  the  move- 
ments of  the  larger  fish  and  their  schooling. 

It  is  a  commonplace  that  pollock  destroy  great  quantities  of  small  herring, 
launce,  young  cod,  young  haddock,  young  hake,  silver  hake,  and  other  small  fish 
in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  just  as  they  do  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and,  although 
we  can  not  offer  exact  particulars  of  this,  pollock  chasing  schools  of  herring  are  a 
familiar  sight,""  while  fish  of  1  to  1}^  pounds  commonly  run  up  estuaries  in  pursuit 
of  smelt  in  autumn.  Haddock  or  other  larvte  liberated  in  harbors  are  always  in 
danger  of  being  snapped  up  by  the  young  pollock  so  plentiful  in  such  situations. 

"  Sars  (Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fislieries,  1877  (1879),  p.  619-620)  has  given  a  graphic  account  of  pollock 
rounding  up  schools  of  launce  and  young  cod  in  Norwegian  waters. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  401 

When  a  pollock  only  9  inches  long  is  capable  of  eating  77  herring  up  to  2]^  inches 
in  length  at  one  meal,"'  "ravenous"  is  but  mildly  descriptive.  However,  pollock 
so  seldom  strand  in  pursuit  of  prey  that  we  have  never  seen  one  on  the  beach  though 
schools  often  come  close  in,  witness  the  catches  in  the  traps. 

According  to  European  accounts  the  pollock  of  the  eastern  Atlantic  feed 
chiefly  on  fish,  but  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  they  depend  more  on  pelagic  shrimps. 
At  Eastport,  for  example,  where  these  (Meganyctiphanes  and  Thysanoessa)  are  very 
abundant  all  summer,  Kendall  (1898,  p.  180)  reports  pollock  of  all  sizes  not  only 
fattening  on  them  but  so  evidently  preferring  them  to  young  herring  that  he  did  not 
find  a  single  "sardine"  in  a  pollock  stomach,  though  these  were  plentiful  enough 
at  the  time,  and  he  remarks  "if  at  any  time  the  crustaceans  disappeared  from  a 
place  the  large  pollock  disappeared  also."  Similarly,  Welsh  found  large  pollock  in 
schools  feeding  on  the  surface  on  "shrimp"  {Thysanoessa  raschii)  off  the  Isles  of 
Shoals  and  off  Boon  Island  in  April,  1913,  remarking  in  his  field  notes  for  the  25th 
that  "in  the  last  few  days  pollock  have  begun  to  appear  in  small  schools  of  400 
to  500  fish  with  the  appearance  of  large  schools  of  feed  (shrimp,  'aU  eyes'),  the 
feed  (shrimp)  breaking  water  trying  to  get  away  from  the  poUock  which  are  after 
them."  He  described  the  fish  themselves  as  "rising  and  sinking  at  intervals; 
when  at  the  surface  swimming  like  porpoises,  leaping  up  and  over  with  open 
mouths,  the  feed  being  in  dense  streaks  6  inches  to  1  foot  down."  These  feeding 
fish  were  "very  sluggish  and  tame  on  this  feed  and  easily  taken  in  the  purse 
seines,"  while  all  were  "stuffed  to  capacity"  with  shrimps,  only  an  odd  one  con- 
taining a  herring. 

Even  large  pollock  sometimes  take  morsels  as  small  as  copepods.  Willey 
(1921,  p.  192),  for  example,  speaks  of  a  fish  caught  near  Campobello  Island  which 
contained  proportionately  as  many  large  copepods  (Euchteta)  as  euphausiid  shrimps, 
and  likewise  the  smaller  copepods,  Calanus  finmarchicus  and  0.  liyperboreits,  while 
he  found  Sagittte  and  caprellids  in  the  stomachs  of  other  pollock.  In  north  Euro- 
pean waters,  too,  the  medium-sized  fish  are  known  to  eat  considerable  amounts  of 
small  copepods,  fish  eggs,  etc.,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  small  fish  diet  chiefly 
on  these.  Pollock  also  feed  to  a  small  extent  on  bottom-dwelling  crustaceans  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  crabs,  prawns,  and  bottom-dwelling  shrimp  having  been 
found  in  fish  caught  at  Woods  Hole  and  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine;  but  they  never  take 
shelled  mollusks  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  though  they  bite  clam  bait  as  greedily  as 
fish  baits,  and  fishermen  speak  of  them  as  one  of  the  few  species  that  will  bite  (that 
is,  which  feed)  during  the  spawning  period. 

Experiments  on  fish  kept  in  captivity  at  Woods  Hole''  have  shown  that  the 
pollock  is  an  excellent  visualizer  and  captures  its  food  by  its  keen  sight  more  than  by 
scent. 

Rate  of  growth. — Owing  to  the  brevity  of  its  breeding  season  and  to  the  readiness 
with  which  its  scales  can  be  "read"  European  students"'  have  found  it  easy  to  trace 

•'  Smitt.  Scandinavian  Fishes.  1S92. 

"  Herrick.    Bulletin.  United  States  Fish  Commission.  Vol.  XXII.  1902  (1904),  p.  2.58. 

8"  For  resnm6  see  Damas  (Rapports  et  Proc§s  Verbaux,  Cons6il  Permanent  International  pour  I'ExpIoration  de  la  Mer,  Vol. 
X,  No.  3,  1909,  p.  167). 


402  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUKEAU   OF   FISHEKIES 

the  rate  of  growth  of  the  pollock,  and  Mavor  (1918,  p.  Ill)  has  done  the  like  for  fish 
caught  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  Judging  from  his  data  and  from  the  size  of  the  fry 
caught  at  Woods  Hole  in  spring,  poUock  hatched  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  in  midwinter 
are  about  1  to  2  inches  long  the  following  spring,  growing  to  3  to  5  inches  by  late 
summer.  They  will  average  about  5  or  6  inches  by  the  second  spring  (their  scales 
then  showing  one  winter  ring) ,  about  12  inches  the  third  spring,  and  14  J^  inches  by 
the  following  midsummer  when  2J^  years  old — that  is  to  say,  the  little  harbor  pollock 
of  6  to  8  inches  are  in  their  second  summer.  Bay  of  Fundy  fish  in  their  fourth  sum- 
mer— that  is,  when  33^  years  old — are  14  to  18}^  inches  long,  and  the  scales  of  the  few 
older  fish  that  Mavor  examined  indicated  an  average  length  of  about  23  inches  at  43^ 
years,  25  inches  at  5J^  years,  and  27  inches  at  6J^  years.  These  sizes  are  somewhat 
larger  than  averages  given  by  Damas  for  European  fish  of  corresponding  ages,  but 
the  difference  is  so  small  that  it  is  safe  to  apply  the  European  figiu-es  to  older  Gulf 
of  Maine  fish  for  which  Mavor  gives  no  data.  Accordingly,  we  might  expect  the 
American  poUock  to  average  about  28  inches  at  7}^  years,  about  29  inches  at  8}4 
years,  30  inches  at  9  J^  years,  about  31  inches  at  12  years,  about  32  inches  at  13  years, 
and  33  inches  at  14  years.  Fish  of  3  feet  and  upward  are  therefore  of  a  very  re- 
spectable age,  and  the  oldest  recorded  by  Damas  among  thousands  examined  was 
in  its  nineteenth  year.  The  annual  rate  of  growth  works  out  to  about  6  inches 
yearly  for  the  first  two  years,  slowing  to  about  4  inches  for  the  next  two  or  three 
years.  Fish  5  to  10  years  old  annually  increase  about  IJ^  to  2  inches  in  length, 
after  which  they  grow  still  more  slowly.  In  Eiu-opean  seas  pollock  grow  faster  in 
the  southern  part  of  their  range  than  in  the  northern  part,  but  whether  this 
applies  equally  to  the  American  fish  is  yet  to  be  learned. 

The  age  at  which  Gulf  of  Maine  fish  first  mature  is  not  known,  but  it  is  probably 
at  the  same  size  as  in  Norwegian  waters,  where  some  may  ripen  as  small  as  6 
inches,  and  most  of  them  by  the  time  they  are  1 3^  feet  long — that  is,  3  years  old.  All 
fish  of  a  length  of  2  feet  aud  more  in  summer  have  spawned  at  least  once. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  note  in  passing  that  the  relative  frequencies  of  fish  of 
different  sizes  which  Mavor  examined  point  to  the  year  class  of  1909  as  dominating 
the  catches  of  Bay  of  Fundy  pollock  during  1914,  1915,  and  1916. 

Breeding  hahits. — The  chief  spawning  ground  for  poUock  within  the  Guff  of 
Maine  is  at  the  mouth  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  particularly  along  the  outer  (eastern~l 
slope  of  Stellwagen  Bank  and  on  the  broken  bottom  southeast  of  Gloucester.  Accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Corliss,  superintendent  of  the  Gloucester  hatchery,  "  the  bulk  of  the 
pollock  eggs  collected  for  this  [Gloucester]  station  are  taken  on  the  grounds  lying  12 
to  25  miles  southeast  of  Eastern  Point  Light,  the  most  prolific  ground  being  18  miles 
offshore."  The  gill-netters  also  catch  an  abundance  of  ripe  fish  between  Cape  Ann 
and  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  where  breeding  pollock  congregate  in  such  abundance  as  to 
support  a  lucrative  fishery. 

In  some  years  many  pollock  spawn,  and  large  quantities  of  their  eggs  have  been 
collected  for  the  hatchery,  right  up  to  Boston  Lightship  in  the  inner  part  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  though  this  is  not  a  regular  annual  event.  But  few  spawning  pollock 
are  caught  in  the  Gulf  south  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region,  and  we  find  no  report 
of  it  as  breeding  anywhere  west  of  Cape  Cod  although  fry  of  the  winter's  hatch 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


403 


appear  at  Woods  Hole  in  spring  (p.  405) .  On  the  other  hand  few  ripe  fish  are  seen 
along  the  coast  of  Maine,  nor  have  we  found  pollock  eggs  anywhere  north  of  the 
Isles  of  Shoals  in  our  autumn  or  winter  towings,  and  as  the  Boothbay  hatchery  has 
made  diligent  search  east  of  Casco  Bay,  usually  in  vaia,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  no  pro- 
duction of  any  importance  takes  place  between  Cape  Elizabeth  and  the  Bay  of 
Fundy.  Though  small  bodies  of  fish  may  perhaps  spawn  aU  along  this  belt  during 
some  years,  if  not  annually,  it  seems  that  none  do  so  (or  at  any  rate  that  no  larvre 
are  hatched)  on  the  New  Brunswick  side  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  for  no  pollock  eggs, 
larv£e,  or  young  fry  have  been  found  there  although  adults,  half  grown  fish,  and  even 
yearlings  occur  in  great  numbers.  Whether  pollock  breed  along  the  west  coast  of 
Nova  Scotia,  and  in  what  numbers,  is  still  to  be  determined,  though  local  fishermen 
could  no  doubt  answer  the  question.  It  is  obvious  that  if  no  more  pollock  spawn  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  Gulf  than  present  laiowledge  suggests,  the  adult  fish  so  plen- 
tiful there  in  summer  and  autumn  must  migrate  to  the  southwestward  for  breeding, 
but  more  definite  information  on  this  point  is  to  be  desired. 

The  pollock  is  a  late  autumn  and  early  winter  spawner,  with  the  1st  of  Novem- 
ber to  the  middle  of  January  covering  the  period  of  most  active  production  for  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  region,  a  fact  established  by  many  years'  experience  at  the 
Gloucester  hatchery,  where  many  millions  of  pollock  eggs  are  hatched  annually, 
and  illustrated  in  the  following  table  supplied  by  C.  G.  Corliss : 


Season 

First  eggs  taken 

Last  eggs  taken 

Eggs  most  plentiful 

Total  eggs 
collected 

1911-12 

Nov.  10 

Jan.  22 

499, 875,  Ono 

1912-13-. 

Nov.  1 

Jan. 31 

856,  680, 000 

1913-14 

do 

Feb.  6 

974,  240, 000 

1914-15... 

..  ..do  

Feb. 9 

855,  020, 000 

1915-16 

do 

Feb.  17 

1,713,730,000 

1916-17 

Nov.  7 

Jan.  27 

Nov.  16  to  Jan.  20 

2,081,400,000 

1918-19 

Nov.  6 

Jan.  23  • 

Nov.  20  to  Jan.  8                                             ..  ._ 

1,  !  10,  470, 000 

1919-20 

Jan.  16 

Nov.  17  to  Jan.  16 

954,  800, 000 

1920-21 

Not.  15 

Jan.  21 

Nov.  21  to  Jan.  16 

650,  850,  000 

In  1912  the  first  ripe  fish  was  caught  about  October  25,  and  it  is  unlikely  that 
pollock  ever  spawn  before  the  middle  of  that  month.  Spawning  is  practically 
completed  by  the  middle  of  February,  and  the  first  week  of  March  is  the  latest  that 
the  gUl-netters  have  reported  spawning  fish.  With  many  species  of  fish  odd  indi- 
viduals spawn  out  of  season,  but  this  seems  never  to  happen  with  pollock,  for 
fishermen  never  report  ripe  ones,  nor  have  we  towed  any  pollock  eggs,  between 
early  March  and  the  following  October.  The  pollock  spawns  considerably  earUer 
in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  than  in  north  European  waters,  where  breeding  does  not 
begin  until  January,  is  at  its  height  in  March,  and  continues  into  April,  the  latter 
month  seeing  the  chief  production  of  eggs  about  Iceland. 

The  Gulf  of  Maine  pollock,  like  the  cod  and  haddock,  spawn  in  comparatively 
shoal  water,  the  ripe  fish  that  supply  the  Gloucester  hatchery  with  eggs  being 
netted  chiefly  in  depths  of  25  to  50  fathoms,  while  on  November  8,  1916,  we  towed 
a  considerable  nmnber  of  pollock  eggs  over  Stellwagen  Bank  where  the  water 
was  only  16  fathoms  deep.  Probably  few  spawn  deeper  than  50  to  60  fathoms, 
and  there  is  no  evidence  at  hand  either  in  the  form  of  egg  records,  captures  of  ripe 


404 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FI3HEEIES 


fish,  or  fishermen's  reports,  that  any  pollock  eggs  are  produced  in  the  deep  basin 
of  the  Gulf.  In  European  waters,  however,  this  fish  is  described  as  breeding 
only  in  depths  greater  than  75  fathoms,  a  difference  difficult  to  account  for- 
Although  the  pollock  is  not  a  ground  fish  at  other  seasons,  the  gill-netters  describe 
it  as  spawning  on  hard  bottom. 

The  brief  duration  of  the  breeding  season  and  the  fact  that  the  vertical  tem- 
perature gradient  then  covers  a  range  no  greater  than  3°  to  5°  down  to  50  fathoms, 
makes  it  easy  to  establish  the  physical  conditions  under  which  the  eggs  are  spawned 
and  in  which  they  develop.  On  the  Massachusetts  Bay  ground  breeding  com- 
mences when  the  whole  column  of  water  has  cooled  to  about  47°  to  49°,  and  is 
at  its  climax  (late  in  December)  in  temperatures  of  40°  to  43°,  with  the  major 
production  of  eggs  taking  place  long  before  the  water  cools  to  its  winter  minimum 
of  35°  to  36°  at  the  level  at  which  the  fish  lie.  Thus  the  pollock  spawns  on  a  falling 
temperature,  with  most  of  the  eggs  produced  within  a  comparatively  narrow  range 
and  in  water  several  degrees  warmer  than  that  in  which  haddock  spawn  most 
actively  (p.  442).  This  agrees  closely  with  the  European  pollock  which,  so  far  as 
known,  spawns  only  in  temperatures  closely  approximating  44.5°. 

The  Massachusetts  Bay  spawning  takes  place  in  water  as  fresh  as  32  per  mille 
and  as  sahne  as  32.8  per  mille,  according  to  precise  locality,  depth,  and  season — 
salinities  much  lower  than  those  in  which  pollock  breed  on  the  other  side  of  the  At- 
lantic (35.14  to  35.26  permille),  a  difl'erence  obtaining  for  almost  allspeciesof  fish 
that  spawn  both  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  and  in  north  European  seas. 

As  the  successful  propagation  of  any  fish  depends  as  much  upon  the  incubation 
of  its  eggs  as  on  its  spawning,  we  should  note  that  hatchery  experience  proves  that 
incubation  proceeds  normally  and  with  the  resultant  larvre  apparently  strong  and 
active  over  the  whole  range  of  temperature  just  outlined — that  is,  from  about  38° 
to  about  48°.  This  fact  is  evidence  that  regional  variations  of  temperature  are 
not  the  factor  that  localizes  the  breeding  pollock  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
Gulf  and  prevents  it  from  spawning  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  for  the 
temperature  of  Massachusetts  Bay  differs  by  only  a  couple  of  degrees  from  that  of 
Passamaquoddy  Bay  at  the  commencement  of  the  breeding  season.  While  the 
coastal  water  as  a  whole  is  cooler  east  than  west  of  Cape  Elizabeth  at  the  height  of 
the  spawning  period,  the  differences  from  station  to  station  have  been  small,  and 
all  the  readings  we  have  taken  during  late  December  and  early  January  have  fallen 
well  within  the  extremes  between  which  pollock  spawn  freely  in  Massachusetts  Bay, 
as  appears  in  the  following  table.     This  applies  equally  to  salinity. 

Water  temperatures,  Massachusetts  Bay  to  Lurcher  Shoal,  19^0-1921 


Depth,  in  fathoms 

Off  Glouces- 
ter, Dec.  29, 
station  10489 

Off  Cape 

Klizabeth, 

Dec.  30, 

station  10494 

Ofl  Mount 
Desert  Island, 

Jan.  1, 
station  10497 

Off  Machias, 

Jan.  4, 
station  I049S 

Fundy  Deep, 

Jan.  4, 
station  10499 

03  Lurcher 
Shoal,  Jan.  4, 
station  10500 

0. 

42 

43.7 

44.4 

44.4 

44.6 

42 
42.5 
43.1 
44.9 

40.5 
41.4 

41.8 
42.3 

42 
42 
42.1 
42.1 

42 
42.4 
42.6 
42.9 
43  5 

42  5 

10 

42.7 

20 

43  1 

40 

43.9 

75-- 

FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  405 

The  number  of  eggs  produced  by  the  female  pollock  varies  with  the  size  of  the 
individual  fish.  The  average  is  about  225,000,  but  more  than  4,000,000  eggs  have 
been  found  in  one  fish  of  23J/2  pounds.  The  egg  is  buoyant,  Mdthout  oil  globule,  and 
averages  about  1.15  mm.  in  diameter.  It  is  thus  decidedly  smaller  than  the  egg  of 
the  cod  or  haddock.  Incubation  occupies  9  days  at  a  temperature  of  43°;  6  days 
at  49°.  As  development  proceeds  black  pigment  cells  appear  along  the  sides  of  the 
embryo  and  on  the  adjacent  portions  of  the  yolk,  and  by  hatching  time  these  are 
scattered  over  the  whole  surface  of  the  embryo. 

The  larviB  are  about  3.4  to  3.8  mm.  long  at  hatching,  slender,  with  large  yolk 
sac,  and  sprinkled  with  black  pigment  cells,  with  the  vent  situated  on  one  side  at 
the  base  of  the  ventral  fin  fold,  as  it  is  in  other  larval  gadoids.  At  first  the  little 
pollock  float  with  yolk  uppermost  but  they  right  themselves  as  the  yolk  shrinks. 
About  5  days'  time  are  required  for  the  entire  absorption  of  the  yolk  sac  and  for  the 
formation  of  the  mouth,  during  w^hich  period  the  pigment  of  the  post-anal  section 
of  the  trunk  becomes  grouped  in  longitudinal  bars,  two  dorsal  and  two  ventral,  the 
former  longer  than  the  latter.  At  this  stage  pollock  closely  resemble  cod  of  the 
same  size,  but  in  the  latter  the  ventral  bars  are  longer  than  the  dorsal  ones  opposite 
them,  and  usually  three  in  number  instead  of  two.  These  bars  persist  until  the 
pollock  grows  to  a  length  of  about  15  mm.,  when  the  pigment  becomes  more  scattered. 
The  caudal  fin  rays  appear  at  about  9  mm.,  all  the  dorsal  and  anal  rays  and  the 
ventral  fins  at  about  15  mm.,  the  vertical  fins  are  separate  from  one  another  at 
20  mm.  (that  is,  at  about  2  months),  and  fry  of  25  to  30  mm.  show  most  of  the 
characters  of  the  adult. 

In  European  seas  the  young  pollock  lives  pelagic  near  the  surface  for  its  first 
three  months,  corresponding  to  which  the  young  fish  have  been  taken  in  the 
tow  nets  at  Woods  Hole  from  January  to  May  and  are  to  be  expected  in  Massachu- 
setts Bay  then,  though  we  have  no  actual  record  of  them  there.  At  Woods  Hole, 
furthermore,  the  fry  are  about  1}4  inches  long  in  April,  which  no  doubt  applies 
equally  north  of  Cape  Cod.     The  later  growth  has  been  discussed  already  (p.  401). 

The  migrations  of  the  young  fish  from  hatching  until  they  appear  on  the  coast 
as  yearlings  are  of  special  interest  in  the  case  of  the  pollock  because  of  the  strong 
probability  that  the  multitudes  of  these  fish,  large  and  small,  that  frequent  the 
eastern  coast  of  Maine  are  produced  elsewhere,  which,  if  correct,  entails  a  consider- 
able return  journey  on  the  part  of  the  young  fish.  Our  own  observations  throw 
no  direct  light  on  this  phase  of  their  lives,  but  the  general  circulation  of  the  Gulf 
suggests  that  larvse  hatched  anywhere  along  the  coast  south  of  Cape  Elizabeth 
would  drift  southward,  either  to  swing  offshore  toward  the  southeastern  part  of 
the  Gulf,  or  to  follow  the  shore  past  Cape  Cod.  The  presence  of  an  abundance  of 
pollock  fry  in  spring  at  Woods  Hole  corroborates  this,  for  pollock  are  not  known 
to  spawn  anywhere  west  of  the  Cape  (p.  402). 

As  the  fish  grow  larger  they  become  able  to  direct  their  swimming  more  effec- 
tively, either  in  pursuit  of  food  or  in  relation  to  the  prevailing  current,  but  no 
evidence  has  yet  been  gathered  as  to  whether  the  eastern  coast  of  Maine  and  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  draw  their  abundant  stock  of  pollock  chiefly  from  the  spawning 
grounds  of  the  Cape  Elizabeth- Cape  Cod  region  or  whether,  and  in  what  proportion. 


406  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

from  other  spawning  grounds  along  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  or  even  east  of 
Cape  Sable,  as  yet  unmapped. 

Commercial  importance. — ^Appreciation  of  the  value  of  the  American  pollock 
as  a  market  fish  is  of  comparatively  recent  growth.  It  is  as  good  as  cod  salted,  if 
not  better,  and  is  a  fair  fish  eaten  fresh  though  it  soon  softens. 

The  gill  net  has  proved  the  most  effective  apparatus  for  the  capture  of  pollock. 
Large  numbers  are  also  taken  on  hand  lines  and  Jine  trawls  and  they  are  often 
seined  when  in  schools  (especially  the  smaller  sizes),  but  otter  trawls  yield  com- 
paratively few,  as  might  be  expected  of  so  active  a  fish  and  one  inhabiting  the 
mid-waters  rather  than  the  ground.  Pollock  can  often  be  caught  on  the  surface 
by  trolling,  especially  when  the  current  runs  strong  and  when  the  water  is  com- 
paratively cool.  They  will  also  take  a  bright-colored  artificial  fly.  This  is  so 
strong  a  fish  that  it  gives  almost  as  good  sport  on  a  light  rod  as  a  salmon. 


^^' 


Fig.  203. — T ovacod  (,MicroQadus  tomcod)  .  v 

151.  Tomcod  {Microgadus  tomcod  Walbaum) 
Frostfish 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2540. 

Description. — The  tomcod  so  closely  resembles  a  small  cod  in  the  shape  of  its 
fins,  the  projection  of  its  upper  jaw  beyond  the  lower,  the  presence  of  a  barbel  on 
its  chin,  and  in  its  pale  lateral  line,  that  the  one  might  easily  be  taken  for  the  other. 
However,  the  outlines  of  the  ventral  fins  offer  a  field  mark  by  which  the  two  fish 
may  be  separated,  for  while  their  second  rays  are  filamentous  at  the  tip  in  both 
species,  those  of  the  cod  are  moderately  broad,  rounded,  and  with  the  filament 
occupying  less  than  one-fourth  the  total  length  of  the  fin,  whereas  the  ventral  of 
a  tomcod  is  so  narrow,  so  tapering,  and  with  so  long  a  filament  (as  long  as  the  rest 
of  the  fin)  that  the  whole  suggests  a  feeler  rather  than  a  conventional  fin.  Further- 
more the  margin  of  the  caudal  fin  of  a  tomcod  is  noticeably  rounded,  while  that  of 
the  cod  is  square  or  slightly  concave;  the  eye  of  the  tomcod  is  decidedly  smaller 
than  that  of  a  cod,  and  the  general  form  of  its  body  is  more  slender.  A  less  obvious 
difference  is  that  the  first  dorsal  of  the  tomcod  originates  over  or  behind  the  middle 
of  the  pectoral,  further  forward  in  the  cod;  and  finally,  the  pectoral  fin  reaches 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  407 

back  only  slightly  heyond  the  middle  of  the  first  dorsal  in  the  tomcod  while  it 
reaches  nearly  to  the  extremity  of  that  fin  in  the  cod.  Unfortunately  the  number 
of  fin  rays  varies  so  widely  in  both  these  fish  that  it  is  not  diagnostic,  there  being 
from  11  to  15  in  the  first  dorsal,  15  to  19  in  the  second,  16  to  21  in  the  third  dorsal 
of  the  tomcod,  12  to  21  in  its  first  anal  and  16  to  20  in  its  second.  In  a  large 
fish  of  about  12  inches  we  found  the  number  to  be  11,  18,  and  20  dorsal  rays  and 
21  and  19  anal  rays.  Most  of  the  recent  accounts  give  the  location  of  the  vent 
as  the  chief  external  distinction  between  tomcod  and  cod,  describing  it  as  in  front 
of  the  origin  of  the  second  dorsal  in  the  former  and  back  of  it  in  the  latter.  We 
must  caution  the  reader,  however,  that  it  is  only  for  adults  of  the  two  species 
(which  no  one  could  confuse  in  any  case,  cod  being  so  very  much  the  larger)  that 
this  distinction  holds,  for  cod  as  small  as  tomcod  (that  is,  up  to  a  foot  long) 
often  have  the  vent  well  in  front  of  the  second  dorsal,  while  on  the  other  hand  it 
may  hardly  be  further  forward  in  adult  tomcod  in  breeding  condition. 

Color. — Tomcod  are  not  as  variable  in  color  as  cod.  All  we  have  seen  (a  con- 
siderable number)  have  been  olive  or  muddy  green  above,  with  a  yellowish  tinge, 
darkest  on  the  back,  paling  on  the  sides,  and  mottled  with  indefinite  dark  spots  or 
blotches.  The  lower  sides  usually  show  a  decided  yellowish  cast  in  large  fish.  The 
belly  is  grayish  or  yellowish  white,  the  dorsal  and  caudal  fins  of  the  same  color  as  the 
back,  the  anals  pale  at  the  base  but  olive  at  the  margin,  and  all  the  fins  more  or  less 
dark  mottled.  The  tomcod  has  often  been  described  (following  Storer)  as  thickly 
speckled  with  black  dots,  but  we  have  never  seen  one  so  marked. 

Size. — The  maximum  length  is  about  14  inches  and  few  are  more  than  9  to  12 
inches  long. 

General  range.— '^orih  American  coastal  waters  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to 
Virginia,  running  up  into  fresh  water. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  tomcod  is  locally  common  around  the 
entire  coast  line  of  the  Gulf.  For  example,  it  has  been  recorded  from  Pubnico  '"  and 
St.  Mary  Bay  on  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  from  various  localities  on  both 
shores  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  (e.  g.,  Annapolis  Basin  and  River,  Minas  Basin, 
St.  John  Harbor,  and  the  St.  Andrews  region),  from  Eastport  and  almost  every 
river  mouth  along  the  Maine  coast.  It  is  very  common  in  the  vicinity  of  Booth- 
bay  Harbor,  has  been  recorded  from  sundry  stations  in  Casco  Bay,  and  from 
Portland  Harbor  in  Maine,  and  is  to  be  found  in  practically  every  estuary 
around  Massachusetts  Bay.  It  is  so  strictly  a  shore  fish  that  probably  none  wander 
outside  the  outer  headlands  nor  descend  more  than  a  few  fathoms  below  low  tide 
mark  in  the  Gulf,  but  chiefly  inhabit  the  mouths  of  streams  and  the  estuaries  into 
which  they  empty,  as  well  as  shoal  muddy  harbors  like  Duxbury  Bay.  As  often  as 
not  they  are  in  brackish  water  and  in  Avinter  they  run  up  into  fresh  water.  Tomcod 
are  less  plentiful  in  harbors  where  there  is  no  stream  drainage,  but  now  and  then 
they  are  caught  off  opea  shores — off  Nahant,  for  instance — and  such  fish  are  usually 
large.  South  of  Cape  Cod  these  little  fish  move  out  from  the  shore  into  slightly 
deeper  (hence  cooler)  water  in  spring,  coining  in  again  in  autumn  to  winter  in  the 
estuaries ;  but  they  do  not  carry  out  a  bathic  migration  of  this  sort  in  the  cooler  Gulf 

•«  Huntsman,  1922a,  p.  68. 


408  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

of  Maine,  where  they  are  caught  from  docks  and  bridges  and  in  salt  creeks,  etc.,  in 
summer  as  well  as  in  winter.  Tomcod,  for  instance,  are  common  in  the  inner  parts 
of  Duxbury  Bay  in  midsummer  though  most  other  fish  move  out  then  to  avoid  the 
heat,  and  there  are  also  plenty  of  them  in  a  certain  brackish  stream  at  Cohasset  at 
all  seasons,  which  applies  to  many  similar  locations  all  up  and  down  the  coast, 
including  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  where,  as  Huntsman  (1922a)  remarks,  tomcod  are  in 
the  estuaries,  not  outside,  at  all  seasons.  They  are  so  resistent  to  cold  as  well  as 
to  heat  that  we  find  no  record  of  them  killed  by  winter  chilling,  a  fate  that  sometimes 
overtakes  other  fishes  living  in  shoal  water,  and  they  are  equally  hardy  toward 
sudden  changes  of  salinity. 

Food. — Tomcod  feed  chiefly  on  small  crustaceans,  particularly  shrimps  and 
amphipods,  a  great  variety  of  which  have  been  found  in  their  stomachs;  also  on 
worms,  small  moUusks,  squids,  and  fish  fry.  Of  the  latter  Vinal  Edwards  noted 
alewives,  anchovies,  cunners,  mummichogs,  herring,  menhaden,  launce,  sculpins, 
silversides,  smelt,  and  sticklebacks  in  tomcod  stomachs  at  Woods  Hole. 

According  to  Herrick  ''  tomcod  are  not  as  keen-sighted  as  pollock  nor  as  active 
as  hake,  spending  most  of  their  time  quietly  on  the  bottom  in  the  aquarium ;  but  his 
experiments  proved  that  they  are  able  to  recognize  concealed  baits  by  the  sense  of 
smell  if  they  chance  to  swim  near,  and  that  they  search  the  bottom,  swimming  to 
and  fro  with  the  chin  barbel  and  sensitive  tips  of  the  ventral  fins  dragging,  finding 
food  by  touch,  or,  as  we  suspect,  to  stir  up  shrimps,  etc. 

Breeding  habits. — This  fish  spawns  in  the  shoal  waters  of  estuaries,  stream 
mouths,  etc. — in  salt  or  in  brackish  water  indifferently — and  its  eggs  have  even 
been  hatched  artificially  in  f:-jsh  water.  The  season  lasts  from  November  to 
February,  inclusive,  with  the  height  of  production  in  January.  The  eggs  are 
about  1.5  mm.  in  diameter  with  conspicuous  oil  globule,  and  unlike  those  of  its 
larger  relatives  they  sink  to  the  bottom  where  they  stick  together  or  to  seaweeds, 
stones,  etc.,  in  masses.  Incubation  occupies  about  24  days  at  an  average  tempera- 
ture of  43°;  30  days  at  40°.  The  larvae  are  not  only  considerably  larger  (5  mm.) 
at  hatching  than  those  of  the  cod,  but  further  advanced  in  development,  the  mouth 
being  formed;  and  they  differ  from  all  other  Gulf  of  Maine  gadoids  at  a  correspond- 
ing stage  by  the  presence  of  the  oil  globule  and  by  the  fact  that  the  vent  opens  at 
the  margin  of  the  ventral  fin  fold  and  not  at  its  base  at  one  side.''  Although  great 
numbers  of  tomcod  have  been  hatched  artificially  by  the  State  of  New  York  its 
late  larval  stages  have  not  been  described  nor  have  we  seen  them  ourselves.  The 
fry,  which  are  said  to  remain  through  their  first  summer  in  the  waters  where  they 
are  hatched,  reach  a  length  of  23^  to  3  inches  by  the  following  autumn,  but  nothing 
is  known  of  the  rate  of  growth  of  older  fish. 

Commercial  importance. — The  tomcod  seems  to  have  been  more  highly  con- 
sidered as  a  food  fish  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago,-^  when  between  .5,000  and  10,000 
pounds  were  caught  annually  in  the  Charles  River  near  Boston  alone,  than  it  is 
to-day  when  1,000  pounds  is  a  fair  average  for  tomcod  brought  into  Boston  annually. 
In.  1919  the  reported  catch  was  only  about  900  pounds  for  the  west  coast  of  Nova 

"  Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  XXII,  1902  (1904),  p.  262. 

"Ryder  (Report,  United  States  Commissioner  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  1885(1887),  p,  523,  PI.  XIII,  fig.  67)  describes  the 
newly  hatched  larva. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


409 


Scotia,  14,000  for  the  Scotian  shore  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  8,000  for  the  New 
Brunswick  shore,  147,160  pounds  for  Maine,  and  less  than  4,000  pounds  for  the 
whole  coast  line  of  Massachusetts  north  of  Cape  Cod.  Most  of  the  tomcod  mar- 
keted in  New  Brunswick  and  Maine  are  taken  in  bag  or  pocket  nets  set  in  the  lower 
courses  of  the  larger  rivers,  and  a  few  in  the  weirs.  The  Massachusetts  catch  is 
made  on  hook  and  line  north  of  Plymouth  and  in  weirs  and  traps  south  of 
that.  Besides  the  fish  marketed  a  considerable  number  are  caught  in  autumn 
on  hook  and  line  by  smelt  fishermen  all  along  the  shores  of  northern  New  England 
and  used  for  home  consumption.  Hence  they  are  not  reported  or  included  in  the 
fishery  statistics. 

Tomcod  bite  any  bait  greedily.  Clams,  shrimp,  blood  worms,  or  cut  fish  will 
serve,  and  they  afford  amusement  to  more  anglers  than  the  meager  commercial 
catch  might  suggest. 

152.  Cod  (Gadus  callarias  Linnaeus) 

Rock  cod 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2541. 

Description. — The  most  noticeable  external  characters  of  the  cod,  emphasized 
above  in  the  general  notice  of  the  cod  family  (p.  -385),  are  its  three  dorsal  and  two 
anal  fins,  the  lack  of  spines,  the  location  of  its  ventral  fins  well  forward  of  the  pec- 


FlG.  20-1.— Cod  (Cndus  callarias) 

torals,  and  the  facts  that  its  upper  jaw  protrudes  beyond  the  lov.-er,  its  tail  is  usually 
nearly  sciuare,  and  that  its  lateral  line  is  pale  and  not  black.  It  is  a  heavy-bodied 
fish,  only  slightly  compressed,  its  body  deepest  under  the  first  dorsal  fin  (one  neither 
very  fat  nor  very  lean  will  be  about  one-fourth  to  one-fifth  as  deep  as  long)  tapering  to 
a  moderately  slender  caudal  peduncle,  and  with  head  so  large  that  it  makes  up  about 
one-fourth  the  total  length  of  the  fish.  The  nose  is  conical  and  blunt  at  the  tip,  and 
the  mouth  is  wide,  gaping  back  to  below  the  middle  of  the  eye,  A\-ith  very  small 
teeth  in  both  jaws.  The  fir-st  dorsal  fin  usually  (if  not  always)  originates  well  in 
front  of  the  midlength  of  the  pectoral,  is  the  highest  of  the  thi-ee  dorsals,  tri- 
angular, with  rounded  apex  and  convex  margin.  The  second  dorsal  is  nearly  twice 
as  long  as  the  first  and  about  tAvice  as  long  as  high,  decreasing  in  height  from  front 
to  the  rear  with  slightly  convex  margin.  The  third  dorsal  is  slightly  longer  than 
the  first  and  similar  to  the  second  in  shape.     The  caudal  is  about  as  broad  as  the 


410 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUBEATJ   OF   FISHEEIES 


third  dorsal  is  long  (rather  small  for  the  size  of  the  fish)  and  broom-shaped.  The 
two  anals  stand  below  the  second  and  third  dorsals  to  which  they  correspond  in 
height,  length,  and  outline.  In  a  large  series  of  Gulf  of  Maine  cod  23  to  37  inches 
long,  examined  by  Welsh,  the  number  of  fin  rays  was  as  follows: 


Dorsal 

Anal 

First 

Second 

Third 

First 

Second 

13 
IS 
16 

19 
21 
24 

18 
19 
21 

20 
22 
24 

17 

Average                                                     -  - 

IS 

Most.                 - 

22 

These  counts  would  be  equally  characteristic  for  the  cod  of  other  seas,  but 
as  few  as  12  rays  have  occasionally  been  recorded  for  the  first  dorsal,  16  for  the 
second,  17  for  the  third,  17  for  the  first  anal  and  16  for  the  second.  The  pectorals, 
set  high  up  on  the  sides,  reach  as  far  back  as  the  end  of  the  first  dorsal.  The  ven- 
trals  are  nearly  as  long  as  the  pectorals  in  young  cod  but  shorter  in  large  fish,  with 
the  second  ray  extending  beyond  the  general  outline  as  a  filament  for  a  distance 
almost  one-fourth  as  long  as  the  entire  fin.  Both  head  and  body  are  clothed  with 
small  scales. 

Young  cod  are  easity  distinguished  from  large  tomcod  by  their  broad  ventral 
fins  and  by  the  location  of  the  first  dorsal  fin,  as  explained  in  the  description  of  that 
species  (p.  406).  The  pale  lateral  line  marks  the  cod  off  at  a  glance  from  the  had- 
dock, and  the  square  broom-shaped  tail,  projecting  upper  jaw,  and  spotted  color 
pattern  of  a  cod  give  it  an  aspect  quite  different  from  that  of  the  pollock. 

Color. — Cod  vary  so  widely  in  color  that  sundry  of  its  color  phases  have  been 
named,  but  all  fall  into  two  main  groups — the  gray  and  the  red.  The  back  and 
upper  sides  of  the  former  range  from  almost  black  through  dark  sooty  or  brownish 
gray,  oUve  gray,  olive  brown,  sepia  brown,  mouse  gray,  ashy  gray,  clay  colored, 
and  greenish  to  pale  pearly  (darker  on  the  back  than  on  the  sides),  the  fins  being  of 
the  general  body  tint,  and  the  belly  whitish,  usually  tinged  with  the  general  ground 
color.  The  red  or  "rock"  cod  varies  from  duU  reddish  brown  to  orange  or  brick 
red,  with  white  belly  tinged  with  reddish,  and  with  red,  olive,  or  gray  fins.  In  most 
cod  the  upper  part  of  the  trunk,  the  sides  of  the  head,  and  the  fins  and  tail  (but 
not  the  nose  or  belly)  are  thickly  speckled  with  small,  round,  vague-edged  spots. 
In  the  "  gray"  fish  these  are  of  a  bro\vnish  or  j^ellowish  cast,  darker  than  the  general 
body  color,  while  in  the  "red"  fish  they  are  usually  reddish  bro\vn  and  sometimes 
yellowish.  Occasionally  one  sees  a  spotless  cod,  but  these  are  unusual.  The 
lateral  line  is  invariably  paler  than  the  general  bod}'  tint — pearly  graj-  or  reddish 
according  to  the  hue  of  the  particular  fish  in  question — and  stands  out  against  the 
darker  sides. 

Size. — Cod  sometimes  grow  to  a  tremendous  size.  A  monster  of  2III4  pounds, 
more  than  6  feet  long,  was  caught  on  a  line  trawl  oft'  the  Massachusetts  coast  in  May, 
1895;"  one  that  weighed  138  pounds  after  being  dressed  (hence  must  have  "gone" 
180  pounds  or  more  alive)  was  brought  in  from  Georges  Bank  in  1838;  and  Goode 

■-'  Jordan  and  Evermann.     American  Food  and  Game  Fishes.    1902.     New  York. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


411 


(et  al.,  1SS4)  mentions  several  others  of  100  to  160  pounds  caught  off  Massachusetts. 
Hundred-pounders  are  exceptional,  however,  and  the  largest  New  England  cod  of 
which  we  have  heard  recently  was  one  of  90  pounds  taken  off  the  coast  of  Maine 
early  in  July,  1922.  Even  a  75-pound  fish  is  a  rarity,  but  50  to  60  pound  cod  are 
not  unusual.  The  "large"  fish  caught  near  shore  run  about  35  pounds  and  those 
taken  on  Georges  Bank  about  25  pounds.  Shore  fish,  large  and  small,  average 
about  10  to  12  pounds  in  weight. 

The  relationship  between  length  and  weight  is  usually  about  as  follows  for 
fish  caught  on  the  inshore  grounds  between  Cape  Ann  and  Portland,  though  this 
varies  with  the  condition  of  the  fish  and  their  state  of  sexual  development.'^ 


Length  in  inches 

Weight 

Length  in  inches 

Weight 

FEMALES 

19     

Pounds 

2H 
3 

3H 
4 

5 

5  to  7 

5?i 

7M 

7  to  9 

7H  to  9 

8H  to  10 

9  to  13 

10  to  12 

121^  to  U'A 

14 

16 

16  to  23 

18  to  22 

16  to  23 

23Ji  to  32 

27 

29H 

30  to  32 

31 

49 

45H  to  51 

60 

54 

MALES 

10  to  11 -- 

Pound) 

20              .              -          -            

16H 

\y* 

21     - 

20 _ 

22           

21      .                                           

3H 

23 - - 

23 

24       

24 

4  to  5W 

25 --- - 

25 

5H 

26     

26 

6}i  to8 

27                                                                   .        ..      . 

27 

7  to8M 

28  to  29 

28 

7  to  8 

30                               

29 

7  to  9 

31  

30 _ 

7  to  101-2 

32                    

31 

7  to  11 

33     

32 

10><i  to  13 

34             

33            

11  to  14 

35 

34 

14  to  17 

36       

35 

12  to  15 

36}^ 

36 

12J^  to  16 

38  to  39 - -- - 

37 

16  to  17 

40                            -          - 

38 

17  to  21 

41    -  .     

39 

19 

42                         

40 

19  to  2m 
25 

43    - - 

41 

44              

42     . 

23Hto25 

25K 

48H - » 

43 

50              - - 

45                        -                          -  -           .              . 

29 

50H ---- 

46 

43 

52 

571.5                                    .                        

A  993^-pound  fish  recorded  by  Earll  was  62  inches  long,  and  one  of  100  pounds 
caught  off  Wood  Island  on  April  9,  18S3,  measured  65  inches,  its  head  measuring 
17^^  inches.     Any  fish  of  53^  to  6  feet  will  weigh  100  pounds. 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic,  north  to  Greenland,  Davis 
Strait,  and  Hudson  Straits  and  south  nearly  if  not  quite  to  Cape  Hatteras  on  the 
American  coast.  Abundant  from  northern  Labrador  to  Nantucket  Shoals,  and 
to  New  York  and  New  Jersey  in  winter,  at  which  season  a  few  are  annually  caught 
as  far  south  as  the  northern  part  of  the  North  Carolina  coast.  The  North  Pacific 
cod,  with  smaller  air  bladder  {G.  macrocephalus) ,  can  not  be  separated  from  the 
Atlantic  cod  by  external  appearance. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Next  to  the  herring,  haddock,  and  pollock, 
the  cod  is  perhaps  the  most  plentiful  fish  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  From  earliest 
colonial  times  and  until  the  market  began  to  welcome  the  haddock  a  few  years  ago, 
cod  was  the  mainstay  of  its  commercial  fisheries.     We  fancy  there  is  no  patch  of 


"  Based  chiefly  on  measurements  given  by  Earll  (1880,  p.  734)  and  on  a  large  series  of  cod  measured  fresh  from  the  nets  by 
Welsh  in  the  spring  of  1913. 


412  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

hard  bottom,  rock,  gravel,  or  sand,  from  Cape  Sable  on  the  east  to  Cape  Cod  on  the 
west,  but  supports  more  or  less  cod  at  one  time  or  another,  and  to  list  these  localities 
would  be  to  mention  every  ground  to  which  deep-sea  fishermen  repair  except  the 
soft  bottom,  where  hake  are  set  for.  Cod  populate  the  outlying  ledges,  Jeffreys, 
Cashes,  Fippenies,  Platts  (the  latter  one  of  the  best  of  the  smaller  grounds) ,  and 
the  larger  offshore  banks  in  abundance.  The  eastern  half  of  Georges  Bank,  in 
particular,  has  always  been  a  most  productive  cod  ground  and  one  of  the  most  famous 
south  of  the  Grand  Banks  of  Newfoundland.  The  next  largest  Gulf  of  Maine  fares 
are  brought  in  from  the  South  Channel — Nantucket  Shoals  region  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  Gulf,  and  from  Browns  Bank  in  the  eastern  part,  the  latter 
being  especially  productive  in  winter.  The  broken  bottom  off  Seal  Island,  Nova 
Scotia,  the  ground  near  Lurcher  Shoal,  and  Grand  Manan  Bank  are  all  famous  cod 
grounds.  Best  known  among  the  inshore  waters  are  certain  hard  patches  off 
Chatham  (Cape  Cod),  between  Provincetown  and  Plymouth  and  off  the  latter  port, 
Jeffreys  Ledge  off  Cape  Ann,  and  Ipswich  Bay.  Small  vessels  likewise  make  good 
catches  on  the  succession  of  hard  and  rocky  patches  that  border  the  coast  from  the 
Isles  of  Shoals  to  the  mouth  of  Casco  Bay;  on  "Seguin"  and  "Kettle"  bottoms 
off  Seguin  Island;  on  the  "Matinicus  ground"  off'  Matinicus  Island;  on  the 
"Grumpy"  off  Isle  au  Haut;  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mount  Desert  Rock  and  of 
Mount  Desert  Island;  and  on  sundry  small  ridges  thence  eastward  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  Many  smaller  spots  all  up  and  down  the  coast  yield  a 
few  cod  to  the  small-boat  fishermen,  also. 

The  following  statement  of  the  landings  of  fresh  cod  from  several  of  the  more 
important  Gulf  of  Maine  grounds  for  1919  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  relative 
productivity  of  the  grounds  and  the  great  commercial  importance  of  the  cod: 

Locality                                                                                                                       •  Pounds 

Georges  Bank 22,  387,  191 

Browns  Bank 9,337,777 

South  Channel 5,  164,  589 

Jeffreys  Ledge 875,  414 

Off  Chatham 619,020 

Stellwagen  Bank 388,  135 

Platts  Bank 341,  698 

Nantucket  Shoals 250,  880 

Cashes  Ledge 13,  015 

The  catch  on  the  small  inshore  fishing  grounds  off  the  coasts  of  Massachusetts 
and  Maine  by  large  vessels  and  small  boats  combined  came  to  a  total  of  almost 
20,000,000  pounds  for  that  year,  while  nearly  2,000,000  pounds  more  were  caught 
on  the  New  Brunswick  side  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  mostly  close  by  its  mouth  west 
of  St.  John,  and  almost  6,000,000  more  off  the  Scotian  shore  of  the  GuK,  which 
includes  most  of  the  catch  made  on  the  Lurcher  Shoal,  Seal  Island,  and  German 
Bank  grounds  and  some  from  Browns  Bank.  This  makes  a  grand  total  of  upwards 
•  of  67,000,000  pounds  (say  6,000,000  fish)  for  1919,  a  fairly  representative  year.  Nor 
is  this  a  complete  survey  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  for  it  does  not  include  the  consider- 
able number  of  fish  caught  on  Browns  Bank  by  vessels  hailing  from  various  ports 
on  the  south  coast  of  Nova  Scotia. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


413 


.Cod,  for  some  reason  not  yet  explained,  become  scarcer  passing  up  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  and  very  few  are  caught  near  the  head,  though  there  are  plenty  about  its 
mouth.  Although  cod  are  fish  of  the  open  sea  in  other  parts  of  the  Gulf,  they  often 
run  up  into  the  estuaries  during  the  cold  season,  appearing  regularly  in  various 
river  mouths  in  Maine  and  Massachusetts  during  late  autumn  and  winter.  It  is 
rare  for  one  to  be  taken  in  brackish  water,  and  although  cod  have  been  caught  in 


Fig.  206.— Egg  (European).    After  Fig.  206.— Larva  (European),  just  hatched,  4  millimeters.    After 

neinelie  and  Ehrenbaum  Mastermann 


-%w-r.---..-. 


...■»■>»*'•■* 


Fig.  207.— Larva  (European),  4.5  millimeters. 
After  Schmidt 


-^ic-.".::v.V.V:v...*..^i-  i.CX  vf 


Fig.  208.— Larva  (European),  9  millimeters. 
After  Schmidt 


Fig.  209.— Fry  (European),  20  millimeters.    After  Schmidt 


the 


Fig.  210.— Fry  (European),  46  millimeters.    After  Schmidt 
COD  (Oaius  callarias) 

fresh    water,"    this    is    quite    exceptional.      The   continental    slope    marks 
offshore  boundary  to  the  range  of  the  cod  off  the  North  American  coast. 

Hahits. — The  cod  is  cathoHc  in  its  choice  of  depth,  ranging  from  the  surface 
down  to  at  least  250  fathoms  off  New  England;  but  it  is  only  in  pursuit  of  small 
fish  or  squid  that  adult  cod  come  to  the  top  of  the  water — a  common  event  on  the 


"  Goode  (et  al.,  18S4)  mentions  several  instances. 


414  BULLETIlSr   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Grand  Banks  and  along  the  eastern  coast  of  Labrador  when  they  are  following 
capelin.  Cod  even  strand  on  the  Labrador  beaches  while  harrying  schools  of  the 
latter,  and  occasionally,  though  less  often,  cod  follov/  herring  up  to  the  surface  in 
the  Gulf  of  Maine,  though  perhaps  they  never  strand  there.  For  instance,  we  have 
knowTi  largo  cod  to  be  gaffed  from  a  vessel's  side  in  Northeast  Harbor,  Mount  Desert 
Island,  in  September,  when  they  were  chasing  "sardines." 

During  the  first  year  after  the  young  cod  take  to  bottom  (p.  417)  many  of  them 
live  in  very  shoal  water,  even  along  the  littoral  zone,  and  many  young  fry  have 
been  taken  at  Gloucester  and  elsewhere  along  the  shores  of  New  England.  We 
have  yet  to  learn,  however,  whether  others  seek  the  deeper  bottoms  of  the  offshore 
banks  at  this  early  stage.  As  a  rule  large  cod  lie  below  10  fathoms  in  summer. 
In  winter  time,  however,  especially  in  Ipswich  Bay,  the  fishing  is  often  good  in 
only  3  to  5  fathoms  of  water,  and  many  small  cod  are  caught  about  the  rocks  only 
a  fathom  or  two  deep  even  in  summer.  At  the  other  extreme,  comparatively  few 
cod  are  caught  much  deeper  than  100  fathoms  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  and  although 
fishermen  sometimes  do  well  at  much  greater  depths  on  the  slopes  of  the  offshore 
banks,  the  10  and  75  fathom  contours  probably  include  the  great  majority  of  all 
the  cod  living  in  the  Gulf,  summer  or  winter. 

The  cod  is  typically  a  ground  fish  except  when  following  prey  or  on  some 
journey  (a  subject  to  be  discussed  later),  usually  lying  within  a  fathom  or  so  of  the 
bottom,  and  as  a  general  rule  large  ones  keej)  closer  to  the  ground  than  small  ones, 
and  consequently  the  closer  to  bottom  one  fishes  the  larger  the  cod  are  apt  to  run. 

Type  of  bottom  frequented. — Cod  are  caught  chiefly  on  rocky  and  pebbly  ground, 
on  gravel,  sand,  and  on  a  particularly  gritty  type  of  clay  with  broken  shells — 
seldom  on  soft  mud — "cod"  and  "hake"  bottoms  being  so  distinct  that  a  trawl 
fine  set  from  a  hard  patch  out  over  the  soft  surrounding  ground  will  often  catch  the 
former  at  one  end  and  the  latter  at  the  other.  Cod  also  frequent  the  deeper  slopes 
of  ledges  along  shore  where  they  forage  among  the  "  Irish  moss  "  (Chondrus  crispus) 
and  other  seaweeds.  Young  ones  are  especially  common  in  these  situations  and 
sometimes  one  catches  a  large  "rock  cod,"  as  these  fish  (almost  always  red  in  such 
environments)  are  called. 

The  thermal  migrations  and  the  relationship  of  the  spawning  of  the  cod  to 
temperature  are  discussed  below  (p.  418).  The  adult  cod  finds  any  temperature 
from  35°  to  50°  favorable — that  is,  all  but  the  superficial  layers  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
at  all  seasons.  Experience  at  the  Woods  Hole  hatchery,  however,  proves  that 
freezing,  by  the  formation  of  anchor  ice,  for  instance,  is  fatal.  Lai^e  cod  do  not 
live  anywhere  in  water  warmer  than  about  50°,  but  small  ones  are  less  sensitive 
to  heat,  a  fact  reflected  in  their  batliic  occurrence. 

Food. — When  the  larval  cod  first  breaks  from  the  egg  it  subsists  on  the  yolk 
with  which  its  abdomen  is  distended  (fig.  206),  as  do  most  other  sea  fish.  This 
source  of  nutriment  is  completely  absorbed  by  the  sixth  day  after  hatching,  how- 
ever, and  the  future  existence  of  the  little  fish  depends  as  much  on  finding  a  plentiful 
supply  of  food  as  on  escaping  the  enemies  by  which  it  is  encompassed.  Unfor- 
tunately little  is  known  of  the  feeding  habits  of  the  larvae,  but  it  is  certain  that  they 
feed  on  plankton  during  the  several  months  that  they  live  in  the  upper  layers  of 


*  FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  415 

water  (p.  417),  probably  preferring  certain  small  copepods,  on  which  young  cod  of 
12  to  18  mm.  have  been  seen  feeding  exclusively  at  Woods  Hole.''" 

The  fact  that  the  young  of  the  closely  related  European  whiting  {Gadus  merlangus) 
and  European  pollock  (Gadus  pollachius)  not  only  live  almost  wholly  on  copepods  but 
discriminate  between  the  various  kinds  makes  it  the  more  likely  that  cod  do  the  same. 
This  same  diet,  varied  with  amphipods,  barnacle  larvae,  and  other  small  crustaceans, 
as  well  as  with  small  worms,  is  the  chief  dependence  of  the  little  cod  when  they  first 
seek  the  bottom,"  but  as  they  grow  larger  they  become  ground  feeders  chiefly  and 
consimie  invertebrates  in  great  variety  and  enormous  amount.  Mollusks,  collect- 
ively, are  probably  the  largest  item  in  the  cod's  diet  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  and  any 
shellfish  that  a  cod  encounters  is  gobbled  up,  so  that  cod  stomachs  are  mines  of 
information  for  students  of  mollusks.  Large  sea  clams  (Mactra),  the  empty  shells 
of  wliich  are  often  found  neatly  nested  in  cod  stomachs,  cockles  (Lunatia),  and 
sea  mussels  (Modiola)  are  staples,  all  of  which  they  swallow  whole.  Cod  also 
eat  crabs,  hermit  crabs,  lobsters  (large  and  small),  prawns,  brittle  stars  (of  which 
they  are  sometimes  crammed  full  '*),  sea  urchins,  sea  cucumbers,  and  blood  worms 
(Nereis).  Brittle  stars  and  small  crabs,  for  example,  had  been  the  chief  diet  of  the 
cod  exammed  by  Welsh  on  the  Isles  of  Shoals-Boon  Island  ground  in  April, 
1913,  while  Wilcox  (1887,  p.  95)  states  that  a  number  of  17-poimd  fish  caught  in 
Ipswich  Bay  were  full  of  large  red  prawns  2  to  4  inches  long.  Tunicates  ("sea 
squirts")  also  bulk  large  in  the  diet  of  the  cod.  Occasionally  they  eat  hydroids, 
bryozoans,  and  algae,  perhaps  taking  them  for  the  amphipods  hidden  among  them. 
In  fact  the  cod  eats  any  and  every  invertebrate  small  enough  for  it  to  swallow,  but 
although  its  diet  list  would  probably  prove  almost  as  extensive  as  that  of  the  had- 
dock (p.  436) ,  it  shows  so  decided  a  preference  for  large  shells  rather  than  small  that 
the  stomach  contents  of  cod  and  haddock  taken  side  by  side  differ  noticeably.  Nor 
is  it  likely  that  cod  root  the  bottom  as  haddock  do  (p.  436). 

At  every  opportunity  cod  pursue  and  gorge  on  squid  and  on  various  small 
fish,  particularly  on  herring  and  launce,  also  shad,  mackerel,  menhaden,  silver- 
sides,  alewives,  silver  hake,  young  haddock,  and  even  on  their  own  young,  rising  into 
the  upper  waters  for  this  purpose  when  necessary  (p.  413).  They  pick  up  flounders, 
cunners,  rock  eels  (Pholis),  blennies,  sculpins,  sea  ravens,  small  hake,  skates, 
and  silversides  on  bottom.  In  fact  they  take  any  fish  small  enough  to  swallow, 
including  the  hard  slim  alligatorfish  (p.  334),  and  Welsh  noted  that  many  cod  taken 
near  the  Isles  of  Shoals  on  May  1,  1913,  spat  up  small  rosefish  from  4  to  6  inches 
long.  Adult  as  well  as  small  cod  are  also  known  to  feed  on  pelagic  shrimps  '°  in 
the  waters  around  Iceland,  but  we  have  never  heard  of  them  doing  so  in  the  Gulf 
of  Maine.  Even  a  wild  duck  does  not  come  amiss  to  a  large  cod  now  and  then. 
For  instance,  we  have  heard  of  several  scoters  found  in  the  stomachs  of  large  fish 
caught  off  Muskeget  Island  in  1897,  and  though  sea  fowl  are  not  a  normal  article 

"  Bumpus.  Science,  New  Series,  Vol.  VII,  1898,  p.  485. 

"  Mcintosh  and  Mastermana  (The  Life-Histories  of  the  British  Marine  Food-Fishes,  1897)  and  Kendall  (1898,  p.  179). 
'«  Baird  (1889,  p.  36)  reports  this. 

»  Schmidt  (Skrifter  Udgivne  af  Eommissionen  for  Havunders0ge!ser,  Nr.  1,  1904,  p.  70)  and  Paulsen  (Meddelelsor  fra  Kom- 
missionen  for  HaTunders0gelser,  Serie:  Plankton,  Bind  I,  Nr.  8,  1909,  p.  39), 

102274— 25 1 2T 


416  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BITEBAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

of  diet  the  flesh  of  the  greater  shearwater  ("hagdon")  has  long  been  considered 
excellent  cod  bait.  Objects  as  indigestible  as  pieces  of  wood  and  rope,  fragments 
of  clothing,  old  boots,  jewelry,  and  other  odds  and  ends  have  repeatedly  been  found 
in  cod  stomachs,  and  they  often  swallow  stones,  but  probably  for  the  sake  of  the 
anemones,  hydroids,  etc.,  growing  thereon,  and  not  to  take  on  ballast  for  a  journey 
as  the  old  story  has  it.  Although  cod  are  so  rapacious  they  fast  so  generally  while 
spawning  that  the  stomachs  of  nearly  all  the  ripe  fish  examined  by  Earll  and  recently 
by  Welsh  were  empty. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  a  fish  as  nearly  omnivorous  as  the  cod  is  caught  on 
various  baits.  Those  most  in  use  are  clams  {Mya  arenaria),  cockles  (Lunatia), 
herring  (fresh,  frozen,  or  salt),  and  squid.  General  experience  suggests  that  there 
is  little  to  choose  between  the  first  two,  while  the  razor  clam  {Ensis  directus)  is 
equally  attractive  though  its  employment  is  limited  by  the  small  supply;  and  tests 
made  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  *"  proved  that  fresh  herring  and  fresh  squid  are 
about  as  good  as  clams,  but  frozen  or  salt  herring  is  less  attractive.  Other  kinds 
of  fish  are  also  used  as  cod  bait  in  other  parts  of  the  world — capelin,  especially 
in  more  northern  seas,  and  launce. 

Experiments  performed  on  the  cod  in  captivity, *'  combined  with  the  general 
experience  of  fishermen,  suggest  that  it  captures  moving  objects  that  may  serve 
as  food  by  sight;  but  apparently  cod,  and  for  that  matter  other  fish  as  well,  can 
see  clearly  only  for  a  few  feet,  and  their  greediness  in  snapping  up  the  naked  meat 
of  clams,  cockles,  etc.  (foods  which  they  never  find  in  that  condition  in  nature), 
and  the  fact  that  they  bite  as  readily  by  night  as  by  day,  seems  to  us  sufficient 
evidence  that  they  depend  largely  on  smell. 

Enemies. — In  the  Gidf  of  Maine,  where  there  are  few  large  sharks  or  seals, 
the  spiny  dogfish  is  the  worst  enemy  of  the  adult  cod,  and  that  of  young  cod 
fry  is  the  pollock  which  infest  our  harbore.  These  small  pollock  are  so  fierce  that 
a  single  individual  7  to  8  inches  long  wall  disperse  a  school  of  himdreds  of  cod  fry, 
driving  them  to  shelter  among  the  weeds  and  rocks,  while  Eai'U  remarks  that  in 
the  aquarium  a  cod  so  fears  a  pollock  of  equal  size  that  it  will  invariably  hide  if 
possible. 

Migrations. — It  has  long  been  known  that  cod  carry  out  extensive  migrations, 
European  (particularly  Scandinavian)  biologists  having  succeeded  in  tracing  the 
major  outlines  of  these  for  north  European  seas,  and  while  the  movements  of  cod 
are  not  well  understood  in  North  American  waters  enough  evidence  has  been 
accumulated  to  show  that  they  fall  into  the  same  categories  on  the  one  side  of  the 
North  Atlantic  as  on  the  other.  These  are,  first,  the  involuntary  migrations 
carried  out  by  the  larvie  while  they  float  near  the  surface  at  the  mercy  of  ocean 
currents,  followed  (after  they  take  to  bottom)  by  feeding  migrations  that  cover 
most  of  the  wanderings  of  the  immature  fish  as  well  as  those  of  the  adults  between 
successive  breeding  seasons,  and  which  are  intimately  connected  with  the  thermal 
migrations  (for  it  is  in  pursuit  of  food  that  cod  may  spread  at  one  season  to  a  region 

"  Knight.    Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology,  1906-1910  (1912),  pp.  23-32.    Ottawa. 

"  Bateson.   Journal,  Marine  Biological  Association  of  the  United  Kingdom,  New  Series,  Vol.  I,  1889-90,  p.  241.    Plymouth. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  417 

whence  they  are  driven  by  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  at  another) ;  and  third,  the 
breeding  migrations,  in  the  course  of  which  the  mature  fish  congregate  in  certain 
localities  to  spawn. 

The  eggs,  larvse,  and  young  fry  of  the  cod,  like  those  of  so  many  other  sea 
fishes,  drift  helplessly  with  the  current  from  the  time  they  are  spawned  imtil  they 
seek  the  bottom  (a  fact  established  by  European  observations  too  numerous  to 
list),  and  in  European  seas  young  cod  often  live  under  the  disks  of  the  large  red 
jellyfish  (Cyanea),  though  they  have  not  yet  been  found  in  this  situation  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine.  This  period  varies  in  different  in  different  seas,  depending  to 
some  extent  on  whether  the  fry  are  near  land  or  far  out  at  sea,  floating  over  deep 
water  or  shoal;  and  while  no  definite  information  has  been  obtained  on  this  point 
for  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  it  is  probable  that  most  of  the  fish  hatched  on  the  inshore 
spawning  groimds  sink  when  not  over  two  months  old  or  an  inch  long,  for  they 
are  in  water  so  shoal  that  the  bottom  is  within  easy  reach.  During  this  involun- 
tary migration  the  young  cod  tend  to  follow  the  general  coast  line  of  the  Gulf 
from  northeast  to  southwest,  either  to  swing  offshore  toward  the  southeast  part 
of  the  Gulf  and  so  to  Georges  Bank,  or  to  circle  around  toward  the  coast  of  Nova 
Scotia  and  the  Bay  of  Fimdy.  Our  few  captures  of  pelagic  cod  fry  have  all  been 
in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  Gulf,  in  which  they  agree  with  haddock,  silver 
hake,  and  most  of  the  common  flatfishes;  while  it  is  probable  that  the  fry  taken 
in  tow  nets  at  Woods  Hole  in  March,  April,  and  May  have  worked  inshore  thitlier 
from  the  spawning  grounds  on  Nantucket  Shoals.  Furthermore,  the  general 
eddylike  circulation  of  the  GuK  suggests  that  some  of  the  larvae  hatched  on  Georges 
Bank  may  reach  the  Bay  of  Fundj^  region  and  the  eastern  Maine  coast  before 
they  take  to  bottom.  Others  of  them,  however,  may  seek  the  deeper  bottom  of 
the  offshore  grounds,  near  v\'hich  they  were  perhaps  produced. 

Little  is  known  of  the  life  or  wanderings  of  the  cod  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  from 
this  stage  until  it  is  large  enough  to  be  caught  on  hook  and  line — say  2  or  3 
years  old.  Such  of  them  as  come  into  very  shoal  water  at  first  gradually  work 
out  again  into  deeper  as  they  grow,  their  later  journeyings  largely  taking  the  form 
of  feeding  migrations  in  search  of  food;  and  although  it  seems  that  small  cod  do 
not  travel  as  much  as  large  ones  do,  they  v/ander  sufficiently  to  populate  the  entire 
coast  line  of  the  open  Gulf  including  the  outer  part  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  where 
there  are  cod  of  all  sizes  from  yearlings  on  though  none  are  hatched  there  (p.  426). 
Similarly,  the  investigations  of  1913  proved  that  there  are  about  as  many  little  cod 
(less  than  1  pound  in  weight)  as  large  on  Georges  Bank  and  in  the  South  Channel. 

Some  bodies  of  cod  wander  more  than  others,  and  two  groups  are  generally  . 
recognized  by  Gulf  of  Maine  fishermen — the  "shore''  or  "ground"  fish  and  the 
"school"  fish.  The  former  apparently  remain  throughout  the  year  on  rocky 
patches  near  land,  feeding  on  the  bottom,  and  they  probably  travel  very  little  out 
of  spawning  time  except  as  they  gradually  exhaust  the  food  supply  in  one  spot  and 
are  therefore  driven  to  move  on  to  fresh  pastures.  Such  fish  are  usually  dark  and 
dull  colored,  with  large  heads,  and  feed  chiefly  on  bottom.  The  red  fish  that  haunt 
the  rocks  belong  to  this  category,  and  while  as  a  rule  these  are  immature  fish  that 
lose  their  red  color  as  they  grow  larger,  a  red  ' "  rock  "  fish  as  large  as  10  or  20  pounds 
is  sometimes  caught. 


418  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

The  general  opinion  is  that  the  "school"  fish,  which  compose  the  greater  part 
of  the  local  stock  of  cod,  are  constantly  on  the  move  in  loose  groups,  feeding  along 
over  the  bottom  of  their  chosen  bank  and  constantly  moving  on  as  they  exhaust 
the  richest  food.  Though  cod  can  hardly  be  described  as  "schooling"  in  the 
same  sense  as  herring  or  mackerel  school,  these  armies  of  fish  often  hold  together 
so  closely  that  it  is  common  enough  for  one-half  of  a  line  trawl  to  come  in  loaded 
with  cod  with  the  other  half  empty.  It  is  these  "school"  fish  which  most  often 
prey  upon  fish  and  squid,  though,  like  all  cod,  they  feed  chiefly  on  shellfish.  They 
run  slenderer  and  lighter  colored  than  the  "grovmd"  cod,  with  smaller  heads,  but 
in  all  probability  such  differences  are  but  temporary,  reflecting  the  surroundings 
of  the  individual  fish  and  its  mode  of  life  at  the  time.  A  cod  that  is  a  "ground" 
fish  this  month  may  start  on  its  travels  next,  turning  brighter  and  becoming  more 
shapely  as  it  goes,  either  through  a  change  of  diet,  the  change  of  surroundings,  or 
more  active  exercise. 

Fishermen  have  known  from  time  immemorial  that  bodies  of  cod  undertake 
extensive  journeys  with  no  apparent  cause,  suddenly  deserting  grounds  where 
they  were  plentiful  to  appear  on  other  banks  often  far  distant,  and  it  is  probable 
(but  not  yet  proven)  that  some  interchange  takes  place  from  one  bank  to 
another  and  between  the  offshore  and  inshore  grounds.  Furthermore,  cod  may 
flee  a  given  locality  if  too  much  harrassed  by  the  spiny  dogfish  (p.  48),  and  no  doubt 
other  enemies  as  well  drive  them  at  times,  while  the  oft  quoted  discovery  of  hooks  of 
a  kind  used  by  the  French  fishermen  on  the  Grand  Banks  of  Newfoundland  ^  in 
cod  caught  in  Ipswich  Bay  near  Cape  Ann  is  proof  that  at  times  they  undertake 
much  more  extensive  migrations  and  perhaps  do  so  oftener  than  is  suspected,  though 
by  what  impulse  they  are  driven  is  not  known. 

When  cod  are  on  their  travels  they  often  desert  the  bottom  for  the  mid-depths 
(a  fact  proven  by  the  level  at  which  they  are  caught  in  nets),  and  netted  fish  are  so 
often  empty  while  those  caught  on  hook  and  line  are  full  of  food  that  they  are 
popularly  (and  perhaps  rightly)  believed  to  fast  while  on  a  journey.  It  is,  we  believe, 
indisputable  that  cod  usually  congregate  in  denser  bodies  when  traveling  than  when 
feeding,  bodies  running  very  even  in  size,  color,  and  shape,  suggesting  that  they  may 
preserve  their  identitj^  for  long  periods  but  are  mixed  as  to  sex,  sometimes  males 
and  sometimes  females  predominating. 

Thermal  migrations. — In  the  extreme  northern  and  southern  fringes  of  its  geo- 
graphic range  the  cod  carries  out  regular  seasonal  migrations ;  that  is,  it  is  "migratory" 
in  the  common  understanding  of  the  term.  Thus  it  is  only  in  summer  and  early 
autumn  that  they  visit  the  waters  of  the  polar  current  along  the  eastern  coast  of 
Labrador,  withdrawing  again  to  the  south  or  to  deep  water  for  the  winter  and  spring. 
On  the  other  hand  they  appear  only  as  autumn,  winter,  and  early  spring  visitors 
along  the  coasts  of  southern  New  England,  New  York,  «,nd  New  Jersey,  though  in 
numbers  sufficient  to  support  a  lucrative  fishery  (the  annual  catch  of  cod  between 
.Nantucket  and  New  Jersey  may  reach  2,000,000  pounds).  Between  these 
extremes — that  is,  from  the  Grand  Banks  to  Cape  Cod — cod  are  resident  to  the 
extent  that  they  are  to  be  found  in  one  locahty  or  another  the  year  round,  but 

"  Earll  (1880)  and  Kendall  (1898,  p.  178)  give  instances  of  this. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


419 


even  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  large  cod  shift  their  range  in  depth  with  the  seasons,  coming 
up  into  shoal  water  in  autumn  and  winter  as  the  temperature  cools  and  sinking 
deeper  again  in  spring  when  the  surface  warms. 

Breeding  migrations. — With  the  iirst  ripening  of  the  sexual  products  the  feeding 
and  thermal  migrations  are  annually  interrupted  by  concentration  on  certain  rather 
definite  spawning  grounds,  which  for  the  larger  fish  involves  a  journey  inshore  or 
to  the  shoaler  part  of  the  banks,  and  the  breeding  and  thermal  migrations  are 
combined  in  the  case  of  those  cod  that  winter  west  of  Nantucket. 

Tagging  experiments.^  — It  is  not  known  whether  individual  cod  return  year 
after  year  to  spawn  on  any  particular  ground  or  whether  they  may  visit  one  region 
in  one  season  and  another  the  next,  nor  has  any  attempt  been  made  to  trace  the  lines 
of  dispersal  which  they  follow  in  the  northern  parts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  when  they 
are  spent  and  recommence  feeding.     Apparently,  however,  tagged  fish  released  at 

NUMBER  OF  FISH  RECOYtRED  NUMBER.  OF  FISH  RICOVERID 

EA5T0F  WOODS  HOLE  WEST  OF  WOODS  HOLt 

0    2    4    6    8   10   12    14   16  18    0    2    4    6    8    10  12  14    16   18 


Fig.  211.— Numbers  of  tagged  cod  released  at  Woods  Hole  in  1898-1901  that  were  subsequently 
recovered  east  and  west  of  that  point  in  different  months 

Woods  Hole  after  they  had  spawned  (4,000  of  them  were  liberated  from  December 
to  February  of  three  successive  years  ^*  and  4  per  cent  were  recovered) ,  moved  west 
at  first,  for  a  number  were  retaken  along  the  southern  shores  of  New  England  and  of 
New  York  during  December  and  January,  while  half  a  dozen  were  reported  from 
New  Jersey,  but  not  one  east  of  Woods  Hole  until  March  27.  In  April  and  May, 
however,  tagged  fish  were  reported  east  of  Woods  Hole  as  well  as  west,  and  it  was 
during  these  two  months  that  most  of  the  recoveries  were  made,  chiefly  off  Rhode 
Island  and  New  York  and  on  Nantucket  Shoals.  While  reports  were  received  from 
the  latter  ground  and  from  off  Cape  Cod  at  intervals  until  September,  June  10  was 
the  latest  date  west  of  Woods  Hole.  Unfortunately  the  tagged  fish  were  all  more  or 
less  emaciated  as  the  result  of  a  stay  of  some  weeks  in  the  pool  followed  by  artificial 

"  Many  experiments  of  this  sort  have  been  made  in  European  waters. 
"  Smith  (1902)  gives  a  full  account 


420  BULLETIN    OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

stripping,  and  the  locality  of  liberation  was  at  a  considerable  distance  from  their 
normal  spawning  ground  on  Nantucket  Shoals,  hence  it  is  a  question  how  closely 
their  travels  represent  those  carried  out  by  fish  spawning  there  naturally.  How- 
ever, the  results  were  so  consistent,  one  with  another,  as  to  warrant  the  working 
hypothesis  that  at  least  a  part  of  the  great  body  of  fish  spawning  on  the  shoals 
works  westward  along  the  shores  of  southern  New  England  during  the  late  winter 
after  they  have  spawned  out,  returning  again  by  the  same  route  in  spring,  many  of 
them  to  revisit  Nantucket  Shoals  and  some  to  enter  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  for  recoveries 
were  made  off  Chatham  and  rumors  of  tagged  fish  were  received  from  Maine  and 
Nova  Scotia.  The  fact  that  one  tagged  cod  was  recaptured  off  Cape  Judith,  R.  I., 
in  a  spent  condition  during  the  second  May  after  its  release,  that  is,  while  returning 
from  its  second  migration  to  the  southward,  also  corroborates  this. 

Further  investigations  along  this  line  promise  such  interesting  results  from  the 
fisheries  standpoint  that  between  7,000  and  8,000  cod  were  tagged  and  released  by 
the  Halcyon  on  Nantucket  Shoals  from  April  to  October,  1923.  Up  to  January  24, 
1924,  163  of  these  fish  had  been  recovered,  and  the  locahties  of  recapture  corrobo- 
rate in  a  striking  way  the, westerly  winter  migration  just  outlined,  for  one  fish  was 
reported  from  New  Jersey  in  October,  and  during  November,  December,  and 
January  48  were  reported  from  Rhode  Island,  Long  Island,  and  New  Jersey. 

Other  interesting  features  appearing  from  the  reports  so  far  received  are  that 
most  of  the  fish  appear  to  have  remained  all  summer  within  a  very  few  miles  of  the 
spot  on  Nantucket  Shoals  where  they  were  tagged  and  released,  because  all  the  summer 
recoveries  (107)  were  from  that  region,  except  for  a  few  off  Cape  Cod  and  off  Cape 
Ann  and  the  one  New  Jersey  fish  just  mentioned,  the  most  striking  instance  of  this 
being  fish  No.  231,  tagged  on  the  Shoals  June  28,  recaptured  by  the  Halcyon  close 
by  on  October  3,  and  again  on  October  15.  Apparently  no  migration  to  the  east- 
ward took  place  dm-ing  the  summer,  because  not  a  single  fish  was  recaptured  on 
Georges  Bank,  notwithstanding  the  intensive  fishing  carried  on  there. 

The  fact  that  cod  may  carry  out  extensive  journeys  (the  larva?  involuntarily, 
but  the  adults  under  some  directive  stimulus,  sexual  or  feeding)  raises  the 
possibility  that  the  maintenance  of  the  cod  stock  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  depends  as 
much  on  immigration  around  Cape  Sable  as  on  the  reproduction  that  takes  place 
locally  (p.  422),  productive  though  the  latter  may  be.  This  whole  question — 
and  especially  the  routes  followed  and  distances  traveled  by  the  larvae  while  afloat — 
is  one  of  the  most  interesting  problems  now  facing  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  in  its 
study  of  the  natural  history  of  North  Atlantic  food  fishes. 

Rate  of  growth. — So  far  as  we  are  aware  the  growth  of  cod  fry  for  the  first  few 
months  after  hatching  has  only  twice  been  followed  by  direct  observation  in  America. 
The  first  observations  were  made  in  1898,  when  a  large  school  of  newl}'  hatched 
larvae  was  released  in  December  at  Woods  Hole  in  the  "eel  pond"  (a  lagoon  freely 
communicating  with  the  harbor  and  -svith  a  temperature  about  paralleling  that  of 
the  outside  water),  where  they  grew  to  an  average  length  of  50  to  100  nmi.  by  the 
following  June.'*     The  experiment  was  repeated  in  the  winter  of  1899  *°  with  similar 

"  Bmnpus.    Science,  new  series.  Vol.  VIII,  1898,  p.  852. 

»« Smith.    Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  XIX,  1899  (1901),  p.  307. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


421 


results,  as  appears  from  the  following  table  showing  the  growth  of  approximately 
2,000,000  freshly  hatched  larvae  placed  in  the  pond  on  January  11. 


Date 


Extreme 
length 


Average 
length 


Date 


Extreme  i  Average 
length       length 


Apr.  8.. 
Apr.  25. 
May  13. 


mm. 
29  to  38 

34  to  49 

35  to  51 


mm, 
32.9 
40 
42.8 


May  25 
June  6,- 
June  20. 


mm. 
28  to  68 
71  to  76 
73  to  77 


64 

75.5 

75 


Captures  of  young  fry  1 3^  to  3  inches  long  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cape  Ann 
late  in  June  (Earll,  1880)  shows  that  cod  hatched  from  January  to  March  in  the 
GuK  of  Maine  grow  at  about  this  same  rate,  but  fish  hatched  in  the  rising  temper- 
atures of  spring  might  be  expected  to  grow  faster  during  their  first  few  months. 
Dannevig,*'  in  fact,  had  young  cod  hatched  on  April  2G  reach  an  average  length  of 
8.5  cm.  by  mid  September  (5  months)  and  11.5  cm.  by  mid  October.  In  general, 
European  experience*'  is  to  the  effect  that  young  cod  are  4^  to  8  inches  long  by 
the  end  of  the  first  autumn,  the  earliest  (winter)  hatched  being  largest,  the  spring 
hatched  smallest,  which  probably  applies  equally  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

In  later  life  cod  grow  at  varying  rates  in  different  seas,  and  even  fish  caught  in 
the  same  haul  may  have  grown  at  very  different  rates,  as  the  structure  of  the  scales 
shows.  Consequently  the  length  of  a  fish  older  than  a  yearling  is  no  criterion  to 
its  age  within  two  or  three  years.  Wodehouse's  (1916,  p.  103)  studies  on  cod 
caught  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  suggest  that  they  grow  much  more  rapidly 
in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  than  anywhere  in  European  waters,  as  foUows : 


Length,  in  inches 

Age,  in  years 

Bay  of  Fundy 

Euro- 
pean 

Average 

Smallest 

Approxi- 
mate 
average 

1 

5.7 
14.2 
19.6 
25.6 
32.3 
35.6 
39.1 
45.3 
0  48.8 

2.4 
6.4 

12 

14.4 

17.6 

26 

36.4 

38 

44.4 

5 

2                                                           ..                                              .   .                   

8.3 

3 ._ 

12.2 

4  .   .                           

15.4 

5 - - - 

18.6 

6       

21.3 

7 - --- 

24 

8  - 

26.8 

9                                                                                                                                               .       .                     . 

29.1 

o  Two  fish  only. 

"  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919),  pp.  1-49. 

88  Dam  as  (Rapports  et  Procfis-Verbaux,  Consfiil  Permanent  International  pour  TExploration  de  la  Mer,  Vol.  X,  No.  3, 
1909)  gives  a  full  account  of  the  European  investigations  on  the  life  of  the  cod  up  to  that  date. 


422  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

The  fact  that  cod  run  much  larger  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  than  in  either  the  North 
Sea  or  the  Norwegian  Sea,  and  that  the  monsters  of  75  pounds  and  heavier  that  are 
brout^ht  in  every  year  from  om-  coastal  waters  are  unusual  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  tends  to  corroborate  Wodehouse's  age  estimates,  but  the  desirability  of 
further  investigation  along  this  line  is  self-evident.  Should  it  finally  prove  that  it 
is  characteristic  of  GuK  of  Maine  fish  to  grow  faster  than  Em-ope  an  the  inference  is 
obvious — our  waters  provide  a  more  favorable  envnonment,  probably  for  food. 

Judging  from  the  table  the  general  run  of  matm-e  shore  cod  caught  in  the  Gulf 
of  Maine  (.5  to  20  pounds)  are  3  to  6  years  old,  but  whether  the  very  large  fish 
occasionally  caught  have  grown  exceptionally  rapidly  or  are  many  years  old,  remains 
to  be  learned. 

The  smallest  ripe  male  recorded  for  American  waters  weighed  about  3^  pounds; 
female  4  pounds*^ — that  is,  were  in  their  fourth  winter — and  probably  aU  cod  mature 
in  their  fifth  year. 

Breeding  habits. — Thanks  to  Earll's  painstaking  studies  and  to  the  large  scale 
on  which  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  has  subsequently  collected  and  hatched  cod  eggs 
at  the  Gloucester  and  Woods  Hole  hatcheries,  the  spawning  season  and  the  major 
spawning  groimds  of  the  cod  are  fairly  well  established  for  the  coastal  waters  between 
Nantucket  Shoals  and  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 

It  has  long  been  known  that  while  cod  spawn  chiefly  in  winter,  both  in  American 
and  in  European  waters,  the  breeding  season  lasts  much  longer  and  is  less  definitely 
limited  at  either  end  for  this  species  than  for  the  haddock  or  pollock,  and  experience 
has  shown  that  great  local  differences  obtain  in  the  season  when  the  production  of 
eggs  is  most  active  even  within  the  comparatively  small  area  now  under  discussion. 
For  example,  W.  H.  Thomas,  superintendent  of  the  Woods  Hole  station,  informs 
us  that  the  brood  fish  taken  off  Nantucket  and  brought  in  to  the  Woods  Hole  pool 
spawn  there  from  about  the  first  of  December  until  well  into  February  and  occa- 
sionally as  late  as  March,  but  with  the  major  production  usually  from  December  20 
to  January  7,  and  he  writes  that  cod  "spawn  from  as  early  as  November  1  until 
April  in  the  waters  off  Nantucket;  mostly,  however,  from  about  January  15  until 
mid-February."  The  season  is  about  the  same  as  this  off  Plymouth  in  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  this  being  a  ground  long  utilized  as  a  collecting  field  for  the  hatcheries, 
and  where,  according  to  data  furnished  by  C.  G.  Corliss,  superintendent  of  the 
Gloucester  hatchery,  ripe  cod  of  both  sexes  are  common  from  November  until  as 
late  as  April.  On  the  north  side  of  Cape  Ann,  however,  only  50  miles  distant,  ripe 
fish  seldom  appear  in  any  numbers  until  January  and  some  years  not  until  Feb- 
ruary, though  odd  ones  may  be  expected  from  November  on.  Earll,  for  example, 
found  that  not  one  female  in  ten  had  commenced  to  throw  her  eggs  by  the  latter 
month  in  Ipswich  Bay,  though  spawning  was  then  at  its  height  in  Massachusetts 
Bay,  nor  were  as  many  as  50  per  cent  of  the  Ipswich  Bay  fish  ripe  before  mid-March. 
Commencing  to  spawn  later  there  and  near  Cape  Ann  than  off  PljTUOuth,  they 
also  continue  to  do  so  considerably  later — that  is,  until  the  end  of  April  or  even 

»»  Earll,  1880 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


423 


the  first  part  of  May,  as  appears  from  the  following  table  of  cod-egg  collections 
supplied  by  the  Gloucester  hatchery: 


Season 


1911-12.. 
1911-12.. 
1912-13.. 
1913-14.. 
1914-15.. 
1915-16.. 
1916-17.. 
1917-18.. 
1918-19.. 
1919-20.. 
1920-21.. 


Collectiug  field 


Plymouth 

Rockport  (Ipswich  Bay) 

Off  Rockport  (Ipswich  Bay) . 
Off  Gloucester. 


In  Ipswich  Bay  and  ofl  the  New  Hampshire  coast. 


Off  Gloucester. 

do 

do 

do 


Number  of 
eggs  secured 


67,032,000 


170,840,000 
91,980,000 
82, 460. 000 
145,630,000 
92, 340, 000 
119,020,000 
249,510,000 
570,740,000 
210,040,000 


Spawning  season 


Nov 
Jan. 
Feb. 
Feb. 

Feb. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Feb. 
Dec. 
Jan. 


.  24  to  Jan.  3. 
20  to  Mar.  1. 

16  to  Apr.  7. 

1  to  Apr.  15. 

9  to  Apr.  13. 
27  to  Apr.  13. 
25  to  Apr.  27. 

27  to  Apr.  30. 

28  to  Apr.  30. 
15  to  Apr.  29. 


Mr.  Corhss  further  comments  as  follows  regarding  the  season  of  1920: 

From  January  to  late  in  the  spring  there  was  one  of  the  largest  schools  of  spawning  fish  on 
the  inshore  fishing  grounds  ever  known  to  present-day  fishermen. 

Off  the  western  coast  of  Maine,  according  to  Capt.  E.  E.  Hahn,  superintendent 
of  the  Boothbay  Harbor  hatchery,  cod  spawn  from  late  February  or  early  March 
until  the  last  of  May,  with  the  production  of  eggs  at  its  peak  in  March,  and  from 
March  through  May  off  the  eastern  Maine  coast,  while  cod  eggs  (and  hence  spawn- 
ing cod)  have  been  recorded  in  spring  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  Thus  it  appears  that 
the  cod  spawns  later  and  later  in  the  year,  following  around  the  coast  of  the  Gulf 
of  Maine  from  south  and  west  to  north  and  east. 

On  Georges  Bank  cod  spawn  in  abundance  in  February,""  March,  and  April, 
and  almost  as  many  cod  eggs  as  haddock  eggs  were  fertilized  there  by  the  spawn 
takers  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  during  the  two  latter  months  in  1919.  It  is  not 
known  whether  or  in  what  abundance  cod  resort  to  Bro-vvns  Bank  for  spawning. 

The  records  of  the  hatcheries  just  summarized  tell  when  eggs  are  produced  in 
maximum  abundance,  but  they  throw  little  light  on  the  limits  of  the  spawning 
season,  for  it  is  only  during  the  period  when  ripe  fish  appear  in  numbers  sufficient 
to  warrant  the  effort  and  expense  that  spawn  taking  is  carried  on  on  a  large  scale, 
and  with  cod  more  than  with  any  other  gadoid  occasional  ripe  individuals  of  both 
sexes  are  seen  long  before  and  long  after  most  of  the  other  fish  breed.  Thus  Earll 
(1880,  p.  713)  writes  that  the  first  ripe  female  was  taken  near  Cape  Ann  on 
September  2  during  the  season  of  1878-79,  and  that  ripe  fish,  both  males  and 
females,  were  occasionally  caught  thereafter.  We  have  taken  cod  eggs,  far  enough 
advanced  in  incubation  for  positive  identification  as  such,  off  Shelbume  (Nova 
Scotia)  on  September  6,  near  Mount  Desert  on  the  15th,  and  off  Penobscot  Bay  on 
October  6  (all  in  1915).  On  the  other  hand  Earll  saw  ripe  fish  as  late  as  June, 
proving  that  cod  spawn  more  or  less  for  nine  months  of  the  year  about  Cape  Ann. 
Our  tow-nettings  also  suggest  that  some  may  even  spawn  in  midsummer  in  the 
coastal  zone  east  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  for  among  considerable  numbera  of  eggs  of  the 
appropriate  size,  but  freshly  spawned,  and  hence  as  likely  to  belong  to  the  witch 

"  This  fact  has  long  been  common  knowledge,  and  W.  F.  Clapp,  formerly  of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology,  has 
seerunany  cod  with  running  eggs  caught  on  Georges  Bank  in  February  and  March. 

102274^25} 28 


424  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

flounder  as  to  any  gadoid  (p.  429),  we  have  occasionally  found  older  ones  identifiable 
as  either  cod  or  haddock  by  the  black  pigment,  and  probably  as  the  former.  The 
localities  and  dates  in  question  are  near  Mount  Desert  Island,  July  19  (station 
10302),  near  Wooden  Ball  Island  at  the  mouth  of  Penobscot  Bay,  August  6,  and 
near  Cape  Elizabeth,  September  20  (station  10319).  Such  summer  breeding,  how- 
ever, is  merely  a  sporadic  occurrence  comparable  to  the  so-called  "  after-spa^vTiing  " 
of  cod  observed  off  the  north  coast  of  Iceland  by  Schmidt "  and  in  the  North  Sea 
and  the  Baltic. °^ 

It  is  not  so  exceptional  for  cod  to  breed  in  summer  off  the  outer  coast  of  Nova 
Scotia  where  ripe  fish  are  reported  by  local  fishermen  in  June  and  July,  a  report 
which  Captain  Hahn  informs  us  he  can  corroborate  from  personal  experience. 
Similarly,  spawning  cod  were  caught  from  the  deck  of  the  Gramjm^  (Capt.  E.  E. 
Hahn  in  command)  on  Bradelle  Bank  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  late  in  August 
many  years  ago,  while  gadoid  eggs  (probably  cod)  were  towed  at  various  localities 
there  during  June,  July,  and  August  of  1915  by  the  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedi- 
tion," and  on  the  Grand  Banks,  where  practically  Arctic  temperatures  prevail  dur- 
ing the  spring,  cod  spawn  chiefly  if  not  altogether  in  summer. 

Spawning  grounds. — The  spawning  grounds  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  cod  may  be 
classified  as  offshore  and  inshore,  the  former  compi-ising  Georges  Bank  and  Nan- 
tucket Shoals  (probably  also  Browns  Bank,  though  we  have  no  actual  record  of 
spawning  cod  there),  and  the  latter  the  various  smaller  grounds  near  the  coast 
between  Cape  Cod  and  Nova  Scotia.  According  to  the  reports  of  fishermen  and 
to  W.  F.  Clapp's  first-hand  experience,  large  schools  of  cod  spawn  on  the  eastern 
part  of  Georges  Bank  east  of  the  shoals,  centering  at  about  latitude  41°  21'  to 
41°  30^,  longitude  66°  50'  to  67°  in  about  35  fathoms  of  water,  though  by  all  accounts 
their  stay  is  short,  this  particular  body  of  cod  spawning  out  and  scattering  by  the 
1st  of  March.  It  is  a  striking  commentary  on  our  ignorance  of  the  life  histories  of 
even  our  commonest  fishes  that  no  data  better  than  vague  rumors  are  at  hand 
as  to  where  and  when  cod  spawn  on  other  parts  of  Georges  Bank,  or  even  whether 
they  do  so  at  all.  In  all  probability,  however,  they  spawn  there  wherever  the 
water  is  shoaler  than  30  fathoms. 

The  broken  bottom  east  and  south  of  Nantucket  Island,  known  as  Nantucket 
Shoals  (fig.  212),  has  long  been  knoviTi  as  a  center  of  abundance  for  ripe  codfish  in 
late  autumn  and  early  winter  (p.  422),  and  it  is  here  that  most  of  the  brood  fish  have 
been  collected  for  the  Woods  Hole  hatchery.  Cod  with  sexual  organs  in  an  ad- 
vanced stage  of  development  appear  first  on  the  more  easterly  of  these  small  banks 
from  late  October  on,  working  westward  as  the  season  advances.  But  according 
to  local  fishermen  they  abandon  the  shoaler  (7  to  10  fathoms)  portions  of  these 
grounds  after  the  water  is  chilled  by  the  first  heavy  snoM's,  to  congregate  from 
January  until  April  in  the  two  deeper  (12  to  20  fathoms)  channels  close  in  to  Nan- 
tucket Island,  as  is  represented  on  the  accompanying  chart  (fig.  212). 

"  Rapports  et  Proc6s-Verbaux,  Cons6il  Permanent  International  pour  TExploration  de  la  Mer,  Vol.  X,  1909,  p.  21,  123. 
"  Ehrenbaum  (Nordisches  Plankton,  Band  I,  1905-1909,  p.  226)  and  Fulton  (Consfil  Permanent  pour  I'Exploratipn  de  la 
Mer,  Publication  de  Circonstance,  No.  8,  1904). 

"  Dannevig.    Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919),  p.  22. 


FISHES  OF   THE  GULF   OF   MAINE 


425 


So  far  as  we  can  learn  few  if  any  cod  spa^vn  on  the  sandy  bottom  along  the 
outer  shores  of  Cape  Cod,  but  great  numbers  of  ripe  fish  congregate  in  Massachusetts 
Bay  on  well-defined  grounds  3   to   10  miles  offshore,  extending  from  abreast  of 


71*  70° 

Fig.  212. — Chief  spawning  grounds  of  cod  in  the  western  side  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine 

Sandwich  (some  12  miles  south  of  Plymouth)  to  Minots  Light.  A  few  breed  on 
various  small  rocky  patches  off  Gloucester.  Years  ago  many  cod  also  spawned 
over  a  small  area  off  Boston  Lighthouse  and  thence  northward  toward   Bakers 


426  BTTLLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Island,  but  few  breeding  fish  have  been  found  there  of  late,  probably  because  this 
particular  locality  has  been  selected  as  the  dumping  ground  for  the  refuse  from 
Boston. 

The  Ipswich  Bay  region,  where  large  schools  of  ripe  cod  gather  in  winter  and 
spring,  as  Earll  (1880)  described  long  ago,  is  probably  the  most  important  center 
of  production  in  the  inner  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  north  of  Cape  Ann,  but  this, 
like  the  Massachusetts  Bay  spawning  ground,  is  limited  to  a  rather  small  and  well 
defined  area  of  bottom  extending  only  from  a  few  miles  south  of  the  Isles  of 
Shoals  to  abreast  of  the  mouth  of  the  Merrimac  River  and  (less  productively)  to 
Cape  Ann,  chiefly  within  4  to  6  miles  of  land. 

Spawning  cod  are  seen  only  in  comparatively  small  numbers  and  at  scattered 
localities  in  the  coastal  zone  north  and  east  of  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  the  most  productive 
of  these  minor  spawning  grounds  being  near  Cape  Ehzabeth,  off  Casco  Bay,  off  the 
Sheepscott  River,  off  Boothbay,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mount  Desert  Island. 
Very  few  ripe  cod  are  reported  along  the  Maine  coast  farther  east,  and  although  cod 
eggs  have  been  taken  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  the  larvaj  are  unknowm  there.  The 
egg-collecting  campaigns  of  the  several  hatcheries  have  been  so  extensive  and  have 
been  prosecuted  over  so  many  years  that  we  can  confidently  assert  that  there  are  no 
centers  of  production  anyT\'here  within  the  Gulf  east  of  Cape  Elizabeth  comparable 
to  the  Georges  Bank,  Nantucket  Shoals,  Ipswich  Bay,  or  Massachusetts  Bay 
spawning  grounds.  It  may  prove  that  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  is  equally 
prolific,  but  no  definite  evidence  that  cod  breed  there  in  any  abundance  has  yet  been 
obtained.  We  should  also  point  out  that  the  small  ledges  in  the  western  part  of  the 
Gulf — e.  g.,  Jeffreys  and  Platts — are  not  breeding  centers  though  they  are  important 
feeding  grounds.  We  can  not  speak  for  Grand  Manan  Bank  or  German  Bank. 
Thus  cod  are  quite  as  local  in  their  choice  of  spawning  grounds  in  the  GulU  of  Maine 
as  they  are  in  Norwegian  waters. °* 

A  glance  at  the  chart  (fig.  212)  will  show  how  limited  the  more  important 
breeding  grounds  of  the  southwestern  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  are  in  extent  (not 
more  than  300  square  miles  in  all)  compared  to  the  whole  peripheral  zone  of  this 
part  of  the  Gulf  within  the  50-f  athom  curve,  and  so  definitely  limited  are  they  that 
ripe  fish  are  seldom  found  even  close  by,  though  the  fishing  for  green  or  spent 
fish  may  be  good  there.  For  instance  very  few  spawning  cod  are  ever  taken  either 
on  Jeffreys  Ledge  off  Cape  Ann,  or  on  Stellwagen  Bank  at  the  mouth  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  though  both  these  shoals  yield  good  fares  of  fish  at  times.  As  a 
consequence  of  the  limited  area  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  spawning  grounds  cod  congre- 
gated on  them  in  such  numbers  during  the  spring  of  1879 — when  fishing  was  less 
intensive  than  at  present  and  perhaps  the  schools  correspondingly  more  plentiful — 
that  more  than  11,000,000  pounds  of  cod,  mostly  spawning  fish,  were  taken  on  the 
Ipswich  Bay  ground  alone  by  local  fishermen. 

Cod  evidently  spawn  as  far  south  and  west  as  New  Jersey,  for  a  portion  of  the 
fish  caught  off  Atlantic  City  in  late  autumn  and  early  winter  are  described  by  local 
fishermen  as  ripe,'^  but  no  information  is  available  as  to  precise  spawning  grounds 

"  See  Hjort  (Rapports  et  Proces-Verbaux,  ConsSil  Permanent  International  pour  I'Eiploration  de  la  mer,  Vol.  XX,  1914) . 
«  Smith,  1902,  p.  208. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  427 

or  seasons  west  of  Nantucket.  On  the  other  hand,  cod  eggs  are  produced  in  pro- 
fusion as  far  north  as  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Grand  Banks,  but  it  is  not 
known  how  much  spawning  takes  place  along  the  eastern  coast  of  Labrador. 

Cod  spawn  in  shoaler  water  than  haddock.  In  fact,  we  can  find  no  record  of 
ripe  fish  deeper  than  50  fathoms,  and  most  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  spawning  takes 
place  on  much  shoaler  bottoms.  The  Georges  Bank  ground,  for  example,  is  about 
25  to  35  fathoms  deep;  the  Nantucket  grounds  are  hardly  anywhere  deeper  than 
20  fathoms  and  as  shoal  as  7  fathoms  in  places;  the  Massachusetts  Bay  grounds 
are  about  12  to  25  fathoms;  and  the  Ipswich  Bay  ground  only  5  to  25  fathoms 
according  to  the  precise  locality.  In  short,  very  few,  if  any,  cod  spawn  deeper  than 
30  fathoms  in  the  Gulf,  and  on  the  inshore  grounds  the  major  production  of  eggs 
takes  place  in  water  shoaler  than  15  fathoms.  We  wish  to  emphasize  the  fact  that 
no  cod  breed  anj^where  in  the  central  deeps  of  the  Gulf  outside  the  50-fathom 
contour. 

With  the  breeding  grounds  of  the  cod  so  localized  and  spawning  taking  place 
close  to  bottom,  and  ^nih  the  chief  production  of  eggs  during  the  cold  months,  the 
physical  state  of  the  water  in  which  eggs  are  produced  can  be  stated  with  some 
confidence  at  an^  particular  locality  and  date,  but  corresponding  to  the  prolonged 
period  of  reproduction  spawning  takes  jjlace  over  rather  a  wide  range  both  of 
temperature  and  of  salinity.  On  the  Ipswich  Bay  grounds,  for  example,  ripe  fish 
are  taken  when  the  bottom  water  is  still  as  warm  as  44°  to  46°  (early  September), 
but  they  appear  in  greater  numbers  in  temperatures  of  41°  to  43°  (January);  and 
as  the  breeding  season  progresses  the  temperature  falls,  spawning  being  at  its 
height  in  the  minimmn  temperatures  of  the  year  (March) — that  is,  33°  to  37.5° — 
though  the  fish  continue  to  spawn  until  the  bottom  water  has  once  more  warmed 
to  38°  to  41°  (mid-May). 

On  the  Massachusetts  Bay  ground  the  peak  of  the  spa^vning  season  is  reached 
and  passed  before  the  temperature  drops  to  its  winter  minimum,  hence  in  decidedly 
warmer  water  than  in  Ipswich  Bay,  spawning  fish  appearing  in  numbers  (late 
November)  while  the  bottom  water  is  still  as  warm  as  44°  to  47°,  with  the  chief 
production  taking  place  in  temperatures  of  36°  to  42°  (December,  through  January). 
Most  of  the  spawning  takes  place  in  the  falling  temperature  on  this  ground,  although 
some  cod  breed  there  right  through  the  coldest  season  (minimum  temperature  33° 
to  37°).  The  temperature  range  through  which  the  cod  breed  on  the  offshore 
grounds  can  not  be  stated  so  precisely,  for  want  of  autumn  and  early  wdnter  data. 

Cod  kept  in  captivity  at  Woods  Hole  spawn  freely  through  an  equally  wide 
range  of  temperature,  eggs  even  being  produced  (and  quite  normally,  to  judge 
from  the  successful  incubation  of  the  resultant  eggs  in  the  warmer  water  of  the 
hatchery)  in  February  when  the  pool  may  have  cooled  to  30°,  an  interesting  fact, 
for  if  left  at  liberty  the  fish  in  question  would  have  spa-wned  naturally  in  water  at 
least  as  warm  as  36°  to  38°.  Cod  spawn  in  water  as  cold  as  32°  in  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence  and  probably  also  on  the  NeA\'foundland  Banks."* 

••  Hjort.   Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  C1919),  P-  xxvii. 


428 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


It  is  intei-esting  to  note  that  on  the  whole  cod  spawn  in  rather  colder  water 
in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  (stiU  more  so  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  on  the  New- 
foundland Banks)  than  on  the  other  side  of  the  North  Atlantic  or  about  Iceland, 
where  the  chief  production  of  eggs  takes  place  at  temperatures  of  40°  to  45°. 

The  salinities  in  which  cod  spawn  in  the  coastwise  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
depend  on  the  precise  locality,  depth,  and  season.  Probably  none  spawn  in  water 
fresher  than  32  per  miUe  "  nor  saltcr  than  32.8  per  miUe,  either  on  the  Ipswich  Bay 
grounds  or  on  the  Massachusetts  Bay  grounds,  and  as  far  as  our  records  go  they 
point  to  a  salinity  of  about  32.6  per  mille  as  typical  for  the  spawning  of  the  cod 
on  Georges  Bank.  This  is  water  much  less  saUne  than  ripe  cod  seek  in  European 
seas,'^  and  necessarily  so,  the  Gulf  of  Maine  being  decidedly  fresher  at  all  times 
(p.  443)  than  the  Norwegian  Sea  or  than  the  waters  around  Iceland. 

On  the  Massachusetts  Bay  spawning  ground  the  density  of  the  water  is  high 
enough  to  insure  the  flotation  of  the  eggs  throughout  the  breeding  season,  but  in 
Ipswich  Bay  the  spring  freshets  often  so  freshen  the  surface  that  late-spawned  cod 


FiQ.  213.— Diagram  of  the  pigmentation  of  the  youngest  larvae  of  cod  (a)  and  American  pollock  (b).    After'Schmidt 


and  haddock  eggs  may  fail  to  rise  to  the  uppermost  water  layers,  a  phenomenon 
which  hinders  the  operations  of  the  hatchery  but  which  does  not  militate  against 
the  successful  incubation  of  the  eggs  in  nature,  since  they  would  merely  float 
suspended  at  some  deeper  level.  This  subject  is  discussed  at  greater  length  in 
connection  with  the  haddock  (p.  443). 

The  cod  is  one  of  the  most  prolific  of  fishes,  so  much  so  that  a  female  39  or 
40  inches  long  may  be  expected  to  produce  about  3,000,000  eggs  and  one  of  41 
inches  at  least  4,000,000.  Earll  estimated  the  number  in  a  52H-inch  fish  weighing 
51  pounds  at  8,989,094,  with  9,100,000  in  a  75-pounder. 

The  eggs  are  buoyant,  transparent,  without  oil  globule,  and  1.16  to  1.82  mm. 
in  diameter.  Gulf  of  Maine  eggs,  artificially  fertihzed  and  measured  by  Welsh, 
averaged  about  1.46  mm.  in  diameter. 

"  The  surface  may  be  much  fresher  in  spring,  but  not  the  bottom  water  in  which  the  fish  are  lying. 
"  34.5  to  35  per  mille,  according  to  Damas. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  429 

The  period  of  incubation  for  cod  eggs  depends  on  temperature.  According  to 
experience  at  the  hatcheries  hatching  may  be  expected  in  10  or  11  days  at  47°, 
in  14  or  15  days  at  43°,  in  20  to  23  days  at  38°  to  39°,  and  not  for  40  days  or  more 
if  the  water  is  as  cold  as  32°.  Fertilization  can  take  place  and  development  com- 
mence in  temperatures  even  lower  than  this,  as  proved  by  experiments  by  Krogh 
and  Johansen,'"  but  their  observation  that  the  mortality  is  great  among  eggs  incu- 
bated at  32°  (although  full  development  can  take  place)  corroborates  the  experience 
of  the  hatcheries,  where  it  has  proved  impossible  to  hatch  more  than  25  to  50  per  cent 
of  the  eggs  in  water  as  cold  as  this,  while  the  relative  strength  of  the  larva?  hatched 
at  different  tempei'atures  points  to  41°to47°  as  most  favorable  for  incubation.  All 
this  suggests  that  extreme  cold  prevents  the  successful  reproduction  of  the  cod,  not 
by  interfering  with  spawning  (for  this  can  take  place  in  the  lowest  temperatures 
found  anywhere  in  the  open  sea)  but  by  its  effect  on  the  developing  eggs. 

Newly  spawned  cod  eggs  are  indistinguishable  from  those  of  the  haddock, 
with  which  they  intergrade  in  size,  but  by  the  time  the  embryo  is  as  long  as  the 
circimiference  of  the  egg  (that  is,  shortly  before  hatching)  the  pigment  of  the  cod 
gathers  in  4  or  5  distinct  patches — one  over  the  region  of  the  pectoral  fin,  one  above 
the  vent,  and  the  others  equall}-  spaced  behind  it  (fig.  205) — whereas  in  the  haddock 
the  pigment  cells  are  arranged  in  a  row  along  the  ventral  side  of  the  trunk  (p.  444). 
There  is  also  danger  of  confusing  newly  spawned  cod  eggs  with  those  of  the  witch 
floimder  (p.  515),  which  they  overlap  in  size;  but  the  black  pigment  of  the  cod  eggs 
identifies  them  as  gadoid  as  soon  as  it  appears,  the  embryonic  pigment  of  the 
witch  being  yellow.     (See  also  under  the  haddock  on  p.  443.) 

At  hatching  the  larvae  are  about  4  mm.  long  with  the  vent  (which  is  close 
'  behind  the  yolk  sac)  located  at  the  base  of  the  ventral  fin  fold  on  one  side  instead 
of  at  its  margin,  so  that  the  intestine  apparently  ends  bUndly  as  is  the  case  with 
haddock  and  pollock  larvae,  also.  At  this  stage  young  cod  much  resemble  the  latter 
but  are  easily  separable  from  them  by  the  fact  that  the  pigment  is  in  two  dorsal 
and  three  (rarely  two)  ventral  bars,  with  the  dorsal  bars  shorter  than  the  ventral 
bars  opposite  them,  whereas  in  pollock  larvae  up  to  10  mm.  long  the  dorsal  bars 
are  longer  than  the  opposite  ventral  bars  (p.  405).  Neither  is  there  any  danger 
of  confusing  cod  larvae  with  haddock  even  at  this  early  stage,  for  the  latter  are 
not  barred  but  have  a  continuous  row  of  pigment  cells  along  the  ventral  margin 
of  the  trunk  behind  the  vent  besides  other  patches  on  the  nape  and  in  the  lining 
of  the  abdomen  (p.  444). 

When  first  hatched  the  young  cod  float  helplessly,  yolk  uppermost,  but  they 
assume  the  normal  position  in  about  2  days,  the  yolk  being  absorbed  and  the  mouth 
formed  in  6  to  12  days,  according  to  temperature,  when  the  larvae  are  about  4.5  mm. 
long.  As  the  little  cod  grows  the  pigment  bars  gradually  fuse,  and  at  8  to  10  mm. 
a  median  band  forms,  but  cod  10  to  20  mm.  long  may  easily  be  distinguished  from 
pollock  by  the  fact  that  the  pigment  extends  to  the  tail,  whereas  in  the  latter  it 

»  Dannevig.   Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919),  p.  44. 


430 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEBIES 


ends  abruptly  some  distance  in  front  of  the  tail.  Haddock  of  this  size  show  much 
less  pigment  (p.  444).  Cod  fry  of  15  to  30  mm.  may  be  recognized  by  the  location 
of  the  vent  under  the  second  dorsal  fin,  combined  vdth.  dense  pigmentation.  The 
dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays  begin  to  appear  at  a  length  of  10  to  13  mm.;  at  20  mm. 
they  have  attained  their  final  number  and  the  separate  fins  are  outlined;  while  at 
30  mm.  the  frj'  begin  to  show  the  spotted  color  pattern  so  characteristic  of  the  cod. 


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Fig.  214.— Localities  where  cod  (#)  and  haddocli  (A)  larvse  have  been  taken  in  the  tow  nets 

An  important  cjuestion  for  future  solution  is:  What  proportion  of  the  cod 
larvffi  hatched  on  the  Gulf  of  Maine  spawning  groimds  survive?  We  have  no  data 
whatever  to  offer  on  this,  nor  do  we  think  it  ■wise  to  draw  anj-  conclusions  from 
the  fact  that  we  have  taken  few  cod  larvse  in  our  tow  nets  (only  80  or  90  all  told), 
because  this  may  have  been  purely  accidental,  due  to  the  fact  that  we  have 
made  few  hauls  in  Ipswich  Bay  or  the  southern  part  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and 
none  on  the  offshore  spawning  grounds  at  the  critical  season. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


431 


\ 


X;..^ 


a 


Fig.  215.— Haddock  (Melanogrammus  xflifinu 


meters.    After  Schmidt.    /,  Fry  (European),  25  mUlimeters.    After  Schmidt 


432  btjijLetin  of  the  biteeau  of  fisheries 

153.  Haddock  {Melanogrammus  seglifinus  Linnaeus) 
White-eye 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2542. 

Description. — The  most  obvious  characters  in  which  the  haddock  differs  from 
the  cod  are  its  black  lateral  line  (that  of  cod  and  pollock  is  paler  than  the  general 
ground  tint)  and  the  presence  of  a  dusky  blotch  on  the  side  over  the  middle  of  the 
pectoral  fin  and  close  below  the  lateral  line.  Furthermore  its  first  dorsal  fin  is 
relatively  higher  than  that  of  a  cod  and  considerably  higher  than  either  the  second 
or  third  dorsal,  more  acutely  triangular  in  outline,  and  with  slightly  concave 
margin.  The  margin  of  the  haddock's  tail  is  more  concave  or  "lunate"  than  that 
of  the  cod,  the  second  and  third  dorsals  and  both  anals  are  more  angular  than  is 
usually  the  case  with  cod,  though  similarly  rhomboid  in  outline,  and  the  two  anals 
differ  more  in  size  in  a  haddock  than  in  a  cod.  The  haddock's  mouth  is  relatively 
the  smaller,  not  gaping  back  to  below  the  eye,  and  the  lower  profile  of  the  face  is 
straight  and  the  upper  only  slightly  roimded,  giving  the  nose  a  characteristic  wedge- 
shaped  outline  in  side  view.  The  upper  jaw  projects  further  beyond  the  lower  in 
the  haddock  than  in  the  cod,  and  the  snout  is  usually  more  pointed  and  the  body 
more  compressed,  but  the  general  arrangement  of  the  fins  is  the  same  and  there  are 
about  the  same  number  of  dorsal  fin  rays  in  haddock  as  in  cod  (14  to  17,  20  to  24, 
and  19  to  22,  in  the  first,  second,  and  third  fins,  respectively).  While  the  anals 
average  one  or  two  more  rays  in  each  fin  (21  to  25  and  20  to  24),  individual  cod  may 
have  more  anal  rays  than  individual  haddock.  Finally,  the  haddock  is  a  slimmer 
fish  than  the  cod  and  its  scales  (which  clothe  it  from  nose  to  tail)  are  smaller — 
indeed  hardly  visible  through  the  mucus  with  which  the  skin  is  coated. 

Color. — A  live  haddock  is  very  different  from  the  pale  dirty  gray  object  to  be 
seen  in  the  market.  When  fresh  from  the  water  the  top  of  the  head  and  the  back 
down  to  the  lateral  line  are  dark  pm-plish  gray,  paling  below  the  latter  to  a  beautiful 
silvery  gray  with  pinkish  reflections,  with  the  black  lateral  line  and  the  sooty 
shoulder  patch  just  mentioned  standing  out  vividly.  This  patch — the  "devil's 
mark" — is  indefinitely  outlined  and  varies  in  size  and  in  distinctness,  but  we  have 
never  seen  a  haddock  (nor  heard  of  one)  lacking  it.  The  belly  and  lower  sides  of 
the  head  are  opaque  white.  The  dorsal,  pectoral,  and  caudal  fins  are  dark  gray; 
the  anals  pale  like  the  lower  sides  and  black  specked  at  the  base;  the  ventrals  white 
more  or  less  dotted  with  black.  Haddock  usually  run  very  uniform  in  color,  but 
occasionally  one  shows  from  one  to  foxu"  dark  transverse  bars  or  splotches  in  addition 
to  the  black  shoulder  blotch.  Several  of  these  serially  striped  haddock  have  been 
taken  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay,'  and  we  have  seen  such  near  Mount  Desert. 

Size. — The  haddock  is  a  smaller  fish  than  the  cod,  the  largest  on  record  being 
37  inches  long  and  weighing  243^  pounds.^  The  largest  among  1,300  fish  measiu-ed 
and  weighed  by  Welsh  near  Gloucester  during  the  spring  of  1913  measured  35J^ 
inches  in  length  and  weighed  about  16^  pounds.     Very  few,  however,  were  as 

'  Prince,  1917,  p.  86. 

<  Day.    Tbe  fishes  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  1880-1884.    London. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


433 


long  as  34  inches,  the  great  majority  running  from  23  to  30  inches  and  from  5  to  10 
pounds,  while  fish  of  24  to  28  inches  and  weighing  5J^  to  834  pounds  formed  almost 
three-fourths  of  the  total.  The  relationship  between  length  and  weight  in  780 
ripe  fish  (460  males  and  320  females)  measured  by  Welsh  is  illustrated  on  the 
accompanying  diagram  (fig.  216). 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic;  most  abundant  on  the  Ameri- 
ican  coast  from  Cabot  Strait  to  Cape  Cod.  In  winter  haddock  are  taken  southward 
to  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  and  they  have  been  recorded  in  deep  water  as  far  as 
the  latitude  of  Cape  Hatterasjbut  the  species  as  a  whole  is  so  much  more  closely  con- 
fined to  waters  east  of  Marthas  Vineyard  than  is  the  cod  that  only  85,791  pounds  of 

WE16HT 
L6S. 


15 
14 
13 
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22      23       24      25       26       27       28      29       30      31       32      33       34 

UNfiTH,  INCHES 

Fio.  216.— Average  weight  of  ripe  haddock  of  different  lengths,  male  ( )  and  female  ( ),  at  Gloucester,  March  to  May,  1913 

haddock  were  caught  off  New  York  and  New  Jersey  in  1915,  contrasting  with  an 
annual  catch  of  one  to  two  million  pounds  of  cod  for  that  part  of  the  coast.  Nor 
does  the  range  of  the  haddock  extend  as  far  north  as  that  of  the  cod,  only  a  few 
being  taken  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  or  in  the  Atlantic 
northward  of  the  Grand  Banks,  and  none  at  all  beyond  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle, 
whereas  multitudes  of  cod  summer  along  the  east  coast  of  Labrador. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Haddock,  cod,  pollock,  mackerel,  and  herring 
together  are  the  backbone  of  the  great  commercial  fisheries  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 
In  weight  of  fish  caught  haddock  are  surpassed  only  by  herring  (the  latter  are  in- 
comparably the  most  numerous  fish  in  the  Gulf,  as  pointed  out  on  page  93) ;  and  by 
cod  (p.  412)  alone  in  the  value  of  the  catch. 


434  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHEBIES 

Haddock  are  very  plentiful  all  around  the  Gulf  (including  the  Bay  of  Fundy) 
as  well  as  on  all  the  offshore  banks,  especially  on  Georges  where  they  greatly  out- 
number the  cod.  In  spite  of  their  preference  for  deeper  water  (p.  435)  a  larger  number 
of  individual  haddock  than  of  cod  are  taken  over  the  coastal  belt  generally,  within 
20  to  25  miles  of  land,  though  the  latter  are  so  much  larger  individually  that  the 
catch  of  cod  is  the  greater  by  weight.  In  1919,  for  example,  the  catch  on 
the  inshore  grounds  (including  that  of  both  small  boats  and  vessels)  was  about 
20,000,000  pounds  of  cod  (p.  412),  as  compared  with  15,000,000  pounds  of  haddock. 
The  landings  along  several  stretches  of  the  coast  for  that  year  will  further  illustrate 
the  imiversal  abimdance  of  haddock.  Thus  between  5,000,000  and  6,000,000 
pounds  were  taken  off  western  Nova  Scotia  and  on  the  south  side  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Bay  of  Fimdy  (including  German  Bank  fish) ;  about  750,000  farther  in  on  the 
Scotian  side  of  the  bay  and  about  400,000  on  the  New  Brunswick  side;  about 
700,000  pounds  thence  to  Penobscot  Bay;  and  about  500,000  between  Penobscot 
and  Casco  Bays.  The  inshore  groimds  from  Cape  Elizabeth  to  Cape  Cod  (includ- 
ing Stellwagen  Bank  but  not  JefiFreys  Ledge)  yielded  nearly  5,000,000  pounds,  besides 
some  2,000,000  more  taken  by  large  vessels  on  the  inshore  grounds  but  which  we 
can  not  classify  by  localities.  Small  isolated  rocky  banks,  such  as  Cashes  and 
Platts,  support  few  haddock  compared  to  the  considerable  stock  of  cod  (p.  412), 
but  they  are  extremely"  abundant  on  the  offshore  grounds  generally,  swarming  in  the 
South  Channel  in  particular.  In  fact,  this  ground  supplies  fully  half  the  haddock 
brought  into  Boston.  They  are  so  plentiful  at  one  time  or  another  over  the  whole 
length  of  Georges  Bank  that  it  is  a  common  occurrence  for  an  otter  trawler  to 
catch  10,000  to  20,000  fish,  large  and  small,  in  5  to  6  days'  fishing,  and  not  unheard 
of  for  one  to  take  50,000.  In  number  (not  in  weight)  haddock  of  all  sizes  made  up 
60  to  70  per  cent  of  all  the  fish  caught  there  by  certain  otter  trawlers  in  the  year 
1913,  while  cod  amounted  to  less  than  10  per  cent.  By  weight,  however,  the  landings 
of  cod  from  Georges  Bank  may  be  larger  than  those  of  haddock,  both  because  cod 
average  so  much  larger  individually  and  because  more  of  the  immature  haddock 
than  iromature  cod  are  caught  and  thrown  back.  The  following  figures  give  the 
landings  of  haddock,  in  pounds,  at  Boston  and  Gloucester,  Mass.,  and  Portland,  Me., 
from  certain  offshore  groimds  in  1919: 

Pounds 

South  Channel 34,929,521 

Georges  Bank 17,  620,  977 

Browns   Bank 4,  355,  637 

Jeffreys  Ledge 1,  093,  986 

Off  Chatham 1,372,625 

Stellwagen  Bank 736,  328 

Platts   Bank 68,  101 

Fippenies  Bank 34,  435 

Haddock  are  also  plentiful  on  BroMms  Bank;  perhaps  less  so  on  German  Bank, 
though  considerable  numbers  are  caught  there  and  on  the  broken  grounds  off 
Lurcher  Shoal;  and  they  are  less  plentiful  than  other  ground  fish  on  Grand  Manan 
Bank.  In  1919  (  a  representative  year)  the  total  catch  of  haddock  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  inshore  and  offshore,  was  at  least  85,000,000  poimds,  representing  more 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  435 

than  15,000,000  fish,  which  considerably  surpassed  the  catch  of  cod  in  weight  and 
far  more  in  number  of  individual  fish. 

No  evidence  whatever  has  yet  been  gathered  as  to  the  relation  which  the 
annual  catch  of  haddock  bears  to  the  total  stock  of  fish  in  the  Gulf,  but  judging 
from  European  experience  in  the  recapture  of  tagged  cod  we  hazard  the  guess  that 
at  this  moment  it  supports  not  less  than  150,000,000  haddock  of  marketable  size 
and  man}^  times  this  number  of  smaller  fish. 

Habits. — Probably  the  lower  limit  of  depth  is  about  the  same  for  the  haddock 
as  for  the  cod  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  (p.  413),  few  being  caught  much  below  100 
fathoms,'  but  on  the  average  haddock  hve  deeper  than  cod,  very  few  being  caught 
in  less  than  5  to  10  fathoms  and  most  of  them  in  25  to  60  fathoms.  Haddock,  large 
or  small,  so  seldom  come  into  the  very  shoal  waters  along  rocky  shores  and  over 
ledges  where  young  cod  are  plentiful  that  the  pound  nets  of  Massachusetts  reported 
only  about  5,000  pounds  of  haddock  in  1919,  as  compared  with  almost  300,000 
poimds  of  cod.  Neither  do  we  remember  hearing  of  a  haddock  of  any  size  in  any 
of  the  shoal  harbors  where  little  pollock  so  abound,  a  difference  in  habitat  between 
these  closely  related  species  holding  from  the  time  when  the  young  fry  first  seek 
bottom,  for  haddock  usually  do  so  in  20  to  50  fathoms  or  deeper,  very  rarely  close 
to  the  shore,  and  perhaps  never  in  the  httoral  zone.* 

Haddock  are  even  more  distinctively  ground  fish  than  cod,  and  though,  like 
the  latter,  they  pursue  herring  and  other  small  fish,  they  so  rarely  rise  far  from 
the  bottom  that  we  have  never  heard  of  a  school  coming  to  the  surface  or  driving 
their  prey  ashore  on  the  beach,  events  by  no  means  unusual  with  cod  and  a  char- 
acteristic phase  in  the  hfe  of  the  American  pollock  (p.  400). 

Haddock  are  less  catholic  than  are  cod  in  their  choice  of  the  type  of  bottom, 
being  hardly  ever  caught  over  ledges,  rocks,  kelp,  etc.,  on  the  one  hand,  where  cod 
are  so  plentiful,  or,  on  the  other,  on  the  soft  oozy  mud  to  which  hake  resort,  but 
chiefly  on  broken  groimd,  gravel,  pebbles,  clay,  smooth  hard  sand,  sticky  sand  of 
gritty  consistency,  or  where  there  are  broken  shells.  They  are  especially  partial 
to  the  smooth  areas  between  rocky  patches.  Haddock,  unlike  cod,  never  run  up 
estuaries  into  brackish  water — much  less  into  fresh  water — but  are  typically  offshore 
fish,  though  they  enter  the  bays  and  reaches  between  the  islands  along  the  coast  of 
Maine  in  some  niunbers  (p.  439). 

Haddock,  like  cod,  diminish  in  numbers  from  the  mouth  toward  the  head  of 
the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  Canadian  fishery  statistics  show  that  they  are  far  more 
plentiful  on  its  Scotian  shore  than  on  its  New  Brunswick  shore. 

Food. — During  the  first  few  months,  while  haddock  fry  are  hving  pelagic  near 
the  surface,  they  probably  depend  on  copepods  as  cod  do,  but  so  far  as  we  are  aware 
no  stomach  contents  of  haddock  as  young  as  this  have  been  examined.  After  they 
take  to  the  bottom  they  become  bottom  feeders  hke  cod,  devouring  all  kinds  of 
invertebrates  so  indiscriminately  that,  as  Baird  (1889,  p.  37)  long  ago  remarked, 
"a  complete  list  of  the  animals  devoured  by  the  haddock  would  doubtless  include 

*  Goode  and  Bean  (1896)  list  a  haddock  from  499  fathoms  but  with  suspicion  as  to  the  accuracy  of  its  label. 

<  In  this  respect  the  fact  that  haddock  fry  less  than  1  year  old  have  never  been  reported  in  shoal  water  in  the  Gulf  or  at  Woods 
Hole  corroborates  European  fishing  experiments  summarized  by  Damas  (Rapports  et  Proces-Verbaux,  Cons^il  International 
pour  I'Kxploration  de  la  Mer,  Vol.  X,  1909)  and  by  Schmidt  (Tbid.). 


436  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

nearly  all  the  species  belonging  to  the  fauna"  of  the  particular  ground  on  which 
the  fish  in  question  were  living.  The  larger  Crustacea,  such  as  hermit,  spider,  and 
common  crabs,  shrimps,  prawns,  and  amphipods,  with  gastropods  and  bivalve 
moUusks  in  great  vai'iety,  worms,  starfish,  sea  urchins,  sand  dollars,  brittle  stars, 
and  sea  cucumbers,  all  enter  regularl}-  into  the  dietar}-  of  the  haddock,  with  probably 
the  commoner  moUusks,  crabs,  small  sea  lu'chins,  and  brittle  stars  their  chief  sub- 
sistence, according  to  locality.  It  has  often  been  remarked  (this  Mr.  Clapp  cor- 
roborates) that  they  must  root  out  much  of  their  food  from  the  mud  and  sand  of 
the  sea  bottom,  for  they  depend  largely  on  burrowing  bivalves  and  worms,  which 
they  could  obtain  in  no  other  way — for  example,  haddock  caught  near  Eastport 
contained  eight  varieties  of  anneHds.  They  are  also  said  to  congregate  about 
clam  beds.  On  the  other  hand  none  of  the  Eastport  fish  opened  by  Doctor  Kendall 
(1898)  had  risen  to  take  the  large  pelagic  shrimps  (euphausiids)  so  abundant  there 
and  which  are  the  chief  food  of  the  local  pollock,  this  being  an  illustration  of  how 
close  haddock  hold  to  the  bottom. 

Mr.  Clapp  listed  no  less  than  68  species  of  mollusks,  both  bivalves  and  gastro- 
pods, from  1,500  haddock  caught  on  the  northwest  part  of  Georges  Bank  in  40  to 
60  fathoms,  and  he  has  called  our  attention  to  the  fact  that  haddock  usually  con- 
tain smaller  shells  than  do  cod,  and  never  the  very  large  sea  clams  (Mactra)  which 
are  so  important  a  constituent  of  the  diet  of  the  latter.  Furthermore,  haddock  eat 
more  worms  than  cod,  and  they  are  often  packed  full  of  worm  tubes  when  caught  on 
bottoms  covered  with  the  latter — the  "  spaghetti  bottom  "  of  fishermen — such,  for 
example,  as  the  locahty  known  as  "  Cove  Clark"  on  the  northwest  face  of  Georges 
Bank  (about  lat.  41°  8'  by  long.  68°  40')-  Haddock,  hke  many  other  fish,  take 
squid  when  opportunity  offers,  and  they  are  usually  described  as  fish  eaters  like 
cod.  In  Norwegian  waters  thej"  are  said  to  prey  on  schools  of  herring.  Haddock 
caught  at  Woods  Hole  have  been  seen  full  of  them,  and  most  American  ■writers 
credit  their  diet  with  herring,  cunners,  etc.  We  can  only  state  in  regard  to  this 
that  none  of  the  shore  fish  examined  by  Welsh  near  Cape  Ann  in  1913,  nor  the 
Georges  Bank  fish  opened  by  Mr.  Clapp  (5,000  altogether),  contained  a  fragment 
of  fish  of  anj^  kind,  nor  have  any  of  the  fishermen  of  whom  we  have  inquired  (and 
their  practical  experience  is  of  course  vastly  wider  than  ours)  described  haddock  as 
feeding  to  any  great  extent  on  fish.  Thus  it  is  evident  that  while  Gulf  of  Maine 
haddock  prey  on  small  herring  at  times,  fish  is  certainly  an  insignificant  part  of 
their  diet.  Haddock  have  also  been  accused  of  feeding  greedily  on  herring  spawn — 
perhaps  without  much  justice. 

Judging  from  Welsh's  experience  with  the  fish  breeding  near  Cape  Ann 
during  April,  1913,  haddock  fast  even  more  rigorously  than  cod  at  spawning  time, 
because  more  than  95  per  cent  of  the  hundreds  of  fish  caught  in  the  gill  nets  were 
totally  empty,  and  because  line  trawls  set  near  b.y  were  bringing  in  very  few  haddock 
but  were  taking  hake  in  fair  numbers.  In  fact  it  was  not  imtil  the  introduction 
of  the  gill-net  and  otter-trawl  fisheries  that  anj^  considerable  toll  was  taken  of  the 
haddock  while  spa^vning. 

Rate  of  growtJi. — The  haddock  shows  its  age  on  its  scales  almost  as  clearly  as 
does  the  herring.     Miss  Duff  (1916,  p.  95)  gives  the  following  lengths  for  Bay  of 


FISHES  OF  THE  GULF  OF  MAINE 


437 


Fundy  haddock  of  different  ages,  estimated  from  scale  studies  combined  with 
measurements  of  the  different  length  groups  represented  among  460  specimens. 
European  measurements  are  added  for  comparison. 


Bay  of  Fundy  flsh 

North  Sea  flsh  > 

Norwegian  flsh  > 

Ago 

Length 

Age 

Length 

Age 

Length 

Hi    . 

Years 

Inches 
5.1 
12.3 
1.5.5 
17.9 
21 

21.7 
22.8 
23.8 

IH 

Years 

Inches 
9 
11 
13 
16..^ 
18.5 
21 
23 
26 

i'A 

Years 

Inches 
10 

2)1    ::;::::::::;::;:;:;::::;: 

2}4 

2'i- 

12 

3M 

3j| 

3H                     

15 

iVi 

4?i 

19 

5li 

&\i 

s'A 

19 

6K 

6'A 

6M 

21 

7Ji 

7W 

7% 

23 

8j|.. 

8H 

i'A 

24 

i'A- 

26 

I  Damas  (Rapports  Proces-Verbaui,  Con.seU  Permanent  International  pour  I'Eiploration  de  la  mer,  Vol.  X,  1909)  has  tabulated 
the  measurements  and  ages  of  large  numbers  of  haddoclc  from  various  North  European  localities. 

It  appears  from  these  data  that  Bay  of  Fundy,  North  Sea,  and  Norwegian  had- 
dock all  grow  rapidly  and  at  about  the  same  rate  until  they  are  5  or  6  years  old, 
but  that  the  European  haddock  outstrips  the  American  fish  thereafter,  though  all 
continue  to  grow  in  length  to  a  considerable  age.  The  oldest  haddock  recorded  by 
Damas  were  two  of  123^2  years,  judged  by  their  scales,  and,  respectively,  30.4  and 
31.1  inches  long.  This,  with  the  fact  that  his  largest  specimen  was  a  lOH-year-old 
of  32.2  inches,  suggests  that  the  largest  Gulf  of  Maine  fish  are  12  to  15  years  old. 
The  lengths  given  in  the  preceding  table  are  averages,  and  there  is  so  much  individual 
variation  that  a  fish  of  a  given  age  may  be  smaller  than  one  a  couple  of  years  younger 
or  larger  than  one  2  or  3  years  older,  probably  due  to  the  food  supply.  For  example. 
North  Sea  fish  of  2  years  varied  from  7.6  to  15.6  inches  in  length;  3-year  fish  from 
10.4  to  16.4  inches;  4-year-olds  from  12.8  to  21.2  inches;  5-year  fish  from  14.4  to 
24  inches;  6-year  fish  from  16  to  27  inches;  and  those  7  years  old  from  17.6  to  28 
inches.  Most  of  the  haddock  of  the  younger  year  classes  are  grouped  near  the 
average  sizes  for  their  age,  fish  of  6  years  and  older  being  more  evenly  distributed 
among  different  sizes. 

Age  at  maturity. — The  smallest  sexually  active  specimens  found  by  Welsh 
among  1,300  haddock  were  two  females  of  about  20  inches  each  (that  is,  4  or  5  years 
old),  which  supports  Miss  Duff's  argument  that  the  slackening  of  the  rate  of  growth 
at  4  or  5  years,  which  she  observed,  reflects  the  first  ripening  of  the  sexual  organs. 

Migrations. — Broadly  speaking,  the  haddock  is  a  year-round  resident  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine,  where  its  only  extensive  and  regular  migrations  after  its  fry  are  large 
enough  to  seek  bottom  are  in  the  form  of  annual  concentrations  on  and  dispersals 
from  its  spawning  grounds.  During  its  first  few  months  of  life  (p.  438),  however, 
while  it  is  floating  near  the  surface  and  drifting  with  the  current,  it  undoubtedly 
carries  out  involuntary  journeys  which  may  be  of  considerable  extent.  Unfor- 
tunately we  have  very  few  records  for  these  larval  haddock — ^probably  because  we 
have  made  very  few  tow-net  hauls  at  appropriate  localities  and  at  the  critical  season, 
that  is,  late  May  and  June.  They  are  suggestive  as  far  as  they  go.  however,  for 
they  are  concentrated  in  its  southwest  part,   on   Georges  Bank  and    Nantucket 


438  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Shoals,  leaving  the  coastal  zone  east  of  Cape  Elizabeth  and  the  whole  deep  basin  as 
barren  of  larval  haddock  (so  far  as  our  catches  go)  as  it  is  of  young  cod,  young 
silver  hake,  young  flatfish,  and,  in  fact,  of  most  other  larval  fishes  except  rosefish 
(p.  309)  and  herring.  This,  with  other  lines  of  evidence,  points  to  a  drift  around  the 
periphery  of  the  Gulf  from  northeast  to  southwest,  a  subject  to  be  discussed 
elsewhere. 

It  has  long  been  known  that  the  young  fry  of  the  haddock,  like  those  of  other 
gadoids,  often  live  commensal  with  the  larger  jellyfishes  in  European  watere,  and 
Welsh's  discovery  of  many  small  haddock  of  30  to  77  mm.  in  company  with 
the  common  red  jellyfish  (Cyanea)  on  Georges  Bank  and  off  Nantucket  Island, 
July  23  and  25,  1916,  with  WUley  and  Huntsman's  (1921,  p.  2)  notice  of  young 
haddock  about  2  inches  long  under  Cyanea  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  proves  that  they 
foUow  the  same  habit  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  In  fact  it  is  in  company  with  Cyanea 
that  young  haddock  in  the  late  larval  stage  have  most  frequently  been  taken  in 
the  eastern  Atlantic,  and  the  question  whether  this  commensalism  between  young 
fish  and  Medusa  is  as  general  off  the  American  coast  is  worth  attention,  because  it 
is  while  drifting  \vith  these  nurses  that  young  gadoids  carry  out  their  longest 
journeys. 

It  is  fair  to  assume  that  yoimg  haddock  live  pelagic  for  about  as  long 
in  American  as  in  European  waters — that  is,  for  a  period  of  three  months  or  so 
(we  have  no  first-hand  information) — before  they  seek  the  bottom.  Nothing  is 
known  about  them  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  from  that  time  until  they  begin  to  be 
caught  by  the  otter  trawlers  as  yearlings — 6  inches  to  a  foot  long.  These  little 
fish — too  small  for  market — are  so  plentiful  on  Georges  Bank  and  in  the  South 
Channel  (where  they  form  35  to  40  per  cent  or  more  of  the  total  catch  of  haddock 
in  point  of  numbers  and  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  fish  of  aU  kinds)  that  hosts  of 
haddock  fry  must  settle  to  bottom  on  these  offshore  banks  generally.  Probably 
these  young  haddock  are  likewise  plentiful  on  the  inshore  grounds,  for  yearhngs  are 
reported  by  Huntsman  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  but  they  are  seldom  seen  there,  being 
too  small  to  be  caught  on  line  trawls  or  in  gill  nets. 

Adult  haddock  roam  from  place  to  place  in  search  of  food  like  cod,  and  so 
constantly  that  where  there  is  good  fishing  to-day  there  may  be  none  to-morrow. 
However,  these  movements  seem  mostly  of  short  extent,  from  place  to  place 
on  a  given  bank  as  food  is  locally  exhausted  or  for  some  other  cause.  How 
much  interchange  of  haddock  there  may  be  from  bank  to  bank  or  between  inshore 
and  offshore  grounds  is  unknown,  but  the  fish  that  inhabit  the  coastwise  belt  carry 
out  a  local  and  irregular  migration  inshore  in  winter  and  early  spring  and  offshore 
again  in  June  or  July.  Certain  bodies  of  fish  may  linger  all  summer  in  the  deeper 
channels  among  the  islands  of  Maine,  on  patches  of  suitable  bottom.  In  1923, 
for  instance,  haddock  were  caught  throughout  July,  August,  and  September  between 
Suttons  and  Bear  Islands,  near  Mount  Desert  Island,  as  well  as  at  other  inshore 
localities  near  by.  The  general  opinion  is  that  this  fish  is  not  such  a  wanderer  as 
the  cod,  and  there  is  no  positive  evidence — such  as  finding  fish  with  foreign  hooks 
in  them — that  any  haddock  visit  the  Gulf  of  Maine  from  far  distant  grounds  (that 
is,  from  the  Scotian  or  Newfoundland  Banks),  or  that  any  considerable  immigration 
takes  place  into  the  Gulf  around  Cape  Sable. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE 


439 


Haddock  are  to  be  caught  in  th&  Gulf  of  Maine  all  the  year  round,  and  the 
landings  from  the  offshore  grounds  in  general  do  not  fluctuate  more  widely  from 
month  to  month  than  one  would  expect  from  bad  weather,  ill  luck,  market  con- 
ditions, etc. ;  but  the  catch  inshore  is  greatest  in  spring,  being  augmented  by  the 
gathering  of  the  fish  for  spawning.  The  following  are  the  landings  of  fresh  haddock 
at  Boston  and  Gloucester,  by  months,  for  1919,  representing  four-fifths  of  the 
total  catch  for  the  Gulf: 


Month  Pounds 

January 6,  713,  778 

February 7,  078,  31-t 

March 5,  561,  370 

April 3,  418,  718 

May 4,  701,  026 

June 5,  289,054 


Month  Pounds 

July 6,  088,  984 

August 6,  307,368 

September 5,632,384 

October 6,  176,  150 

November 4,  187,  835 

December 4,  277,  640 


Breeding. — The  rather  level  bottom  on  the  eastern  part  of  Georges  Bank  (fig. 
217)  is  the  most  productive  spawTiing  ground  for  the  haddock  off  the  North  Ameri- 
can coast — one  of  the  most  productive  anywhere  for  that  matter.  Our  experience 
on  the  Albatross  in  1920,  when  we  found  haddock  eggs  in  great  abundance  (p.  442) 
in  March  and  April  (captures  of  ripe  fish,  male  and  female,  in  the  trawl  established 
their  identity  as  haddock,  not  cod)  showed  that  the  spawning  fish  are  to  be  expected 
anywhere  in  that  general  region  over  an  area  of  at  least  1,600  square  miles.  It  is 
not  known  whether  haddock  breed  as  plentifully  on  the  deeper  parts  of  the  bank 
to  the  west,  but  some  gadoids  (haddock,  cod,  or  both)  were  spawning  on  the  western 
end  late  in  February  in  1920,  proven  by  the  presence  of  a  few  cod  or  haddock  eggs 
there.  Browns  Bank  is  likewise  a  productive  nursery  for  haddock,  for  a  fair  pro- 
portion of  the  many  gadoid  eggs  towed  there  by  the  Alhatross  in  April,  1920,  were 
far  enough  advanced  in  development  to  show  their  identity    as  such. 

Although  the  inshore  spawning  groimds  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  haddock  are  the 
annual  goal  of  great  niunbers  of  breeding  fish,  they  are  neither  so  sharply  circimi- 
scribed  nor  so  regularly  repaired  to  as  those  of  the  cod.  Our  own  egg  records,  together 
with  reports  from  the  hatcheries  and  from  local  fishermen,  are  enough  to  prove  that 
haddock  spawn  here  and  there  all  along  the  coastal  belt  from  Cape  Cod  to  the 
entrance  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  the  most  important  breeding  grounds  within  this 
zone  being  along  the  outer  (eastern)  and  northern  slopes  of  Stellwagen  Bank,  whence 
many  eggs  are  obtained  for  the  Gloucester  hatchery,  and  in  the  coastal  belt  between 
Cape  Ann  and  Cape  Elizabeth,  especially  off  Ipswich  Bay,  near  the  Isles  of  Shoals, 
about  Boon  Island,  and  off  Wood  Island.  It  was  on  the  Isles  of  Shoals-Wood 
Island  grounds  that  Welsh  carried  on  his  studies  on  the  haddock  during  the 
spring  of  1913  (p.  432).  Ripe  haddock  are  caught  on  the  shelving  sandy  bottom 
along  Capo  Cod  as  far  south  as  Nauset,  and  gill-netters  sometimes  get  good  fares 
of  ripe  fish  off  Boston  Harbor,  but  no  great  body  spawns  in  the  inner  parts  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  and  few  if  any  on  the  cod-spa^vning  grounds  off  Plymouth  (p.  425). 
Breeding  haddock  are  plentiful  east  of  Cape  Elizabeth  in  some  years  and  scarce  or 
altogether  absent  in  other  seasons  or  over  terms  of  years.  For  example,  Captain 
Hahn,  superintendent  of  the  Boothbay  hatchery,  writes  that  in  April  and  May  of 
1912  spawning  haddock  in  abundance  came  into  Boothbay  Harbor  and  into  Line- 


440 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUKEAU   OF   FISHERIES 


kin  Bay,  while  gill-netters  made  large  catches  in  Muscongus  Sound  and  the  outer 
part  of  Penobscot  Bay  toward  the  end  of  the  period,  but  that  spawning  haddock 
have  never  since  approached  this  part  of  the  coast  in  numbers  sufficient  to  support 
any  extensive  fishery  or  to  provide  the  hatchery  with  more  than  a  few  eggs. 

Spawning  haddock  have  also  been  reported  to  us  from  the  neighborhood  of 
Mount  Desert  Island  and  off  Cutler,  while  we  found  a  few  cod-haddock  eggs  near 


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Flo.  217.— Localities  where  haddock  or  cod-haddock  eggs  were  taken  from  February  to  June  during  the  years  1913, 1915, 
and  1920.    O,  less  than  100;  #,  more  than  100  per  station 

Petit  Manan  Island  on  April  12,  1920,^  but  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  any 
considerable  body  of  haddock  ever  breed  along  the  Maine  coast  east  of  Mount 
Desert,  nor  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  where  neither  eggs,  larvae, 
nor  young  fry  have  ever  been  seen.  Howeve:^,  our  capture  of  a  few  haddock  eggs  ^ 
and  others  in  the  younger  "cod-haddock"  stage  (p.  443)  in  Petit  Passage  on  Jime 

» In  a  previous  report  (Bulletin,  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard  College,  Vol.  LXI,  1917,  p.  2.')8)  I  recorded 
eggs  taken  along  this  part  of  the  coast  in  June  as  "cod-haddock,"  but  fresh  eiamination  of  the  material  shows  that  they  might 
equally  have  belonged  to  the  witch  flounder  (p.  515),  none  being  sufHcientlv  advanced  in  incubation  to  show  the  pigment. 

<»  Far  enough  advanced  to  show  the  pigment  in  its  distinctive  arrangement. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  441 

10,  1915,  proves  that  some  spawn  on  the  Nova  Scotian  side  of  the  bay  near  its 
entrance,  and  according  to  general  report  a  few  do  so  on  the  coastal  banks  along 
the  western  shores  of  Nova  Scotia  southward  to  Cape  Sable, while  we  have  taken  a 
few  cod  or  haddock  eggs  on  German  Bank  in  our  tow  nets  in  May.  We  can  offer 
no  evidence  as  to  whether  Platts  Bank  serves  as  a  breeding  ground,  for  no  pigment 
had  yet  appeared  in  the  few  eggs  taken  there  April  10,  1920,  hence  they  might  as 
weU  have  been  cod  as  haddock. 

Our  own  observations,  added  to  the  experience  of  the  spawn  takers  of  the 
bureau  and  of  local  fishermen  generally,  convince  us  that  haddock,  like  cod,  seek  defi- 
nite breeding  grounds,  and  do  not  spawn  an_yv\4iere  and  everyAvhere  within  the  depth 
zone  and  over  the  types  of  bottom  which  they  inhabit,  as  might  be  expected 
to  be  the  case  in  a  region  where  the  depths  are  as  irregular,  the  bottom  as  broken 
and  various  in  texture,  and  the  salinity  and  temperature  varying  as  widely  from 
place  to  place  as  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  Where  the  slopes  are  gradual,  the  bottom 
smooth,  and  the  physical  state  of  the  water  constant  over  large  areas,  as  they  are 
over  most  of  the  North  Sea,  it  may  be  as  hopeless  to  delimit  definite  breeding 
grounds  for  haddock,  cod,  or  other  fishes  as  some  Eiu-opean  students  have  believed. 

Depth  of  spawning. — The  important  spawning  grounds  for  haddock  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  are  all  shoaler  than  75  fathoms,  but  haddock  commonly  breed  in 
deeper  water  than  cod,  and  the  presence  of  great  numbers  of  newly  spawned  eggs 
floating  on  the  sm-face  out  to  the  100-fathom  contour  on  the  southeastern  slope  of 
Georges  Bank  at  the  height  of  the  breeding  season  (March  20)  of  1920  is  sufficient 
evidence  that  the  fish  were  spawning  down  to  that  depth.  Similarly,  we  towed 
cod  or  haddock  eggs  (probably  haddock,  judging  from  the  season)  over  the  100- 
fathom  contour  off  the  slope  of  German  Bank  on  May  6,  1914;  but  this  case  is  not  as 
clear,  for  there  was  a  decided  set  of  surface  water  from  the  eastward  at  the  time 
which  may  have  brought  the  eggs  from  the  shoaler  part  of  the  bank.  One  hundred 
fathoms  may  be  set  as  the  lower  limit  to  any  considerable  production  of  eggs  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine,  and  no  haddock  spawn  in  the  deep  basin,  the  few  eggs  found  there 
(e.  g.,  in  the  southeast  deep  and  in  the  Eastern  Channel,  April,  1920),  being  flotsam 
from  the  neighboring  slopes  or  banks.  On  the  other  hand  haddock  may  occasionally 
deposit  their  eggs  within  a  couple  of  fathoms  of  the  surface — for  instance,  in  Booth- 
bay  Harbor  on  the  occasion  just  noted  (p.  439) — but  this  is  most  unusual,  15  to  20 
fathoms  being  the  upper  limit  to  regular  spawning.  The  depths  of  the  more  pro- 
ductive spawning  grounds,  individually,  are  as  follows:  Browns  Bank,  30  to  50 
fathoms  and  probably  deeper;  Georges  Bank  from  about  30  down  to  100  fathoms, 
as  just  noted;  Cape  Cod  ground,  about  40  to  70  fathoms;  and  from  20  to  70 
fathoms  on  the  more  productive  Stellwagen  groundr  Between  Cape  Ann  and  Cape 
Elizabeth  haddock  spawn  in  20  to  65  fathoms.  On  the  whole  haddock  spawn  rather 
shoaler  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  than  in  the  North  Sea  region,  where  the  maximum  pro- 
duction of  eggs  takes  place  at  50  to  100  fathoms.  Consequently  there  is  less  differ- 
ence in  this  respect  between  haddock  and  cod  in  the  western  than  in  the  eastern 
North  Atlantic.  Neither  do  haddock  confine  their  spawning  so  definitely  to  smooth 
bottom  in  American  as  in  European  seas,  for  Welsh  found  ripe  fish  chiefly  on  broken 
ground  "wherever  sand,  gravel,  mud  and  rocks  alternate — if  anything,  more  are 
taken  on  the  mud  in  such  localities,"  between  Cape  Ann  and  Cape  Elizabeth. 


442 


BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHERIES 


The  Gulf  of  Maine  haddock  spawn  chiefly  from  late  February  until  May,  and  the 
following  record,  supplied  by  C.  G.  Corliss,  superintendent  of  the  local  hatchery, 
will  illustrate  the  brief  duration  of  the  peak  of  the  period  of  reproduction  for  the 


neighborhood  of  Gloucester: 


Year 

First  eggs  taken 

Last  eggs  taken 

Period  of  greatest  abundance 

Total  eggs 
collected 

1917 

Apr.  16              

May  3 

10, 820, 000 

1918 

Mar.  22 

Apr.  24.. 

Apr.  9  to  Apr.  23... 

32,  380,  000 

1919 

Feb. 12             

Apr.  30 

Apr.  29 

Feb.  20  to  Apr.  23... 

332.  740,  000 

1920 

Jan.  20 

Mar.  25  to  Apr.  25 

303,  380,  000 

1921 

Jan.  22 

Apr.  26 

Jan.  27  to  Apr.  14. 

629,  130,  000 

It  appears  from  the  hatchery  records,  corroborated  by  Welsh's  experience  in 
1913,  that  the  commencement  of  spawning  varies  considerably  in  date  from  year  to 
year,  the  fish  breeding  freely  as  early  as  the  end  of  January  in  early  seasons  but 
not  until  the  end  of  March  or  even  the  first  part  of  April  in  late  seasons.  The  bulk 
of  them,  however,  are  invariably  spawned  out  by  the  middle  or  end  of  May  at  the 
latest.  The  spawning  season  is  apparently  the  same  on  Georges  Bank  as  in  the  inner 
waters  of  the  Gulf,  for  we  found  cod-haddock  eggs  in  moderate  numbers  across  its 
western  end  late  in  February,  great  numbers  of  them  (and  took  ripe  haddock  in  the 
trawl)  on  the  eastern  end  on  March  11  and  12,  and  they  were  still  plentiful  there  on 
April  16  and  17.  Similarly,  Mr.  Douthart,  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  towed  haddock 
eggs  over  the  north-central  portion  of  the  bank  on  April  14  and  again  on  the  26th 
and  27th,  in  1913,  but  the  Albatross  found  none  on  the  western  part  of  the  bank  on 
May  17  in  1920. 

Spawning  is  likewise  at  its  height  in  mid-April  on  BrowTis  Bank  (large  egg 
catches  in  om-  tow  nets  April  16,  1920).  Although  ripe  haddock  have  occasionally 
been  taken  near  Gloucester  as  late  as  the  first  haH  of  July  '  this  is  quite  exceptional, 
and  since  our  latest  egg  date  is  June  10  (Petit  Passage,  Nova  Scotia)  it  is  unlikely 
that  haddock  spawn  regularly  anywhere  west  of  Cape  Sable  after  the  middle  of  that 
month.  The  spawning  season  continues  later  into  the  smnmer  in  the  colder  water 
along  the  southern  shores  of  Nova  Scotia,  for  we  took  several  unmistakable  haddock 
among  niunerous  newly  spawned  cod  or  haddock  eggs  a  few  miles  off  Shelburne  on 
June  23,  1915,  while  Dannevig  *  records  occasional  haddock  larvae  off  Halifax  on 
July  23,  near  Cape  Sable  Island  on  July  25  and  26,  and  on  St.  Pierre  Bank  on 
July  27  and  28  for  that  same  siunmcr. 

The  breeding  season  is  the  same  in  European  as  in  American  seas — that  is,  end 
of  January  until  late  June — with  the  peak  of  production  falling  as  early  as  March 
and  April  in  the  North  Sea  region  but  not  until  June  around  Iceland. ° 

Temperature  and  salinity. — The  Georges  and  Browns  Bank  haddock  spawn  in 
temperatures  ranging  from  about  36.5°  to  about  42°  to  43°,  and  the  whole  spawning 
period  on  the  coastwise  grounds  between  Cape  Cod  and  Cape  Ehzabeth  is  likewise 
completed  before  the  stratum  of  water  in  which  the  fish  are  lying  has  warmed  more 

I  Earll,  1880,  p.  730. 

•  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919),  p.  21. 

'  Damas,  Rapports  et  Proces-Verbaui,  Cons^il  International  pour  I'Esploration  de  la  Mer,  Vol.  X,  1909,  Schmidt,  ibid. 


FISHES   OP   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  443 

than  a  few  degrees  from  its  coldest  for  the  year — that  is  to  say,  in  temperatures  of 
35  to  40°.  Allowing  for  annual  variations,  this  gives  an  extreme  range  of  from 
about  35°  to  about  44°  for  the  most  active  spawning  over  the  GuH  of  Maine  as  a 
whole,  temperatures  considerably  lower  than  those  in  which  haddock  spawoi  in 
European  waters  (41  to  50°). 

The  Gulf  of  Maine  haddock  likewise  breeds  in  fresher  water  than  does  its 
European  congener  and  necessarily  so,  for  the  parts  of  the  Gulf  where  haddock  breed 
are  decidedly  less  saline  at  all  levels  and  seasons  than  the  spawning  grounds  in  the 
North  Sea,  around  the  Faroe  Islands,  or  south  and  west  of  Iceland.  Thus  whether 
it  be  on  Georges  Bank  or  Browns  Bank  or  on  the  coastal  grounds,  most  of  the 
spawning  takes  place  in  salinities  of  32  to  32.5  per  mille,  with  34.5  per  mille  as  about 
the  maximmn  for  fish  spawning  deepest  on  the  offshore  slope  of  Georges  Bank,  and 
31  per  mille  the  minimum,  whereas  haddock  in  north  European  waters  spawn  chiefly 
in  water  as  saline  as  34.5  to  35.5  per  mille. 

Density  of  wafer. — The  specific  gravity  of  the  water  (the  factor  that  determines 
whether  buoyant  fish  eggs  float  and  develop  or  sink  and  die)  is  usually  between 
1.0255  and  1.0260  in  the  GuH  at  the  levels  where  fish  live,  both  on  the  offshore  banks 
and  along  shore.  So  far  as  is  known  no  haddock  eggs  are  actually  spawned  in 
water  lighter  than  this  and  few  in  water  as  heavy  as  1.0270,  but  the  overlying  water 
may  be  very  much  fresher,  and  is  often  so  light  near  shore  at  the  time  of  the  spring 
freshets  as  to  interfere  with  the  operation  of  the  hatcheries.  Eggs  artificially 
fertilized  on  board  the  Albatross  off  Gloucester  in  May,  1913,  proved  to  be  very 
nearly  balanced  in  water  of  a  specific  gravity  of  1.0232,  wath  1.0230  the  critical 
density  for  unfertilized  as  well  as  for  fertilized  and  developing  eggs,  a  result  justi- 
fying the  hypothesis  that  in  whatever  part  of  the  Gulf  haddock  eggs  are  deposited 
they  will  rise  from  the  bottom;  and  if  they  fail  to  reach  the  siu-face  locally  because 
of  its  low  density,  they  will  merely  float,  balanced  in  the  water,  a  few  fathoms 
down.  Furthermore  it  is  probable  that  eggs  naturally  spawned  gradually  lose  in 
specific  gravity  as  they  float  upward  into  lighter  and  lighter  water. ^°  In  short, 
there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  any  of  the  haddock  eggs  produced  in  the  Gulf  are 
lost  by  sinking,  to  smother  on  the  bottom. 

The  eggs  of  the  haddock  are  buoyant,  without  oil  globule,  and  from  1.19  to 
1.72  mm.  in  diameter.  Eggs  taken  at  Gloucester  in  March,  1913,  averaged 
1.57  mm.,  varying  from  1.47  to  1.72  mm.  Thus  they  average  slightly  larger  than 
those  of  the  cod.  In  early  stages  in  development  the  haddock  egg  can  not  be 
distinguished  from  that  of  the  cod,  hence  the  term  "cod-haddock,"  and  when 
first  spawned  there  is  even  danger  of  confusing  them  with  the  eggs  of  one  of  our 
commonest  flounders — the  "witch"  (p.  515),  whose  breeding  season  immediately 
succeeds  that  of  the  haddock.  The  formation  of  black  pigment,  however,  identifies 
the  cod-haddock  egg  as  such  (the  embryonic  pigment  of  the  "witch"  is  yellow), 
and  shortly  before  hatching,  when  the  embryo  is  as  long  as  the  circumference  of  the 
yolk,  the  characteristic  arrangement  of  the  pigment  granules  marks  it  either 
as  cod  or  as  haddock,  as  explained  below  (p.  444) . 

'» We  base  this  statement  oq  the  fact  that  there  were  about  as  many  eggs  floating  on  the  surface  as  at  10  to  15  or  40  meters  at 
the  station  where  the  experiment  just  mentioned  was  carried  out,  although  artificially  fertilized  eggs  sank  in  water  dipped  from 
the  surface. 


444  BX7LLETIN    OF   THE   BTJEEALT   OF   FISHERIES 

The  haddock,  like  the  cod,  is  a  very  prohfic  fish  for  its  size.  Earll  (1880)  esti- 
mated the  number  of  eggs  in  a  female  of  193^  inches  at  169,050,  with  634,380  in  a  9  ^- 
pound  fish  and  1,839,581  in  one  28J^  inches  long  and  weighing  9  pounds  9  ounces. 
At  a  temperature  of  37°  incubation  occupies  15  days,  and  13  days  at  41° — a  fair 
average  for  eggs  spawned  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  The  newly  hatched  larva  is  about 
4  mm.  long,  with  the  vent  close  behind  the  yolk  sac  and  at  the  base,  not  the  margin, 
of  the  ventral  fin  fold,  thus  apparently  ending  blind.  It  resembles  a  cod  so  closely 
that  the  two  would  be  indistinguishable  were  it  not  that  the  post-anal  pigment  of 
the  haddock  is  arranged  in  a  row  along  the  ventral  sm-face  of  the  trunk  from  vent 
to  tip  of  tail  and  not  in  bands  as  it  is  in  cod  and  American  poUock,  while  the  dorsal 
wall  of  the  body  cavity  is  Ukewise  densely  pigmented,  the  arrangement  of  the 
larval  pigment  serving  to  differentiate  the  little  haddock  until  it  is  about  12  mm. 
long.  In  water  of  41°  the  yolk  sac  is  absorbed  in  about  10  daj's  when  the  little 
fish  is  about  5.5  mm.  long,  the  dorsal  and  anal  fin  rays  appear  at  about  11  mm., 
these  fins  are  fully  formed  at  16  to  20  mm.,  and  at  30  to  40  mm.  the  young  haddock 
begin  to  take  on  the  general  aspect  of  the  adult.  Fry  of  20  to  30  mm.  are  easUy 
distinguished  from  both  cod  and  pollock  by  their  pale  pigmentation  and  bj-  the 
greater  height  of  the  first  dorsal  fin. 

154.  Blue  hake  (Antimora  viola  Goode  and  Bean) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2544. 

Description. — This  species  resembles  the  white  and  squirrel  hakes  in  the  form 
of  its  body  and  in  the  presence  of  two  separate  dorsal  fins,  the  first  very  short  and 
the  second  very  long;  but  it  is  readily  distinguished  from  them  by  the  fact  that  the 
anal  fin  is  so  deeply  notched  about  midway  of  its  length  that  there  are  apparently 
two  separate  fins,  and  that  each  ventral  fin  is  6-rayed  though  with  the  second  ray 
elongate  and  filamentous.  The  form  of  the  snout,  which  is  flattened  above,  keeled 
at  the  sides,  and  roimded  at  the  tip,  is  likewise  distinctive.  The  vent  is  situated 
much  farther  back  than  in  the  true  hakes  (genus  Urophycis) ,  and  the  color  is  deep 
violet  or  blue  black. 

Occurrence. — The  blue  hake  has  been  reported  at  so  many  localities  on  the 
continental  slope  off  southern  New  England,  eastward  to  the  Grand  Banks,  that 
it  must  be  one  of  the  most  plentiful  of  fishes  there  at  350  to  1,000  fathoms.  Halibut 
fishermen  have  occasionally  brought  it  in,  but  it  has  not  been  taken  within  the 
limits  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  and  is  hardly  to  be  expected  there,  the  shoalest  capture 
recorded  so  far  being  from  306  fathoms. 


FISHES   (IF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE 


445 


K       t. 


;   \ 


^ 


446  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

155.  White  hake  {Urophycis  tenuis  Mitchiliy^ 
Boston  hake;  Black  hake;  Mud  hake;  Hake;  Ling 
Jordan  and  Everinann,  1896-1900,  p.  2555. 

Description. — ^Although  the  hakes  of  the  genus  Urophycis  ("true  hakes"  in 
general  parlance  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic)  are  close  relatives  of  the  cod  and 
haddock,  they  are  not  at  all  codUke  in  appearance,  being  more  slender  and  softer- 
bodied  fish,  tapering  backward  from  the  shoulders  to  a  slim  caudal  peduncle  and 
small  weak  tail,  with  much  larger  eyes  but  smaller  chin  barbels.  There  are  only 
two  dorsal  fins — the  second  many  times  longer  than  the  first — and  one  anal  fin, 
instead  of  the  three  dorsals  and  two  anals  of  the  pollock,  cod,  and  haddock.  Fur- 
thermore the  ventrals  are  long,  narrow,  and  feelerhke.  The  body  of  the  white 
hake  is  rounded  in  front  of  the  vent,  compressed  behind  it,  and  about  five  and  one- 
half  times  as  long  as  deep.  The  mouth  is  "so  wide  that  it  gapes  back  to  below  the 
eyes,  the  upper  jaw  projects  beyond  the  lower,  and  the  chin  bears  a  small  barbel. 
The  first  dorsal  fin  (9  to  10  rays)  originates  over  the  shoulders  close  behind  the 
pectorals  and  is  shorter  than  the  latter,  triangular,  the  tip  of  its  third  ray  elongate 
and  filamentous  at  the  tip,  with  the  free  part  longer  than  the  fin  proper  is  high. 
The  second  dorsal  (about  54  to  57  rays)  runs  the  whole  length  of  the  trunk  from 
close  behind  the  first  dorsal  to  the  caudal  peduncle,  is  of  about  equal  height  from 
end  to  end,  with  roimded  corners,  and  is  only  about  half  as  high  as  the  first  dorsal. 
The  anal  is  similar  in  outline  to  the  second  dorsal  but  shorter  (about  48  to  50  rays) . 
The  pectorals  are  rounded  when  spread;  the  ventrals,  which  are  situated  consider- 
ably in  front  of  the  pectorals,  are  reduced  to  two  very  much  elongate  rays  each 
(apparently  one  branched  ray),  the  lower  (longer)  falling  slightly  short  of  the  vent; 
and  their  length  has  often  been  given  as  a  diagnostic  character  separating  this 
from  the  squirrel  hake  (p.  447),  in  which  they  are  usually  described  as  reaching 
beyond  the  vent.  We  can  verify  Goode's  (et  al.,  1884)  statement  that  this  distinc- 
tion is  not  to  be  relied  on,  however,  having  seen  squirrel  hakes  in  which  the  ventrals 
lacked  something  of  reaching  the  vent.  The  scales  on  both  head  and  body  are 
smaller  than  those  of  the  closely  allied  squirrel  hake,  and  their  number  is  the  most 
reliable  distinction  between  the  two  species,  there  being  about  140  oblique  rows  of 
scales  between  gill  opening  and  base  of  tail  fin  in  the  white  hake  and  seldom  (if 
ever)  more  than  110  rows  of  scales  in  the  squirrel  hake. 

Color. — Like  most  bottom  fish  hake  vary  in  color;  As  a  rule  they  are  muddy 
or  reddish  brown  above,  sometimes  almost  slaty  (I  saw  one  of  this  shade  caught 
in  Northeast  Harbor,  Me.),  the  sides  sometimes  bronzed,  and  the  belly  dirty  or 
yellowish  white  peppered  with  tiny  black  dots.  The  dorsal  fins  are  of  the  same 
color  as  the  back,  the  anal  the  same  as  the  belly,  and  both  black  edged.  The 
ventrals  are  likewise  pale  like  the  belly  but  usually  more  tinged  with  yellow. 

Size. — The  maximum  length  is  about  3^  feet,  the  weight  30  pounds,  but  most 
of  the  fish  caught  are  between  1  and  20  pounds,  averaging  no  more  than  5  to  8  pounds. 
A  hake  28  inches  long  will  "go"  about  S}>4  pounds  if  in  good  condition;  30  inches, 
9poimds;  36  to  38  inches,  13  to  16  pounds;  and  about  18  poimds  at  40  inches, 
according  to  Welsh's  experience. 

"  The  European  "hake"  is  Merluccius  (p.  386). 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  447 

156.  Squirrel  hake  ( Urophycis  chuss  Walbamn) 
Hake 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2555. 

Description. — The  "squirrel"  so  closely  resembles  the  white  hake  (p.  44G) 
that  the  one  is  often  taken  for  the  other.  The  number  of  scales  affords  the  most 
reliable  means  of  identification,  those  of  the  "squirrel"  being  much  larger  and 
arranged  in  about  100  to  110  oblique  cross  rows  along  the  side  from  gill  opening 
to  base  of  caudal  fin,  and  in  only  about  9  longitudinal  rows  on  the  upper  sides 
between  lateral  line  and  dorsal  fin,  as  against  about  140  transverse  and  12  longi- 
tudinal rows,  respectively,  in  the  white  hake  (p.  446).  The  ventral  fins  of  the 
"squirrel"  overlap  the  vent  as  a  rule,  whereas  those  of  the  white  hake  fall  short  of 
it,  but,  as  already  remarked,  this  is  not  invariably  the  case  for  we  ourselves  have 
seen  "squirrels"  with  ventrals  failing  to  reach  the  vent.  Furthermore  the  fila- 
mentous part  of  the  third  ray  of  the  first  dorsal  is  much  longer  (if  undamaged) 
in  the  "squirrel"  than  in  the  white  hake — that  is,  three  to  five  times  as  long  as 
the  rest  of  the  fin — and  the  nose  is  blunter.  The  number  of  fin  rays  is  about  the 
same  in  the  two  species. 


Fig.  220. — Squirrel  hake  ( Urophycis  chuss) 

Color. — -The  squirrel  hake  is  reddish,  muddy,  or  olive  brown  on  sides  and 
back,  darkest  above,  sometimes  almost  black,  sometimes  more  or  less  mottled,  and 
sometimes  plain,  with  pale  lateral  line,  its  lower  sides  usually  washed  with  yellowish 
and  sometimes  dusky  dotted.  Its  belly  and  the  lower  sides  of  its  head  are  pure 
white,  grayish,  or  yellowish;  its  dorsal,  caudal,  and  anal  fins  are  of  the  same  color 
as  the  back  except  that  the  latter  is  pale  at  the  base.  The  ventrals  are  very  pale 
pinkish  or  yellowish. 

Size. — The  "squirrel"  does  not  grow  to  as  large  a  size  as  the  white  hake,  seldom 
reaching  a  greater  length  than  30  inches  (the  largest  of  780  Bay  of  Fundy  fish 
measured  by  Craigie  was  about  27  inches  long) ,  or  greater  weight  than  6  to  8  pounds. 
The  average  of  the  commercial  catch  will  not  run  above  2  to  5  pounds.  Females 
are  both  longer  and  heavier  than  males  of  the  same  age  (p.  452). 

We  are  forced  to  discuss  these  two  hakes  together  for  they  are  so  hard  to 
distinguish,  one  from  the  other,  that  few  fishermen  recognize  the  existence  of  more 
than  one  kind — in  fact  it  is  not  unlikely  that  they  intergrade — and  they  agree  so 
closely  in  distribution  and  habits  that  what  is  said  of  one  applies  equally  to  the 
other  except  for  their  spawning  (p.  452). 
102274— 25  f 29 


448  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHERIES 

General  range. — Both  these  hakes  are  exclusively  American,  occurring  on  the 
continental  shelf  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  banks  of  Newfoundland  to  the 
Middle  Atlantic  States,  the  "squirrel,"  at  least,  being  common  as  far  south  as  Chesa- 
peake Bay.'-  The  most  southerly  record  for  it  is  off  Virginia,  while  the  white 
hake  has  been  reported  off  North  Carolina,  but  very  likely  the  former  actually 
ranges  as  far  south  as  the  latter.  Both  are  bottom  fish,  occurring  from  near  tide 
mark  down  to  about  300  fathoms. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — These  two  hakes  are  very  common  fish  in 
the  Gulf,  where  they  are  regularly  caught  side  by  side,  and  since  the  fishery  returns 
are  simply  for  "hake"  it  is  impossible  to  distinguish  between  them  either  with 
regard  to  local  distribution  or  to  relative  abundance.  On  the  whole,  however,  the 
white  hake  seems  the  more  plentiful  of  the  two  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  while  our 
own  inquiries  of  fishermen,  corroborated  by  personal  experience,  suggests  that  this 
applies  generally  to  the  deep  parts  of  the  Gulf  below  30  to  40  fathoms — for 
instance  to  the  deeper  holes  in  Massachusetts  Bay — and  both  Storer  and  Goode 
and  Bean  (1879)  spoke  of  the  "white"  as  the  more  common  of  the  two  there.  In 
Ipswich  Bay,  on  the  other  hand,  we  trawled  34  squirrel  and  only  two  other  hake  " 
in  22  fathoms  on  one  occasion  in  July,  1912,  and  Welsh  coimted  6,450  squirrel  to 
652  white  hake  caught  in  the  otter  trawl  on  the  northwest  slope  of  Georges  Bank 
in  June,  1912.  The  fact  that  our  Gulf  yielded  something  like  35,000,000  pounds  " 
of  the  two  species  combined  in  1919  illustrates  how  plentiful  hake  are  there. 

Both  these  common  hakes  dwell  chiefly  on  soft  bottom,  few  being  caught  on 
the  gravelly  or  shelly  grounds  so  prolific  of  cod  and  haddocks,  and  neither  species 
is  taken  among  rocks.  We  believe  from  our  own  experience  that  the  white  hake  is 
more  strictly  a  mud  fish  than  is  the  "squirrel."  The  difference  in  the  types  of  bottom 
frequented  by  hake  on  the  one  hand  and  by  cod  and  haddock  on  the  other  is  clearly 
reflected  in  the  statistics  of  the  catches,  for  Georges  Bank  contributed  only  about 
112,000  pounds  and  Browns  less  than  90,000  pounds  of  hake  to  the  total  just 
mentioned.  No  doubt  these  few  fish  were  caught  well  down  the  slopes,  fishermen 
assiu-ing  us  that  it  is  rare  to  catch  a  hake  on  the  shoaler  hard-bottomed  parts  of 
the  banks,  whereas  they  are  found  very  plentiful  when  a  line  trawl  runs  off  in  deeper 
water,  particularly  off  the  northwest  face  of  Georges  Bank,  and  it  has  long  been  well 
known  that  there  is  an  abundance  of  them  all  along  the  southern  slope  of  the  bank 
below  60  to  70  fathoms.  Hake  are  also  very  plentiful  in  the  South  Channel,  whence 
about  2,000,000  pounds  were  landed  in  1919,  and  they  are  so  abundant  on  the  lower 
slopes  of  all  the  banks  and  ledges  in  the  inner  parts  of  the  GuK,  as  well  as  on  the  soft 
mud  floors  between  them,  that  many  are  taken  all  around  the  coastal  belt  wherever 
the  bottom  is  suitable.  Massachusetts  Bay,  for  example,  yielded  no  less  than 
750,000  pounds  for  the  year  in  question,  but  hake,  like  cod,  become  scarce  going  up 
the  Bay  of  Fundy,  as  the  fishery  retmns  prove. 

The  chief  centers  of  abundance  inshore  lie  off  the  southwestern  coast  of  Nova 
Scotia,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  along  the  coast  of  Maine  between  Machias 

"  Field  notes  by  W.  C.  Schroeder,  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries. 

"•s  The  latter  were  listed  by  Welsh  as  U.  regius,  but  probably  they  were  actually  white  hake. 

^*  The  exact  figure  can  not  be  given  because  hake  are  combined  with  cusk  in  the  Canadian  returns. 


FISHES   OP   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  449 

and  Mount  Desert,  in  Frenchman's  Bay  (formerly  the  site  of  an  important  hake 
fishery),  lilcewise  the  ground  known  locally  as  the  "grumpy"  near  Isle  au  Haut, 
and  off  Penobscot  Bay.  Sundry  small  grounds  outside  the  islands,  thence  to  Cape 
Elizabeth,  and  all  along  the  western  side  of  the  Gulf  also  yield  good  numbers  of 
hake,  especially  Ipswich  Bay  and  the  neighborhood  of  the  Isles  of  Shoals,  a  famous 
baking  ground  to  which  small-boat  fishermen  repair.  Good  catches  are  also 
made  near  Boon  Island  on  soft  bottom  between  the  hard  patches,  on  the  lower 
slopes  of  Jeffreys  and  Stellwagen  Banks,  and  to  a  less  extent  on  Platts.  Hake, 
with  flounders  and  rosefish,  are  practically  the  only  commerical  species  one  is  apt 
to  catch  on  the  floors  of  the  deep  basins  and  sinks,  and  a  catch  of  2,880  of  the  former 
with  580  cusk,  but  no  cod  or  haddock,  made  by  a  line  trawler  15  miles  southeast  of 
Monhegan  on  June  24  to  25,  1913,  vnW  illustrate  how  completely  they  monopolize 
suitable  bottoms. 

No  doubt  the  stock  of  hake  (white  and  squirrel  combined)  inhabiting  the  Gulf 
fluctuates  from  year  to  year  (this  is  true  of  any  fish) ,  but  statistics  of  the  catches 
do  not  show  any  signs  of  depletion,  the  annual  landings  in  the  New  England  States 
having  seldom  fallen  as  low  as  20,000,000  or  risen  above  35,000,000  poimds  for  the 
past  25  years. 

The  range  of  depth  occupied  by  the  hakes  is  considerable  and  varies  with  the  age 
of  the  fish.  Like  many  other  sea  fish  they  spend  their  first  months  at  or  near 
the  surface,  living  pelagic,  and  fry  of  i^  to  4  inches  (among  wliich  both  species 
are  no  doubt  represented  ")  are  often  taken  in  smnmer  under  floating  eelgrass  or 
rockweed.  On  calm  days  we  have  seen  them  darting  to  and  fro  on  the  surface 
(p.  454) ,  but  it  is  evident  that  the  duration  of  this  pelagic  stage  varies,  for  we  have 
towed  fry  as  long  as  4  inches  on  the  surface  although  others  seek  the  bottom  while 
still  only  2  inches  long.  Nor  is  it  known  how  far  they  may  journey  while  at  the 
mercy  of  currents.  When  hake  first  take  to  bottom  many  of  them  do  so  in  very 
shallow  water,  fry  2  to  6  inches  long  being  common  close  below  tide  mark  in  eelgrass, 
and  fish  a  little  larger  are  often  caught  by  flounder  fishermen  in  the  harbors 
around  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  Others,  however,  seek  the  ground  in  somewhat  deeper 
water  where  they  have  an  interesting  habit  of  hiding  within  the  living  shells  of  the 
giant  scallop  {Pecten  rnagellanicus) .  This  has  been  observed  most  often  on  the 
outer  part  of  the  continental  shelf  off  southern  New  England,  but  scallop  fisher- 
men have  informed  us  that  they  frequently  find  little  hake  in  scallops  dredged  off  the 
coast  of  Maine.  Both  the  common  species  of  hake  are  known  to  use  this  curious 
refuge  (they  do  not  feed  on  the  scallops  but  merely  use  their  shells  as  a  hiding  place), 
but  most  of  the  specimens  so  taken  have  proved  to  be  "squirrels."  So  commonly  does 
the  latter  adopt  this  form  of  commensalism  that  Welsh  records  as  many  as  27  taken 
from  59  scallops  in  one  haul  of  the  scallop  dredge,  11  hake  from  9  scallops  in  another, 
besides  many  others  not  counted  off  southern  New  England,  New  York,  and  New 
Jersey  during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1913. 

Immature  hake  of  slightly  larger  sizes  (that  is,  up  to  8  to  12  inches  long)  are 
rather  common  close  inshore  in  a  fathom  or  two  of  water,  in  harbors,  and  even  well 

"  The  youngest  stages  of  the  two  species  are  so  much  ahke  that  in  most  cases  we  have  been  forced  to  list  them  simply  as 
hake,  awaiting  more  critical  examination  than  we  have  been  able  to  afford  them. 


450  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

up  estuaries  all  around  the  Gulf  from  Massachusetts  Bay  on  the  one  side  to  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  on  the  other,  as  well  as  offshore;  but  the  larger  fish  usually  keep  to 
deeper  water,  especially  in  summer,  when  hake  of  marketable  sizes  are  most  plentiful 
below  20  fathoms,  and  when  few  large  ones  are  caught  in  less  than  10  fathoms  of 
water.  But  this  rule,  like  most  others,  has  its  exceptions.  For  instance,  I  saw  a 
white  hake  of  about  8  pounds  taken  from  a  float  in  Northeast  Harbor,  Me.,  in 
about  10  feet  of  water  in  July,  1922.  On  the  other  hand,  hake  are  to  be  caught 
in  the  deepest  parts  of  the  Gulf,  and  white  hake  have  been  taken  down  to  304  fathoms 
on  the  offshore  slope  of  Georges  Bank. 

A  more  or  less  regular  inshore  movement  of  hake  is  said  to  take  place  in  autumn, 
especially  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  Gulf,  resulting  in  the  capture  of  consider- 
able numbers  in  the  deeper  muddy  harbors  and  bays  east  of  Penobscot  Bay  during 
the  winter.  They  not  only  enter  St.  John  Harbor  during  autumn,  but  run  up  the 
St.  John  River  to  Kennebecasis  Bay,  where  they  are  caught  all  winter  through 
the  ice,  and  they  carry  out  corresponding  in  and  off  shore  movements  off  southern 
New  England,  to  which  the  appearance  of  goodly  numbers  in  shoal  water  at  Woods 
Hole  in  autumn  bears  witness.  On  the  other  hand,  they  enter  Passamaquoddy  Bay 
in  early  summer,  to  depart  in  autumn.  Probably  the  truth  is  that  the  adults  are 
cool-water  fish  and  are  barred  from  the  shallows  in  summer  by  high  temperature,  but 
that  the  low  summer  temperature  allows  them  to  summer  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay. 
Their  departure  thence  in  autumn  has  not  yet  been  accounted  for.  Except  for 
these  in  and  off  shore  movements  and  for  the  involuntary  migrations  of  the  larvae  and 
for  young  fry  while  living  at  the  surface,  hake  are  resident  throughout  the  year 
in  the  open  Gulf  of  Maine  wherever  found,  and  they  are  much  more  stationary  than 
either  cod  or  haddock. 

Food. — Less  is  known  of  the  diet  of  the  hakes  than  of  cod,  haddock,  or  pollock. 
However,  it  is  certain  that  they  are  not  shell  eaters  to  any  extent,  for  it  is  seldom 
that  their  stomachs  contain  even  the  smaller  univalves  or  bivalves,  and  so  far  as 
we  know  no  one  has  ever  found  large  mollusks,  echinoderms,  nor  any  of  the  large 
hard-shelled  crustaceans  (e.  g.,  rock  crabs  or  lobsters),  in  a  hake.  The  stomach 
contents  so  far  recorded  "  show  that  prawns  (Pandalus) ,  shrimps,  amphipods,  and 
other  small  Crustacea  which  they  find  on  the  bottom  are  their  chief  dependence  at 
most  times  and  localities.  They  also  feed  as  greedily  on  squid  as  do  others  of  the 
cod  tribe,  while  a  variety  of  small  fish  have  been  found  in  hake  stomachs  at  Woods' 
Hole,"  among  them  alewives,  butterfish,  cunners,  eels,  flatfish,  tautog,  herring, 
mackerel,  menhaden,  launce,  silversides,  silver  hake,  sculpins,  sea  robins,  smelt, 
and  tomcod.  They  bite  fish  bait  readily — in  fact  the  greater  part  of  the  catch  is 
taken  on  line  trawls  baited  with  herring.  They  also  take  clams  on  the  hook  greedily 
enough. 

i«  Goode,  et  al.  (1884),  Kendall  (1898,  p.  180),  Linton  (Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,Vol.  XIX,  1899  (1901),  p.  478), 
Hansen  (Proceedings,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  vol.  48,  1915,  p.  94),  Breder  (Zoologica  (New  York),  Vol.  II,  No.  15,  August 
15,  1922,  p.  350)  and  Vinal  Edwards's  notes. 

1^  A  large  white  hake  taken  at  Woods  Hole  in  May,  1908,  had  a  fish  (Lepophidium)  encysted  in  the  wall  of  its  body  cavity, 
it  having  no  doubt  penetrated  the  hake's  stomach  after  it  had  been  swallowed  (Bulletin,  U.S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol.  XXXI, 
Pa.rt  II,  1911  (1913),  p.  708). 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE 


451 


Iq  the  northeastern  part  of  the  Gulf  hake  feed  far  enough  off  bottom  to  capture 
the  pelagic  euphausiid  shrunps  (Meganyctiphanes  and  Thysanoessa)  so  plentiful 
there,  while  the  general  character  of  their  diet  is  sufficient  evidence  that  they  do 
not  root  in  the  ground  like  haddock.  Ever  since  1616,  when  Capt.  John  Smith 
(1616,  ed.  1819,  vol.  2,  p.  188)  wrote  "Hake  you  may  have  when  the  cod  failes  in 
summer,  if  you  will  fish  in  the  night,"  it  has  been  common  knowledge  that  they  bite 
best  after  dark,  from  which  it  is  fair  to  assume  they  do  most  of  their  foraging 
between  sunset  and  sunrise. 

Herrick  '^  has  given  an  interesting  account  of  the  habits  and  perceptions  of 
squirrel  hake  in  the  tank  at  Woods  Hole,  where  they  proved  to  have  keen  sight, 
though  less  so  than  pollock,  and  usually  caught  bits  of  meat  before  they  sank,  but 
it  seems  that  it  was  only  while  food  was  in  motion  that  the  fish  recognized  it  by  sight 
and  that  they  depend  chiefly  on  the  sense  of  touch  for  their  livelihood.     This  they 


Fig.  221.— Hake  try  (Urophycis),  15  millimeters.    After  A.  Agassiz 


Fig.  222. — Hake  fry  (Urophycis),  34  millimeters.    After  A.  Agassiz 

exercised  by  swimming  close  to  bottom  with  the  sensitive  tips  of  the  ventral  fins 
dragging  the  ground,  and  when  a  hake  thus  touched  a  fragment  of  clam,  it  im- 
mediately recognized  its  palatability  and  snapped  it  up,  but  not  otherwise,  while 
they  paid  no  attention  whatever  to  live  clams  in  their  shells,  though  frequently 
brushing  over  them.  These  observations,  applied  to  the  conditions  under  which 
hake  actually  live,  suggest  that  they  not  only  recognize  shrimps,  prawns,  etc.,  by 
their  ventral  feelers,  but  disturb  them  by  the  passage  of  the  feelers  over  them, 
snapping  them  up  as  they  dart  ahead. 

Rate  of  growth. — The  rate  of  growth  during  the  first  few  months  can  not  be 
stated  until  many  more  young  fry  have  been  measured  and  identified  as  one  species 
or  the  other.  It  is  probable  that  two  year  classes  are  represented  among  the  fry 
caught  along  shore  in  summer,  the  smaller  of  2  to  3  inches  being  from  the  earliest 
spawned  eggs  of  that  season,  and  the  larger  ones  (6  to  7  inches)  yearlings.     The 

"  Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  XXII,  1902  (1904),  p.  258. 


452  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

growth  of  older  squirrel  hake  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  has  been  studied  by  Craigie 
(1916,  p.  87),  his  conclusions  from  scale  studies,^'  combined  with  measurements, 
being  as  follows: 

Average  length, 
inches 

l-jear-old  male 7.  9 

1-year-old  female 8.  3 

2-year-old  male 13 

2-year-old  female 14.  2 

3-year-old  male 16.  1 

3-year-old  female 18.  5 

The  rate  of  growth  is  so  uniform  during  the  first  three  years  of  life,  that  spawn- 
ing (an  event  so  exhausting  that  it  slows  the  growth  of  any  fish)  probably  does  not 
take  place  until  the  fourth  year.  Nothing  definite  is  known  of  the  rate  of  growth 
of  the  white  hake,  but  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  it  grows  faster  than  the  squirrel,  to 
attain  so  much  greater  length  and  weight. 

Breeding  habits. — Practically  nothing  is  known  of  the  breeding  habits  of  the 
white  hake,  but  Welsh's  examination  of  fish  caught  near  Gloucester  led  him  to 
conclude  that  spawning  takes  place  in  fall  and  winter  and  occasionally  as  late  as 
April  (he  saw  a  male  with  the  milt  flowing  on  April  22,  1913).^°  The  egg  is  no 
doubt  pelagic  like  that  of  the  squirrel  hake  (p.  453),  but  no  ripe  females,  eggs,  or 
young  larvae  have  ever  been  seen. 

Up  to  the  simimer  of  1912  we  were  equally  ignorant  of  the  spawning  and  early 
stages  of  the  squirrel  hake.  In  that  July,  however,  we  trawled  squirrel  hake  with 
running  spawn  and  milt  in  Ipswich  Bay,  fertilizing  the  eggs  on  board  the  Grampus 
and  thus  identifying  eggs  taken  in  abundance  in  the  tow  as  this  species.  Since 
that  time  large  numbers  of  squirrel-hake  eggs  have  been  fertilized  artificially  and 
hatched  at  the  Gloucester  hatchery. 

The  height  of  the  spawning  season  of  this  species  falls  in  early  summer  in  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  region  and  at  least  as  early  as  June  south  of  Cape  Cod,  judging 
from  the  size  (27  to  70  mm.)  of  the  fry  just  mentioned  as  found  in  scallop  shells  in 
late  summer  and  autumn  (p.  449) .  The  extreme  limits  of  the  season  are  not  known, 
but  we  have  towed  eggs  of  this  species  as  early  as  June  10  (in  Petit  Passage)  and  as 
late  as  September  20  in  various  parts  of  the  Gulf,  while  captures  of  fry  of  72  mm.  as 
early  as  the  last  week  in  July  (in  Shelburne  Harbor)  and  others  as  small  as  36 
mm.  in  the  western  part  of  the  Gulf  as  late  as  November  1  (in  1916),  similarly 
point  to  a  breeding  season  lasting  from  late  spring  until  early  autumn. 

The  localities  where  we  have  found  eggs,  provisionally  identified  as  squirrel 
hake  in  the  tow  (fig.  223) ,  show  that  it  spawns  all  around  the  Gulf  from  Cape  Cod 
to  Nova  Scotia,  and  in  spite  of  its  rather  deep-water  habitat  and  preference  for  soft 
bottom  most  of  these  egg  stations,  like  those  for  the  other  common  gadoids,  are  in 
shoal  water  near  the  coast,  a  haul  in  the  eastern  basin,  which  yielded  both  squirrel 
hake  and  silver  hake  eggs  (p.  392)  being  the  only  exception.  This,  of  course,  points 
to  a  migration  from  the  basins  into  shoaler  water  for  spawning,  but  our  records  are 

**  Unfortunately  hake  scales  do  not  show  the  annual  rings  as  clearly  as  those  of  cod  and  haddock. 
^  Tracy  (1910,  p.  157)  is  also  of  the  opinion  that  this  hake  is  a  winter  spawner. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


453 


not  sufficiently  numerous  nor  is  the  identification  of  the  eggs  certain  enough  to 
prove  it.  Neither  can  we  establish  the  temperatures  or  salinities  in  which  it  spawns 
most  freely  from  the  data  yet  gathered. 

The  eggs  are  buoyant,  spherical,  transparent,  and  0.72  to  0.76  mm.  in  diameter. 
When  first  spawned  there  are  variable  numbers  of  small  colorless  oil  globules  0.02 
to  0.07  mm.  in  diameter  scattered  over  the  yolk,  but  shortly  after  fertihzation  has 
taken  place  most  of  these  globules  unite  into  one  large  one  of  0.15  to  0.17  mm.,  which 
is  sometimes  alone  but  usually  has  two  or  three  tiny  ones  close  beside  it.    Within  two 


Fig.  223.— Locality  records  for  squirrel  halie  eggs  (O)  and  for  larvae  of  rockling  (A)  in  the  Qulf  of  Maine 

days  after  fertihzation  (at  a  temperature  of  60°)  the  embryo  extends  half  way  around 
the  yolk  sphere  and  pigment  has  appeared,  one  of  the  most  characteristic  features  of 
this  species  being  the  development  of  black  chromatophores  not  only  on  the  embrjo 
but  over  the  yolk  and  finally  on  the  oil  globule  as  well.  In  late  stages  of  incubation 
this  feature,  combined  with  the  small  size  of  the  egg  and  (usually)  with  a  multiple  oil 
globule,  distinguishes  the  egg  of  the  squirrel  hake  from  all  other  buoyant  fish  eggs  of 
known  parentage  yet  found  in  the  Gulf,  except  that  of  the  rockling  (p .  46 1 ) ,  which  is  of 


454 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


about  the  same  size  with  several  oil  globules  (p.  461) .  The  yolk  of  the  North  Sea  rock- 
ling  is  colorless,  which  fact,  if  it  were  the  universal  rule,  would  be  a  sufficient  distinc- 
tion between  the  two  species;  but  it  is  sometimes  pigmented  in  rockling  eggs  in  the 
Baltic,^'  and  since  rockhng  eggs  have  not  jet  been  carried  through  to  hatching  in 
the  Gulf  of  Maine  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the  presence  or  absence  of  pigment 
on  the  yolk  can  be  depended  on  to  separate  its  egg  from  that  of  the  hake.  There 
is  also  a  danger  of  confounding  newly  spawned  eggs  of  the  squirrel  hake  with  those  of 
the  butterfish  (p.  248),  which  are  about  the  same  diameter,  but  as  a  rule  the  number 
and  size  of  the  oil  globules  is  diagnostic. 

The  larval  stages  of  the  squirrel  hake  still  remain  unknown,  nor  have  its  pelagic 
fry  been  described  under  their  own  name;  but  fry  figured  by  Alexander  Agassiz 
(1882,  PI.  VII,  fig.  6;  PI.  VIII,  figs.  1-3)  as  "  MotelJa  argeniata"  ^^  were  undoubtedly 
one  or  the  other  of  our  hakes,  for  they  showed  the  long  ventrals,  the  two  dorsal  fins, 


Fig.  224.- 


-Egg  of  the  squirrel  hake  ( Urophycis  chuss'. 
hoiir's  incubation 


after  1        Fig.  225. 


-Egg  of  the  squirrel  hake  (  Urophycis  chiiss),  after  74 
hours'  incubation 


and  the  single  barbel  of  the  latter  and  agreed  perfectly  with  the  hake  fry  we  ourselves 
have  taken.  The  j'oung  of  these  little  hakes,  which  are  greenish  blue  on  the  back 
with  silvery  sides,  are  separable  from  rockling  by  their  more  elongate  form  and  by  the 
arrangement  of  the  pigment,  which  is  not  in  a  band  but  scattered  (this  requires  veri- 
fication on  larger  series  of  specimens).  Older  stages  are  identified  by  the  presence 
of  two  well-developed  dorsal  fins,  and  the  silvery  sides  mark  them  at  a  glance  from 
the  dull-colored  fry  of  the  cusk  (p.  466) . 

Commercial  importance. — Though  sof  t-meated,  both  the  common  hakes — "  squir- 
rel" and  "white" —  are  excellent  table  fish  and  are  readily  absorbed  by  the  market. 
The  greater  parts  of  the  catch  is  made  on  line  trawls. 

"  Agassiz  and  Whitman  (1885,  p.  24),  provisionally  identified  as  "rockhng"  certain  eggs  with  pigmented  yolk  taken  in  the 
tow  net  at  Newport,  but  they  may  have  been  hake. 

"  The  single  post-anal  pigment  band,  short  stocky  form,  and  fanlike  ventrals  of  the  younger  larval  stages  (PI.  VII,  figs.  1-4) 
which  he  pictured  under  this  name  suggest  identity  with  the  four-bearded  rockling. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  455 

157.  Spotted  hake  {Urophycis  r egius  W&lha.um) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1S96-1900,  p.  2553. 

Description. — This  species  is  distinguishable  among  the  hakes  of  the  Gulf  of 
Maine  by  the  fact  that  there  are  no  elongate  rays  in  its  first  dorsal  fin  (which  is 
hardly  higher  than  the  second  dorsal) ,  the  fin  rays  are  fewer  in  number  than  in  either 
white  or  squirrel  hake  (only  about  8  and  43  dorsal  and  40  anal,  as  against  9  and 
about  57  dorsal  and  48  to  50  anal),  and  that  there  are  only  80  to  90  vertical  rows  of 
scales  from  gill  opening  to  caudal  fin.  Convenient  field  marks  are  that  the  pectoral  of 
the  spotted  hake  reaches  as  far  back  as  the  origin  of  the  anal,  whereas  in  both  white 
and  squirrel  hakes  it  falls  considerably  short  of  the  latter,  and  that  its  lateral  line  is 
darker  brown  than  the  general  body  color,  instead  of  paler,  and  interrupted  by  a 
series  of  distinct  whitish  spots.  Otherwise  the  spotted  hake,  like  the  commoner 
hakes,  is  dull  brown,  darker  above  than  below,  "wdth  vertical  fins  of  the  same  color  as 
the  back.  The  outer  half  of  the  first  dorsal  is  black  with  wliitish  margin,  and  the 
ventrals  are  whitish. 


Fig.  226. — Spotted  hake  (  Urophycis  regius) 

Size. — This  is  a  smaller  fish  than  the  white  hake  (p.  446),  the  largest  of  many 
measured  by  Welsh  at  Atlantic  City  (N.  J.)  in  August,  1920,  being  only  16  inches 
long  and  weigliing  between  1  and  IJ^  pounds. 

General  range  and  occurrence  in  the  Giilf  of  Maine. — The  spotted  hake  is  a  more 
southern  species  than  the  white  or  squirrel  hakes — commonest  off  the  Middle  At- 
lantic States — and  though  it  is  known  off  the  coast  of  North  America  from  Cape 
Fear  (N.  C.)  to  Halifax  (Nova  Scotia),  it  so  rarely  strays  north  of  Cape  Cod  that 
specimens  taken  off  Seguin  Island  many  years  ago  still  remain  the  only  definite  record 
of  it  for  the  Gulf  of  Maine,^'  wlule  it  is  scarce  even  at  Woods  Hole. 

Habits. — The  spotted  hake  resembles  the  other  hakes  in  its  habits,  but  appar- 
ently it  is  more  of  a  fish  eater,  for  Vinal  Edwards  noted  that  the  few  he  examined 
at  Woods  Hole  contained  alewives,  menhaden,  launoe,  and  squid,  but  none  of  the 
crustaceans  on  which  the  white  and  squirrel  hake  feed.  The  capture  of  spawning 
fish  by  the  Albatross  off  the  coast  of  the  Carolinas  in  December,  1919,  recorded  in 
Welsh's  field  notes,  is  evidence  that  it  is  a  winter  breeder. 

"  This  species  was  also  listed  rrom  Ipswich  Bay,  Casco  Bay,  and  o3  Monhegan  Island  in  the  Qrampus  collections  of  1912  (Bul- 
letin, Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Uarvard  College,  Vol.  LVIII,  No.  2,  1914,  p.  113),  but  it  is  probable  that  in  reality 
these  specimens  were  white  hake  (p.  448) . 

102274—2.51 30 


456  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUKEAXT   OF   FISHERIES 

158.  Long-finned  hake  (  UropJiycis  chesteri  Goode  and  Bean) 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2556. 

Description. — The  most,  distinctive  characters  of  the  long-finned  hake  are  its 
enormously  elongate  ventrals,  for  the  longer  of  the  three  rays  to  which  each  of  these 
is  reduced  reaches  back  neJirly  to  the  rear  end  of  the  anal  fin  (about  to  its  fortieth 
ray),  with  the  next  longest  ventral  ray  considerably  overlapping  the  anal.  The 
filamentous  dorsal  ray  is  also  longer  than  in  the  other  Gulf  of  Maine  hakes,  reach- 
ing back  to  about  the  middle  of  the  second  dorsal.  Furthermore,  there  are  only 
about  90  vertical  rows  of  scales  from  gill  opening  to  tail,  but  the  scales  themselves 
are  relatively  larger  than  in  either  the  white  or  the  squirrel  hake,  the  eye  larger, 
the  anal  fin  rays  more  numerous  (about  56),  the  rear  corners  of  the  dorsal  and  anal 
fins  more  rounded,  the  outline  of  the  latter  concave  instead  of  straight  (fig.  227), 
the  pectoral  fins  more  slender  and  more  pointed,  and  the  caudal  fin  narrower  and 
its  margin  more  convex — differences  more  clearly  shown  in  the  illustrations  than 
verbally.  The  skin  of  the  long-finned  hake  is  curiously  loose  like  that  of  many 
deep-sea  fishes. 


Fig.  227,— Long-finned  hake  (  Urophycls  chesteri) 

Color. — The  color  of  this  hake  has  never  been  described  from  life  and  unfor- 
tunately no  color  notes  were  made  from  the  only  specimen  we  have  seen  freshly 
caught.  Old  alcoholic  specimens  are  of  varj^ing  shades  of  dull  red  and  reddish 
brown  above,  dirty  or  reddish  white  below,  with  the  caudal  fin  sooty  at  its  tip, 
the  dorsals  of  the  same  color  as  the  back,  but  with  dusky  margins,  the  pectorals 
and  ventrals  colorless  except  that  the  latter  are  minutely  specked  with  sooty  dots. 

Size. — The  collection  of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  contains  speci- 
mens up  to  103^  or  11  inches  long,  which  are  the  largest  so  far  recorded. 

General  range. — This  is  a  deep-water  fish,  occurring  in  great  abundance  on  the 
continental  slope  off  North  America  from  the  Laurentian  Channel  to  abreast  of 
Cape  Lookout  (N.  C),  chiefly  between  100  and  500  fathoms.  The  shoalest  cap- 
ture of  the  adult  recorded  is  from  32  fathoms,  the  deepest  from  538  fathoms. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  hake  is  plentiful  all  along  the  seaward 
slope  of  Georges  Bank  below  100  fathoms,  where  it  has  been  trawled  at  many  sta- 
tions,^* and  is  rivaled  in  abundance  only  by  the  grenadier  (Macrourus  hairdii,  p.  468), 
so  that  it  may  be  expected  on  the  bottom  of  the  deep  trough  of  the  GuK  of  Maine. 

"  For  a  complete  list  of  localities  see  Ooode  and  Bean  (1896,  p.  361) . 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE 


457 


So  far,  however,  the  only  definite  record  of  it  within  the  latter  is  for  three  specimens 
trawled  in  the  Western  Basin,  41  and  33  miles  ofif  Cape  Ann,"  in  110  to  140  fathoms 
in  1878. 

Habits. — Nothing  is  known  of  the  habits  of  the  long-finned  hake  except  that 
it  is  a  bottom  fish  and  seems  never  to  come  up  into  shallow  water.  It  is  a  summer 
and  autumn  spawner,  judging  from  the  fact  that  Goode  and  Bean  saw  specimens 
in  breeding  condition  and  that  we  have  taken  pelagic  young  of  8  to  35  mm.  in  our 
tows  off  Marthas  Vineyard  during  the  last  week  of  August." 

159.  Hakeliug  {PhysicuLus  fidvus  Bean) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2547. 

Description. — This  species  is  hakehke  in  general  appearance  and  in  the  general 
arrangement  of  its  fins^that  is,  it  has  two  dorsals,  the  first  (10  rays)  triangular  and 
much  shorter  than  the  second  (about  49  rays)  which  is  of  nearly  uniform  height  from 
end  to  end;  one  long  anal  fin  (about  54  rays)  similar  to  the  second  dorsal ;  and  ventrals 


Fig.  228.— Hakeling  (Physiculus  fuleus) 

situated  in  front  of  the  pectorals.  It  is  separable  from  the  white,  squirrel,  and  long- 
finned  hakes  (genus  Urophycis,  pp.  446,  447,  and  454)  by  the  fact  that  its  anal  fin 
originates  in  front  of  the  origin  of  the  second  dorsal  instead  of  considerably  behind 
it,  while  its  ventral  fins  have  5  rays  each  instead  of  only  2  and  are  so  much  shorter 
than  those  of  the  hakes  that  even  their  longest  ray  (the  second,  which  is  filamentous 
at  the  tip)  hardly  reaches  back  as  far  as  the  middle  of  the  pectorals.  Furthermore, 
the  snout  of  the  hakeling  is  blunter  than  that  of  any  hake,  its  caudal  fin  much 
smaller,  its  general  form  more  abruptly  tapering,  and  none  of  the  rays  of  its  first 
dorsal  fin  are  elongate. 

Color. — Described  (Goode  and  Bean,  1896)  as  light  yellowish  brown  with  the 
lower  surface  of  the  head,  the  abdomen,  and  the  margins  of  the  dorsal  and  anal 
fins  very  dark  brown,  and  with  a  dark  brown  blotch  on  each  cheek  (on  the  sub- 
operculum) . 

Size. — The  size  to  which  this  species  grows  is  not  known. 

General  range  and  occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  hakeling  has  been  taken 
at  several  localities  in  the  GuK  of  Mexico  and  on  the  continental  slope  off  the  eastern 

"  These  were  the  basis  of  Goode  and  Bean's  original  description  of  the  species  (1879c,  p.  256) . 
»  Bigelow,  1917,  p.  275. 


458  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

United  States.  The  most  northerly  record  is  off  Nantucket  (lat.  40°  1'  N.,  long. 
69°  56'  W.)  in  79  fathoms,  and  it  is  on  the  strength  of  this  that  the  species  is  men- 
tioned here. 

Habits. — Nothing  is  known  of  the  habits  of  the  hakeling  except  that  it  is  a 
deep-water  fish,  having  been  taken  from  79  down  to  955  fathoms,  where,  to  judge 
from  its  general  structm'e,  it  lives  on  or  near  bottom.-"" 

160.  Fo^lr-bea^ded  rockling  (Enclielyopus  cimbrius  Linnseus) 

EOCKLI.VG 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2560. 

Description. — The  rocklings,  of  which  this  is  the  only  common  local  representa- 
tive, differ  from  their  near  relatives,  the  hakes  (Urophycis) ,  in  the  facts  that  the  ven- 
trals  are  short,  with  5  to  7  rays,  and  that  the  first  section  of  the  dorsal  fin  con- 
sists of  only  one  ray,  which  is  nearly  as  long  as  the  head  and  stands  over 
the  upper  corner  of  the  gill  opening,  followed  bj^  a  series  of  about  50  very 
short,  separate,  hairlike  rays  without  connecting  membrane,  which  are  depres- 
sible  in  a  groove  on  the  back.  Thus  there  is  only  one  well-developed  dorsal  fin. 
Rocklings  differ  fiu-ther  from  all  other  gadoids  in  the  presence  of  long  barbels  on  the 
top  of  the  nose  as  well  as  on  the  chin,  the  number  of  these  being  the  most  obvious 
specific  character  among  the  several  species.  In  the  present  species  there  are  a  pair 
of  these  barbels  close  in  front  of  the  nostrils,  a  third  and  somewhat  shorter  barbel 
standing  alone  at  the  tip  of  the  snout,  and  a  fourth  hanging  from  the  chin. 

Rocklings  suggest  young  hake  in  their  slender  form,  which  tapers  back  from 
the  shoulders,  and,  hakelike,  they  are  rounded  in  front  of  the  vent  and  compressed 
behind  it.  The  upper  jaw  is  longer  than  the  lower  and  the  teeth  are  small,  but 
their  noses  are  shorter  and  blunter,  their  eyes  smaller,  and  the  dorsal  profile  of  their 
heads  is  more  rounded  than  in  any  of  the  hakes.  The  pectorals  are  rounded,  the 
narrow  pointed  ventrals  being  situated  well  in  front  of  the  latter.  The  second 
dorsal  (45  to  53  rays)  originates  over  the  mid-length  of  the  pectoral,  runs  back 
nearly  to  the  base  of  the  caudal,  and  is  about  equally  high  from  end  to  end  with 
rounded  rear  corner.  The  anal  is  similar  to  the  second  dorsal  in  form,  though  it  is 
shorter  (39  to  43  rays  ") .     The  caudal  is  oval  when  spread. 

Color. — By  all  accounts,  corroborated  by  our  own  experience,  the  color  of  this 
rockling  is  comparatively  constant.  Its  back  is  dark  yellowish  olive  or  dusky 
brown,  its  sides  paler,  and  its  belly  white  dotted  with  brown.  Sometimes  the  sides 
behind  the  vent  are  more  or  less  clouded  with  a  darker  shade  of  the  general  body 
hue.  The  first  dorsal  ray,  the  posterior  margins  of  the  second  dorsal  and  the  anal, 
the  lower  half  of  the  caudal,  and  the  whole  of  the  pectorals  are  sooty  or  bluish 
black.  Otherwise  the  vertical  fins  are  grayish  or  bluish  brown.  The  ventrals  are 
pale  and  the  lining  of  the  mouth  dark  purplish  or  bluish. 

M«  Another  small  bakelike  flsh  (,Lotella  maiillaris)  has  been  taken  in  396  fathoms  off  Marthas  Vineyard.  It  is  separable  from 
the  hakeiing  described  above  by  the  fact  that  its  anal  fin  originates  behind  the  origin  of  the  second  dorsal,  and  by  its  larger  teeth. 
''  Storer  credits  it  with  4S  rays,  but  subsequent  students  have  not  found  so  many. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


459 


"^■vi.iuV--X. 


_^^^^-^^^=^ 


Fig.  2M.— Four-bearded  rockling  (Enchelnopus  cimbrius) 

B,  Adult.  6,  Egg  (European).  After  Ehrenbaum  and  Strodtmann.  c,  Larva  (European),  3.6  millimeters.  After  Ehren- 
baum  and  Strodtmann.  d.  Larva  (European),  5.3  millimeters.  After  Brook,  f,  Larva  (European),  13.6  millimeters.  After 
Ehrenbaum.    /,  Larva  (European),  17. .5  millimeters.    After  Brook. 


460  BULLETIN   OP   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

Size. — This  rockling  has  been  known  to  reach  a  length  of  16J^  inches  in  Scandi- 
navian waters  but  none  so  large  has  ever  been  reported  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  where 
they  average  only  about  6  to  10  inches  long. 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic.  Its  American  range  is 
from  the  Gulf  of  St.  LawTence  (perhaps  even  further  north)  to  Narragansett  Bay 
in  coast  waters,  and  to  the  latitude  of  Cape  Fear  (N.  C.)  in  deep  water  along  the 
continental  slope. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  little  rockling  is  of  no  commercial  value 
and  seldom  comes  up  into  very  shallow  water  where  it  would  force  itself  on  the 
notice  of  seaside  visitors,  but  it  is  a  common  bottom  fish  in  the  deeper  parts  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  as  Goode  and  Bean  (1879,  p.  9)  long  ago  remarked,  while  our 
experience,  corroborated  by  Huntsman  for  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  is  that  this  applies 
to  the  entire  Gulf.  Though  it  is  nowhere  abundant  in  the  sense  in  which  this 
term  applies  to  cod,  haddock,  or  hake,  it  is  plentiful  enough  for  its  young  to  occur 
rather  frequently  in  oiu"  tows  in  season  (p.  461).  The  definite  Gulf  of  Maine  records 
for  the  adult  are  from  St.  Mary  Bay  (Nova  Scotia) ,  from  various  localities  in  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  including  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  from  Jonesport,  off  Pemaquid,  near 
Seguin  Island,  mouth  of  Casco  Bay,  Ipswich  Bay,  Gloucester,  Nahant  Beach, 
Provincetown,  and  various  stations  in  the  deeper  parts  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 
West  of  Cape  Cod  it  becomes  uncommon.  It  has  been  reported  at  least  once  on 
Georges  Bank,  and  the  Albatross  trawled  it  on  the  slope  off  Nova  Scotia  and  the 
Fish  Hau'lc  off  Marthas  Vineyard. 

Rockling  are  bottom  fish  like  hake,  usually  keeping  to  moderately  deep  water. 
For  instance,  we  have  trawled  it  in  25  to  33  fathoms  from  the  Grampus,  and  it  is 
most  often  found  at  considerable  depths  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  Occasionally, 
however,  rocklings  have  been  taken  in  shallow  water,  as  on  Nahant  Beach,  for 
example;  likewise  in  6  fathoms  in  St.  Mary  Bay,  in  7  fathoms  in  Buzzards  Bay,  and 
in  water  only  a  few  feet  deep  at  Woods  Hole.  On  the  other  hand,  rocklings  have 
not  yet  been  found  in  the  deep  basin  of  the  GuK  of  Maine,  but  their  presence  on 
the  continental  slope  down  to  300  fathoms  -^  as  well  as  in  the  deep  gully  off  Halifax 
and  in  the  channels  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  ^°  is  proof  that  depth  is  no  barrier 
to  their  populating  the  deepest  parts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  if  the  surroundings  are 
suitable  in  other  respects.  The  deepest  recorded  capture  is  from  724  fathoms  south 
of  Cape  Cod.  This  species  is  a  year-round  resident,  except  that  rocklings  may 
move  inshore  and  into  shoal  water  in  autumn  and  offshore  again  and  deeper  in 
spring  to  account  for  the  occasional  appearance  of  adult  rockling  in  very  shallow 
water  at  Woods  Hole  in  winter.^" 

The  name  "rockling"  is  a  misnomer,  for  it  is  not  a  rock  fish,  being  found 
chiefly  on  soft  bottom  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  wliile  those  that  we  have  trawled  in 
Massachusetts  and  Ipswich  Bays  from  the  Grampus  were  on  smooth  muddy  sand 
between  the  hard  patches.  Of  course  any  rockling  living  in  the  deep  sinks  and 
gullies  or  on  the  continental  slope  are  necessarily  on  soft  smooth  ground,  not  on 

"  Qoode  and  Bean  (1896,  p.  384)  list  the  deep-water  records. 

»  Information  supplied  by  Doctor  Huntsman  and  Huntsman,  1918a,  p.  63. 

M  Sumner,  Osborne,  and  Cole,  1913„t    771. 


FISHES   OP   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  461 

rocky  ground.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  adult  fish  ever  rise  far  above 
the  bottom  except  by  accident. 

Food  and  habits. — Judging  from  the  stomach  contents  of  Scandinavian  and 
British  fish  (none  have  been  examined  on  this  side  of  the  water)  they  feed 
chiefly  on  shrimps,  prawns,  isopods,  and  other  small  crustaceans,  less  often  on  fish 
fry.  On  the  other  hand,  roclding  have  themselves  been  found  in  cod  stomachs  in 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  no  doubt  haddock  (all  fish  of  prey,  for  that  matter) 
devour  them. 

Rockling,  like  other  gadoids,  swim  at  the  surface  for  their  first  few  months, 
and  we  have  taken  their  pelagic  fry  in  our  tow  nets  at  the  various  localities  marked 
on  the  accompanying  chart  (fig.  223)  from  the  first  week  in  July  until  October;  sel- 
dom, however,  more  than  half  a  dozen  in  any  one  haul  (the  largest  catch  was  18 
specimens).  Huntsman  similarly  describes  them  as  common  in  the  center  of  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  and  they  have  been  taken  in  the  tow  at  Woods  Hole  in  April.  How 
long  they  remain  on  the  surface  is  not  known,  but  analogy  with  cod,  haddock,  etc., 
suggests  three  months  at  most,  and  since  our  largest  pelagic  fry  were  40  to  45  mm. 
long  it  may  be  assumed  they  seek  the  bottom  at  a  length  of  about  2  inches.  During 
this  pelagic  stage  they  drift  with  the  current  like  other  fish  fry,  and  are  at  the 
mercy  of  mackerel  and  other  fish,  but  they  are  not  plentiful  enough  in  the  GuK  of 
Maine  to  be  as  important  an  article  in  the  diet  of  the  mackerel  as  are  the  fry  of  the 
far  commoner  European  rocklings  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

Breeding  habits. — Huntsman  (1922a)  found  the  eggs  of  this  rockling  in  Passama- 
quoddy  Bay  in  midsummer.  Its  breeding  season  probably  endures  from  spring  to 
early  autumn  in  the  western  Atlantic  as  it  does  in  the  eastern  Atlantic,^'  for  Dannevig 
(1919)  records  rockling  eggs  (probably  this  species)  as  early  as  the  end  of  May  near 
Halifax,  while  on  the  other  hand  we  have  towed  larvae  only  5.5  mm.  long  as  late  as 
September  and  October  in  Massachusetts  Bay.  Probably  it  spa%vns  all  around  the 
peripheral  belt  of  the  Gulf,  with  Massachusetts  Bay  an  important  nursery,  judging 
from  our  repeated  capture  of  its  larvae  there;  but  our  failure  to  find  rockling  larvae 
or  its  pelagic  fry  in  the  central  part  of  the  Gulf,  or  its  eggs  in  any  of  our  ofl'shore 
tows,  justifies  theconclusion  that  its  breeding  is  limited  to  depths  less  than  75  fathoms 
so  far  as  the  inner  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  is  concerned,  though  it  may  spawn  much 
deeper  on  the  continental  slope. 

The  eggs  are  buoyant,  described  (we  have  never  seen  them)  as  0.66  to  0.98  mm. 
in  diameter.  When  newly  spawned  the  oil  is  in  small  droplets,  most  of  which  soon 
coalesce  into  one  globule  of  0.14  to  0.25  mm.,  often  with  one  or  two  smaller  ones 
close  to  it.  The  danger  of  confusing  them  with  squirrel-hake  eggs  is  discussed  in  the 
account  of  the  latter  species  (p.  453).  Newly  hatched  larvae  are  slightly  more  than 
2  mm.  long.  The  yolk  is  absorbed  at  about  3.6  mm.  and  the  later  larval  stages,  up 
to  about  10  mm.  long,  are  characterized  by  the  very  large  black  ventral  fins  shown 
in  the  illustrations  (fig.  239c),  by  the  presence  of  one  post  anal  band  of  black  pigment, 
and  by  the  short  stocky  body  form.  Young  hake  are  more  slender  and  have  scattered 
pigment,  young  cusk  have  two  post  anal  bands,  and  all  other  Gulf  of  Maine  gadoids 

3'  It  spawns  from  the  end  of  January  until  August  in  the  Baltic. 


462  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

have  short  ventral  fins."  After  the  rockling  is  17  to  20  mm.  long  the  structure  of 
its  first  dorsal  fin  serves  to  identify  it.  These  larger  fry  are  silvery,  probably  awaiting 
their  descent  to  bottom  before  assuming  the  dull  colors  of  the  adult. 

161.  Cusk  {Brosmius  Irosme  MiiWer) 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2561. 

Description. — The  cusk  is  separable  from  all  its  Gulf  of  Maine  relatives  at  a 
glance  by  the  fact  that  it  has  but  one  dorsal  fin.  The  relationship  of  the  anal  and 
dorsal  fins  to  the  caudal  and  the  outline  of  the  latter  are  also  characteristic,  all 
three  being  continuous  at  the  base  but  separated  by  notches  so  deep  that  they  are 
obviously  distinct,  and  with  the  caudal  evenly  rounded.  The  cusk  is  more  slender 
than  a  hake,  being  only  about  one-fifth  to  one-sixth  as  deep  as  long,  round-bodied 
in  front,  compressed  behind  the  vent,  and  tapering  evenly  backward  to  the  base  of 
the  caudal  fin.  Themouth  is  large,  gaping  past  the  eye  and  set  slightly  oblique,  with 
small,  sharp,  curvedteeth.  The  snout  is  blunt  at  the  tip.  Theupper  jaw  incloses  the 
lower  when  the  mouth  is  closed,  the  eye  is  of  moderate  size,  the  chin  bears  a  barbel, 
and  the  entire  head  and  trunk  are  clad  with  small  scales.  The  dorsal  fin  (85  to  105 
rays)  runs  the  whole  length  of  the  back  from  the  nape  and  is  of  uniform  and  moderate 
height  from  end  to  end  with  rounded  corners.  The  anal  is  similar  to  it  in  outline 
but  only  slightly  more  than  half  as  long  (71  to  76  rays).  The  pectorals  are  rounded 
and  about  half  as  long  as  the  head.  The  ventrals  are  about  as  long  as  the  pectorals, 
with  their  5  rays  free  at  the  tips,  and  are  situated  slightly  but  obviously  in  front 
of  the  pectorals.  All  the  fins  are  so  tliick  and  fleshy  at  their  bases  that  it  is  only 
near  the  margins  that  the  raj's  are  apparent. 

Color. — The  cusk  varies  in  color,  no  doubt  conforming  to  the  bottoms  on 
which  it  lives.  The  upper  parts  range  from  dark  slaty  to  dull  reddish  brown 
or  pale  yellowish,  paling  to  grayish  on  the  lower  sides  and  to  dirty  white  on  the 
belly.  Old  fish  are  plain  colored;  in  small  ones,  however,  the  sides  are  often  barred 
transversely  with  about  half  a  dozen  yellowish  bands.  The  pectorals  and  ventrals 
are  of  the  same  color  as  the  sides  and  the  ventrals  are  sooty  at  their  tips.  The  most 
characteristic  color  mark  is  that  all  three  vertical  fins — dorsal,  caudal,  and  ventral — 
which  are  of  the  general  body  tint  at  their  bases,  are  black  at  the  margin  and  nar- 
rowly edged  with  white. 

Size. — Cusk  grow  to  a  maximum  length  of  3  feet  and  to  a  weight,  it  is  said,  of 
30  pounds,  but  those  caught  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  average  only  1)4  to  2}4  f^et  long 
and  from  5  to  10  pounds  in  weight. 

General  range. — Both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic,  chiefly  in  moderately  deep 
water,  north  to  the  Newfoundland  Banks,  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  Labrador,  and 
Greenland;  south  regularly  to  Cape  Cod  and  the  South  Channel,  rarely  to  southern 
New  England,  and  occasionalh'  to  New  Jersey  on  the  American  coast. 

^^  The  Arctic  three-bearded  rockling  (Gaidropsarus  argeutatu^  Rheinhardt)  was  reported  from  Massachusetts  Bay  by  Gill 
(1864a,  p.  241),  who  speaks  of  a  specimen  from  Nahant;  also  by  Storer  (18G7)  ,who  writes  that  many  were  picked  up  on  Nahant 
Beach  during  one  tide  in  the  summer  of  1860.  Three  more  were  found  in  the  surf  at  West  Beach,  Beverly.  All  these  specimens, 
however,  were  the  young  silvery  fry.  As  it  was  not  known  at  the  time  that  the  common  rockling  passed  through  such  a  stage, 
ami  since  neither  Gill  nor  Storer  noted  the  number  of  barbels,  it  is  more  likely  that  they  belonged  to  the  four-bearded  species  than 
to  the  Arctic  species.  Should  the  latter  prove  to  be  a  denizen  of  the  Gulf  the  number  of  its  snout  barbels  (p.  3S5)  would  serve  for 
its  identification. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GTJLF   OF   MAINE 


463 


464  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  cusk  is  generally  distributed  in  the 
Gulf  in  water  deeper  than  10  to  15  fathoms,  its  presence  or  absence  depending  on  the 
precise  type  of  bottom.  It  is  seldom  caught  on  smooth  sand  but  chiefly  where  the 
bottom  is  rough  with  masses  of  rocks,  bowlders,  or  ledges,  on  gravelly  and  pebbly 
ground,  and  occasionally  on  mud  with  hake.  The  actual  area  occupied  by  this 
fish  is  but  a  fraction  of  that  inhabited  by  cod,  haddock,  or  pollock,  and  it  varies 
greatlj'  in  abundance  in  cUfferent  parts  of  the  Gulf.  Thus  cusk  are  hardly  ever 
caught  in  Cape  Cod  Bay  but  are  plentiful  off  Cape  Ann  and  on  Jeffreys  Ledge,  the 
latter  being  one  of  the  most  productive  grounds  to  be  found  anywhere  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine.  The  rocky  slopes  of  Cashes  Ledge  have  long  been  famous  for  cusk,  and  in  past 
years  when  more  fishing  was  done  there  (in  1902  and  1905,  for  example)  this  ground 
was  the  chief  source  of  supply  of  the  cusk  landed  in  New  England.  Large  catches 
are  also  made  among  the  rocks  of  BroMTis  Bank  and  fair  numbers  are  taken  on  the 
rockier  spots  on  Georges  Bank,  though  its  smoother  expanses  yield  only  odd  cusk. 
As  might  be  expected  cusk  are  caught  on  Fippenies  and  Platts  Banks  by  the  few 
vessels  that  visit  those  locaUties,  and  they  are  said  to  be  plentiful  on  the  rather 
indefinite  ground  off  Penobscot  Bay  known  as  Jeffreys  Bank  (not  Ledge) ,  or  "  Matin- 
icus  sou'-sou'west. "  The  following  figures  show  the  number  of  pounds  of  cusk 
landed  at  Boston  and  Gloucester,  Mass.,  and  Portland,  Me.,  from  the  several 
offshore  grounds  in  1921 :  ■ 


.  33 


Browns   Bank 440,  481 

Georges   Bank ^ 182,  960 

South  Channel 177,472 

Stellwagen  Bank 94,  455 

Jeffreys   Ledge 319,  143 

Platts  Bank 134,  166 

Jeffreys   Bank 43,  545 

Many  cusk,  in  the  aggregate,  are  taken  on  various  small  inshore  grounds, 
notably  on  the  ledges  off  Chatham,  on  the  broken  grounds  that  extend  from  Cape 
Ann  to  Stellwagen  Bank,  and  on  the  small  rocky  patches  that  skirt  the  coast  of 
Maine,  as  appears  from  the  catches  made  by  small-boat  fishermen  in  1919  in  the 
following  Maine  counties:  York,  9,000;  Cumberland,  79,116;  Sagadahoc,  14,720; 
Lincoln,  26,664;  Knox,  51,620;  Hancock,  11,956;  and  Washington,  4,009. 

Some  cusk  are  also  caught  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  particularly 
about  Grand  Manan  and  off  Brier  Island,  as  Doctor  Huntsman  informs  us,  while 
small  rocky  patches  along  the  west  Nova  Scotian  shore  and  off  Seal  Island  also 
yield  cusk,  though  we  can  not  state  the  catch  as  cusk  are  not  listed  as  such  in  the 
Canadian  fishery  returns.  They  are  taken  regularly  on  Grand  Manan  Bank. 
German  Bank  and  the  fishing  grounds  off  Lurcher  Shoal  are  less  favorable,  consisting 
mostly  of  patches  of  gravel  and  pebbles  and  small  stones  alternating  with  sand  and 
clay.  The  only  important  exceptions  to  the  rule  that  cusk  prefer  rocky  ground 
in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  is  that  they  are  plentiful  in  the  South  Channel  where  the  bottom 
is  mostly  smooth  and  sandy,  and  that  a  considerable  number  are  caught  with  hake 
off  the  coast  of  Maine  on  broken  or  even  muddy  bottom.     In  Norwegian  waters  they 

"  Very  little  flshing  was  done  on  Cashes  Ledge  that  year. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULP   OF   MAINE  465 

lurk  among  Gorgonian  corals,  and  they  may  have  the  same  habit  on  those  parts 
of  the  offshore  banks  where  these  are  plentiful.  The  annual  landings  of  cusk  in 
New  England  ports  (wliich  comprise  the  bulk  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  catch)  have 
ranged  from  2  to  more  that  7  million  pounds  of  late  years. 

The  cusk  is  so  purely  an  offshore  fish  that  it  is  a  rare  occurrence  for  one  to  be 
caught  in  any  harbor  or  estuary.  For  that  matter,  we  have  never  heard  of  one 
taken  in  less  than  10  to  15  fathoms  of  water.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  there  are  few  if  any  cusk  living  below  100  fathoms  or  so  in  the  deep  basin  of 
the  Gulf,  but  this  is  because  of  the  soft  sticky  bottom  and  perhaps  scarcity  of  food, 
and  not  because  of  the  depth,  for  they  have  been  caught  down  to  500  fathoms  in 
European  seas.  Neither  are  cusk  to  be  found  regularly  on  the  continental  slope, 
probably  for  the  same  reason,  though  Goode  and  Bean  (1896,  p.  385)  place  their  lower 
limit  off  the  New  England  coast  at  250  to  300  fathoms. 

Cusk  are  caught  chiefly  on  hook  and  line.  No  doubt  they  spend  their  time 
mostly  in  hiding,  but  gill  nets  and  otter  trawls  occasionally  pick  up  a  few.  They 
are  more  or  less  solitary  fish,  nowhere  as  abundant  as  cod,  haddock,  or  hake,  as 
is  illustrated  by  the  following  catches  counted  by  representatives  of  the  bureau  in 
1913  as  they  came  from  the  water:  Twenty  miles  east  of  Cape  Cod  Light,  November 
16  and  17,  1913,  line  trawl,  460  cusk  to  2,150  haddock  and  1,228  cod;  15  miles 
southeast  of  Monhegan  Island,  June  24  and  25,  1913,  long  lines,  580  cusk  to  2,880 
hake;  Jeffreys  Ledge,  December  11  and  12,  1913,  line  trawl,  230  cusk  to  470  haddock 
and  475  cod;  northwest  part  of  Georges  Bank,  October  10  to  13,  1913,  otter  trawl, 

4  cusk  and  12,473  haddock;  6  miles  east  of  Boon  Island,  March  30,  1913,  gill  net, 

5  cusk,  1,055  haddock,  51  cod,  20  pollock,  and  76  plaice.  It  also  seems  that  cusk 
are  more  stationary  than  most  gadoids  and  move  little  from  bank  to  bank  for 
"Massachusetts  fishermen  tell  me,"  writes  Goode  (et  al.,  1884,  p.  233),  "that  these 
fish  are  usually  found  in  considerable  abundance  on  newly  discovered  ledges,  and 
that  great  numbers  may  be  taken  for  a  year  or  two,  but  that  they  are  soon  all  caught. 
Sometimes,  after  a  lapse  of  years,  they  may  be  found  again  abundant  on  a  recently 
deserted  ground.^*"  Nor  is  there  any  definite  evidence  that  the  cusk  performs  an 
in  or  off  shore  migration  with  the  seasons. 

Cusk  are  so  strictly  bottom  fish  that  we  have  never  heard  of  one  of  any  size 
swimming  up  into  the  upper  waters.  They  are  sluggish  and  weak  swimmers,  but 
they  are  powerful  of  body  and  when  hooked  they  coil  about  the  line  in  a  troublesome 
way.     Nothing  is  known  of  the  rate  of  growth  of  the  cusk. 

Food. — Little  is  known  of  the  diet  of  the  cusk.  European  students  describe 
the  stomachs  as  usually  containing  crustaceans  and  sometimes  moUusks.  The  cusk 
is  not  at  all  fastidious  as  to  bait,  accepting  clams,  cockles,  and  herring  equally. 
So  far  as  we  can  learn  no  record  had  been  made  of  its  stomach  contents  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic  until  W.  C.  Schroeder,  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  found  crabs  and 
occasional  mollusks  in  several  taken  on  Platts  Bank  in  the  summer  of  1924. 

Breeding  habits. — What  is  known  of  the  breeding  habits,  eggs,  and  larvae 
of  the  cusk  is  due  to  European  students.  This  fish  spawns  in  spring  and  early 
smnmer  ^°  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.     In  European  waters  the  season  lasts 

"  In  Vineyard  Sound,  according  to  Smith,  the  cusk  was  once  not  uncommon,  but  it  has  been  a  rare  fish  there  tor  many  years. 
'5  Welsh  saw  flsh  nearly  but  not  quite  ripe  near  the  Isles  of  Shoals  in  April  and  May. 


466 


BtriiLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OE   EISHEBIES 


from  April  until  June,  and  probably  it  lasts  all  summer  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  for 
Mr.  Schroeder  reports  a  female  on  Platts  Bank  nearly  ripe  on  July  23.  In  the 
eastern  Atlantic  cusk  spawn  chiefly  below  100  fathoms,  judging  from  the  distribution 
of  the  eggs  on  the  surface,  but  the  chief  production  of  eggs  probably  takes  place 
in  water  shallower  than  this  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  where  most  of  the  stock  lives 
in  depths  of  less  than  75  fathoms,  and  some  must  spawn  close  inshore,  for  we  have 
towed  the  larvae,  only  6  to  13.8  mm.  long,  in  Provincetown  Harbor,  off  Cape  Cod, 
and  near  the  Isles  of  Shoals,^^  but  we  have  never  detected  cusk  eggs  in  our  tows 
or  seen  perfectly  ripe  fish.  The  cusk  is  among  the  most  prolific  of  fish,  more  than 
2,000,000  eggs  having  been  counted  in  a  female  of  medium  size.  The  egg  is  buoyant 
like  that  of  other  gadoids,  1.29  to  1.51  mm.  in  diameter,  with  one  oil  globule  of 


Fig.  233.— Larva  (European).  12..5  millimeters.    After  Schmidt 


Fig.  234.— Fry  (European),  42.5  millimeters.    After  Schmidt 
CUSK  (Brosmius  brosme) 

0.23  to  0.3  mm.,  and  it  may  be  recognized  by  the  brownish  or  pinkish  color  of  the 
latter  and  by  the  fact  that  the  entire  surface  of  the  egg  is  finely  pitted. 

The  larvJB  are  about  4  mm.  long  at  hatching,  with  the  vent  situated  at  the 
base  of  the  ventral  finfold  as  in  other  gadoids,  but  they  are  separable  from  all 
other  gadoid  larvae  occurring  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  by  the  pinkish  oil  globule  at 
the  posterior  end  of  the  yolk.  The  latter  is  absorbed  in  about  a  week  after  hatching, 
at  a  length  of  about  5  mm.,  and  as  the  little  cusk  grows  its  ventral  fins  elongate 
like  those  of  young  hake  and  young  rockling  and  become  heavily  pigmented  with 
black.  It  is  separable  from  both  of  these,  however,  by  the  fact  that  the  ventral 
rays  are  independent  and  by  the  presence  of  three  black  patches — one  on  top  of 
the  head,  a  second  over  the  gut,  and  a  third  at  the  tip  of  the  tail — and  two  vertical 
black  bands  which  divide  the  trunk  behind  the  head  into  three  nearly  equal  sections. 

3«  The  station  records  are  10012,  July  22, 1912, 1  specimen;  10343,  July  20,  1916,  4  specimens;  and  10344,  July  22,  1916,  1  specimen. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  467 

In  the  rockling  there  is  only  one  band  of  pigment  behind  the  vent,  and  no  definite 
band  in  either  of  the  hakes  common  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  The  first  traces  of  the 
vertical  fin  rays  of  the  young  cusk  are  visible  at  about  12.5  mm.,  and  the  dorsal 
and  anal  fins  are  differentiated  at  about  28  mm.,  at  which  stage  the  ventrals  are 
relatively  at  their  longest.  Fry  of  40  mm.  and  upward  show  most  of  the  characters 
of  the  adult,  the  relationship  of  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins  to  the  caudal  and  the 
presence  of  only  a  single  dorsal  and  anal  fin  being  sufficient  to  identify  them  as 
such  from  this  size  on. 

The  older  cusk  fry,  while  still  living  at  the  surface,  are  described  by  Schmidt  ^' 
as  greenish  yellow  with  blue  eyes,  not  silvery-sided  like  young  rockling  and  hake. 

The  young  cusk  lives  near  the  surface  like  other  gadoids  until  it  is  2  inches  or 
more  long,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  in  European  seas  they  first  seek  the 
bottom  in  considerable  depths,  but  we  have  nothing  to  offer  on  this  point  for  the 
Gulf  of  Maine. 

Commercial  importance. — The  cusk  is  an  excellent  food  fish  and  there  is  a 
ready  market  for  all  that  are  caught. 

THE    GRENADIERS.     FAMILY    MACROURID.S 

The  grenadiers  are  characterized  externally  by  large  heads,  projecting  snouts, 
and  slender  bodies  tapering  to  whiplike  tails  with  no  definitely  demarked  caudal 
fin.  There  are  two  dorsal  fins — the  first  high  and  the  second  very  low,  but  occu- 
pying the  greater  part  of  the  back — and  there  is  an  even  longer  anal.  The  grena- 
diers are  now  universally  located  close  to  the  cod  family  in  classification  because 
of  the  structure  of  their  skulls,  but  unlike  that  tribe  there  is  one  stout  spine  in  the 
first  dorsal  fin.  They  are  deep-sea  fishes,  living  on  the  bottom,  loose  in  texture 
and  weak  swimmers.  Many  species  are  known,  but  only  three  have  ever  been  taken 
within  the  confines  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

Besides  the  species  described  below,  three  others — CorypTisenoides  rupestris, 
C.  carapinus,  and  Hymenocephalus  goodei — have  been  taken  sufficiently  often  on 
the  continental  slope  abreast  of  the  Gulf  and  off  southern  New  England  to  show 
that  they  are  not  uncommon  below  500  fathoms,  but  they  are  all  typical  inhabi- 
tants of  the  deep-sea  floor  and  never  likely  to  rise  into  shoal  enough  water  to  come 
within  the  limits  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine.^* 

KEY  TO  GULF  OF  MAINE  GRENADIERS 

1.  Dorsal  spine  perfectly  smooth;  snout  projects  considerably  beyond  the  mouth 

Long-nosed  grenadier  (Coelorhynchus  carminatus),  p.  471 

Dorsal  spine  serrated  with  teeth  which  can  be  felt  if  not  seen;  snout  projects  only 
slightly  beyond  the  mouth 2 

2.  Dorsal  spine  strongly  serrated Common  grenadier  {Macrourus  bairdii),  p.  468 

Serrations  on  dorsal  spine  so  fine  as  to  be  hardly  visible 

Smooth-spined  grenadier  (M.  herglax),  p.  470 

s'  Meddelelser  fra  Komimssionen  for  Havundersjlgelser,  Serie:  Fiskeri,  Bind  I,  No.  8,  1905,  p.  7.  He  also  describes  the  larval 
stages  of  the  cusk. 

>'  For  descriptions  of  ttiese  and  lists  of  the  localities  at  which  they  have  been  taken  see  Qoode  and  Bean  (1896). 


468  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

162.  Common  grenadier  { Macrourus  lairdii  Goode  &ndBe&n) 
Rat-tail;   Marlin-spike 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2583. 

Description. — The  grenadier  once  seen  could  hardly  be  mistaken  for  any  other 
fish  except  one  of  its  own  tribe,  so  characteristic  are  its  slender  body  (compressed 
behind  the  vent  and  tapering  to  a  whiplike  tail  with  no  definite  caudal  fin)  in 
combination  with  a  pointed  snout  overhanging  the  mouth,  very  large  eyes,  and 
high  first  dorsal  but  very  low  second  dorsal  fin.  It  has  a  chin  barbel  hke  a  cod 
(not  shown  in  the  illustration).  As  noted  above,  the  second  ray  of  the  first  dorsal 
fin  is  a  true  spine,  serrated  along  its  front  edge  with  about  15  sharp  and  very  notice- 
able teeth  pointing  upward.  The  first  dorsal  fin  (2  stiff  spiny  rays  and  11  softer 
rays)  is  triangular,  about  twice  as  high  as  long,  its  first  ray  very  short,  and  origi- 
nates over  the  pectorals  close  behind  the  gill  opening.  The  space  between  the 
two  dorsal  fins  is  about  as  long  as  the  height  of  the  first  fin.  The  second  dorsal 
(about  137  rays)  extends  back  to  the  tip  of  the  tail,  is  so  low  that  its  membrane 
is  hardly  visible,  and  tapers  to  practically  nothing  at  its  rear  end.  The  anal  is 
considerably  longer  than  the  second  dorsal  (only  about  120  rays,  however)  and 
more  than  twice  as  high.  The  pectorals  are  of  ordinary  form,  rounded  at  the  tip. 
The  ventrals,  which  stand  under  or  slightly  behind  them,  are  triangular  with  the 
first  ray  prolonged  as  a  threadlike  filament.  The  scales  are  rough  with  small 
spines.     The  jaws  are  armed  with  several  bands  of  small  recurved  teeth. 

Color. — Described  as  light  brownish  gray  above,  silvery  below,  with  bluish 
belly,  the  lower  surface  of  the  snout  pink,  the  throat  deep  violet,  the  first  dorsal 
pink  with  blackish  spines,  and  the  eyes  dark  blue. 

Size. — Usually  about  1  foot  long. 

General  range  and  occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  is  normally  a  deep- 
water  fish  which  has  been  found  at  many  localities  along  the  continental  slope  from 
the  West  Indies  north  nearly  to  the  Grand  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  and  rarely 
in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  It  is  also  known  from  the  mouth  of  the  Laurentian 
Channel,  on  the  Scotian  Banks,  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  and  even  in  Vineyard  Sound. 
Grenadiers  usually  live  in  at  least  80  to  90  fathoms  of  water  and  thence  down  to 
1,000  to  1,200  fathoms  (deepest  record  1,255  fathoms);  but  one  was  trawled  in  9 
fathoms  in  Vineyard  Sound  by  the  Fish  Hawk  many  years  ago,  a  second  was  foimd 
floating  near  the  surface  at  Eastport  by  Dr.  W.  C.  Kendall,  and  a  third  was  taken 
in  a  weir  at  Lubec,  as  reported  by  Huntsman.  The  only  other  records  of  grenadiers 
within  the  Gulf  of  Maine  are  of  one  caught  in  160  fathoms  in  the  Western  Basin, 
44  miles  off  Cape  Ann,  and  another  taken  off  Gloucester,  both  taken  many  years 
ago.  They  may  be  more  common  on  the  soft  muddy  bottoms  of  the  deep  basins  of 
the  Gulf  in  100  to  125  fathoms  than  this  would  suggest,  overlooked,  perhaps,  be- 
cause few  fishermen  ever  set  their  trawls  on  these  grounds,  which  are  not  productive 
either  of  cod  or  of  haddock.  Grenadiers,  together  with  the  long-finned  hake  (p.  456) , 
are  the  most  abundant  fish'"  on  the  continental  slope  off  the  Gulf  below  100 
fathoms. 

"  For  a  list  of  captures  on  the  continental  slope  see  Goode  and  Bean  (1896,  p.  394). 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF   OF    MAINE 


469 


470  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Habits. — Little  is  known  of  the  habits  of  the  grenadier  except  that  it  is  a  bottom 
fish,  usually  found  on  soft  mud,  and  a  very  feeble  swimmer,  while  Hensen's  *"  report 
of  pelagic  euphausiid  shrimps  {Thysanoessa  longicaudata)  in  a  grenadier  stomach 
is  the  only  observation  which  has  so  far  been  made  on  its  diet. 

Probably  grenadiers  spawn  in  summer  and  autumn,  for  the  spermaries  of  the 
specimen  from  the  western  basin  of  the  Gulf,  just  mentioned,  were  nearly  ripe  on 
August  19,  but  neither  the  eggs,  larvae,  nor  young  fry  of  this  fish  have  been  seen. 
The  former,  however,  probably  resemble  other  macrurid  eggs  described  by  European 
authors;"  that  is,  they  are  buoyant  at  least  for  the  first  part  of  incubation,  with  a 
large  oil  globule,  wide  perivitelline  space,  and  sculptured  on  the  siu-face  into  concave 
hexagonal  facets.  Larval  macrurids  of  other  species  have  the  rays  of  the  first 
dorsal  and  ventral  fins  much  elongated. 

163.  Smooth-spined  grenadier  (Macrourmberglax  "Lucepede) 
Rat-tail;  Onion-eye 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2581. 

Description. — This  species  so  closely  resembles  the  common  grenadier  (p.  46S) 
in  its  general  appearance  that  we  need  only  point  out  the  points  of  difference. 
Most  obvious  of  these  are  that  its  snout  is  shorter  and  blunter,  with  more  highly 
arched  dorsal  profile;  that  there  are  from  4  to  6  distinct  ridges  on  the  top  of  the  head; 
that  the  trunk  is  relatively  stouter  (about  6  or  7  times  as  deep  as  long) ;  and  that  the 
serrations  of  the  second  ray  of  the  first  dorsal  fin  are  so  much  finer  as  to  be  hardly  visi- 
ble. Furthermore  there  are  fewer  (about  124)  rays  in  the  second  dorsal  fin,  more 
(about  148)  in  the  anal,  and  the  first  dorsal  is  of  rather  different  outline  than  in  the 
common  grenadier.  The  second  dorsal  is  relatively  higher  and  with  its  membrane 
more  developed  (compare  fig.  2.36  with  fig.  235),  while  none  of  the  authors  who  have 
described  this  grenadier  (we  have  never  seen  it)  have  mentioned  any  filamentous 
prolongation  of  the  ventral  fin  such  as  occurs  in  Macrourus  hairdii.  The  structure 
of  the  scales  is  also  diagnostic,  though  visible  only  under  a  lens,  for  those  on  the 
body  of  the  present  species  are  described  as  armed  with  one  median  or  with  two 
lateral  ridges  of  spines  whereas  in  M.  hairdii  there  are  10  to  12  rows  of  spines  on 
each  scale. 

Color. — No  information  is  available  as  to  the  color  of  this  fish  in  life. 

Size. — Larger  than  the  other  grenadier  (p.  468),  being  credited  with  a  maximum 
length  of  3  feet  and  a  weight  of  4  or  5  pounds. 

General  range  and  occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  is  a  deep-water  fish 
like  its  relative  but  more  northerly  in  its  distribution,  being  known  off  northern 
Norway,  Spitzbergen,  Iceland,  southern  Greenland,  in  Davis  Strait,  and  southward 
along  the  continental  slope  of  North  America  as  far  as  Georges  Bank.  One  has 
even  been  found  dead,  floating  on  the  surface,  off  New  York  Harbor. 

"  Proceedings,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  vol.  48,  1915,  p.  99. 

*'  Ehrenbaum  (Nordisches  Plankton,  Band  I,  1905-1909)  summarizes  what  little  is  known  of  the  eggs  and  young  of  this  group 
of  fishes. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


471 


Half  a  century  ago  when  halibut  were  more  plentiful  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  than 
they  are  to-day,  and  when  line  trawlers  from  Gloucester  still  resorted  regularly  to  the 
deep  gully  between  Browns  and  Georges  Banks,  they  frequently  caught  large  grena- 
diers which  probably  were  of  this  species,  and  likewise  caught  them  in  the  deep 
gullies  on  the  Scotian  Bank  farther  to  the  eastward,  as  well  as  off  its  seaward  slope. 
Fishermen  even  described  them  as  common  enough  to  be  a  nuisance,  for  they  were 
of  no  commercial  value  and  stole  bait  meant  for  better  fish.  It  was  on  the 
strength  of  such  reports  that  Goode  (et  al.,  1884,  p.  244)  described  it  as  "exceedingly 
abundant  on  all  our  offshore  banks."  During  the  early  days  of  the  Bureau  of 
Fisheries  a  few  were  brought  in  by  fishermen  from  "off  the  coast  ot  New  England,"" 
and  no  doubt  fishermen  still  hook  them  as  of  old  off  La  Have  and  Sable  Island 
Banks.  However,  it  is  long  since  one  has  been  reported  from  the  Gulf  of  Maine, 
not  because  they  are  no  longer  to  be  caught  but  simply  because  less  line  trawl 
fishing  is  now  done  there  in  water  deep  enough.  One  hundred  fathoms  may  be  set 
as  the  usual  upper  limit  for  this  grenadier,  and  most  of  those  caught  have  been 
from  100  to  300  fathoms  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  while  it  has  been  taken  as 
deep  as  677  fathoms  by  the  Albatross  off  the  southeast  slope  of  Georges  Bank.    It 


Fig.  237. — Long-nosed  grenadier  (CceJorhynchus  carminatus 

is  supposed  to  feed  on  small  fish  and  on  Crustacea  but  we  find  no  definite  record  of 
the  contents  of  its  stomach.  Females  with  the  roe  nearly  ripe  have  been  taken  off 
northern  Norway  in  May,  suggesting  that  it  is  a  spring  spawner,  but  nothing  more 
definite  is  known  of  its  breeding  habits. 

164.  Long-nosed  grenadier   {Codorhynchus  carminatus  Goode) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2588. 

Description. — This  species  so  closely  resembles  the  common  grenadier  (p.  468) 
in  general  appearance  that  there  is  danger  of  mistaking  it  for  the  latter;  but  it  is 
identifiable  by  the  facts  that  its  dorsal  spine  is  perfectly  smooth  and  its  first  dorsal 
fin  rounded  instead  of  acutely  triangular,  while  the  snout  overhangs  the  mouth 
farther  and  is  more  pointed  and  flattened  (commonly  described  as  "sturgeonlike," 
but  this  characterization  applies  better  to  other  members  of  the  genus  which  have 
still  longer  snouts). 

Color. — Described  as  silvery  gray. 

Size. — About  10  inches  long. 

"  Bean,  1881,  p.  80. 


472  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

General  range  and  occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  is  a  deep-water  ground 
fish  which  has  been  taken  at  many  locaUties  off  the  American  coast  from  the  West 
Indies  and  Gulf  of  Mexico  northward  along  the  continental  slope  to  abreast  of 
southern  New  England  in  depths  of  104  to  464  fathoms.  It  is  included  here  because 
once  recorded  off  Nantucket  in  148  fathoms,  but  this  is  apparently  about  its  eastern 
limit  for  it  has  not  been  reported  from  the  slope  of  Georges  Bank  and  hence  is 
hardly  to  be  expected  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  proper. 

THE  FLOUNDERS  AND  SOLES.     FAMILIES  PLEURONECTID.ffi  AND  SOLEID.E 

The  flatfishes  are  a  very  homogenous  tribe,  so  different  from  all  other  fishes 
that  no  one  is  apt  to  take  one  for  any  other  fish.  What  strikes  one  first  is  their 
flatness;  less  obvious  is  the  fact  that  they  lie  not  on  the  belly  but  on  one  side,  right 
or  left;  and  the  skull  so  twists  in  the  course  of  development  that  the  eye,  which  was 
originally  on  the  side  fated  to  be  underneath,  migrates  around  the  head  so  that 
both  eyes  finally  come  to  lie  close  together  on  the  side  that  is  uppermost  as  the 
fish  lies.  The  mouth,  however,  more  nearly  retains  its  original  position  and  hence  is 
often  described  as  opening  sidewise.  The  larval  flounder  swims  on  edge  like  any 
other  fish,  the  migration  of  the  eye  taking  place  just  before  the  fry  take  to  the 
bottom. 

All  flounders  have  a  single  long  fin  on  each  edge,  one  the  dorsal  and  the  other 
the  anal,  with  well-developed  ventrals.  Most  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  species  also 
have  large  pectorals,  one  on  the  upper  side  as  the  fish  lies  on  the  bottom  and  the 
other  on  the  lower  side.  The  ventrals  are  in  front  of  or  in  fine  with  the  pectorals, 
the  abdominal  cavity  is  very  short,  and  some  species  are  armed  with  a  stout  anal 
spine.  The  distinction  between  the  two  families  is  indefinite  and  bridged  by  several 
genera  which  are  more  or  less  intermediate  between  them.  Most  Gulf  of  Maine 
flatfish  are  typical  flounders  (Pleuronectidag) ,  the  soles  (Soleidse)  being  represented 
there  by  the  hog-choker  (p.  522)  alone. 

Our  several  flatfishes  look  much  alike.  Indeed,  they  are  often  confused,  but 
it  is  not  difficult  to  tell  one  from  another  as  the  diagnostic  characters  are  rather 
precise,  if  not  obvious  at  first  glance.  Huntsman  (1918c)  has  published  a  very 
useful  key  to  the  eastern  Canadian  species,  which  is  expanded  here  to  cover  the 
Gulf  of  Maine. 

KEY    TO   GULF  OF   MAINE   FLATFISHES 

1 .  Eyes  on  the  left  side  (guts  at  left  edge  as  the  fish  lies) 2 

Eyes  on  the  right  side  (guts  at  the  right) 5 

2.  Lateral  line  arched  over  the  pectoral  fin" 3 

Lateral  line  straight Citharichthys  arctifrons,  p.  521 

3.  The  two  ventral  fins  are  alike 4 

The  two  ventrals  are  not  alike,  the  left  (upper)  being  continuous  with  the  anal  fin,  the 

right  (lower)  separate  from  it Sand  flounder,  p.  516 

4.  Upper  side  with  four  large  oblong  black  eye  spots;  less  than  75  rays  in  the  long  (dorsal) 

fin Four-spotted  flounder,  p.  494 

Upper  side  with  many  small  spots;  more  than  85  dorsal  fin  rays..  Summer  flounder,  p.  491 

5.  There  is  a  well-developed  pectoral  fin  on  the  eyed  side • 6 

No  pectoral  fins Hog-choker,  p.  522 

"  In  all  the  flounders  of  this  type  so  far  recorded  from  the  Gulf  of  Maine  both  pectorals  are  well  developed.    Should  one  be 
taken  with  no  pectoral  fin  on  the  blind  side  it  would  probably  be  the  deep-water  Monolene  seasiUcauda  (p.  521). 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  473 

6.  Mouth  large,  gaping  back  as  far  as  the  eye;  jaws  and  teeth  nearly  equally  developed 

on  both  sides 7 

Mouth  small,  not  gaping  back  as  far  as  the  eye;  the  jaws  nearly  straight  on  the  upper 
side  and  curved  on  the  lower  side 8 

7.  Tail  slightly  forked;  lateral  line  arched  just  behind  the  gill  opening Halibut,  p.  473 

Tail  slightly  forked;  lateral  line  nearly  straight Greenland  halibut,  p.  481 

Tail  rounded;  lateral  line  nearly  straight American  plaice,  p.  482 

8.  Lower  side  of  head  with  large  open  mucus  pits;  100  or  more  rays  in  the  long  (dorsal) 

fin Witch,  p.  511 

Lower  side  of  head  lacks  open  mucus  pits;  less  than  90  dorsal  fin  rays 9 

9.  Lateral  line  arched  behind  the  gill  opening Dab,  p.  495 

Lateral  line  nearly  straight 10 

10.         Top  of  the  head  between  the  eyes  rough  with  scales 

Winter  flounder  (including  also  the  Georges  Bank  flounder),  p.  501 

Top  of  the  head  between  the  eyes  naked  and  smooth Smooth  flounder,  p.  508 


,.^'' 
V^". 


"-'%, 


Fig.  238.— Halibut  {Hippoijiossiis  tiippoglossus) 

165.  Halibut  {Hippoglossus  hippoglossus  hinnceus) 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2611. 

Description. — This  is  not  only  the  largest  but  one  of  the  best  characterized  of 
flatfish,  its  naost  obvious  diagnostic  characters,  apart  from  its  size,  being  the  facts 
that  it  lies  on  the  left  side;"  its  niouth  is  large,  gapes  back  to  the  eyes,  and  is 
armed  with  sharp  curved  teeth;  its  tail  is  emarginate,  not  rounded;  its  two  ventral 
fins  are  alike;  and  its  lateral  line  is  arched  abreast  of  the  pectoral  fin.  Further- 
more it  is  a  narrower  fish,  relatively,  than  most  of  our  flounders  (only  about  one- 
third  as  broad  as  long)  but  very  thick,  and  its  eyes  are  more  widely  separated  than  in 
most  flounders.  The  dorsal  (long)  fin  (98  to  105  rays)  commences  abreast  of  the 
eye  and  runs  back  the  whole  length  of  the  fish,  broadening  but  shghtly  for  the  first 
third  of  its  length  and  then  abruptly,  to  narrow  again  toward  the  caudal  peduncle. 
The  anal  is  similar  in  outline  but  shorter  (73  to  79  rays),  originates  close  behind 
the  pectoral,  and  is  preceded  by  a  sharp  spinelike  projection  of  the  post-abdominal 
bone,  which  projects  in  young  fish  but  is  hidden  by  the  skin  in  old  fish.  The  two 
pectoral  fins  are  unlike,  the  one  on  the  upper  (eyed)  side  of  the  fish  being  obHquely 
pointed  while  the  fin  on  the  lower  side  is  rounded.  The  rather  small  vcntrals, 
which  are  situated  before  the  pectorals  and   are  separated  from   the   anal  by  a 

"  Left-handed  halibut  have  occasionally  been  caught. 


474  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

considerable  space,  are  alike.     Halibut,  like  other  flounders,  are  scaly  on  the  whole 
head  and  body  and  are  very  slimy  with  mucus. 

Color. — The  halibut  is  chocolate  to  olive  or  slaty  brown  on  the  eyed  (upper) 
side.  Young  fish  are  lighter  and  more  or  less  mottled  w^hile  large  ones  are  more 
uniform  and  darker,  sometimes  almost  black.  The  blind  (lower)  side  is  pure 
white  in  small  fish,  but  large  ones  are  often  more  or  less  blotched  or  clouded  with 
gray  (known  by  fishermen  as  " grays ").''^ 

Size. — Among  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes  only  swordfish,  tuna,  and  some  of  the  larger 
shark's  reach  a  greater  size  than  the  halibut,  and  since  the  reports  of  specimens 
of  600  to  700  pounds  have  usually  been  looked  on  as  exaggerations  we  are  glad  to  be 
able  to  give  at  least  one  record  of  a  Gulf  of  Maine  halibut  in  this  weight  class.  The 
fish  in  question  was  taken  in  June,  1917,  by  Capt.  A.  S.  Ree,  about  50  miles  east- 
northeast  of  Cape  Ann,  and  since  it  weighed  615  pounds  (gutted,  but  with  the  head 
still  attached)  when  brought  in  to  the  Boston  fish  pier  it  must  have  been  as  heavy 
as  700  pounds  while  alive."  Another  halibut  of  602  pounds  is  said  to  have  been 
taken  near  Isle  au  Haut  in  1902,  but  we  can  not  vouch  for  this. 

Halibut  of  500  to  600  pounds  are  rumored  almost  every  year,  but  the  next  largest 
of  which  we  have  definite  knowledge  was  one  of  about  450  pounds  caught  on  a  hand 
line  in  the  deep  water  between  Browns  and  Georges  Banks  in  1908  by  W.  F.  Clapp. 
Goode  (et  al.,  1884)  likewise  had  records  of  a  dozen  fish  of  350  to  400  pounds  caught 
off  the  New  England  coast,  but  a  halibut  heavier  than  300  pounds  is,  and  apparently 
always  was,  a  rarity  anywhere  in  the  North  Atlantic,  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  the 
heaviest  ever  caught  or  seen  by  two  of  the  most  experienced  halibut  fishermen  who 
supplied  Goode  with  information  weighed  only  about  300  (237  dressed)  and  401 
pounds,  respectively  (the  latter  caught  near  Race  Point,  Cape  Cod,  in  July,  1849). 
Full-grown  females  average  about  100  to  150  pounds.  Males  run  smaller,  and  most  of 
the  "  large  "  fish  landed  in  New  England  ports  weigh  from  50  to  200  pounds.  Halibut 
between  7  and  8  feet  long  usually  weigh  300  to  350  pounds,  and  the  relationship  of 
length  to  weight  in  the  smaller  sizes  appears  from  the  following  table  based  on 
Icelandic  fish  measured  by  Jesperson." 

Length,  in  inches  Weight,  in  pounds 

74 215 

70 168 

61 107 

54  to  56 60}^ 

40  to  42 29 

36 11  to  12 

30 ^Vi 

27 61^ 

24 5H 

General  range. — The  hahbut  is  a  cold-water  fish  found  in  the  North  Pacific, 
the  Arctic,  and  in  the  North  Atlantic  Oceans.  They  are,  or  once  were,  caught  in 
abundance  off  the  eastern  coast  of  North  America  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 

"•  Storer  (1867)  says  that  halibut  with  both  sides  brown  have  been  seen,  and  occasionally  a  flsh  with  the  lower  side  marked 
.  with  dark  patches  of  the  same  color  as  the  upper  side. 

"  An  account  of  this  fish  was  given  in  the  Boston  Daily  Globe  of  June  12,  1917.    It  was  purchased  by  the  Shore  Fish  Co. 
*'  Meddelelser  fra  Kommissionen  tor  Havunders*gelser,  Serie:  Fiskeri,  Bind  V,  Nr.  5,  1917. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  475 

and  the  Newfoundland  Banks  to  the  region  of  Nantucket  Shoals,  and  occasionally 
as  far  south  as  New  York.  The  Greenland  side  of  Davis  Strait  likewise  supports 
a  productive  halibut  fishery,  and  they  are  caught  well  beyond  the  Arctic  Circle 
along  this  coast.  As  there  are  no  definite  records  of  halibut  from  the  east  coast  of 
Labrador  north  of  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle,  however,  it  seems  that  they  shun  the 
icy  Labrador  current.  Further  evidence  that  halibut  are  not  at  home  in  truly  Polar 
temperatures  is  afforded  by  the  fact  that  while  it  is  taken  at  Spitzbergen,  about  Bear 
Island,  and  off  the  Murman  coast,  it  is  not  known  on  the  Arctic  coasts  of  Asia  or  of 
North  America. 

In  the  eastern  side  of  the  Atlantic  the  waters  around  Iceland  and  the  Faroes 
are  the  seat  of  important  fisheries,  and  halibut  are  regularly  caught  from  northern 
Norway  south  to  the  Irish  Sea,  North  Sea,  and  English  Channel,  while  odd  fish  are 
even  landed  from  the  Bay  of  Biscay. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  history  of  the  halibut  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  like  that  of  the  salmon,  must  be  WTitten  largely  in  the  past  tense  for  it  is 
one  of  the  species  the  stock  of  which  has  been  seriously  depleted  there  by  over- 
fishing. In  Colonial  days  the  halibut  was  a  familiar  and  apparently  very  abundant 
fish  on  the  northern  New  England  coast  but  considered  hardly  fit  for  food.  Wood 
(1634,  p.  37),  for  instance,  writes  "the  plenty  of  better  fish  makes  these  of  little 
esteem,  except  the  head  and  finnes,  which  stewed  or  baked  is  very  good;  these 
hollibuts  be  little  set  by  while  basse  is  in  season."  They  seem  to  have  maintained 
their  numbers  down  to  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century,  when,  as  con- 
temporaries remark,  halibut  were  extremely  numerous  in  Massachusetts  Bay  and 
along  Cape  Cod,  in  fact  around  the  whole  coast  lino  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  They  were 
discovered  in  abundance  on  Nantucket  Shoals,  on  Georges  Bank,  on  Browns  Bank, 
and  on  the  Seal  Island  ground  as  soon  as  fishing  was  regularly  undertaken  offshore. 
During  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  many  were  caught  in  Massachusetts 
Bay,  particularly  on  Stellwagen  Bank,  and  all  along  the  eastern  shore  of  Cape  Cod, 
and  in  fact  the  cod  fishermen  of  those  days  looked  upon  them  as  a  nuisance  and  seldom 
worth  bringing  in  to  market.  However,  a  demand  for  halibut  arose  in  the  Boston 
market  sometime  between  1820  and  1825  and  ever  since  then  they  have  been  pur- 
sued relentlessly,  first  inshore  and  then  farther  and  farther  afield.  During  the 
early  years  of  the  fishery  the  Massachusetts  Bay-Cape  Cod  region  yielded  large 
numbers  of  these  great  fish.  For  instance,  four  men  are  reported  to  have  caught 
400  in  two  days  off  Marblehead  in  1837,  a  party  of  equal  size  is  said  to  have  landed 
13,000  pounds  off  Cape  Cod  in  three  weeks,  while  it  was  discovered  some  time  prior 
to  1840  that  halibut  congregated  in  winter  in  the  25  to  30  fathom  gully  between 
the  tip  of  Cape  Cod  and  Stellwagen  Bank.  However,  a  shrinkage  in  the  supply  had 
been  noticed  along  shore  even  before  1839,  for  we  find  halibut  described  in  that  year 
(in  the  Gloucester  Telegraph)  as  "formerly"  caught  along  Cape  Cod  and  Barnstable 
Bay,  and  they  were  so  nearly  caught  out  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region  by  about 
1850  that  it  no  longer  paid  even  small  boats  to  go  out  especially  for  them.  Halibut 
held  out  better  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Gulf  where  there  was  not  as  ready  a 
market  as  in  Boston.     Perley,  indeed,  Avrote  of  them  as  plentiful  enough  to  be  a 


476  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BTJBEAU   OF   FISHERIES 

plague  to  the  local  fishermen  off  Brier  Island  as  recently  as  1852,  but  it  was  not  long 
thereafter  before  their  numbers  there  were  greatly  reduced. 

The  offshore  fishery  for  halibut  began  about  1830,  when  the  cod  fishermen 
brought  word  to  Gloucester  of  a  great  abundance  of  them  on  Georges  Bank,^*  and 
for  a  few  years  thereafter  they  were  caught  there  in  numbers  which  to-day  seem 
almost  unbelievable.  Thus  we  read  of  250  caught  in  three  hours,  of  vessels  loaded 
in  a  couple  of  days,  and  of  a  single  smack  landing  20,000  pounds  in  a  day.  They 
were  also  taken  in  great  plenty  on  Nantucket  Shoals  during  this  same  period,  but 
the  supply  seems  to  have  dwindled  suddenly  in  1848  in  the  shoal  waters  both  of 
Georges  Bank  and  of  the  Shoals,  and  so  permanently  that  few  vessels  went  thither 
especially  for  halibut  after  1850.  Now  forced  to  seek  further  afield,  the  fishing 
fleet  found  that  halibut  were  plentiful  on  the  Seal  Island  ground,  on  Browns  Bank, 
and  in  the  Eastern  Channel  or  "gully"  separating  the  latter  from  Georges  Bank — 
localities  which  supplied  the  New  York  and  Boston  markets  for  the  next  decade. 
In  1875  halibut  fishing  was  undertaken  in  deep  water  (100  to  200  fathoms)  on  the 
southeast  slope  of  Georges  Bank,  but  it  was  not  long  before  all  these  grounds  were 
fished  out  to  the  point  where  it  was  seldom  possible  to  make  paying  trips  to  them 
for  halibut  alone.  For  many  years  now  most  of  the  halibut  caught  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine  have  been  taken  incidentally  by  cod,  haddock,  or  hake  fishermen,  few  vessels 
fitting  for  these  great  fish  alone  unless  bound  further  afield. 

Fortunately  for  the  fishing  industry  the  depletion  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  was 
compensated  for  by  the  discovery  of  halibut  in  such  abundance  along  the  deeper 
slopes  of  the  banks  to  the  north  and  east  that  at  first  they  seemed  inexhaustible; 
and  for  many  years  now  most  of  the  halibut  fishermen  sailing  from  New  England 
ports  have  resorted  to  the  neighborhood  of  Sable  Island  Bank  (fishing,  however,  in 
deep  water),  to  the  general  region  of  the  Grand  Banks,  to  Greenland,  or  to  Iceland. 

Although  there  is  not  one  halibut  in  the  Gulf  to-day,  where  there  were  hundreds 
in  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  geographical  range  of  this  noble 
fish  is  as  extensive  there  as  ever  it  was,  odd  halibut  still  being  caught  along  Cape 
Cod,  in  Massachusetts  Bay  (where  a  good  many  "chickens"  of  10  pounds  and  up- 
ward were  brought  in  during  the  summer  of  1922),  all  along  the  Maine  coast,  in 
the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  on  all  the  offshore  grounds.  Thus  we  find  small  boats 
accounting  for  the  following  catches  in  1919,  following  the  coast  line  around  from 
Cape  Cod: 

Massachusetts:  Pounds 

Barnstable  County -_   10,  211 

Suffolk  County • 1,  449 

Essex  County 6,  081 

Maine: 

York  County 3,  0.50 

Cumberland  County 3,  844 

Sagadahoc  County 11,  040 

Lincoln  County SCO 

Knox  County 22,  275 

Hancock  County 17,  380 

Washington  County 38,  165 

«  Qoode  and  Collins  (1887,  p.  3)  have  collected  data  on  the  Georges  Bank  halibut  fishery  and  the  former  abundance  of 
the  fish  there. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  477 

Halibut  are  also  caught  fairly  regularly  about  Grand  Manan  (15,500  pounds 
reported  thence  in  1919),  but  only  occasionally  about  Campobello  and  near  St. 
Andrews,  and  not  at  all  along  the  north  (New  Brunswick)  shore  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy 
east  of  St.  John.  On  the  Nova  Scotian  side,  however,  small  numbers  occur  right 
up  to  the  head  of  the  bay,  and  they  are  sufficiently  numerous  off  Brier  Island  at  its 
mouth  and  on  the  fishing  grounds  along  western  Nova  Scotia  to  bring  the  landings 
for  Digby  County  to  332,000  pounds  in  the  year  in  question. 

The  largest  catches  of  halibut  now  made  within  the  limits  of  the  GuK  of  Maine 
come  from  the  Cape  Sable-Browns  Bank  ground,  from  the  deeper  slopes  of  the  latter, 
from  the  gully  between  it  and  Georges  Bank,  and  from  the  eastern  part  and  slope  of 
that  bank.  In  1919  the  landings  of  halibut  from  these  localities  by  Canadian  and 
New  England  vessels  combined  amounted  to  slightly  more  than  2,000,000  pounds. 
A  few  fish  are  caught  in  the  South  Channel  (117,471  pounds  for  1919),  but  hardly 
any  are  now  found  on  Nantucket  Shoals,  where  they  were  once  so  plentiful. 

The  smaller  banks  within  the  Gulf  likewise  yield  a  few  halibut  still,  the  figures 
for  1919  being .  as  follows:  Fippenies,  3,564  pounds;  Stellwagen,  5,793  pounds; 
Jeffreys  Ledge,  12,733  pounds;  Cashes,  3,564  pounds;  and  Platts,  16,921  pounds. 
With  line  trawlers  "  picking  up  a  few  halibut  along  Cape  Cod  (11.  752  pounds  in 
1919),  the  total  yield  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  came  to  nearly  3,000,000  pounds  (some- 
thing like  30,000  individual  fish)  for  the  year  in  question. 

The  relationship  between  the  distribution  of  the  halibut  in  the  GuK  of  Maine  and 
the  depth  of  the  water  which  they  chiefly  inhabit  has  been  altered  within  historic 
times  by  intensive  fishing.  At  the  present  time  this  is  usually  classed  as  a  rather 
deep-water  fish,  being  most  plentiful  on  the  deeper  slopes  of  the  banks  which  it  in- 
habits and  in  100  to  300  fathoms  of  water  in  the  gullies  between  them.  This  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  the  case  in  the  early  days  of  the  local  halibut  fishery  (not,  at 
least,  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine) ,  for  they  were  then  common  in  but  a  few  fathoms  of 
water  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  many  wintering  in  the  gully  between  Stellwagen  Bank 
and  Cape  Cod,  which  is  only  25  to  30  fathoms  deep,  while  the  early  fishing  on  Georges 
was  on  the  shoaler  parts  of  the  bank  in  depths  of  15  to  30  fathoms  or  even  less.  Not 
only  did  the  first  visitors  to  this  ground  describe  the  halibut  as  schooling  at  the  sur- 
face in  pursuit  of  herring  and  launce  (not  an  uncommon  event  in  the  GuK  of  St. 
Lawrence  and  off  Newfoundland  when  they  are  chasing  capelin),  but  the  fish  so 
often  followed  their  hooked  companions  up  to  the  top  of  the  water  that  more  than 
one  vessel  made  a  good  part  of  her  fare  by  gaffing  them  alongside.  The  Nantucket 
Shoals  halibut  of  old  were  likewise  in  less  than  30  fathoms  depth,  and  when  the  fleet 
first  repaired  to  Browns  Bank  and  to  the  Seal  Island  grounds  they  found  halibut 
very  plentiful  in  water  but  little  deeper.  In  fact,  it  was  not  until  1S74  or  1875  that 
the  presence  of  this  fish  was  suspected  in  the  deeper  gullies  or  below  100  fathoms  on 
the  offshore  slopes  of  the  banks.  It  did  not  require  many  years  of  fishing  to  catch  up 
most  of  the  halibut  living  in  very  shallow  water,  and  so  thoroughly  that  although 
we  hear  of  odd  fish  close  inshore  every  year  few  are  taken  now  in  less  than  30  to  40 
fathoms  and  most  of  the  catch  is  made  much  deeper  than  this. 

"  The  otter  trawlers  that  carried  investigators  from  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  in  1913  took  halibut  on  more  than  half  of  their  trips 
to  Georges  Bank,  usually  from  1  to  75  fish  per  trip. 


478  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

The  history  of  the  haUbut  fishery  leaves  no  doubt  that  this  species  shows  the 
effect  of  hard  fishing  sooner  than  most  sea  fish,  it  being  possible  to  catch  up  the 
majority  of  the  stock  on  any  limited  area  in  a  few  years,  and  so  thoroughly  and 
constantly  do  the  cod  and  haddock  line  trawlers  search  all  the  good  fishing  bottoms 
of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  and  its  banks  that  halibut  never  have  a  chance  to  reestablish 
themselves  in  any  abundance  on  the  shoaler  grounds.  They  maintain  their  numbers 
better  on  the  deeper  slopes  chiefly  because  they  are  subject  to  less  intensive  perse- 
cution there,  for  it  is  only  while  and  where  halibut  are  plentiful  enough  to  yield 
paying  fares  that  vessels  fish  regularly  in  such  localities. 

The  surface  is  the  upper  limit  for  the  halibut,  as  we  have  just  noted,  while  300 
to  350  fathoms  may  be  set  as  the  lower  boundary  to  their  existence  in  any  numbers, 
but  the  absolute  depth  limit  is  not  known.  It  is  sufficiently  established  that  on  the 
whole  large  halibut  keep  to  deeper  water  than  small  ones,  a  fact  early  noticed  on 
Georges  Bank  where  the  fish  taken  on  the  shoaler  bottoms  were  all  small  (125  to 
180  pounds),  much  larger  ones  being  caught  on  the  deeper  slope  to  the  southeast, 
and  this  rule  holds  equally  for  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  The  halibut,  like  all 
flounders,  is  normally  a  bottom  fish,  although  it  comes  to  the  surface  on  occasion 
(p.  477).  It  is  usually  found  on  sand,  gravel,  or  clay,  not  on  soft  mud  or  on  rock 
bottom. 

Food. — The  halibut  is  very  voracious,  preying  chiefly  on  other  fishes,  a  long 
list  of  which  have  been  reported  from  halibut  stomachs,  among  them  being  cod, 
cusk,  haddock,  rosefish,  sculpins,  grenadiers,  silver  hake,  herring,  launce,  capelin, 
flounders  of  various  sorts  (these  seem  to  be  its  main  dependence),  skates,  wolfhsh, 
and  mackerel.  It  is  also  known  to  eat  crabs,  lobsters,  clams,  and  mussels.  Even 
sea  birds  have  been  taken  from  halibut.^"  Fishermen  have  reported  finding  in 
halibut  caught  nearby,  the  heads  and  backbones  of  cod  thrown  overboard  while 
dressing  down,  and  a  variety  of  indigestible  objects  such  as  pieces  of  wood  or  iron 
and  even  a  fragment  of  drift  ice.  In  any  given  locality  the  diet  of  the  halibut 
depends  on  what  other  ground  fish  are  most  easily  available.  Thus  they  are  re- 
ported to  feed  chiefly  on  flatfish  on  Georges  Bank  and  on  cod,  haddock,  cusk,  and 
sculpins  on  other  grounds.  Halibut,  like  other  flounders,  must  be  nearly  invisible 
as  they  lie  on  bottom,  capturing  their  prey  by  a  sudden  rush  after  any  fish  that 
passes  within  reach.  Due  to  their  great  siiie  and  activity  they  are  very  destructive 
to  smaller  fishes.  We  read,  indeed,  of  half  a  bushel  of  flatfish  taken  from  one  halibut, 
and  of  old,  when  they  were  so  plentiful  on  the  shoaler  banks,  fishermen  said  the 
appearance  of  a  school  of  halibut  soon  drove  away  the  cod  and  haddock.  The 
halibut  in  turn  falls  prey  to  seals  and  especially  to  the  Greenland  shark,  for  which 
it  serves  as  a  staple  article  of  diet. 

Habits. — Little  is  known  of  the  movements  of  the  halibut  except  that  its  young, 
like  other  flounder  fry,  swim  near  the  surface  for  some  months  after  hatching 
(how  long  is  not  known),  to  take  to  the  bottom  at  a  length  of  4  to  5  inches.  The 
older  fish  have  often  been  credited  with  extensive  journeys  from  bank  to  bank  or 
from  deep  to  shallow  water  and  vice  versa,  and  they  certainly  rove  the  bottom  in 

»»  Smitt  (Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892)  speaks  of  a  halibut  that  had  eaten  a  razor-billed  auk;  Goode  and  Collins  (1887)  record  an 
"ice  bird"  (probably  a  dovekie)  taken  from  one  caught  on  Georges  Bank. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


479 


bands  in  search  of  food  as  haddock  do;  but  the  available  evidence  as  to  their 
migrations  is  so  contradictory  and  so  complicated  by  the  local  effects  of  hard  fishing 
that  it  is  not  worth  while  to  attempt  any  discussion  of  it  here,  except  to  point  out 
that  of  old  when  halibut  were  still  plentiful  in  the  inner  parts  of  the  Gulf  some  of 
them  worked  inshore  and  into  shoal  water  in  summer,  to  descend  again  to  greater 
depths  for  the  winter,  while  others  remained  in  deep  water  throughout  the  j^ear. 

The  rate  of  growth  of  so  large  a  fish  is  an  interesting  subject,  and  fortunately 
Jespersen's  ^'  study  of  the  otoliths  of  over  2,000  fish  of  all  sizes  caught  about  Ice- 
land has  thrown  considerable  light  upon  it,  his  conclusions  being  that  the  average 
relationship  between  age  and  size  is  as  follows: 


Age 


One  year.,.. 
Two  years.. 
Three  years. 
Four  years.. 
Five  years.. 


Average 
length 


Iiiches 
3.9 
9.1 
13 

18.5 
22.4 


Eitremes 
of  length 


iTiches 
3. 1  to  5. 9 
7. 1  to  12. 6 
8.  3  to  18. 9 
11. 8  to  24. 4 
16. 1  to  28 


Age 


Six  years 

Seven  years. 
Eight  years. 
Nine  years.. 
Ten  years... 


Average 
length 


Inches 
25.6 
27.6 
29.1 
33.9 
37.4 


Extremes 
of  length 


Inchea 
20. 9  to  34. 3 
21.  7  to  40.  9 
22. 8  to  40.  6 
26. 8  to  42. 1 
29.  5  to  55.  5 


Females  averaged  somewhat  longer  and  heavier  than  males  of  the  same  age, 
and  the  fact  that  the  oldest  was  a  fish  of  20  years,  683^  inches  long,  suggests  that 
the  monsters  of  400  pounds  and  more,  and  upward  of  7  feet  long,  which  are 
occasionally  caught,  may  be  half  a  century  old,  always  assuming  about  the  same 
rate  of  growth  for  the  Gulf  of  Maine  halibut  as  for  those  caught  about  Iceland. 
Probably  the  halibut  does  not  reach  sexual  maturity  until  9  or  10  years  old.  Ac- 
cording to  Thompson  (Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Fisheries,  Province  of 
British  Columbia,  1914  (1915),  pp.  76-99)  Pacific  halibut  grow  at  approximately 
the  same  rate  for  the  first  few  years,  more  slowly  after  about  the  eighth  year,  but 
with  wide  differences  in  the  rate  of  growth  on  different  banks,  probably  reflecting 
differences  in  the  food  supply. 

Breeding  habits. — -Very  little  is  known  about  the  breeding  habits  or  early  fife 
of  the  halibut.  It  is  believed  to  spawn  in  February  in  European  and  Icelandic 
waters,  judging  from  the  state  of  development  of  the  ovaries.  Halibut  continue 
breeding  throughout  the  summer  off  the  American  coast,  for  fishermen  have  fre- 
quently reported  ripe  fish,  both  male  and  female,  in  April,  May,  June,  July,  August, 
and  early  September  at  various  localities  from  Georges  Bank  to  the  Grand  Banks;" 
while  the  fact  that  part  of  the  eggs  in  the  ovaries  of  a  fish  examined  on  Banquereau 
by  representatives  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  on  September  13,  1878,  were  ripe 
while  others  were  still  immature  is  evidence  that  individual  halibut  spawn  over  a 
considerable  period.  The  pelagic  larval  and  post  larval  stages  had  been  found 
only  over  great  depths,  a  fact  which  has  led  European  students  generally  to  beheve 
that  the  halibut  spawns  outside  the  500-fathom  line;  but  Cox  (Contributions  to 
Canadian  Biology,  New  Series,  Vol.  I,  No.  21,  1924,  pp.  409-412)  has  recently 

51  Meddelelser  fra  Eommissionen  for  Haviinders0gelser,  Serie:  Fiskerl,  Bind  V,  No.  5,  1917. 
"  Goode  (et  al.,  1884)  mentions  many  reports  to  this  eSect. 

102274—251 31 


480 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHERIES 


reported  two  larval  halibut,  20  and  21.5  nun.  long,  taken  close  in  to  the  southern 
coast  of  Nova  Scotia  in  shoal  water,  and  fishermen's  reports  of  ripe  fish  suggest 
that  the  slopes  of  all  the  ofl'shore  banks  east  of  Cape  Cod  serve  as  spawning  grounds. 
It  does  not  necessarily  follow,  however,  that  all  are  suitable  as  nurseries.  On  the 
contrary  halibut  smaller  than  a  couple  of  pounds  or  so  are  so  extremely  rare  in  the 


Fig.  239.— Larva  (European),  16.2  millimeters.    After  Schmidt 


Fig.  240.— Larva  (European),  22  millimeters.    After  Schmidt 


Fig.  241.— Larva  (European),  34  millimeters.    After  Schmidt 
HALIBUT  (.Bippoglosius  hippoglosstts) 

Gulf  of  Maine  (though  "chickens"  of  10  to  20  pounds  are  not  uncommon  there) 
as  to  suggest  that  the  maintenance  of  the  local  stock  depends  on  immigration  from 
north  and  east  more  than  on  local  propagation,  and  the  fact  that  depletion  by  hard 
fishing  was  not  accompanied  by  a  corresponding  decrease  in  the  average  size  of  the 
individual  fish  taken  is  further  evidence  to  this  effect.     In  fact,  it  is  even  doubtful 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  481 

whether  the  hahbut  succeeds  in  reproducing  its  kind  to  any  extent  west  of  Cape 
Sable.  There  is  a  strong  contrast  in  this  respect  between  the  Gulf  of  Maine  and  the 
waters  around  Iceland,  where  Jespersen  found  an  abundance  of  little  fish  of  8  to  10 
inches. 

Large  halibut  are  very  prolific,  the  ovaries  of  a  fish  of  about  200  pounds  having 
been  estimated  to  contain  2,182,773  eggs.  Eggs  spawned  naturally  have  never 
been  seen,  but  presumably  they  are  not  buoyant,  and  if  buoyant  they  are  among  the 
largest  of  floating  fish  eggs,  for  they  are  3.1  to  3.8  mm.  in  diameter  as  taken  from  the 
ripe  ovary,  with  no  oil  globule. 

The  smallest  halibut  "  yet  seen  was  one  of  13.5  mm.,  in  which  the  vertical  fin 
rays  were  first  appearing.  These  are  developed  and  the  ventral  fins  are  visible  at 
about  22  mm.  (fig.  240),  by  which  time  the  left  eye  has  moved  upward  until  its 
margin  is  just  visible  above  the  contour  of  the  head,  forecasting  the  fact  that  the 
fish  is  destined  to  be  right-handed.  Fish  of  this  size  also  show  the  large  mouth 
characteristic  of  the  species.  Up  to  this  stage  there  is  little  pigment.  At  a  length 
of  27  mm.  about  one-fourth  of  the  eye  appears  above  the  profile,  but  even  at  34  mm. 
(the  largest  pelagic  stage  yet  found)  the  eye  has  not  entirely  completed  its  migration 
(fig.  241),  though  the  pigmentation  is  stronger  on  the  right  side  than  on  the  left, 
and  the  caudal  fin,  previously  rounded,  has  become  square  tipped.  The  younger 
larvffi  (up  to  about  25  mm.  in  length)  are  recognizable  by  the  curiously  upturned 
snout.  Those  large  enough  to  show  that  they  belong  to  some  right-handed,  large- 
mouthed  flounder  are  easily  separated  from  the  American  plaice  larvae  (the  only 
other  Gulf  of  Maine  flatfish,  except  for  the  very  rare  Greenland  halibut,  which  they 
resemble  in  early  stages)  by  the  outlines  of  the  head  and  abdomen.  The  smallest 
halibut  yet  taken  on  the  bottom  was  about  4^  inches  long  and  already  showed 
all  the  diagnostic  features  of  the  adult. 

166.  Greenland  halibut  {Reinhardtius  hippoglossoides  Walbaum) 
Turbot;  Greenland  turbot;  American  turbot;  Newfoundland  turbot 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2611. 

Descriptio7i. — This  is  a  right-handed,  large-mouthed  flatfish  (that  is,  it  lies  on 
the  left  side  with  eyes  on  the  right  side  and  abdomen  at  the  right  edge) ,  with  slightly 
forked  tail  and  symmetrical  ventral  fins  like  a  halibut.  In  fact  it  so  closely  resembles 
the  latter  that  it  might  easily  be  taken  for  one  were  it  not  that  the  lateral  line  is 
nearly  straight  (not  arched)  abreast  of  the  pectoral,  and  that  its  long  fins  (dorsal 
and  anal)  are  of  rather  different  outline  (compare  fig.  242  with  fig.  238) ,  though  with 
about  the  same  nuniber  of  rays  (about  100  doraal  and  75  anal).  Its  mouth,  further- 
more, is  larger  and  its  jaw  teeth  stronger,  though  the  difference  in  these  respects 
is  not  sufficient  to  serve  as  a  useful  field  mark.  It  is  described  (we  have  never  seen 
it)  as  yellowish  or  grayish  brown,  paler  below  than  above  but  not  white. 

M  What  little  we  know  of  the  early  stages  of  the  halibut  is  due  to  European  students,  chiefly  to  Schmidt  (Meddelelser  fra 
Kommissionen  for  Havunders0gelser,  Serie:  Fiskeri,  Bind  I,  Nr.  3,  1904)  and  Jespersen  (Ibid.,  Bind  V,  Nr.  5,  191"). 


482 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 


Size. — Next  to  the  halibut  this  is  the  largest  North  Atlantic  flatfish,  growing 
.  length  of  about  40  inches  and  a  weight  of  20  to  25  pounds,  but  fish  caught  about 
the  Grand  Banks  average  only  about  5  to  10  pounds. 

General  range. — Arctic-Atlantic.  It  is  caught  about  Newfoundland,  on  the 
Grand  Banks,  along  the  Scotian  Banks,  and  as  far  south  on  the  American  coast  as 
the  Eastern  Channel  off  Cape  Sable. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — We  mention  this  Arctic  fish  here  on  the 
strength  of  Goode  and  Bean's  (1879g,  p.  40)  statement  that  "fishermen  take  them 
frequently  in  the  gully  between  La  Have  and  Georges  Banks  at  depths  greater  than 
200  fathoms;"  and  as  no  one  has  reported  a  Greenland  halibut  from  the  GuK  of 
Maine  since  that  time,  nor  from  the  continental  slope  anywhere  west  of  the  Eastern 
Channel,  the  latter  is  evidently  its  southern  limit. 


roS?I7SP?f\,T^^, . 


^^m^ 


Fig.  242. — Greenland   halibut    (Eeinhardtius   hippogJossoides) 


167.  American  plaice  (Hippoglossoides  platessoides  Fabricius)** 
Canadian  plaice;  Sand  dab;   Kough  dab;  Plaice;   Turbot;   Flounder;  Sole 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2614. 

Description. — The  most  obvious  diagnostic  characters  of  the  American  plaice 
are  that  it  is  right-handed  and  large-mouthed  like  the  halibut  but  with  rounded 
instead  of  forked  tail,  and  with  a  straight  instead  of  an  arched  lateral  line,  being 
the  only  Gulf  of  Maine  flounder  in  which  these  characters  are  combined.  Our  only 
other  large-mouthed  flatfishes  with  rounded  tails  (the  sand,  summer,  and  four- 
spotted  flounders,  pp.  516,  491,  and  494)  are  left-handed.  The  wide-gaping  jaws 
mark  the  plaice  at  first  glance  from  the  various  small-mouthed  flounders. 

The  plaice  is  a  comparatively  broad  (really  deep)  flounder  (about  two  and  one- 
half  times  as  long  as  broad),  more  rounded  in  outline  than  the  halibut,  with 
pointed  nose,  mouth  gaping  back  to  abreast  the  middle  of  the  eye,  and  one 
irregular  row  of  sharp  conical  teeth  in  each  jaw.  The  free  edges  of  the  scales  of  the  en- 
tire upper  body  and  head  are  serrated  with  sharp  teeth,  which  give  the  fish  a  character- 
istic rough  feeling  when  handled,  but  those  of  the  lower  (blind)  side  are  smooth-edged 
except  on  the  rear  part  of  the  body  and  along  the  bases  of  the  fins.     The  dorsal 


"  Various  other  common  names  are  applied  to  this  flsh  in  different  seas.    It  is  usually  termed  "long  rough  dab"  in  England 
and  is  so  listed  in  British  fishery  statistics.     It  is  not  the  "phiice"  of  Europe. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


483 


fin  (76  to  96  rays)  originates  in  front  of  the  middle  of  the  left  eye  and  the  anal  (64 
to  77  rays)  abreast  of  the  pectoral  and  close  behind  the  gill  opening.  These  long  fins 
taper  both  toward  the  head  and  toward  the  tail,  while  there  is  a  short,  sharp,  spine 
(the  prolongation  of  the  post  abdominal  bone)  pointing  forward  close  in  front  of 
the  anal  fin.  The  pectoral  fin  on  the  eyed  side  usually  (not  always)  has  one  or  two 
more  rays  and  is  longer  and  more  rounded  than  its  fellow  on  the  blind  side,  but  the 
two  ventral  fins,  which  are  close  in  front  of  the  anal  though  entirely  distinct  from  it, 
are  alike  in  size,  shape,  and  location.  The  margin  of  the  caudal  fin  is  always  convex, 
either  rounded  or  with  its  middle  rays  so  much  the  longest  as  to  form  a  blunt  angle. 
The  lateral  line  is  more  clearly  evident  in  the  plaice  than  in  most  of  our  flatfishes 
and  practically  straight  from  end  to  end. 

Color. — -Plaice  run  more  uniform  in  color  than  most  of  our  smaller  flatfish,  rang- 
ing from  reddish  to  grayish  brown,  dark  or  pale,  above  and  pure  or  blui-sh  white 
below.  Small  fish  usually  show  3  to  5  dark  spots  along  each  edge  of  the  body; 
large  ones  do  so  occasionally,  though  they  are  usually  plain  colored. 


Fig.  243. — American  plaice  {Ilippogiossoides  plalcssoides) 

Size. — The  maximum  length  is  about  2  feet  and  they  weigh  up  to  7  pounds. 
According  to  Huntsman  (1918),  Bay  of  Fundy  and  Nova  Scotian  fish  average 
about  half  a  pound  at  12  inches,  1^  pounds  at  16  inches,  1^4^  pounds  at  18  inches, 
2%  pounds  at  20  inches,  4  pounds  at  22  inches,  and  6  pounds  at  24  inches,  while 
Massachusetts  Bay  fish  are  about  as  heavy  at  corresponding  lengths.  Adults 
caught  off  Cape  Ann  and  measured  by  Welsh  ran  from  about  12  to  24  inches  in 
length,  averaging  14  or  15.  They  average  slightly  larger  in  the  colder  water  of  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 

Plaice  tend  to  differentiate  into  local  races  in  different  seas.  Thus  the  fin  rays 
are  more  numerous,  on  the  average,  in  fish  from  high  latitudes  than  in  those  from 
low  latitudes,  while  the  body  is  relatively  wider  in  fish  caught  off  Greenland  and 
America  than  in  Scandinavian  or  North  Sea  specimens.  But  these  characters  vary 
so  widely  even  in  limited  areas  that  the  Arctic-American  and  European  "species" 
iplalessoides  and  limandoides)  have  been  united  by  common  consent  long  since,  and 
we  doubt  whether  the  corresponding  "varieties"  still  recognized  by  several  recent 


484  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

authors  will  stand  the  test  of  time  more  successfully.  Huntsman's  statement 
that  the  dorsal  rays  average  more  numerous  in  plaice  from  Bay  of  Islands,  New- 
foundland, than  in  those  caught  on  the  New  Brimswick  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  .St. 
Lawrence,  with  Welsh's  note  of  a  variation  of  7  in  the  number  of  dorsal  and  of  6  in 
the  anal  rays  in  one  lot  of  fish  caught  off  Gloucester,  illustrates  this  variability. 
Notwithstanding  the  low  latitude  of  the  locality  of  capture  (about  42°  30'  N.)  this 
same  lot  contained  a  specimen  with  the  largest  number  of  fin  rays  yet  reported 
(96  dorsal  and  77  anal) .  Until  many  more  specimens  are  examined  all  that  can  be 
said  is  that  hereditary  local  races  may  perhaps  exist  oflF  different  parts  of  the 
American  shore  line,  though  it  may  prove  that  the  structure  of  the  scales,  in  con- 
nection with  the  length  of  the  fish,  will  give  a  clue  to  the  local  origin  of  a  given 
specimen,  for  the  rate  of  growth  is  governed  by  the  temperature  of  the  water  (p.  486) . 

General  range. — This  is  a  very  common  fish  on  both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic, 
its  range  closely  paralleling  that  of  the  halibut.  It  is  found  off  the  whole  North 
American  coast  from  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle,  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  the 
region  of  the  Grand  Banks  to  Cape  Cod,  and  across  the  whole  breadth  of  the  con- 
tinental shelf  from  close  inshore  out  to  the  100-fathom  contour.  West  of  Cape 
Cod  plaice  are  caught  in  the  Woods  Hole  region,  off  Marthas  Vineyard,  and  off 
Narragansett  Bay,  which  is  in  general  their  western  limit."  It  has  not  been  recorded 
from  the  eastern  coast  of  Labrador  north  of  Belle  Isle  though  common  in  west 
Greenland  waters,  hence  may  shun  the  very  low  temperatures  of  the  Labrador 
current,  as  seems  to  be  true  of  the  halibut.  Nor  is  it  known  from  the  Arctic  coasts 
of  either  continent  except  in  the  comparatively  warm  water  off  the  Murman  coast. 
In  European  waters  it  ranges  from  Iceland  and  Spitzbergen  to  the  North  Sea, 
where  it  is  an  important  commercial  fish,  and  to  the  west  Baltic,  with  the  English 
Channel  as  its  southern  boundary. 

The  American  plaice  may  be  described  as  boreal-Arctic  in  its  relation  to  tem- 
perature, reacliing  its  liighest  development  in  water  of  35°  to  45°,  able  to  live, 
however,  in  the  lowest  Polar  temperatures  (29°  to  30°),  and  finding  the  upper 
temperature  limit  to  its  regular  occurrence  at  50°  to  55°. 

In  different  seas  plaice  live  through  a  wide  range  of  salinity  from  30  per  mille 
or  lower  in  the  Baltic  to  upwards  of  34  per  mille,  but,  so  far  as  we  are  aware, 
they  are  never  found  in  water  which  could  be  described  as  brackish. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.^' — One  would  hardly  guess  how  common  and 
generally  distributed  the  plaice  is  in  suitable  depths  and  on  suitable  bottom  in 
the  Gulf,  from  reading  what  has  been  pubUshed  on  Gulf  of  Maine  fishes,  nor  do  the 
local  fishery  statistics  help  in  tliis  respect,  for  plaice  are  combined  there  with  other 
flatfish  as  "flounders  "  This  is  not  as  familiar  a  fish  as  are  the  winter  and  smooth 
flounders  (pp.  501  and  508),  not  being  common  in  water  shallower  than  15  to  20 
fathoms,  but  it  is  probably  the  most  abundant  of  all  Gulf  of  Maine  flatfishes  below 
that  depth,  except,  perhaps,  the  witch.  Plaice  are  recorded,  in  print,  from  Province- 
town,  from  Massachusetts  Bay,  off  Cape  Ann,  in  Ips%vich  Bay,  near  Boon  Island, 

"  We  find  no  credible  records  from  New  York  or  from  New  Jersey,  those  mentioned  by  DeKay  being  market  fish  which  might 
have  come  from  anywhere  to  the  eastward. 

u  Huntsman  (1918)  gives  an  interesting  account  of  this  fish  in  Canadian  waters. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  485 

ofiF  Cape  Porpoise,  off  Casco  Bay,  off  Seguin,  south  of  Monliegan  (we  trawled 
them  at  the  last  four  localities  on  the  Grampus),  in  Passamaquodcly  Bay,  in 
St.  Mary  Bay,  and  right  up  to  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  In  fact,  they 
are  to  be  caught  on  hook  and  line  or  in  the  otter  trawl  all  around  the  periphery 
of  the  Gulf  in  depths  of  15  fathoms  or  more  wherever  the  bottom  is  smooth  and  not 
too  soft.  They  are  certainly  common  on  Georges  Bank,  for  they  were  repeatedly 
reported  there  by  representatives  of  the  bureau  in  1913,  though  no  record  was 
kept  of  the  number  actually  taken  because  they  were  not  marketable.  We  also 
have  the  definite  evidence  of  the  capture  of  newly  spawned  eggs  in  the  tow  net 
that  there  are  plaice  on  Browns  Bank  as  well.  Huntsman,  from  fishing  experiments, 
has  calculated  that  plaice  are  about  one-tenth  as  numerous  as  cod  (one-twentieth 
in  weight)  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  while  no  estimate  of  this  sort  is  yet 
possible  for  the  Gulf  of  Maine  it  is  certain  that  the  local  stock  is  sufficient  to  afford 
a  large  supply  were  there  a  market  for  it.  Welsh,  for  example,  recorded  the  fol- 
lowing catches  of  plaice  in  gill  nets  (gear  not  very  well  adapted  for  flounder  fishing) 
during  the  spring  of  1913:  Seventy-six  plaice  to  1,055  haddock,  51  cod,  20  pollock, 
and  39  rosefish  near  Boon  Island  on  March  30;  125  plaice  to  40  other  flounders, 
89  cod,  and  1 13  haddock  in  part  of  the  net  at  the  same  locality  on  April  20;  and  many 
plaice,  but  more  cod  and  haddock,  on  May  3. 

We  have  never  seen  or  heard  of  an  adult  plaice  taken  in  less  than  10  fathoms 
in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  though  even  the  large  ones  have  been  caught  in  water  as  shoal 
as  5  fathoms  off'  Iceland,  and  they  are  most  plentiful  in  15  to  60  fathoms.  Eighty- 
six  fathoms  is  the  deepest  definite  record  for  the  GuH  of  Maine  with  which  we  are 
acc}uainted,  and  probably  100  fathoms  may  be  set  as  the  lower  limit  to  their  oc- 
currence there  in  any  numbers,  which  applies  to  the  whole  American  coast  line, 
including  the  Scotian  and  Grand  Banks.  Since  plaice  have  been  caught  as  deep  as 
350  fathoms  in  Davis  Strait,  however,  it  is  the  type  of  bottom  or  the  food  supply  that 
hmits  their  dispersal  downward,  not  the  depth  of  water  per  se.  On  the  other  hand 
Huntsman  has  suggested  that  it  is  to  avoid  the  strong  light  of  day  that  this  fish  shuns 
shoal  water — a  suggestion  yet  to  be  proven  by  actual  experiment.  The  preference 
of  the  plaice  for  moderately  deep  water  bars  it  from  most  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
harbors  and  river  mouths,  such  favorite  haunts  of  the  winter  flounder,  but  it  enters 
the  deeper  estuaries,  particularly  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  Gulf — Passama- 
quoddy  Bay,  for  example,  and  St.  Mary  Bay. 

Plaice,  like  other  flatfish,  avoid  rocky  or  hard  bottom  on  the  one  hand  and  the 
very  soft  oozy  mud  of  the  deep  basin  on  the  other,  preferring  the  fine  sticky  but 
gritty  mixture  of  sand  and  mud  that  floors  much  of  the  GuH  between  the  hard 
patches  from  the  20-fathom  contour  out  to  the  100-fathom  contour. 

Food. — Huntsman's  (1918,  p.  15)  statement  that  the  plaice  feeds  first  on  mi- 
nute plants  (diatoms)  and  on  copepods  as  it  grows  larger  and  more  active  is  the 
only  information  available  on  the  diet  of  the  young  fry  while  living  at  the  surface. 
When  they  first  take  to  the  bottom  they  eat  small  shrimps  and  other  Ci'ustacea 
of  various  sorts ;  but  as  they  grow  they  turn  to  a  diet  consisting  chiefly  of  sea  mxhins, 
sand  dollars,  and  brittle  stars,  as  proved  by  the  contents  of  their  stomachs,  though 
they  also  take  various  shrimps,  hermit  and  spider  crabs  and  other  crustaceans, 


486  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHEBIES 

mollusks,  worms  and  ascidians  ("sea  squirts") — in  fact,  practically  any  animals 
living  on  bottom  that  are  small  enough  for  them  to  devour.  Occasionally  they 
catch  small  fish.  Plaice  do  not  bite  a  baited  hook  very  readily,  partly,  no  doubt, 
because  they  are  sluggish  fish,  but  partly,  we  believe,  because  the  clams,  cockles, 
and  herring  usually  employed  for  bait  are  not  their  favorite  food. 

All  the  large  predaceous  fish  that  feed  near  bottom  probably  prey  more  or  less 
upon  the  plaice,  and  halibut  no  doubt  destroyed  great  numbers  of  them  in  the  Gulf 
of  Maine  formerly,  for  flatfish  of  one  sort  or  another  bulk  large  in  their  diet.  How- 
ever, the  adult  plaice  can  have  no  serious  enemy  in  the  Gulf  to-day  except  the  cod 
and  perhaps  the  spiny  dogfish.  In  more  northern  seas  Greenland  sharks  prey 
regularly  on  them.  Smitt  ^'  and  Huntsman  both  speak  of  the  mmibers  of  round 
worms  to  be  found  in  the  intestines  and  body  cavity  of  plaice,  and  its  gills  are 
sometimes  attacked  by  parasitic  copepods. 

Habits. — Plaice  are  bottom  fish  like  other  flounders,  usually  lying  flat  on  the 

ground, but  they  must  rise  some  distance  from  the  mud  on  occasion  and  move  about 

to  a  considerable  extent  to  account  for  the  capture  of  so  many  in  gill  nets,  while 

we  once  caught  one  a  foot  long  in  a  tow  net  at  least  5  to  10  fathoms  above  the 

bottom  off  Ipswich  Bay,  where  the  water  was  about  50  fathoms  deep. 

Rate  of  growth. — The  young  plaice  seeks  bottom  when  about  an  inch  and  a 
half  long,  after  which  its  rate  of  growth  depends  on  the  temperature  of  the  water 
and  probably  on  the  length  of  the  growing  season,  for  growth  practically  stops 
during  the  winter.  Thus  Huntsman  (1918)  has  found  that  it  takes  3  to  5  years 
for  a  plaice  to  grow  to  a  length  of  12  inches  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay  where  the 
temperature  of  the  bottom  water  in  15  to  18  fathoms  warms  to  about  49  to  51°  in 
August,^'  4  to  6  years  in  the  open  Bay  of  Fundy  where  the  bottom  temperature  is 
somewhat  lower  (45  to  48°) ;  6  to  9  years  in  the  cooler  water  (about  38°)  of  Cheda- 
bucto  Bay  in  the  Straits  of  Canso;  and  upward  of  8  years  in  the  still  lower  tem- 
peratures (colder  than  35°)  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  Plaice  living  in  the  deeper 
parts  of  the  GuLf  of  Maine  may  be  expected  to  grow  at  about  the  same  rate  as  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  fish,  while  those  living  on  Georges  Bank  and  in  the  coastal  zone 
from  Cape  Cod  to  Cape  Elizabeth  probably  do  so  as  fast  as  the  Passamaquoddy 
Bayfish — that  is,  they  mayreach  a  length  of  15  inches  in  5  yeai-s  or  even  sooner,  and  by 
that  age,  according  to  Huntsman,  they  may  gain  1 1  ounces  in  weight  yearly.  Some 
plaice  become  sexually  mature  when  only  6  inches  long,  probably  all  of  them  do  so 
by  their  third  year,  and  they  may  live  to  an  age  of  24  to  30  years. 

Although  plaice  grow  so  much  more  rapidly  in  the  comparatively  warm  water 
of  Passamaquoddy  Bay  than  in  lower  temperatures,  large  ones  are  far  less  common 
there  or  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  than  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  where  fish  10  to  12 
years  old  and  of  corresponding  size  form  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  stock, 
a  discrepancy  which  Huntsman  explains  by  assuming  a  higher  death  rate  in  warm 
waters  than  in  cold.  However,  a  study  of  the  composition  of  the  stock  in  other 
parts  of  the  GuLf  of  Maine  and  especially  that  of  its  southwest  part,  where  plaice 
spawn  freely  (p.  487),  may  show  that  the  older  fish  simply  move  out  of  the  Bay  of 
Fundy. 

"  Scandinavian  Fishes,  1892.  "  Craigie,  Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology,  1914-15  (1916),  pp.  151-161. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GXH.F   OF   MAINE  487 

Migrations. — Wliile  the  young  plaice  is  living  at  the  surface  (p.  491)  it  undergoes 
the  same  involuntary  journeyings  that  overtake  other  fish  fry  spawned  at  the  same 
place  and  time,  but  from  the  time  it  seeks  bottom  it  is  one  of  the  most  stationary 
of  fishes.  It  has  been  said  to  work  inshore  more  or  less  in  winter,  though  not  on 
very  definite  evidence,  and  it  may  congregate  on  certain  grounds  for  spawning, 
though  this  is  yet  to  be  proven,  but  it  is  certain  that  wherever  plaice  are  plentiful 
they  are  to  be  caught  at  any  season.  Huntsman  (1918,  p.  18),  who  has  paid  special 
attention  to  this  fish,  believes  that  it  "remains  pretty  much  in  the  same  place  from 
season  to  season  and  year  to  year.  Perhaps  in  the  course  of  years  it  may  shift  a 
few  miles." 

Breeding  Tiaiits. — The  plaice  is  a  spring  spawner.  Our  earliest  record  of  its 
eggs  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  was  for  March  4  (in  1920),  when  they  occurred  in  some 
numbers  off  Casco  Bay.  We  also  found  eggs  on  Browns  Bank  on  the  13th,  and 
Welsh  records  large  female  plaice,  half  spent  and  with  eggs  exuding,  and  males 
with  running  milt,  near  Cape  Ann  on  the  14th  of  March  in  1913;  but  since  other 
fish  of  both  sexes  taken  with  them  were  still  unripe  it  is  probable  that  spawning  is 
not  general  until  the  last  of  that  month  or  the  first  days  of  April.  Plaice  eggs 
have  appeared  regularly  in  our  tows  at  the  shallower  stations  in  April  (twice  in  great 
numbers,  namely,  off  Seguin  Island  on  the  10th  and  off  Mount  Desert  Island  on  the 
12th  in  1920),  and  spawning  continues  unabated  throughout  May,  for  in  1915  eggs 
occurred  at  practically  all  our  May  stations.  Our  latest  record  was  for  a  single 
egg  on  the  14th  of  June  in  1915,  and  April  and  May  similarly  cover  the  height  of 
the  spawning  season  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  according  to  Huntsman  (1918,  p.  14). 

The  plaice  breeds  later  in  the  northern  part  of  its  range  than  in  the  southern 
part.  On  the  banks  off  Cape  Breton  and  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence  it  spawns  chiefly  during  May  and  June,  and  on  the  Newfoundland  Banks 
it  continues  to  do  so  until  the  end  of  July,  when  a  few  eggs  were  found  by  the  Cana- 
dian Fisheries  Expedition.  Huntsman  also  remarks  that  there  is  a  difference  in 
the  breeding  season  according  to  the  depth  of  water,  those  living  shoalest  com- 
mencing to  spawn  first  as  the  vernal  warming  of  the  water  makes  itseK  felt  from 
above,  but  we  have  no  clear  evidence  on  this  point  to  offer  for  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 
This  fish  spawns  somewhat  earlier  in  the  North  Sea  than  in  American  waters — ■ 
that  is,  from  mid-January  till  May  with  the  climax  in  March  and  April. 

Our  egg  records  and  Huntsman's  observations  show  that  the  plaice  spawns 
all  around  the  Gulf  of  Maine  from  Cape  Cod  on  the  west  to  Cape  Sable  on  the 
east,  including  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  from  close  inshore  out  to  the  50-fathom 
contour.  It  likewise  spawns  on  Browns  Bank  (p.  487),  and,  while  we  found  no  eggs 
on  Georges  Bank  either  in  February,  March,  April,  or  May  of  1920,  the  fish  is  so 
common  there  and  so  stationary  in  its  general  habit  that  it  is  likely  that  we  simply 
missed  its  eggs  there,  either  by  a  failure  to  tow  over  the  precise  spawning  beds  or 
by  timing  our  visits  between  waves  of  reproduction.  Plaice  also  spawn  abundantly 
east  and  north  of  Cape  Sable,  particularly  off  Cape  Breton,  on  Sable  Island  Bank, 
and  in  the  shoaler  parts  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence."' 

"Dannevig.     Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919),  p.  18,  flgs.  11,  12.  and  13. 
102274— 25  f 32 


488  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUBEATJ   OF   FISHEBIES 

Although  the  plaice  may  be  considered  rather  a  deep-water  fish  compared  to 
most  other  flounders  common  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  it  spavms  there  chiefly  in  water 
shoaler  than  50  fathoms  as  do  all  its  relatives  except  the  halibut.  In  fact  it  is 
doubtful  whether  plaice  ever  spawn  deeper  in  the  Gulf,  for  we  have  few  egg  records 
from  more  than  a  mile  or  two  outside  the  50-fathom  curve  and  these  few  are  based 
on  only  one  or  two  eggs  each. 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  plaice  gather  in  definite  localities  to  spawn, 
except  that  those  living  deepest  must  work  up  into  shoaler  grounds  to  account  for 
the  concentration  of  our  egg  catches  inside  the  50-fathom  contour. 

The  temperatures  and  salinities  in  which  the  eggs  are  produced  can  be  stated 
with  confidence  for  the  Gulf  of  Maine  because  the  plaice  lies  very  close  to,  if  not 
actually  on,  the  bottom.  The  earliest  spawning  takes  place  at  nearly  the  minimum 
temperature  for  the  year,  averaging  about  37°  for  all  the  March  and  April  stations; 
and  while  the  water  warms  to  41°  to  43°  by  late  May  and  early  June  at  the  depths 
inhabited  by  the  ripe  fish  we  have  not  found  its  eggs  where  the  bottom  temperature 
was  higher  than  about  40°.  Thus  the  optimmn  for  breeding  may  be  set  at  37°  to 
40°  for  the  Gulf  of  Maine  as  a  whole.  Plaice  spawn  freely  in  31°  to  32°  off  Cape 
Breton,  and  even  in  water  as  cold  as  29.3°  to  36°  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  LawTence,  proAang 
that  the  lowest  Polar  temperatures  are  no  bar  to  the  ripening  of  the  sexual  products. 
It  is  probable,  however,  that  somewhat  warmer  water  is  requisite  for  the  normal 
development  of  the  eggs  and  survival  of  the  resultant  larvae,  a  point  calling  for 
experimental  investigation. 

The  Gulf  of  Maine  plaice  spawn  in  relatively  low  and  uniform  saUnities,  the 
range  being  only  from  about31.8pernulle  to  32.8  per  miUe  at  the  bottom  at  the  stations 
where  eggs  were  taken  in  any  number.  Although  plaice  spawn  so  generally  through- 
out the  whole  area  which  it  inhabits  there  is  evidence  that  different  regions  differ 
in  their  suitability  as  nurseries  either  for  the  eggs  or  for  the  newly  hatched  larvae. 
The  southwestern  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  must  be  favorable  in  this  respect,  for  we 
have  taken  larval  plaice  at  14  stations  there,  most  of  these  off  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  region,  and  they  have  also  been  taken  at  various  locahties  off  the  southeast  coast 
of  Nova  Scotia,  on  the  Newfoundland  Banks,  and  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  LaAvrence.  How- 
ever, it  seems  that  reproduction  does  not  succeed  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  for  neither 
larvae  nor  young  fry  are  known  there  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  plaice  spawn  and 
eggs  develop  at  least  partially.  We  have  failed  equally  to  find  any  plaice  larvae 
off  the  coast  of  Maine  east  of  Penobscot  Bay,  though  eggs  are  produced  there  in 
abundance  (fig.  244) .  The  case  is  complicated  by  the  strong  probability  that  there 
is  a  general  drift  from  northeast  to  southwest.along  this  part  of  the  coast,  and  hence 
that  buoyant  eggs  spawned  there  might  hatch  a  considerable  distance  west  of 
where  they  were  produced.  The  influence  which  this  drift  may  have  on  the  dis- 
tribution of  larval  fish  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  offers  a  most  fertile  field  for  future 
study. 

The  plaice  is  a  prolific  fish,  individual  females  producing  30,000  to  60,000 
eggs,  according  to  size.  The  eggs  are  buoyant,  without  oil  globule,  but  ^\^th 
a  perivitelline  space  so  broad  that  they  are  not  apt  to  be  confused  with  any  other 
species.     This  space  forms  after  the  eggs  are  shed  by  the  entrance  of  water  between 


PISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


489 


the  egg  proper  and  its  covering  membrane,  and  it  about  doubles  the  total  diameter. 
The  plaice  eggs  we  have  taken  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  have  averaged  about  2.5  mm. 
in  diameter,  but  they  have  been  reported  as  small  as  1.38  and  as  large  as  3.2  mm. 
in  other  seas,  depending-on  the  breadth  of  the  perivitelline  space. 

Incubation  occupies  11  to  14  days  at  a  temperature  of  39°,  and  it  seems  that 
the  eggs  gain  in  weight  as  development  proceeds,  for  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 
Huntsman  found  the  newly  spawned  eggs  floating  on  the  surface,  but  those  which 


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Fia.  244.— Locality  records  for  plaice  eggs  (#)  and  larvae  (iO 

were  nearly  ready  to  hatch  hanging  suspended  at  a  depth  of  some  10  fathoms.  We 
have  no  first-hand  information  to  offer  on  this  point.  During  the  development 
of  the  egg  minute  black  and  yellow  pigment  ceUs  are  scattered  over  the  embryo, 
not  aggregated  into  any  diagnostic  clusters,  but  very  soon  after  hatching  (which 
takes  place  when  the  larvae  are  4  to  6  mm.  long)  the  pigment  gathers  in  five  definite 
groups — one  on  the  gastric  region,  one  about  the  vent,  and  three  post  anal  bands, 
a  pattern  simUar  to  that  of  the  larval  witch  flounder  (p.  515). 


490 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


Fig.  2-15. — Egg  (European).    After  Cunningham 


Fig.  246.— Larva  (European),  just  batched.  4  millimeters.    After  Mcintosh 


Fig.  247. — Larva  (European),  9  millimeters.    After  Ebrenbaum 


Fig.  248.— Larva  (European)  31.5  millimeters,    .\fter  Petersen 
AMERICAN  PLAICE  (, Hippoglossoides  platcasoides) 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  491 

The  yolk  is  absorbed  about  5  days  after  hatching,  when  the  larva  has  grown  to 
6.2  to  7.5  mm.  in  length.  The  caudal  rays  appear  shortly  after  this,  the  dorsal 
and  anal  rays  at  about  11  to  12  mm.,  and  the  3  vertical  fins  are  differentiated  at 
about  15  to  18  mm.,  by  which  stage  the  body  has  begun  to  assume  the  deep  but 
very  thin  form  characteristic  of  all  young  flounders  while  the  jaws  have  developed 
sufficiently  to  show  that  the  little  fish  belongs  to  one  of  the  large-mouthed  species. 
The  left  eye  may  commence  its  migration  when  the  larva  is  about  20  mm.  long, 
while  Welsh  found  it  visible  above  the  outline  of  the  snout  in  Gulf  of  Maine  speci- 
mens of  24  mm.  and  almost  at  the  dorsal  ridge  at  34  mm.,  but  in  other  seas  larvae 
as  long  as  35  mm.  may  still  be  symmetrical.  The  only  other  Gulf  of  Maine  species 
for  which  the  larval  plaice  might  be  mistaken  (except  in  its  very  earliest  stages) 
are  the  witch  flounder  and  the  halibut;  but  the  witch  is  longer  at  con^esponding 
stages  of  development  but  with  the  distance  from  snout  to  vent  proportionately 
much  shorter,  and  the  outline  of  throat  and  abdomen  are  sufficiently  different  to 
distinguish  the  plaice  from  the  halibut  (p.  481). 

Up  to  the  time  of  its  metamorphosis  the  young  plaice  lives  pelagic,  as  do  the 
young  of  most  sea  fishes,  keeping  close  to  the  surface  at  first  but  sinking  deeper  as 
it  grows,  until  finally  it  takes  to  the  bottom.  Young  plaice,  like  many  other  pelegic 
animals,  sink  more  or  less  regularly  by  day,  to  rise  toward  the  surface  of  the  water 
by  night. 

Welsh's  observations  suggest  that  the  plaice  conmiences  its  life  on  the  bottom 
at  a  length  of  about  IJ^  to  1%  inches,  with  its  metamorphosis  already  complete, 
its  body  scaly,  and  its  eyed  side  densely  pigmented.  There  is  wide  variation  in 
this  respect,  however,  and  according  to  European  authors  the  fry  may  even  take 
to  the  bottom  before  the  left  eye  has  completed  its  migration  around  the  head. 

The  period  occupied  in  larval  growth  and  metamorphosis  varies  with  tempera- 
ture, probably  about  three  to  four  months  being  a  fair  estimate  for  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  where  we  have  taken  the  pelagic  larvie  of  the  plaice  as  early  in  the  season 
as  May  26  and  as  late  as  August  2;  and  by  the  first  winter  the  little  fish  grow  to  a 
length  of  2  to  3  inches,  their  exact  size  depending  upon  how  early  in  the  season  they 
are  hatched  and  probably  on  the  temperature  in  which  they  live. 

Commercial  importance. — Although  the  plaice  is  an  excellent  pan  fish,  in  fact 
one  of  the  best  of  Gulf  of  Maine  flounders,  there  is  so  little  market  for  it  that  few 
are  brought  in. 

168.  Summer  flounder  {Paralichihys  dentatus  Linnaeus) 

Flounder;  Fluke;  Plaice;  Plaicefish;  Turbot 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2629. 

Description. — ^The  smnmer  flounder  is  left-handed.  That  is,  it  lies  on  the  right 
side  with  its  eyes  on  the  left  side  and  its  abdomen  on  the  left  edge  as  it  rests  on  the 
bottom  (this  differentiates  it  at  a  glance  from  the  plaice),  and  it  is  large-mouthed 
like  the  sand  flounder,  which  is  similarly  left-handed  (p.  516) ;  but  its  two  ventral 
fins  are  alike  and  both  are  separated  by  a  considerable  space  from  the  long  anal, 
whereas  the  upper  ventral  fin  of  the  sand  flounder  is  continuous  with  the  anal. 
The  only  Gulf  of  Maine  flatfish  with  which  the  summer  flounder  shares  its  left- 


492  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

handedness,  large  mouth,  and  symmetrical  ventral  fins  is  its  close  relative,  tne 
four-spotted  flounder,  but  the  color  pattern  of  the  latter  is  distinctive  (p.  494) 
and  its  fin  rays  are  fewer  in  number.  The  summer  flounder  is  one  of  the  narrower 
flounders.  Its  dorsal  fin  (about  87  rays)  originates  opposite  the  forward  margin 
of  the  eye,  its  anal  is  of  about  68  rays,  the  margin  of  its  caudal  is  rounded,  and  its 
pectorals  and  ventrals  are  relatively  smaller  than  those  of  the  plaice. 

Color. — It  has  long  been  known  that  flounders  are  generally  dark  on  a  dark 
bottom  and  pale  on  a  pale  one.  Perhaps  the  summer  flounder  is  the  most  variable 
in  color  of  all  our  local  species  and  the  one  which  most  closely  adapts  its  pattern 
to  that  of  the  ground  on  which  it  lies.  Like  most  flounders  it  is  white  below  and 
of  some  shade  of  brown,  gray,  or  drab  above,  but  it  can  assume  a  wide  range  of 
tints  from  nearly  white  on  white  sand  through  various  hues  of  gray,  blue,  green, 
orange,  pink,  and  brown  to  almost  black.  Red  alone  did  Mast""  flnd  it  unable  to 
match.  As  a  rule  its  upper  surface  is  variegated  with  pale  and  dark,  with  the  pat- 
tern fine  or  coarse  according  to  that  of  the  bottom,  and  it  may  or  may  not  be  marked 


/'.'#' 


'^^vfel#^-   -■  >'" 


V^f.,- 


V,  ,^^^■,-N-<■"^■' 


FlQ.  249.— Summer  flounder  (Paralichthvi  deiUatm) 

with  small  eyespots  of  a  darker  tint  of  the  general  ground  color.  Masts's  experi- 
ments show  that  it  is  slower  in  adapting  its  coloration  to  the  actual  colors  of  the 
bottom  than  to  the  general  pattern,  responding  most  rapidly  to  yellows  and  browns 
and  very  slowly  to  reds,  greens,  or  blues,  on  which  the  adaptation  may  not  reach 
its  maxunum  for  two  or  three  months.  He  also  observed  that  the  skin  simulates 
rather  than  exactly  reproduces  the  pattern  of  the  background. 

Size. — Summer  flounders  grow  to  a  maximum  weight  of  10  to  25  pounds  and 
to  a  length  of  3  feet,  while  the  largest  of  which  we  find  definite  record  weighed  26 
pounds,  but  the  average  size  of  the  fish  caught  is  only  2  to  5  pounds.  The  relation 
of  length  to  weight  appears  from  the  following  table:  " 

Length  Average  weight 

15  inches 1  P"*^"^ 

17tol8inches 2  pounds 

20  inches 3  pounds 

22inches 4  pounds 

27  inches 8  pounds 

30  inches ^0  P°"°dB 

"  Mast.    Bulletin,  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol.  XXXIV,  1914  (1916),  p.  177.       »  From  Qoode,  et  al.,  1884. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  493 

General  range. — Shoal  coastal  waters  off  the  eastern  United  States  from  Maine 
to  South  Carohna,  possibly  to  Florida,'^  and  chiefly  south  of  Cape  Cod. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  is  the  commonest  and  commercially  the 
most  important  flatfish  west  and  south  of  Rhode  Island,  but  its  range  barely  rounds 
Cape  Cod,  and  Cape  Cod  Bay  seems  always  to  have  been  the  boundary  to  its  regular 
occurrence.  North  of  this  it  is  so  rare  a  straggler  that  there  is  only  one  definite 
record — for  Casco  Bay  (specimens  collected  in  1873).  We  may  add  that  we  have 
never  seen  nor  heard  of  one  caught  in  the  inner  part  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  that 
it  is  unknown  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 

The  neighborhood  of  Provincetown  is  the  most  northerly  locality  where  the  sum- 
mer flounder  has  ever  been  known  to  occur  in  abundance,  but  it  was  so  common  there 
and  along  the  inner  side  of  Cape  Cod  as  far  as  Wellfleet  during  the  period  from  1840 
to  1850  that  Captain  Atwood  carried  them  regularly  thence  to  Boston  and  records 
catching  2,000  pounds  in  a  single  afternoon  inside  Provincetown  Harbor.  However, 
summer  flounders  so  diminished  in  number  after  a  few  years  of  hard  fishing  that 
Goode  (et  al.,  1884,  p.  175),  writing  in  1884,  described  them  as  "only  occasionally 
taken"  there;  and  so  far  as  we  can  learn  they  have  never  reappeared  in  any  abun- 
dance within  the  limits  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  a  fact  suggesting  that  the  local  body  of 
fish  concerned  was|not  actually  very  large  and  that  it  received  but  few  accessions 
from  the  more  abundant  stock  south  of  Cape  Cod.  Since  Dr.  W.  C.  Kendall 
caught  summer  flounders  at  Monomoy  and  at  North  Truro  in  1896,  however, 
occasional  specimens  are  to  be  expected  to  round  the  tip  of  Cape  Cod  and  to  be  taken 
in  Cape  Cod  Bay. 

The  summer  flounder  occurs  as  far  eastward  as  Georges  Bank,  offshore,  where 
Welsh  saw  some  taken  in  otter  trawls  in  1912  (exact  locality  not  given),  but  no 
information  is  available  as  to  its  abundance  there  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
Eastern  Channel  is  its  boundary  in  this  direction.  Being  of  so  little  importance, 
natural  or  commercial,  in  the  economy  of  the  Gulf  we  may  pass  over  its  habits 
briefly. 

Habits  and  food. — It  is  a  shoal-water  fish,  commonest  in  summer  from  tide 
mark  out  to  8  or  10  fathoms,  often  caught  in  bays  and  in  harbors  where  it  lurks 
among  the  piles  of  docks,  and  it  runs  up  into  fresh  water  in  the  mouths  of  rivers. 
Summer  flounders  prefer  sandy  bottom,  mud,  or  eelgrass,  and  they  are  frequently 
seen  lying  covered  all  but  the  eyes  in  the  sand,  where  it  takes  one  but  an  instant 
to  so  bury  itself.     When  disturbed  they  are  swift  swimmers. 

This  is  a  predaceous  species  like  the  halibut,  feeding  largely  on  small  fish  of  all 
sorts,  on  squids,  and  likewise  on  crabs,  shrimps,  and  other  crustaceans,  small  shelled 
mollusks,  worms,  and  sand  dollars.  It  is  very  fierce  and  active  in  pursuit  of  prey, 
often  following  schools  of  fry  or  sand  eels  right  up  to  the  surface,  to  jump  clear  of  the 
water  in  its  dashes,  actions  very  different  from  those  of  the  sluggish  plaice  or  winter 
flounder.  In  the  northern  part  of  its  range  it  moves  out  from  the  shallows  into 
deeper  water  in  winter,  no  doubt  to  avoid  the  cold,  June  to  October  being  the  fishing 
season  along  shore — hence  its  common  name.     It  is  not  known  whether  the  summer 

"  Florida  is  usuall7  given  as  the  southern  limit  of  this  Sounder,  but  it  is  possible  that  the  early  records  from  that  State  (there 
are  no  recent  ones)  actually  referred  to  the  "southern  flounder  "  (P.  lethostigmus),  a  common  Floridian  fish. 


494  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

flounders  that  appear  as  far  north  as  Provincetown  winter  near  by  or  whether  they 
migrate  southward  in  autumn. 

Practically  nothing  is  known  of  its  breeding  habits.  Presumably  its  eggs  are 
buoyant  like  those  of  its  close  relative,  the  four-spotted  flounder,  and  since  the 
ovaries  of  fish  caught  in  summer  are  immature  it  is  supposed  to  spawn  in  autiunn 
or  winter,  perhaps  moving  out  into  deep  water  for  the  purpose. 

Commercial  importance. — This  is  one  of  the  best  of  flatfish  on  the  table,  and 
south  of  Cape  Cod  (where  it  is  common)  it  provides  amusement  to  many  anglers, 
for  not  only  is  it  a  free  biter  on  almost  any  bait  but  large  ones  often  put  up  a  strong 
resistance  when  hooked. 

169.  Four-spotted  flounder  (Paralichthys  oUongus  Mitchill) 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2632. 

Description. — This  fish  so  closely  resembles  the  summer  flounder  (p.  491)  in 
itsj'general  makeup  that  we  need  mention  only  the  points  of  difference.     Most 


,-km^Fi  '         ■     -  ^■%^. 


i 


rf' 


?^&^ 


# 


Fig   250.— Four-spotted  flounder  {Pttralichthps  oblongus) 

apparent  of  these  are  that  it  has  fewer  fin  rays  (only  about  72  dorsal  and  60  anal, 
as  against  85  to  92  dorsal  and  65  to  71  anal  in  the  summer  flounder),  and  that  its 
mottled  gray  "back"  is  invariably  marked  with  four  large,  oblong,  and  very  con- 
spicuous black  eye  spots  edged  with  pale  pinkish,  two  of  them  situated  at  each 
margin  of  the  body,  as  the  illustration  shows  (fig.  250) .  This  is  also  a  much  smaller 
fish  than  the  summer  flounder,  adults  averaging  only  about  12  inches  long  with 
14  inches  about  the  maximum. 

General  range. — The  limits  of  distribution  of  this  fish  are  yet  to  be  established, 
but  its  range  is  apparently  ver}^  narrow  for  it  has  never  been  recorded  south  of 
New  York  on  the  one  hand  and  only  rarely  north  of  Cape  Cod  on  the  other,  though 
it  is  common  along  the  intervening  stretch  of  coast. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  flounder  has  been  reported  from 
Monomoy  at  the  southern  angle  of  Cape  Cod,  from  North  Truro,  Provincetown 
(where  Storer  saw  a  number  of  them  in  June,  1847),  and  from  Gloucester  Harbor, 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  495 

where  a  single  specimen  was  taken  by  the  United  States  Fish  Commission  in  1878." 
However,  it  is  so  rare  about  Massachusetts  Bay  that  we  ourselves  have  never 
seen  or  heard  of  one  caught  there  of  late  years,  and  it  is  unknown  farther  north. 

Habits. — iilthough  this  is  a  rather  common  fish  about  Woods  Hole  in  May 
and  June  and  still  more  so  along  the  coast  of  New  York,  very  little  is  known  of  its 
habits,  but  it  seems  to  lie  deeper  as  a  rule  than  the  summer  flounder,  usually  being 
caught  in  7  to  17  fathoms  in  Vineyard  Sound. 

Food. — The  diet  of  the  four-spotted  flounder  is  much  the  same  as  that  of  its 
relative — that  is,  chiefly  small  fish  and  squid,  with  crabs,  shrimps,  shellfish,  and 
worms. 

Breeding  habits. — This  flounder  spawns  in  May.  Its  eggs  are  buoyant,"*  about 
0.96  mm.  in  diameter,  and  without  oil  globule.  The  larval  stages  have  not  been 
described  previously,  but  certain  larvas  of  8  to  11  mm.  taken  in  our  tow  nets 
off  the  coast  of  New  Jersey  in  1913  (stations  10070  and  10082)  are  located  in  this 
genus  by  their  large  mouths  and  by  left-handedness,  which  is  foreshadowed  in  the 
larger  ones  by  the  fact  that  it  is  the  right  eye  that  has  begun  to  migrate.  The 
dates  of  capture  (July  19  and  August  1)  suggest  that  they  belong  to  the  four-spotted 
and  not  to  the  summer  flounder.  If  this  identification  be  correct  an  aggregation 
of  the  pigment  over  the  rear  part  of  the  trunk  combined  with  relatively  deep  outline 
and  a  large  head  are  likewise  diagnostic.  Small  fry  of  2  to  3  inches  have  been 
taken  at  Woods  Hole  in  autumn,  showing  that  this  flounder  completes  its  meta- 
morphosis and  takes  to  bottom  about  three  months  after  hatching. 

170.  Rusty  dab  (Limanda  ferruginea  Storer) 

Yellowtail;  Dab;  Rusty  flounder;  Fluke;  Sand  dab;  Mud  dab 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2644. 

Description. — The  dab  is  right-handed  (that  is,  eyes  on  the  right  side  and  guts 
at  the  right-hand  margin  as  the  fish  lies  on  bottom)  and  small-mouthed  like  the 
winter,  smooth,  and  witch  flounders;  but  it  is  easily  distinguished  from  the  first 
by  its  more  pointed  snout,  thin  body,  arched  lateral  line,  and  more  numerous  fin 
rays;  from  the  second  by  the  last  two  characters  as  well  as  by  the  concave  dorsal 
(left)  profile  of  its  head  and  by  being  scaly  between  the  eyes;  and  from  the  third 
by  its  arched  lateral  line,  its  less  numerous  fin  rays,  the  concave  dorsal  profile  of 
its  head,  and  especially  b}^  lacking  the  mucus  pits  on  the  left  (white)  side  of  its 
head,  which  are  so  conspicuous  in  the  witch  (p.  511). 

The  dab  is  a  comparatively  broad  flounder,  being  nearly  one-half  as  broad  as 
long,  with  oval  body.  The  dorsal  outline  of  the  head  is  more  concave  than  in  any 
other  Gulf  of  Maine  flounder,  its  head  narrower,  its  snout  more  pointed,  and  its 
eyes  set  so  close  together  that  their  rounded  orbits  almost  touch  each  other.  The 
fact  that  its  mouth  does  not  gape  back  as  far  as  the  eyes,  with  its  small  teeth  and 

"  In  one  paper  Goode  and  Bean  (1879g,  p.  40)  state  that  this  specimen  was  trawled  in  Gloucester  Harbor.    In  another  paper 
(1879,  p.  7)  they  credit  it  to  the  mouth  o!  Salem  Harbor. 

5'  They  have  been  hatched  artifleially  at  the  Woods  Hole  hatchery. 


496 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHERIES 


thick  fleshy  lips,  marks  it  off  at  a  glance  from  all  the  large-mouthed  species  of 
flounders.  The  dorsal  fin  (76  to  85  rays)  originates  over  the  eye,  its  middle  rays 
longest,  while  the  rays  of  the  front  half  of  the  fin  are  free  at  the  tips.  The  anal 
fin  is  similar  in  outline  but  much  shorter  (57  to  63  rays)  and  is  preceded  by  a  short, 


,,.s\^^S\V..--,,N  . 


Fio.  251.— Adult 


.;■///' 


Fio.  252.— Egg 


Fig.  253. — Larva,  10.3  millimeters 


Fig.  264.— Larva,  14  millimeters 
RUSTY  DAB  (Limanda  ferruginea) 


"sharp  spine  pointing  forward.  The  two  ventral  fins  are  alike  and  both  are  sepa- 
rated by  a  considerable  space  from  the  anal,  but  the  pectoral  on  the  blind  side  is 
slightly  shorter  than  its  mate  on  the  eyed  side.  The  scales  are  rough  on  the  eyed 
side  but  smooth  on  the  bUnd  side. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  497 

Color. — The  dab  is  more  constant  in  color  than  most  Gulf  of  Maine  flomiders, 
its  eyed  side,  including  the  fins,  being  brownish  or  slaty  olive  tinged  with  reddish 
and  marked  with  large  irregular  rusty  red  spots.  The  caudal  fin  and  the  margins 
of  the  two  long  fins  are  yelldw,  the  yellow  tail  in  particular  being  a  very  diagnostic 
character.  The  blind  side  is  white,  except  for  the  caudal  peduncle,  which  is 
yellowish. 

Size. — This  is  a  medimn-sized  flatfish.  Several  hundred  adults  caught  in  gill 
nets  between  Cape  Ann  and  Cape  Elizabeth  (measured  by  Welsh)  ran  as  follows: 
Males,  average  length  15%  inches,  extreme  11^  to  18%  inches;  females,  average 
18  inches,  extreme  153^  inches  to  2\%  inches.  This  series  includes  the  largest 
specimens  that  have  ever  been  reported. 

General  range. — North  American  coastal  waters,  from  the  north  shore  of  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  northern  Newfoundland  (there  are  specimens  from  St. 
Anthony's  in  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology),  and  the  Newfoundland 
Banks  to  New  Jersey."^ 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — The  dab  is  a  rather  deep-water  fish,  seldom 
seen  along  shore;  and  since  its  mouth  is  so  small  that  one  is  rarely  caught  on  the 
large  hooks  used  for  cod,  pollock,  or  haddock,  little  was  known  of  its  distribution 
prior  to  the  introduction  of  beam  and  otter  trawls  to  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  Since 
then,  however,  the  dabs  (known  locally  as  " yellowtails "  or  "flukes")  have  proved 
to  be  so  plentiful  along  the  sandy  shores  of  the  east  side  of  Cape  Cod  Bay  and  on 
Stellwagen  Bank  below  10  fathoms  that  they  and  winter  flounders  together  sup- 
port a  considerable  trawl  fishery  there.  No  statistics  of  the  actual  catch  of  dabs 
are  available  (they  are  combined  with  other  flatfish  as  "floimders"),  but  the  Cape 
Cod  fishermen  marketed  almost  3,000,000  pounds  of  these  two  species  in  1908  and 
perhaps  half  of  this  amoimt  were  dabs.  They  are  also  common  in  the  deeper  parts 
of  Massachusetts  Bay,  as  Goode  and  Bean  (1879)  long  ago  remarked,  and  so  many 
dabs  are  taken  in  gill  nets  (which  are  not  very  effective  flounder  gear)  during  the 
spring  fishery  for  haddock  between  Cape  Ann  and  Cape  Elizabeth,  especially  be- 
tween the  Isles  of  Shoals  and  Great  Boars  Head  where  Welsh  saw  many  hundreds 
during  March  and  April  in  1913,  that  this  must  be  one  of  the  commonest  flatflsh 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  Gulf  in  suitable  depths. 

Practically  nothing  is  known  of  the  abundance  of  dabs  in  the  northeastern 
waters  of  the  Gulf,  though  they  have  been  reported  off  Casco  Bay  and  in  the 
Mussel  Ridge  Channel  at  the  entrance  to  Penobscot  Bay.  Nor  have  our  own 
inquiries  of  local  fishermen  elicited  much  information,  few  of  them  discriminating 
among  the  several  offshore  flounders.  They  are  certainly  rare  and  perhaps 
altogether  absent  from  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  for  Huntsman  has  found  them  only  in 

w  This  species  is  represented  in  north  European  waters  by  the  European  dab,  L.  limanda,  a  close  ally,  from  which  it  is 
distinguishable  by  its  smaller  scales,  more  pointed  snout,  more  numerous  fln  rays,  and  shorter  pectoral  fins. 

We  should  also  mention  the  deep-water  dab  (L.  hcanii  Goode),  for  although  it  has  not  been  taken  within  the  limits  of  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  it  would  not  be  surprising  to  find  it  on  the  seaward  slope  of  Georges  Bank,  for  it  has  been  taken  westward  and 
southward  from  Marthas  Vineyard  in  depths  of  120  to  896  fathoms  (the  exact  localities  are  listed  by  Goode  and  Bean  (1896)).  This 
flatfish  is  distinguished  from  the  rusty  dab  by  its  much  shorter  head  (occupying  only  two-elevenths  Instead  of  one-fourth  of  the 
total  length),  by  the  fact  that  the  dorsal  profile  of  its  snout  is  convex  and  not  concave,  that  it  has  only  about  64  dorsal  fln  rays 
instead  of  76  or  more,  that  there  are  only  88  rows  of  scales  along  its  lateral  line  instead  of  90  to  100,  and  that  its  tail  fln  is  marked 
with  a  conspicuous  black  blotch  on  the  outer  rays  at  each  side. 


498  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

St.  Mary  Bay — and  but  few  there — ^nor  have  dabs  been  recorded  from  other 
parts  of  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  though  they  are  to  be  expected  there. 
Welsh's  experience  was  that  dabs  are  rather  common  on  Georges  Bank  generally, 
though  no  record  was  kept  of  the  actual  numbers  caught,  whUe  the  Allatross  long 
ago  trawled  them  on  both  the  northern  and  the  southeastern  faces  of  the  bank, 
and  probably  they  also  occur  on  Browns  Bank  though  not  yet  definitely  reported 
from  there.  The  record  of  this  species  is  very  meager  east  of  Cape  Sable.  It 
has  been  taken  off  Halifax,  at  Canso,  on  the  Grand  Banks,  and  at  various  localities 
in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  but  nothing  seems  to  be  known  as  to  its  local  abundance. 

Turning  to  waters  west  of  Cape  Cod,  dabs  are  plentiful  all  the  year  round  on 
Nantucket  Shoals  and  Sound,  where  they  are  one  of  the  important  commercial 
flounders,  likewise  in  Vineyard  Sound  and  Buzzards  Bay  in  7  fathoms  and  deeper, 
and  they  are  common  offshore  as  far  as  New  York,^"  which  is  about  the  southern 
limit  to  their  regular  occurrence. 

Habits. — ^Most  of  the  dabs  caught  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
are  in  10  to  30  fathoms  of  water,  and  the  fish  caught  on  Georges  Bank  are  in  20  to 
50  fathoms.  Occasionally  one  is  reported  from  shoal  water,  but  generally  speak- 
ing we  believe  about  5  to  7  fathoms  may  be  set  as  its  upper  limit.  Thus  it  lives 
considerably  deeper  than  the  winter  or  the  smooth-  flounders.  On  the  other  hand, 
we  find  no  record  of  dabs  as  deep  as  100  fathoms  in  the  Gulf,  and  most  of  them 
certainly  live  shoaler  than  75  fathoms,  while  it  is  not  likely  that  any  descend  into 
the  deep  basins  where  the  mud  is  so  soft  and  sticky  that  few  floimders  of  any  kind 
would  be  expected  there.  Most  of  the  dabs  that  Welsh  saw  taken  in  gill  nets  on 
the  Isles  of  Shoals-Boon  Island  grounds  were  living  on  fine  black  sand  between 
the  hard  and  rocky  patches,  and  probably  ahnost  any  sand  or  a  mixture  of  sand 
and  mud  bottoms  is  suitable  for  them,  but  rocks,  stony  ground,  and  very  soft  mud 
are  shunned  by  dabs  as  they  are  by  other  flounders. 

Food. — -The  dab  feeds  chiefly  on  the  smaller  crustaceans  such  as  amphipods, 
shrimps,  schizopods,  etc.,  and  likewise  on  the  smaller  shellfish,  both  univalves  and 
bivalves,  and  on  worms.  It  is  also  known  to  eat  small  fish,  but  it  is  not  likely 
that  it  can  catch  these  often.  Its  European  relative  also  feeds  on  sea  urchins, 
starfish,  and  at  times  on  algffi,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  American  dab  would  be 
found  equally  omnivorous  were  stomachs  of  fish  from  various  localities  examined. 
Fish  in  breeding  condition  usually  are  empty.  The  diet  of  the  dab  suggests  that 
it  is  one  of  the  more  sluggish  flatfish,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it  ever 
travels  about  much  after  it  once  takes  to  the  bottom  except  that  it  seems  to  move 
inshore  in  winter  off  southern  New  England  "  and  offshore  and  deeper  again  as 
the  water  warms  in  spring,  probably  to  avoid  high  temperature.  If  this  actually 
takes  place,  however,  it  never  leads  the  dab  up  into  the  shallows,  and  no  migration 
of  this  sort  has  been  observed  north  of  Cape  Cod.  The  rate  of  growth  of  the  dab 
has  not  been  studied. 

Breeding  habits. — Very  little  was  known  about  the  breeding  of  the  American 
dab  imtil  recently  when  its  season  was  determined  and  its  eggs  were  artificially 

"  Nichols.    Copeia,  Deo.  27,  1913,  No.  1,  p.  4.  "  Tracy,  1910,  p.  163. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  499 

hatched  through  Welsh's  industry.  Spawning,  as  he  found,  commences  near 
Gloucester  by  the  middle  of  March,  and  many  ripe  fish  were  taken  during  the  last 
half  of  April,  but  the  majority  were  still  green  as  late  in  the  season  as  May  8  in  1913, 
though  others  were  already  spawned  out;  and  since  we  have  found  eggs  indistinguish- 
able from  those  of  the  dab  in  our  tow  nets  in  June,  July,  August,  and  one  even  on 
September  11,  and  have  taken  its  newly  hatched  larvae  (6  mm.  long)  off  Race  Point 
as  late  as  August  31,  spawning  must  last  all  summer.  The  individual  females 
spawn  over  a  considerable  period  of  time,  for  Welsh  found  that  only  a  small  part 
of  the  eggs  ripened  simultaneously  in  any  given  fish. 

The  neighborhood  of  the  Isles  of  Shoals  and  of  Boars  Head,  where  Welsh 
obtained  his  ripe  fish,  is  certainly  an  important  spawning  ground  at  20  to  30  fathoms. 
Probably  the  dab  breeds  over  most  of  the  peripheral  belt  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
between  the  20  and  50  fathom  contours  except  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  but  we  have 
found  no  eggs  over  deeper  water,  and  no  doubt  it  spawns  as  actively  on  the  offshore 
banks  as  it  does  alongshore, for  although  we  have  not  actually  found  its  eggs  there 
we  have  taken  larvae  only  7  to  11  mm.  long  over  both  the  western  and  eastern  parts 
of  Georges  Bank*';  also  near  Gloucester  and  near  the  tip  of  Cape  Cod,  in  July 
and  August. 

The  dab  also  spawns  on  Sable  Island  Bank,  Banquereau  Bank,  and  the  New- 
foundland Banks,  for  eggs  (no  doubt  of  this  species)  were  collected  on  these  grounds 
by  the  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition  in  1915,"°  and,  in  the  other  direction,  it  breeds 
as  far  westward  as  New  York,  for  we  towed  88  young  larvae  (6.5  to  19  mm.  long) 
11  miles  off  Sandy  Hook  on  August  1,  1913. 

The  egg  is  buoyant,  without  oil  globule,  spherical,  very  transparent,  and  with 
a  narrow  perivitelline  space.  One  hundred  eggs  measured  by  Welsh  ranged  from 
0.87  to  0.94  mm.  in  diameter,  averaging  about  0.9  mm.  The  surface  of  the  egg  is 
covered  with  very  minute  striations,  and  while  alive  the  germinal  disk  is  of 
a  very  pale  buff  color.  Shortly  before  hatching  (which  takes  place  in  5  days  at  a 
temperature  of  50°  to  52°)  the  embryonic  pigment  gathers  in  three  groups — one 
on  the  head,  one  in  the  anal  region,  and  a  third  half  way  between  the  latter  and  the 
tip  of  the  tail.  Unfortunately  the  fish  which  Welsh  hatched  were  accidentally 
destroyed,  so  we  can  not  describe  the  early  larval  stages.  Larvae  of  11  mm.  are 
still  symmetrical,  whereas  at  14  mm.  the  left  eye  is  already  visible  above  the  profile 
of  the  head,  while  all  the  fins  are  outlined,  their  rays  are  present  in  the  final 
number  (76  dorsal  and  59  anal  in  the  specimen  illustrated),  and  the  mouth  is  clearly 
fated  to  be  "small."  Thus,  when  they  have  reached  this  stage  they  show  enough 
of  the  diagnostic  characters  of  the  adult  for  positive  identification. 

The  early  larval  stages  of  dabs  and  of  winter  flounders  resemble  each  other 
closely.  In  fact  it  is  probable  that  some  of  the  young  flatfish  pictured  by  A.  Agassiz '" 
as  winter  flounders  were  actually  dabs.     After  the  fin  rays  appear,  however,  their 

"  station  10059,  July  9,  1913;  and  station  10224,  July  23,  1914. 

'•  Dannevig  (Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919),  p.  17)  refers  these  provisionally  to  the  European  dab,  which  does 
not  occur  on  the  American  coast.    Its  egg  is  indistinguishable  from  that  of  the  American  species. 

^0  Agassiz.   Proceedings,  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  new  series  Vol.  VI,  whole  series  Vol.  XIV,  1S79,  PI.  IV- 


500 


BULLETIN    OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


number  is  usually  diagnostic,  placing  the  larvae  in  one  species  or  the  other.  While 
the  dab  does  not  take  to  bottom  until  upwards  of  14  mm.  long,  the  winter 
flounder  completes  its  metamorphosis  at  a  length  of  only  8  to  9  mm. 

Williams's"  observation  (at  Woods  Hole)  that  the  larvse  were  completely 
metamorphosed  when  of  the  size  just  noted,  supported  by  the  position  of  the  eye 
in  the  Grampus  example  (fig.  254),  is  evidence  that  the  dab  is  not  as  long  subject 
to  involuntary  migrations  with  the  current  as  are  some  other  flounders.     Our 


71*                                              70- 

a»-                            ee-                             er                            ea' 

f^2M^^    fy^ 

44 

t-                                         4- 

»      >   ^    /I           -.'"-'                                                 (,    S  C  0  T  1  A 
d5?fu/                          •-/"                                                            ;V             Yarmouth 

Portland  C 

43 

//  0 

r  'A 

^-x / 

:       4.,,                  +                    *                  ■+               »■ 

.        '                          y : 

42 

41* 

• 
+                   + 

i 

\                                                        /-"■' 
\            * 

*                      *                      *■    /               *                 a 

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/    '■\^,.,-^ 

^....■-' 

40 

+                   * 

+                                     4-                                     +                                     4.                           |w 

71'                                   70" 

69-                                       8«*                                       fl7-                                       66" 

Fig.  255.— Locality  records  for  larvae  (•)  of  the  dab,  larvee  (A)  of  the  witch  flounder,  and  eggs  presumably  referred  to  the  dab  (O) 

records  for  its  larvae  are  all  from  the  southwest  part  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  from 
Georges  Bank,  and  from  west  of  Cape  Cod  (fig.  225) . 

Commercial  importance. — This  is  hardly  as  desirable  a  table  fish  as  the  winter 
or  summer  flounders,  not  from  any  lack  of  flavor  but  because  its  body  is'thinner, 
but  those  taken  in  the  Massachusetts  flounder  fishery  find  a  ready  sale'with  other 
flatfishes. 


"  Bulletin,  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard  College,  Vol.  XL,  1902-3,  No.  1,  pp.  1-58,  pis.  1-5. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  501 

171.  Winter  flounder  (Pseudopleuronectes  americanus  Walbaum) 

Flounder;    Sole;    Flatfish;    Rough    flounder;    Massachusetts    flounder; 
Mud  dab;  Blackback;  Black  flounder 

Jordan  and  Evermann,   1896-1900,  p.  2647. 

Description. — This  is  a  small-mouthed,  right-handed  species  (eyes  on  the 
right  side  and  guts  on  the  right),  easily  separable  from  the  dab,  which  is  similarly 
characterized,  by  the  fact  that  its  lateral  line  is  nearly  straight  (at  most  only  slightly 
bowed  abreast  the  pectoral  fin),  the  dorsal  profile  of  its  head  less  concave,  its  nose 
blunter,  its  eyes  farther  apart,  its  fin  rays  less  numerous,  and  its  fins  less  tapering 
in  outline.  The  most  obvious  difference  between  the  winter  and  the  smooth 
flounders  (p.  508)  is  that  the  former  is  rough  scaled  between  the  eyes,  the  latter 
smooth,  and  that  the  winter  flounder  has  more  fin  rays.     On  the  other  hand  it  has 


FiQ.  256. — Winter  flounder  {Pseudopleuronectes  americanus) 

only  about  two-thirds  as  many  dorsal  rays  as  the  witch  (p.  511),  lacks  the  mucus 
pits  characteristic  of  the  left  (lower)  side  of  the  head  of  the  latter,  and  has  a  much 
larger  tail,  proportionately.  It  is  oval  in  outline,  about  two  and  one-fourth  times 
as  long  as  wide,  thick-bodied,  and  with  proportionately  broader  caudal  peduncle 
and  tail  than  any  of  our  other  small  flatfish  except  its  newly  discovered  relative, 
P.  dignabilis  (p.  507).  The  dorsal  fin  (61  to  69  rays)  originates  opposite  the  forward 
edge  of  the  "eye,  and  is  of  nearly  equal  height  tlrroughout  its  length.  The  anal 
(46  to  51  rays)  is  highest  about  midway  and  is  preceded  by  a  short,  sharp  spine. 
The  ventral  fins  are  alike  on  the  two  sides  of  the  body,  and  both  are  separated  from 
the  anal  by  a  considerable  gap.  The  mouth  is  small,  not  gaping  back  to  the  eye, 
and  the  lips  are  thick  and  fleshy  like  those  of  the  dab.  The  left  (under)  half  of 
each  jaw  is  armed  Avith  one  series  of  close-set  incisorlike  teeth,  but  the  right  (upper) 
side  has  only  a  few  teeth,  or  may  even  be  toothless.  The  scales  are  rough  on  the 
eyed  side,  including  the  space  between  the  eyes,  but  perfectly  smooth  to  the  touch  on 
the  blind  (white)  side. 


502  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

The  winter  flounder  shows  some  tendency  to  break  up  into  local  races  with 
regard  to  the  number  of  its  fin  rays  '^  and  perhaps  in  other  characteristics,  but 
it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  these  varieties  are  sufficiently  distinct  or  constant 
to  give  a  clue  to  the  local  origin  of  individuals  or  of  particular  bodies  of  fish. 

Color. — The  winter  flounder,  like  other  flatfish,  varies  in  hue  according  to  the 
bottom  on  which  it  lies,  but  as  a  general  rule  it  is  the  darkest  of  Gulf  of  Maine 
flatfishes.  Large  ones  are  usually  of  some  shade  of  muddy  or  slightly  reddish 
brown  or  dark  slate  above,  sometimes  almost  black,  and  they  vary  from  plain  or 
more  or  less  mottled  to  definitely  dotted  with  small  spots  of  a  darker  shade  of  the 
general  ground  tint.  We  have  often  noticed  that  there  is  usually  a  wide  variation 
in  this  respect  among  any  lot  of  flounders.  The  blind  side  is  white.  The  long 
fins  are  usually  tinged  with  reddish  or  yellowish,  the  ventrals  and  pectorals  of  the 
eyed  side  are  of  the  general  ground  tint,  while  their  mates  on  the  blind  side  are 
pure  white.  Small  fish  are  apt  to  be  paler  and  more  blotched  or  mottled  than  large. 
Various  color  abnormalities  have  been  recorded — ^fish,  for  example,  that  are  par- 
tially white  on  the  eyed  as  well  as  on  the  blind  side,  or  with  the  blind  side  yellow- 
edged — and  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  specimens  dark  blotched  on  the  blind  side. 
In  fact,  one-third  of  the  fish  caught  near  Providence,  R.  I.,  during  the  winter  of  1897- 
98  were  these  "black  bellies,"  as  fishermen  call  them,  but  in  1900  the  commissioners 
of  fisheries  of  that  State  estimated  them  as  forming  only  4  per  cent  of  the  catch, 
and  since  then  none,  or  at  most  only  an  odd  example,  has  been  seen.  In  1898  some 
fry  artificially  hatched  from  eggs  of  "black-bellied"  flounders  were  released  in 
Waquoit  Bay,  where  this  race  was  unknown,  and  in  1900  several  "black  beUies" 
7  to  8  inches  long  (hence  probably  two  years  old)  were  taken  there,  suggesting  that 
this  color  variety  is  hereditary.'* 

Winter  flounders  change  color  to  suit  their  surroundings,  for  they  are  usually 
very  dark  on  mud  and  pale  on  bright  sand  bottoms,  but  field  experience  suggests 
that  they  have  less  control  over  shade  and  pattern  than  the  summer  flounder. 

Size. — The  largest  winter  flounder  on  record  is  one  21  inches  long  by  17  inches 
broad  mentioned  by  Storer;  and  although  "Welsh  saw  three  of  about  19J^  inches 
weighing,  respectively,  3J^,  3^,  and  4  pounds,  caught  near  Boon  Island  in  April, 
1913,  fish  longer  than  18  inches  or  heavier  than  3  pounds  are  unusual,  the  general 
run  of  adults  caught  inshore  being  from  12  to  15  inches  in  length  and  1)4.  to  2  pounds 
in  weight. 

General  range. — Shoal  water  along  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North  America,  from 
northern  Labrador  to  Georgia. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  is  the  commonest  shoal-water  flounder 
of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  there  being  no  bay  or  harbor  in  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick, 
or  New  England  where  it  is  not  to  be  caught;  and  our  experience  goes  to  show  that 
Huntsman's  (1922a,  p.  70)  description  of  it  as  "very  abundant  everywhere  in 
shallow  water  and  at  moderate  depths"  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  Storer's  state- 
ment that  it  is  the  most  common  flatfish  in  Massachusetts  waters,  apply  equally 
to  the  entire  coast  line  of  the  Gulf,  so  much  so  that  it  would  be  tedious  to  give  the 
very  considerable  list  of  localities  whence  it  has  been  recorded. 

n  Bumpus.    American  Naturalist,  Vol.  XXXU,  189S,  pp.  407-412. 

n  Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  XIX,  1899  (1901),  pp.  305-306. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  503 

Habits. — This  flounder  is  resident  the  year  round  wherever  it  is  found  north  of 
Cape  Cod,  except  that  in  very  shallow  estu^-ries  which  are  largely  laid  bare  to  the 
sun  at  every  tide  (Duxbiuy  Bay  and  Barnstable  Harbor,  for  instance)  the  flounders 
move  out  or  into  the  deeper  channels  during  the  heat  of  the  summer,  to  return  in 
the  autumn,  and  again  desert  the  ice-bound  flats  in  the  winter,  to  reappear  there 
in  spring.  Winter  flounders  sometimes  perish  by  thousands  in  very  hot  spells  of 
siunmer  weather  '*  in  the  shallow  bays  of  Long  Island,  but  we  have  never  heard  of 
this  happening  in  the  Gidf  of  Maine  where  cooler  water  is  always  close  at  hand.  On 
the  other  hand  they  may  succumb  to  anchor  ice  in  winter  if  caught  in  very  shoal 
water  in  a  severe  freeze,  for  dead  "flounders"  of  one  sort  or  another  are  sometimes 
reported  in  such  locations  after  unusually  severe  weather,  and  observations  at 
Woods  Hole  have  shown  that  temperatures  near  freezing  (say  32°  to  29°)  drive 
them  down  into  slightly  warmer  water.  This  migration  of  flounders  out  to  sea  in 
summer  and  back  again  in  winter  is  more  characteristic  and  regular  south  of  Cape 
Cod,  where  the  coastal  waters  are  warmer  (hence  the  common  name  "winter  floun- 
ders"),  than  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  east  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  where  they  are  to  be 
found  in  abundance  in  most  harbors  and  shoal  locations  generally  all  summer, 
either  to  remain  over  winter  or  to  move  out,  according  to  local  conditions  of  tem- 
perature. Apart  from  these  bathic  migrations  (which  in  any  case  extend  over  short 
distances  only)  this  is  one  of  the  most  stationary  of  our  fishes. 

In  the  shoal  waters  of  Great  South  Bay  on  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  Bean  (1903, 
p.  778)  describes  the  winter  flounder  as  imdergoing  a  "  partial  hibernation  in  the  mud 
in  winter,"  but  as  Breder  has  pointed  out,"  this  is  probably  an  error,  the  failure 
of  the  hook-and-line  fishermen  to  take  them  in  midwinter  simply  reflecting  the  fact 
that  they  will  not  bite  at  that  season,  winter  being  the  spawning  period  when  win- 
ter flounders  fast  as  so  many  other  fishes  do.  Experience  at  the  Boothbay  and  Woods 
Hole  hatcheries,  with  the  results  of  the  trawl  fishery  (p.  507) ,  proves  that  they  are 
as  active  in  winter  as  in  summer  both  north  and  south  of  Cape  Cod. 

Depth. — Tide  mark,  high  or  low  according  to  the  stage  of  the  tide,  is  the  upper 
limit  for  this  flounder.  It  even  runs  up  into  brackish  water  in  river  mouths,  but 
never,  we  believe,  into  fresh  water.  Its  lower  limit  can  not  be  stated  definitely.  It 
is  certainly  plentiful  at  10  to  20  fathoms  in  Cape  Cod  Bay  and  on  Stellwagen  Bank, 
while  the  gill-netters  take  a  considerable  niunber  of  very  large  ones  at  about  this 
same  depth  about  Boon  Island.  According  to  general  report,  however,  few,  if  any, 
are  caught  deeper  than  this  in  the  inner  parts  of  the  GuK  except  in  the  Bay  of 
Fundy,  where  they  are  taken  on  soft  bottoms  down  to  30  to  50  fathoms.  The 
flounder  of  this  type,  which  is  caught  down  to  70  fathoms  on  Georges  Bank,  is  now 
considered  a  separate,  if  closely  allied,  species,  hence  is  treated  separately  (p.  507). 
UsuaUy  the  smaller  fish  live  shoalest  and  the  larger  ones  deeper,  but  we  have  so 
often  seen  large  flounders  caught  in  only  a  few  feet  of  water  that  no  general  rule 
can  be  laid  down.    The  young  fry  are  found  chiefly  in  the  shallows. 

"  Nichols  (Copeia,  March  19,  1918,  No.  55,  pp.  37-39)  describes  such  an  occurrence. 
"'  Bulletin,  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol.  XXXVIII,  1921-22  (1923),  p.  313. 


504  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUKEAU   OF   FISHERIES 

This  flatfish  is  cathohc  in  its  choice  of  bottoms.  Perhaps  most  are  caught  on 
mud,  especially  when  broken  by  patches  of  eelgrass,  but  it  is  common  enough  on 
sand  and  clay,  and  even  on  pebbly  and  gravelly  ground.  On  soft  bottom  it  usually 
lies  buried,  all  but  its  eyes,  working  itself  down  into  the  mud  almost  instantly  when 
it  settles  from  swimming.  Floimders  that  live  on  the  flats  usually  lie  motionless 
over  the  low  tide  to  become  more  active  on  the  flood  when  they  scatter  in  search 
of  food. 

Winter  floimders  keep  near  the  bottom.  We  have  never  heard  of  them  com- 
ing up  to  the  surface  as  the  summer  flounder  so  often  does  (p.  493),  but  though 
they  spend  most  of  their  time  lying  motionless  they  can  dash  for  a  few  yards  with 
surprising  rapidity,  to  snap  up  any  luckless  shrimp  or  other  victim  that  comes 
within  reach,  or  to  snatch  a  bait,  as  any  one  may  see  who  will  take  the  trouble  to 
watch  them  on  the  flats  on  a  calm  day.  It  is  in  this  manner  and  not  by  rooting 
in  the  sand  that  they  usually  feed. 

Food. — ^According  to  Sullivan  ''"  diatoms  are  the  first  food  taken  after  the 
yolk  of  the  larval  flounder  is  absorbed.  A  little  later  they  begin  preying  on  the 
smaller  Crustacea,  and  Sullivan  invariably  found  isopods  in  the  stomachs  of  fry 
just  past  their  metamorphosis.  A  series  of  young  flounders  1  to  4J^  inches  long 
from  Casco  Bay  were  found  by  Welsh  to  have  fed  as  follows,  mentioning  the 
major  items  only:  Crustaceans,  chiefly  isopods  with  lesser  amoimts  of  copepods, 
ajnphipods,  crabs,  and  shrimps,  36  per  cent;  worms,  39  per  cent;  mollusks,  only 
2  per  cent;  various  imidentifiable  material,  22  per  cent.  Linton  "  who  examined 
about  398  young  flounders  of  various  sizes  at  Woods  Hole,  likewise  foimd  them 
feeding  chiefly  on  amphipods  and  other  small  Crustacea,  together  with  annelid 
worms,  and  liis  tables  of  stomach  contents  show  an  increase  in  ratio  of  mollusks  to 
Crustacea  as  the  fish  grow.  The  adult  winter  flounder,  like  the  dab  (p.  498),  is 
constrained  by  its  small  mouth  to  a  diet  of  the  smaller  invertebrates  and  fish  fry. 
Sometimes  they  are  fifll  of  shrimps,  amphipods,  small  crabs,  or  other  crustaceans; 
sometimes  of  ascidians,  bivalve  or  univalve  mollusks  (Linton  says  it  seems  that 
they  often  bite  off  clam  siphons  which  protrude  from  the  sand) ,  bloodworms  (Nereis) , 
or  other  annelids.  They  also  eat  squid,  holothurians,  hydroids,  and  sometimes  bits 
of  seaweed,  and  occasionally  they  capture  small  fish.  Examination  of  the  stomachs 
of  adults  taken  at  Woods  Hole  in  February,  1921,  by  C.  M.  Breder  "  showed  that 
they  cease  feeding  when  about  to  spawn. 

In  spite  of  its  small  mouth  the  winter  flounder  bites  clams  very  readily  pro- 
vided that  bait  and  hook  are  not  too  large,  and  great  niunbers  are  caught  thus  in 
harbors  all  along  the  coast. 

Bate  of  growth. — Judging  from  a  large  series  from  Casco  Bay  measured  by 
Welsh,  the  fry  of  the  previous  winter  grow  to  an  average  length  of  IJ^  to  3}4  inches 
by  August  with  an  occasional  specimen  as  long  as  4  inches,  and  to  about  2}4  to  3V^ 
inches  by  September,  while  in  January  and  February,  when  1  year  old,  the  winter 
floimders  are  4  to  6  inches  long  off  southern  New  England,  which  probably  applies 

«  Transactions,  American  Fisheries  Society,  Vol.  XLIV,  1914-15,  No.  1,  p.  135. 

"  Appendix  IV,  Report,  United  States  Commissioner  of  Fisheries,  1921  (1922),  pp.  3-14 

"  Bulletin,  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol.  XXXVIII,  1921-22  (1923),  p.  311 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  505 

north  of  Cape  Cod  as  well.  Welsh  also  concluded  from  measurements  gathered 
from  various  sources  that  they  are  5  to  7)4.  inches  at  2  years  of  age,  7}^  to  934 
inches  at  3  years,  and  ^14,  to  10  inches  long  when  4  years  old.  Probably  they  mature 
sexually  at  3  years,  for  most  of  the  spawners  are  upwards  of  8  inches  long. 

Breeding  habits. — The  winter  flounder  is  a  winter  and  early  spring  breeder, 
spawning  from  January  to  May,  inclusive,  in  New  England.  South  of  Cape  Cod 
and  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region  the  season  is  at  its  height  during  February 
and  March,"  but  is  somewhat  later  along  the  coast  of  Maine,  for  spawning  com- 
mences about  March  1  near  Boothbay  and  continues  there  until  about  May  10  or 
15  with  the  chief  production  of  eggs  usually  taking  place  from  March  20  to  April  20, 
according  to  information  supplied  by  Capt.  E.  E.  Hahn,  superintendent  of  the 
Boothbay  hatchery.  This  local  difference  in  the  spawning  season  is  probably  due 
to  differences  in  the  temperature  of  the  water,  and  after  the  severe  winter  of  1922- 
23,  when  an  unusual  amount  of  ice  formed  and  consequently  when  the  vernal  warm-" 
ing  of  the  coastwise  waters  was  slower  than  usual,  Captain  Hahn  writes  that  "the 
fish  were  10  to  15  days  later  in  spawning  than  in  any  previous  year,  the  first  eggs 
being  taken  on  March  24." 

Spawning  takes  place  on  sandy  bottoms  in  1  to  3  fathoms  of  water  and  through- 
out the  range  of  the  fish  including  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  where  Huntsman  found  its 
larvre  conunon  near  the  mouths  of  estuaries.  On  the  average  individual  females 
produce  about  500,000  eggs  annually,  and  nearly  1,500,000  have  been  taken  from  a 
large  one  of  3^  poimds  weight.  Spawning  is  at  its  height  while  the  water  is  at  its 
coldest  for  the  year,  this  being  about  32°  to  35°  in  the  Woods  Hole  region,  about  32° 
to  37°  at  Gloucester,  and  31°  to  35°  near  Boothbay  according  to  precise  locality  and 
depth.  The  major  production  of  eggs  takes  place  before  the  water  has  warmed 
above  38°  with  40°  as  perhaps  the  maximiun  for  any  extensive  spawning.  Cor- 
responding to  the  estuarine  or  at  least  the  inshore  location  of  the  spawning  grounds 
the  salinity  is  likewise  low,  and  the  winter  flounder  is  even  known  to  spawn  in 
brackish  water.  For  instance  breeding  has  been  observed  near  Woods  Hole  in 
water  as  little  saline  as  1 1 .43  per  mille,  and  the  maximum  saUnity  in  which  winter 
flounder  eggs  are  produced  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  probably  is  not  higher  than  32.3 
per  mille.  Winter  flounders  in  the  Woods  Hole  tanks  (probably  in  nature  too) 
spawn  at  night.*" 

This  species  is  peculiar  among  our  local  flatfish  (or  those  whose  breeding  habits 
are  known)  in  the  fact  that  its  eggs  are  not  buoyant  but  sink  to  the  bottom,  where 
they  stick  together  in  clusters,  usually  so  closely  massed  that  the  individual  eggs 
are  forced  into  irregular  outlines.  They  are  0.74  to  0.85  mm.  in  diameter.  Newly 
shed  eggs  have  no  oil  globule  but  some,  if  not  all,  develop  one  as  incubation  pro- 
ceeds.*' Incubation  occupies  15  to  18  days  at  a  temperature  of  37°  to  38°,  which 
is  about  what  they  encounter  in  nature.  The  young  larv£e,  which  are  3  to  3.5  mm. 
long  at  hatching,  are  marked  by  a  broad  vertical  band  of  pigment  cells  dividing 
the  post  anal  part  of  the  body  into  two  parts,  a  very  characteristic  featiu^e,  and  the 

'»  This  species  is  artificially  propagated  in  large  numbers  at  Woods  Hole,  Gloucester,  and  Boothbay  hatcheries  with  an  out- 
put of  1,603,080,000  try  in  1920. 

»•  Breder  (Copeia,  Jan.  25,  1922,  No.  102,  p.  3)  describes  the  act  of  spawning. 

»'  Breder.    Bulletin,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol.  XXXVllI,  1921-22  (1923),  Fig.  274g. 


506 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


end  of  the  gut  is  also  heavily  pigmented.  In  water  of  about  39°  the  larva  grows  to 
5  mm.  in  length,  and  the  yolk  is  absorbed  (fig.  258)  in  12  to  14  days.  In  5  to  7 
weeks  after  hatching,  at  a  length  of  about  6  mm.,  the  vertical  fin  rays  begin  to  appear 
and  the  left  eye  has  moved  upward  until  about  half  of  it  is  visible  above  the  dorsal 
outline  of  the  head,  while  in  larvae  of  8  mm.  the  whole  left  eye  shows  from  the  right 
side  and  the  fins  are  fully  formed.     Metamorphosis  goes  forward  so  rapidly  there- 


Fio.  257— Egg 


Flo.  258.— Larva,  19  days  old,  4.5  millimeters 


Fig.  259. — Larva,  5  millimeter 


)■  i^ 


^-S^- ! 


Fig.  260.— Larva,  8  millimeters 
WINTER  FLOUNDER  (PseudopUuronectes  amerkanus) 

after  that  within  three  days,  according  to  WiUiams,^^  the  left  eye  moves  from  this 
position  to  the  right  side  of  the  head,  the  pigment  fades  from  the  blind  side,  the 
eyed  side  becomes  uniformly  pigmented,  the  little  fish  now  lies  and  swims  with  the 
blind  side  down,  and  when  only  8  to  9  mm.  long  its  metamorphosis  is  complete. 

"  Bulletin,  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard  College,  Vol.  XL,  1902-3,  No.  1,  pp.  1-58,  pis.  1-5.  See  also  Sullivan 
(Transactions,  American  Fisheries  Society,  Vol.  XLIV  ,1914-15,  pp.  125-136,  flgs.  1^)  and  Breder  (Bulletin,  U.  S.  Bureau  of 
Fisheries,  Vol.  XXXVIII,  1921-22  (1923),  p.  311) 


-..  '        », 


wv 


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o 

I 


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ifcv 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  507 

The  youngest  larval  stages  are  identifiable  as  winter  flounders,  up  to  the  time 
the  mouth  is  formed,  by  the  pigment  bar  just  mentioned ;  after  the  fin  rays  appear 
the  small  mouth  separates  them  from  any  of  the  large-mouthed  flounders;  the 
short,  deep  body,  combined  with  few  fin  rays,  separate  them  from  the  witch;  and 
the  number  of  rays  mark  them  ofl^  from  the  dab  (p.  495) .  The  winter  flounder 
completes  its  metamorphosis  at  a  smaller  size  than  either  of  these  other  small- 
mouthed  flatfish  (pp.  508  and  511). 

The  rate  of  development  of  the  larvje  is  governed  by  temperature,  occupying 
from  about  21^2  to  about  3}4  months,  according  to  the  data  available,  and  the  larvaei 
hatched  later  may  catch  up  with  the  earlier  ones  before  metamorphosis.  Larvae 
in  their  later  stages  have  been  taken  in  abundance  in  the  tow  nets  at  Woods  Hole ; 
but  their  habits  in  aquaria  suggest  that  they  are  less  at  the  mercy  of  tide  and  current 
than  our  other  flatfishes,  for  they  have  been  described  as  alternately  swimming 
upward  and  then  sinking  and  lying  for  a  time  on  bottom  instead  of  remaining  con- 
stantly afloat  and  near  the  surface  like  the  larvae  of  most  other  flatfish  and  of  the 
gadoids  at  a  corresponding  stage  in  development.'^ 

Commercial  importance. — Of  late  years  this  has  come  to  be  a  very  important 
fish  commercially,  and  it  is  the  best  flavored  as  well  as  the  thickest  and  meatiest  of 
our  smaller  flatfish.  Unfortunately  we  can  not  give  the  annual  catch,  all  flounders 
being  lumped  together  in  the  returns,  but  probably  at  least  half  of  the  three  milHon 
and  odd  pounds  of  flatfish  taken  by  the  small-boat  fishery  of  Massachusetts  in  1908 
were  this  species,  and  they  form  a  majority  of  the  catch  along  the  Maine  coast, 
which  amounted  to  nearly  500,000  pounds  in  1919.  Flounders  are  caught  in 
trawls,  seines,  and  weirs.  They  are  speared  in  great  numbers  on  the  fiats  in  winter, 
and  flounder  fishing  with  hand  lines  goes  on  in  the  estuaries  all  along  the  shores  of  the 
Gulf. 

172.  Georges  Bank  flounder  (Psevdopleuronectes  dignahilis  Kendall) 

Lemon  sole 

Description. — This  flatfish  was  first  brought  to  scientific  attention  in  1912  when 
specimens  were  received  by  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries.  To  all  intents  it  is  a  magnified 
winter  flounder,  averaging  something  over  20  inches  long,  with  more  fin  rays  (68  to  73 
dorsal  and  50  to  54  anal) ,  relatively  shorter  head,  and  as  a  rule  is  of  a  light  yellowish 
brown  color  washed  with  lemon  yellow,  more  or  less  dark  blotched  and  mottled, 
and  not  of  the  dull  reddish  or  slaty  brown  so  characteristic  of  the  winter  flounder. 
Kendall  (1912,  p.  391),  in  his  description,  to  which  we  refer  the  reader  for  a  full 
account  of  the  variable  color  of  this  fish,  also  mentions  difi'erences  in  the  number  of 
gill  rakers  and  in  the  number  and  arrangement  of  the  teeth,  but  whether  these 
differences  will  prove  constant  or  whether  this  species  is  merely  a  large  brilliantly 
colored  race  of  the  winter  flounder  can  be  decided  only  by  a  study  of  many  specimens 
of  various  sizes. 

"  Three  larvae  taken  in  the  Gulf  in  July,  1912,  and  provisionally  identified  by  Welsh  as  this  species,  probably  belonged 
to  some  other  flounder,  for  it  is  most  unlikely  that  any  winter  flounders  would  be  so  small  (only  6.5  mm.  long)  in  midsummer. 


508  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

General  range  and  occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  flounder  is  known  only 
on  Georges  Bank  and  it  was  overlooked  there  until  very  recently,  for  due  to  its 
small  mouth  it  is  seldom  caught  on  the  large  hooks  used  by  cod  and  haddock  hand- 
line  and  line-trawl  fishermen,  but  when  the  otter  trawlers  commenced  operations 
on  the  bank  they  began  at  once  to  take  large  numbers  of  these  "soles"  or  "lemon 
soles,"  as  they  are  usually  dubbed  by  fishermen.  They  are  most  plentiful  on  the 
shoaler  parts  of  the  bank,  only  odd  ones  being  taken  below  40  fathoms,  with  70 
fathoms  as  the  deepest  definite  record  for  the  species.  More  or  less  "soles"  are 
brought  in  on  every  otter-trawling  trip  (anyTvhere  from  a  few  hundred  to  several 
thousand  fish,  according  to  depth  and  precise  location  on  the  bank) ,  and  during  the 
summer  of  1913  these  "soles  "  constituted  about  4  per  cent  in  nmnber  of  all  the  fish 
caught  by  the  several  otter  trawlers  that  carried  investigators  from  the  Bureau 
of  Fisheries,  about  600,000  pounds  being  marketed.  Exact  figures  of  the  present-day 
landings  can  not  be  given,  "soles"  not  being  separated  from  other  fiatfish  in  the 
returns,  but  they  certainly  constituted  the  majority  of  the  1,500,000  poimds  of 
flounders  landed  in  Boston  and  Gloucester  from  Georges  Bank  in  1919,  which  gives 
some  measure  of  their  local  abundance. 

Habits. — Nothing  is  known  of  the  habits  of  this  fish  except  the  depth  of  water 
in  which  it  lives,  that  it  spawns  in  Api-il  and  May  as  proven  by  the  capture  of  ripe 
fish,  and  that  it  feeds  largely  on  hydroids  and  to  a  less  extent  on  small  crabs  and 
other  invertebrates.  Presumably  its  manner  of  life  parallels  that  of  the  winter 
floimder,  and  its  eggs,  like  those  of  the  latter,  will  probably  prove  to  be  demersal, 
not  buoyant. 

173.  Smooth  flounder  {Liopsetta  putnami  Gill) 
Smoothback  flounder;  Eelback;  Foolfish;  Christmas  Flounder;  Plaice 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2650. 

Description. — This  flatfish  is  right-handed  (eyes  on  the  right  side)  and  small- 
mouthed  like  the  winter  flounder,  dab,  and  witch,  and  it  closely  resembles  the 
former  (wdth  which  it  is  often  caught)  in  its  general  outline  and  in  the  considerable 
thickness  of  its  body,  but  is  distinguishable  by  the  fact  that  the  skin  of  its  head 
between  the  eyes  is  smooth  and  scaleless.  Females  arc  more  easily  recognized  than 
males,  their  bodies  being  smooth  to  the  touch  on  both  sides.  Males  are  nearly  as 
rough  skinned  on  the  eyed  side  (except  between  the  eyes)  as  winter  flounders,  but  ■ 
they  have  much  longer  pectoral  fins  than  the  latter.  Both  sexes  have  fewer  fin  rays 
(only  65  to  67  dorsal  and  35  to  40  anal) ,  while  the  caudal  fin  of  the  smooth  flounder 
is  narrower  and  more  rounded  than  that  of  the  winter  flounder. 

The  smooth  flounder  can  always  be  separated  from  the  dab  by  the  facts  that 
its  very  prominent  lateral  line  is  straight,  not  arched,  the  dorsal  Qeft)  profile  of  its. 
head  is  straight,  not  concave,  and  its  fin  rays  are  fewer.  It  has  little  more  than 
half  as  many  dorsal  and  anal  rays  as  the  witch,  and  the  facts  that  its  long  fins  are 
highest  midway  of  the  bodj'  and  tapering  toward  the  head  and  tail,  whereas  the}'" 


PISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  509 

are  nearly  uniform  in  height  from  end  to  end  in  the  witch,  and  that  it  lacks  the 
mucus  pits  so  characteristic  of  the  blind  side  of  the  head  of  the  latter,  are  reliable 
field  marks  in  the  separation  of  these  two  species. 

The  smooth  flounder  is  peculiar  among  our  local  flatfish  for  its  sexual  dimorph- 
ism. Besides  the  difl'erence  in  the  scales  of  the  two  sexes  noted  above,  the  pectorals 
on  the  eyed  side  are  longer  (about  four-fifths  as  long  as  the  head)  and  more  pointed 
in  the  rough-backed  males  than  in  the  smooth-backed  females. 

Color. — The  "smoothback"  varies  from  grayish  to  dark  muddy  or  slaty  brown 
or  almost  black  above,  either  uniform  or  yariously  mottled  with  a  darker  shade  of 
the  same  tint,  with  the  dorsal,  anal,  and  caudal  fins  of  the  general  ground  color.  In 
specimens  we  have  examined  these  fins  were  mottled,  but  Storer  described  them~as 
black  spotted.'^'  The  blind  side  is  white. 


Fig.  262, — Smooth  flounder  (Liopsttta  ptitnnmi) 

Size. — Tliis  is  the  smallest  flounder  common  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  growing  to  a 
maximum  length  of  only  about  a  foot  and  to  a  weight  of  about  a  pound  and  a  half. 

General  range. — The  distribution  of  the  smooth  flounder  in  American  waters  is 
Arctic-boreal.  It  is  definitely  recorded  from  as  far  north  as  Ungava  Bay  in  Hudson 
Straits,  hence  no  doubt  occurs  along  the  Atlantic  coast  of  Labrador,  also  from  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  there  are  specimens  from  St.  Anthonys  on  the  eastern 
coast  of  northern  Newfoundland  in  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology.  We 
find  no  record  of  it  on  the  outer  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  between  Cape  Breton  and  Cape 
Sable,  but  probably  it  has  been  overlooked  there,  being  widespread  in  the  Gulf  of 
Maine,  as  detailed  below.  It  is  known  as  far  south  as  Providence,  R.  I.  Its  range 
is  probably  continuous  with  that  of  its  Polar  relative  (L.  glacialis)  of  the  Arctic 
coasts  of  North  America  and  Siberia.  Indeed,  it  is  a  question  whether  any  valid 
distinction  can  be  drawn  between  the  two. 


510  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Occurrence  in  the  GuLf  of  Maine. — So  far  as  is  known  this  flatfish  is  confined  to 
the  close  vicinity  of  the  coast,  occurring  chiefly  in  the  mouths  of  estuaries  or  rivers 
and  in  sheltered  bays  or  harbors.  In  such  locations  it  is  to  be  found  locally  all  along 
the  shores  of  the  Gulf  from  the  Bay  of  Fundy  to  the  northern  shores  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay.  The  Gulf  of  Maine  localities  whence  it  has  been  definitely  reported  in 
numbers  or  recorded  in  print  are  the  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  generally,  Bucksport 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Penobscot  River,  Belfast,  Penobscot  Bay,  Casco  Bay,  Portland, 
Salem  Harbor,  and  Boston  Harbor.  Apparently  the  latter  is  the  southern  limit  to 
its  regular  occurrence  for  it  is  unknown  in.  Cape  Cod  Bay  or  along  Cape  Cod,  so  far 
as  we  can  learn,  or  in  the  Woods  Hole  region,  though  a  stray  now  in  the  collection  of  the 
Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  was  caught  at  Providence,  R.  I.  This  flatfish  is 
often  confounded  with  the  winter  flounder,  and  it  has  so  often  been  found  in  various 
markets  among  the  latter  that  it  is  no  doubt  far  commoner  all  along  the  coast  of 
northern  New  England  than  is  generally  appreciated. 

The  smooth  flounder  is  very  abundant  in  summer  in  Casco  Bay  and  in  estuaries 
of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  such  as  the  mouths  of  the  St.  Croix  and  Annapolis  Rivers, 
which  no  doubt  applies  equally  to  the  intervening  coast  line,  but  it  is  said  that  in 
Massachusetts  Bay  it  comes  into  harbors  only  in  autumn  and  winter;  ^*  nor  would 
such  a  local  difference  be  surprising  in  the  case  of  a  cold-water  fish,  which  might 
well  be  driven  out  off  the  flats  into  slightly  deeper  water  by  summer  heat  in  the 
southern  and  western  parts  of  the  Gulf  but  not  in  the  northern  and  eastern. 

Huntsman  (notes)  describes  the  local  distribution  of  this  flounder  in  the  Annap- 
olis River  mouth  and  basin  as  depending  more  on  the  type  of  bottom  than  on 
the  precise  temperature,  for  although  the  water  of  the  former  was  as  warm  as  57° 
he  found  the  smooth  flounder  much  more  plentiful  on  its  soft  mud  bottom  than 
the  winter  flounder,  but  the  latter  alone  on  the  harder  bottom  of  the  basin 
although  the  temperature  (48.5°  to  51°)  was  lower  there.  This  preference  for  soft 
bottom  was  so  strong  that  while  a  seine  haul  on  soft  mud  yielded  23  smooth  to  4 
winter  flounders  another  only  100  yards  or  so  distant  but  on  harder  bottom  brought 
in  only  3  of  the  former  to  189  of  the  latter.  In  localities  where  the  bottom  is 
uniformly  muddy,  however,  the  two  species  are  often  found  side  by  side.  So  far 
as  known  the  smooth  flounder  is  confined  to  shallow  water,  probably  with  15 
fathoms  as  about  its  lower  limit  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  and  3  to  5  fathoms  the  zone 
of  greatest  abundance  for  it.     Tide  mark  is  its  upper  barrier. 

Food. — Little  is  known  of  the  life  of  this  species,  but  its  small  mouth  suggests 
a  diet  similar  to  that  of  the  winter  flounder,  and  Dr.  W.  C.  Kendall  found  that 
young  fry  3  to  4  inches  long  from  Casco  Bay  had  been  feeding  chiefly  on  small 
crabs,  shrimp,  unidentified  crustaceans,  and  polychsete  worms. 

Breeding  habits. — Winter  is  the  breeding  season,  females  nearly  ripe  having 
been  taken  in  Salem  Harbor  in  December  and  spent  fish  at  Bucksport  the  first 
week  in  March,  which  corroborates  fishermen's  reports  of  more  than  half  a  century 
ago  that  it  comes  into  Salem  Harbor  to  breed  at  about  Christmas  time.  It  is  not 
known  whether  the  eggs  sink  or  are  buoyant,  nor  have  its  larvse  been  seen. 

Commercial  importance. — This  is  an  excellent  table  fish  for  its  size  and  as 
sweet-meated  and  thick-bodied  as  the  winter  flounder. 

"  Our  experiences  corroborate  this  to  the  extent  that  we  have  never  seen  it  there  in  summer 


FISHES   OF    THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  511 

174.  Witch  flounder  {Glyptocephalus  cynoglossus  Linnaeus) 
Fluke;  Craig  fluke;  Sole;  Pole  flounder 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2657. 

Description. — The  witch  is  right-handed  (eyes  and  guts  on  the  right  hand  as 
the  fish  lies)  and  small-mouthed  like  the  winter  and  smooth  flounders  and  the  dab, 
but  there  is  little  danger  of  confusing  it  with  any  of  these  as  its  fin  rays  are  so  much 
more  numerous,  its  body  more  elongate,  its  head  much  smaller,  and  the  large 
open  mucus  pits  on  the  bUnd  side  of  the  head  are  so  apparent.  It  is  two  and  one- 
half  to  tlu'ee  times  as  long  as  "broad,"  elhptical  in  outline,  very  thin-bodied,  with 
head  so  short  that  it  only  occupies  about  one-fifth  of  the  total  body  length,  and  it 
has  a  very  small  mouth.  The  dorsal  (left)  profile  of  its  head  is  convex.  There  are 
100  to  115  dorsal  and  87  to  100  anal  rays,  and  the  anal  fin  is  preceded  by  a  short, 
sharp  spine  pointing  forward,  a  prolongation  of  the  postabdominal  bone.  The  two 
long  fins  are  of  about  uniform  height  throughout  most  of  their  length,  narrowing 
gradually  toward  the  head  and  tail.  The  pectoral  fins  and  the  ventrals  are  ahke 
on  the  two  sides,  or  nearly  so,  while  the  caudal  fin  is  much  smaller  relatively  than 
that  of  the  dab,  winter  flounder,  or  smooth  flounder,  though  similarly  rounded. 
The  lateral  line  is  usually  straight,  but  occasionally  somewhat  arched  abreast  the 
pectoral  fin.  The  jaw  teeth  are  small,  incisorlike,  and  in  a  single  series.  There 
are  about  12  open  mucus  pits  or  depressions  on  the  blind  side  of  the  head,  and  less 
obvious  ones  on  the  eyed  side  also.  The  whole  body  and  head  (except  the  tip  of 
the  snout  and  the  lower  jaw)  are  scaly,  but  the  scales  are  smooth  to  the  touch 
making  the  witch  as  slippery  to  hold  as  a  female  smooth  flounder  (p.  508). 

Color. — By  all  accounts  (and  the  fish  we  have  seen  are  in  line  with  this) 
the  witch  is  less  variable  in  color  than  most  flounders.  Usually  it  is  brownish 
or  russet  gray  on  the  eyed  side,  either  uniform  or  with  darker  transverse  bars,  with 
the  vertical  fins  of  the  general  body  hue  tinted  or  tinged  with  violet  and  either  plain  or 
spotted,  while  the  pectoral  fin  membrane  on  the  eyed  side  is  dusky  or  even  black, 
a  feature  diagnostic  of  this  species.  The  lower  (blind)  side  is  white  and  more 
or  less  dotted  with  minute  dark  points. 

Size. — -The  maximum  length  is  about  25  inches,  but  while  fish  of  23  or  24 
inches  and  weighing  about  4  pounds  are  not  uncommon  the  general  run  of  those 
caught  is  only  about  12  to  20  inches. 

The  witch  probably  grows  to  40  or  50  mm.  within  4  to  6  months  from  the 
time  of  hatching — that  is,  by  autumn  or  early  winter,  as  detailed  hereafter  (p.  515). 
Fry  of  65  to  108  mm.,  such  as  we  have  trawled  in  July,  are  no  doubt  in  their  second 
summer,  their  size  depending  on  how  early  in  the  previous  summer  they  were 
hatched.     The  later  growth  has  not  been  studied  so  far  as  we  are  aware. 

General  range. — Moderately  deep  water  on  both  sides  of  the  North  Atlantic. 
Its  European  range  is  from  northern  Norway  and  Iceland  south  to  the  west  coast 
of  France,  while  in  American  waters  it  is  known  fi'om  the  south  coast  of  New- 
foundland, from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,^  from  the  Laurentian  Channel,  along 
outer  Nova  Scotia  and  the  Scotian  Banks,  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  including  the  off- 
shore banks  and  their  seaward  slopes,  and  along  the  continental  slope  as  far  south 
as  the  latitude  of  Delaware  Bay. 

M  Huntsman,  1918a,  p.  63. 

102274—25+ 33 


512 


BULLETIN    or   THE   BUEEAU   OF   FISHEEIES 


Fig.  263— Adult 


Fig.  264.— Egg  (European).    After  Cunningham      Fig.  265.— Larva  (European,  10  days  old,  5.6  millimeters.    After  Holt 


Fig.  266.— Larva  (European),  16  millimeters.    After  Kyle 


Fig.  267.— Larva  (European),  42  millimeters.    Smallest  bottom  stage.    After  Petersen 
WITCH  FLOUNDER  (,GlyptocepTialus  cyTwglossus) 


FISHES  OP   THE  GUU   OF  MAINE  513 

Occurrence  in  the  Qulf  of  Maine. — The  distribution  of  this  flounder  in  the  Gulf 
is  governed  by  the  fact  that  while  it  has  occasionally  been  taken  close  inshore  (for 
example  in  weirs  near  Eastport  *"  and  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay)  it  is  characteristically 
a  deep-water  fish,  hardly  ever  coming  above  10  or  15  fathoms.  Owing  to  the  facts 
that  its  mouth  is  so  small  that  it  can  not  take  a  cod  or  even  a  haddock  hook  and 
that  it  almost  never  strays  up  into  the  shallows  where  cunner  and  flounder  fishermen 
might  catch  it,  its  very  existence  in  the  Gulf  was  unguessed  by  Massachusetts  fisher- 
men until  1877,  when  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries  caught  numbers  of 
witches  in  a  beam  trawl  in  the  deeper  parts  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  Since  that 
time  it  has  been  definitely  recorded  from  St.  Mary  Bay  on  the  Scotian  side  of  the 
Gulf,  in  the  Bay  of  Fimdy  and  its  tributaries  (where  Huntsman  describes  it  as  taken 
very  generally  if  not  in  any  great  numbers  below  15  fathoms),  at  Eastport,  off 
Monhegan,  off  Seguin  Island,  off  Cape  Porpoise,  near  the  Isles  of  Shoals  (where 
Welsh  saw  a  few  taken  from  the  gill  nets  set  in  about  25  fathoms  in  April,  1913), 
near  Gloucester,  at  various  localities  in  the  deeper  parts  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
and  from  the  western  basin.  We  have  trawled  it  on  the  Grampus  oft'  Mon- 
hegan, near  Seguin,  in  Ipswich  Bay,  near  Gloucester,  and  off  the  mouth  of 
Boston  Harbor  in  depths  ranging  from  22  to  60  fathoms.  It  has  been  taken 
in  the  Eastern  Channel  and  on  the  slope  to  the  southeast.  It  also  occurs  very 
generally  on  Georges  Bank,  where  Welsh  saw  many  taken  in  the  otter  trawl, 
and  no  doubt  it  inhabits  Browns  Bank  also.  This  is  enough  to  show  that  the  witch 
is  to  be  expected  anywhere  in  the  Gulf  in  water  deeper  than  15  to  20  fathoms  if  the 
bottom  be  suitable,  which  means  locally  all  around  the  coastal  belt  and  on  the 
smoother  parts  of  all  the  deeper  fishing  grounds,  but  we  have  yet  to  learn  how  wide- 
spread it  is  in  the  deep  basin  of  the  Osulf.  But  though  its  existence  there  is  proven 
and  though  it  has  been  taken  as  deep  as  858  fathoms  "  on  the  continental  slope  it  is 
probable  that  most  of  the  local  stock  lives  between  25  and  100  fathoms.  Witches 
are  caught  most  abundantly  on  soft  bottom  such  as  fine  muddy  sand,  clay,  or  even 
mud.  They  are  said  to  frequent  hard  reefs  in  Scandinavian  waters,  but  this  does  not 
seem  to  be  the  case  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  though  they  are  common  there  on  the 
smooth  ground  between  rocky  patches. 

When  adult  the  witch  is  as  stationary  as  most  other  flounders,  to  be  caught 
the  year  round  wherever  it  occurs,  but  its  pelagic  larv£e  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  cm*- 
rent  for  a  long  period  (p.  515). 

In  the  Gulf  of  Maine  the  witch  occm"s  in  temperatures  ranging  from  about  35° 
or  38°  (late  winter  and  early  spring)  to  45°  or  48°  (late  summer  and  early  autumn), 
according  to  precise  locality  and  depth,  and  apparently  it  is  never  found  in  any 
numbers  in  water  warmer  than  50°,  but  we  hesitate  to  propose  high  temperature 
as  the  factor  barring  it  from  shoal  water  because  there  is  no  evidence  of  its  moving 
inshore  in  winter  when  this  would  not  operate.  In  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  it  occurs 
in  the  icy  cold  (32°)  water  on  the  banks  as  well  as  in  the  slightly  higher  tempera- 
tures (39°  to  42°)  of  the  deep  channels.*' 

8»  Reported  by  GUI  (1873,  p.  360)  as  G.  acadianus. 

"  It  was  trawled  down  to  858  fathoms  by  the  Albatross.   Qoode  and  Bean  (1896)  give  a  long  list  of  deep-water  localities  for 
the  witch  ofif  southern  New  England. 

»«  According  to  Huntsman  11918a,  p.  63X 


514  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEBIES 

Food. — This  is  an  invertebrate  eater  like  other  small-mouthed  flounders, 
European  experience  pointing  to  small  crustaceans,  starfish,  small  moUusks,  and 
worms  as  its  chief  diet.'*     It  is  not  known  to  eat  fish  and  seldom  takes  a  bait. 

Breeding  habits. — In  European  waters  this  flatfish  spawns  from  late  April  until 
September,  and  while  so  far  as  we  know  ripe  fish  have  not  been  reported  from  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  our  captures  of  eggs,  almost  certainly  of  this  species,  in  July  and 
August  are  evidence  that  it  is  equally  a  summer  spawner  there.  The  fact  that  we 
have  taken  larvse  as  long  as  20  to  23  mm.  by  the  first  week  in  July  (p.  515)  and 
others  as  small  as  9  or  10  mm.  as  late  as  mid-October  also  indicates  that  spawning 
commences  as  early  in  the  Gulf  and  endures  as  late  there  as  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  Probably  July  and  August  see  the  height  of  production.  Thus  its  breed- 
ing season  overlaps  that  of  the  haddock  (p.  442).  At  present  our  only  positive  egg 
records  are  at  the  mouth  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  off  Penobscot  Bay,  but  probably 
it  breeds  all  along  the  coastal  zone  from  Cape  Cod  to  Mount  Desert  and  off  the 
west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  as  well.  Apparently  it  does  not  breed  successfully  in 
the  Bay  of  Fundy,  for  neither  its  eggs  nor  its  larvse  have  been  found  there.  No 
definite  evidence  has  yet  been  obtained  by  capture  either  of  ripe  fish  or  of  eggs  or 
larvse  in  the  tow  net  that  it  spawns  on  Georges  Bank  or  on  Browns,  though  it 
probably  does  so.  Both  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  the  waters  off  the  south  coast 
of  Newfoundland  likewise  serve  as  breeding  grounds,  for  larvae  less  than  10  mm. 
long  were  taken  in  both  these  regions  by  the  Canadian  Fisheries  Expedition  in  1915, 
but  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  witch  spawns  west  of  Cape  Cod. 

The  witch  necessarily  spawns  through  a  wide  range  of  both  temperature  and 
salinity,  breeding  as  it  does  over  so  protracted  a  period  and  over  so  many  degrees 
of  latitude.  In  the  GuK  of  Maine  its  eggs  are  shed  in  temperatures  ranging  from 
39°  to  41°  at  the  beginning  of  the  season  to  from  43°  to  48°  in  midsummer,  but, 
being  buoyant  (p.  515),  the  temperature  in  which  their  development  takes  place  and 
which  thus  governs  the  success  of  reproduction  may  be  considerably  higher  than  that 
of  the  deep  water  in  which  the  spawning  fish  lie.  In  fact  it  is  doubtful  if  any  eggs 
develop  m  water  as  cold  as  42°  or  43°  in  the  Gulf,  though  they  may  be  spawned  in 
lower  temperatures,  nor  is  there  any  reason  to  suppose  that  witch  eggs  spawned  in 
the  icy  cold  bottom  water  off  Newfoundland  or  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  actually 
develop  at  lower  temperatures  than  those  produced  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  for  the 
surface  stratum  to  which  they  rise  immediately  after  they  are  shed  is  comparatively 
warm  (upward  of  45°)  during  the  spawning  season.  Experiment  has  shown  that 
incubation  proceeds  normally  and  rapidly  at  46°  to  49°,  hence,  this  is  evidently  a 
favorable  figure.  It  appears  from  this  that  no  part  of  the  GuK  of  Maine  is  cold 
enough  in  summer  to  hinder  the  successful  reproduction  of  the  witch,  hence  its 
failure  to  breed  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  is  due  to  some  other  cause.  Our  captures  of 
eggs  and  of  newly  hatched  larvce  near  the  surface  in  July  prove  that  incubation 
can  take  place  successfully  in  water  at  least  as  warm  as  50°  to  55°,  but  the  upper 
limit  to  normal  development  can  not  be  stated  from  the  evidence  yet  in  hand,  for 
with  a  temperature  gradient  as  steep  as  it  is  over  most  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  in 

9"  No  witch  stomachs  have  been  examined  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


515 


sirmmer  a  difference  of  only  a  few  fathoms  in  the  depth  at  which  the  eggs  or  young 
larvffi  are  suspended  means  a  difference  of  several  degrees  of  temperature. 

The  eggs  are  buoyant,  spherical,  transparent,  with  narrow  perivitelline  space 
(in  plaice  eggs,  which  overlap  them  in  dimensions,  the  perivitelline  space  is  broad), 
without  oil  globule,  and  1.07  to  1.25  mm.  in  diameter.  As  noted  elsewhere  (pp.  429 
and  443),  there  is  danger  of  confusing  newly  spawned  witch  eggs  with  those  of  cod  or 
haddock,  for  they  overlap  in  size  and  in  season;  but  identity  as  witch  or  as  gadoid 
is  easily  recognizable  after  a  few  days'  incubation,  for  black  pigment  is  to  be  seen  in 
the  latter  soon  after  the  embryo  is  visible  as  such  but  does  not  appear  in  the  witch 
until  after  hatching,  such  embryonic  pigment  as  is  visible  in  the  egg  being  of  a  faint 
yellowish  color. 

Incubation  occupies  7  to  8  days  at  temperatures  Varying  from  46°  to  49°  F., 
and  the  newly  hatched  larva  is  about  4.9  mm.  long  with  larger  yolk  sac  than  our 
other  flatfishes.  Within  a  few  days  after  hatching,  when  the  larva  is  5  to  6  mm. 
long,  the  yeUow  and  black  pigment  becomes  aggregated  into  5  transverse  bands 
on  body,  yolk  (now  much  reduced  in  size) ,  and  fin  fold — that  is,  1  at  the  region 
of  the  pectoral  fin,  1  at  the  vent,  and  3  on  the  long  slender  post-anal  part  of 
the  trunk.  The  yolk  is  entirely  absorbed  in  about  10  days  after  hatching;  at  a 
length  of  15  mm.  the  caudal  rays  have  begun  to  appear,  at  21  mm.  those  of  the 
vertical  fins  are  well  advanced,  and  at  about  30  mm.  they  are  complete  in  their  final 
number.  Up  to  this  stage  the  eyes  are  still  sjTnmetrical  or  nearly  so,  but  in  larvis 
of  about  40  mm.  the  left  eye  has  moved  to'the  dorsal  surface  of  the  head,  while  at  a 
length  of  40  to  50  mm.  the  migration  of  the  eye  is  complete  and  the  young  fish  takes 
to  the  bottom. 

The  witch  is  perhaps  the  most  easily  recognizable  of  Gulf  of  Maine  flatfishes 
throughout  its  larval  stage.  Prior  to  the  appearance  of  the  caudal  rays  the  trans- 
verse pigment  bars  are  diagnostic,  and  thereafter  it  is  characterized  by  the  curiously 
concave  ventral  profile  of  the  throat  region  and  by  its  comparatively  long  slender 
trunk,  while  the  great  number  of  dorsal  and  anal  rays,  coupled  with  the  small  mouth, 
make  identification  easy  after  the  fins  are  formed.  The  witch  grows  to  a  larger 
size  before  metamorphosis  than  any  other  of  the  right-handed,  smaU-mouthed 
species  found  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

Measurements  of  the  young,  American  as  well  as  European,  show  that  the 
pelagic  stage  lasts  from  four  to  six  months.  The  result  of  their  remaining  near  the 
siu"face  so  long,  combined  with  the  protracted  spawning  season,  is  that  larvae  of 
various  sizes  may  be  towed  throughout  the  summer  in  the  GuK  of  Maine,  as  appears 
from  the  following  table  of  our  catches  on  the  Grampus: 


Date 

Number  of 
larvae 

Length  in 
millimeters 

Date 

Number  of 
larvae 

Length  in 
millimeters 

July  7, 1915 

109. 
19 
1 

100+ 
1 
2 
27 
7 
1 

8        to  23. 5 
8.  5     to  21.  5 

14 
6         to  19. 
9.5 

8.  5  and  16. 5 
6. 5    to  12. 6 

10        to  23 

18.6 

Augtist  15,  1913. 

3 

6 
19 

2 
100+ 
20+ 
22 

1 
20+ 

18. 5    to  37.  5 

Julys,  1913.. 

August  24,  1912 

10        to  18 

July  9,  1913 

August  26,  1914 

10        to  19 

July  19,  1916 

August  26,  1913.    . 

8     and  14 

July  22,  1912 

August  29,  1916.. 

5        to  19 

July  24,  1912 

August  31,  1912 

9        to  16.  5 

September  29,  1916 

10        to  14 

August  9,  1913 

October  18,  1915 

9.5 

August  14,  1912 

November  1,  1916 

29. 6     to  60 

516  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

All  these  records,  like  those  for  other  flatfish  and  gadoids,  are  concentrated  in 
the  southwestern  part  of  the  Gulf,  which  must  be  an  important  nursery  for  the 
witch  (fig.  255). 

With  its  larvae  so  plentiful  and  easily  recognized,  and  its  pelagic  stage  so  long, 
this  species  would  no  doubt  prove  an  especially  favorable  object  for  the  study  of 
larval  migrations.  We  may  note  in  passing  that  the  presence  of  young  fry  at  all 
stages  from  immediately  after  their  metamorphosis  (that  is,  4  to  6  months  old) 
in  the  Bay  of  Fimdy,  where  few  or  none  are  hatched,  points  to  an  immigration 
of  the  late  larvae  or  of  the  youngest  fry  at  about  the  time  they  take  to  the  bottom. 

Commercial  importance. — The  witch  is  of  little  commercial  importance  and  no 
record  is  kept  of  the  catch  either  of  the  otter  trawlers  or  of  the  shore  fisheries.  In 
fact  few  fishermen  distinguish  it  from  other  floimders,  consequently  there  is  no 
available  basis  for  comparing  its  local  abundance  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  with  that  of 
other  species.  It  is  certainly  plentiful  enough  in  Massachusetts  Bay  to  yield  a 
considerable  catch  when  demand  arises,  for  as  much  as  500  pounds  have  been 
caught  there  in  a  15  to  20  minute  drag  of  a  small  beam  trawl,  and  we  took  48  good- 
sized  ones  in  one  drag  in  Ipswich  Bay  from  the  Grampus  in  July,  1912. 

The  introduction  of  the  witch  into  American  markets  is  only  a  matter  of  time, 
for  it  is  an  excellent  table  fish,  perhaps  the  best  of  all  our  flatfishes  in  flavor,  while 
for  so  thin  a  floimder  the  bases  of  its  fins  are  provided  with  surprisingly  large  amounts 
of  gelatinous  fat  of  the  sort  for  which  the  European  turbot  is  famed. 

The  otter  or  beam  trawl  is  the  only  gear  adapted  to  the  capture  of  the  witch 
flounder  on  a  commercial  scale. 

175.  Sand  flounder  (Lophopsetta  maculata  Mitcliill) 

Spotted  flounder;  Windowpane;  New  York  plaice;  Sand  dab;  Spotted  tur- 
bot; English  turbot;  Watery  flounder 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2660. 

Description. — This  is  the  closest  North  American  relative  of  the  European 
turbot  and  brill.  It  is  left-handed  (eyes  and  guts  at  the  left)  and  large-mouthed 
like  the  summer  and  four-spotted  floimders  but  is  readily  separable  from  them  by 
the  outlines  of  its  ventral  fins.  In  all  other  Gulf  of  Maine  flatfish  except  the  hog- 
choker  (p.  522)  these  are  narrow  at  the  base  and  widen  toward  the  tip,  but  in  the 
sand  flounder  they  are  as  wide  at  the  base  as  at  the  tip,  each  simulating  a  detached 
segment  of  the  anal.  Furthermore  the  two  ventrals  are  not  alike  either  in  location 
or  in  size,  the  left-hand  (upper)  fin,  which  is  the  longer  of  the  pair,  being  practically 
a  continuation  of  the  anal  so  far  as  external  appearance  goes,  whereas  the  right- 
hand  (lower)  ventral  is  situated  a  short  distance  up  the  right  side  of  the  throat. 
The  general  appearance  of  the  dorsal  fin  is  no  less  diagnostic,  for  its  first  10  or  12 
rays  are  not  only  free  from  the  fin  membrane  over  the  outer  half  of  their  length 
but  are  branched,  so  that  they  form  a  conspicuous  fringe  which  is  without  parallel 
among  Gulf  of  Maine  flounders.  Furthermore  the  sand  flounder  is  more  nearly 
round  in  outhne  than  any  of  the  other  local  flatfishes  (only  about  one  and  one-half 
times  as  long  as  broad)  and  so  thin  that  its  body  is  translucent  when  held  up  to  the 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


517 


light.  Its  pectorals,  too,  are  longer  than  in  the  other  left-handed  species,  its  caudal 
fin  is  more  rounded,  and  its  teeth  much  smaller,  although  the  gape  is  as  wide.  The 
dorsal  (65  to  67  rays)  and  anal  (51  or  52  rays)  fins  both  taper  toward  head  and 
tail,  while  both  are  noticeably  thick  and  fleshy  at  the  base,  and  there  is  no  free  anal 
spine.  The  pectoral  on  the  eyed  side  is  longer  and  more  pointed  than  its  mate 
on  the  bhnd  side,  the  scales  are  smooth  to  the  touch,  and  the  lateral  line  is  bowed 
abreast  of  the  pectoral  fin. 

Color. — The  sand  flounder  varies  less  in  color  than  most  shoal-water  flatfish, 
the  general  ground  tint  of  the  eyed  side  (both  as  described  by  previous  authors  and 
in  those  we  have  seen)  being  some  shade  of  pale,  rather  translucent,  greenish  olive 
or  slightly  reddish  or  slaty  brown,  more  or  less  mottled  with  dark  and  light  and 
usually,  if  not  always,  dotted  with  many  small  bro-svn  spots  of  irregular  outline. 


Fig.  268.— Sand  flounder  (Lophopsetta  maculala) 

Some  fish  are  also  marked  on  the  body  and  on  the  bases  of  the  vertical  and  caudal 
fins  with  white  spots  of  varying  number  and  size,  but  others  lack  these  spots.  The 
dorsal,  anal,  and  caudal  fins  are  of  the  general  body  tint  more  or  less  mottled  with 
darker,  while  the  pectoral  of  the  eyed  side  is  dark  crossbarred  or  speckled.  The 
blind  side  is  white. 

Size.— The  maximmn  length  is  18  inches  and  the  weight  2  pounds.  The 
largest  we  have  seen  (from  Waquoit  on  the  southern  shore  of  Massachusetts) ,  were 
about  15  inches  long,  but  in  general  adult  fish  are  only  about  10  to  12  inches  in 
length. 

General  range. — Shoal  water  off  the  coast  of  eastern  North  America  from  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  South  Carolina.  It  is  most  abundant  west  and  south  of 
Cape  Cod,  north  and  east  of  which  it  is  nowhere  numerous,  and  is  confined  to 
favorable  localities. 


518  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  flounder  is  comparatively  rare  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine.  Dr.  W.  C.  Kendall  found  it  at  Monomoy,  Storer  found  it  at  Prov- 
incetown,  where  he  saw  a  considerable  number  in  shoal  water,  and  it  is  reported 
from  North  Truro,  Gloucester  Harbor,  where  a  considerable  nimiber  were  collected 
in  1878  (Welsh  found  it  not  uncommon  there  in  1916),  and  at  Milk  Island  near  by, 
but  we  can  not  learn  that  it  is  taken  in  numbers  anywhere  in  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  region.  I  have  never  seen  it  at  Cohasset  nor  are  local  fishermen  sufficiently 
familiar  with  it  to  throw  any  light  on  the  subject.  It  has  never  been  recorded 
between  Cape  Ann  and  Casco  Bay,  nor  did  Welsh  see  it  taken  there  by  the  gill- 
net  ters  during  the  spring  of  1913;  and  while  it  has  been  reported  repeatedly  and  at 
several  localities  in  Casco  Bay,  which  seems  to  be  a  local  center  of  abundance,  it  can 
not  be  common  along  the  eastern  Maine  coast  or  on  the  New  Brunswick  side  of  the 
Bay  of  Fundy,  the  only  records  from  this  stretch  of  coast  line  being  from  Bucksport, 
Eastport,  and  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  where  one  was  taken  in  1880  and  another  in 
1912.  Minas  Channel  on  the  Scotian  side  is  evidently  a  center  of  abundance  like 
Casco  Bay,  for  Leim  found  it  common  there. °"  Huntsman  also  reports  it  in  St. 
Mary  Bay,  though  we  have  found  no  other  record  of  it  along  the  western  coast 
of  Nova  Scotia.  In  June,  1912,  Welsh  saw  this  flounder  taken  in  the  otter  trawls 
on  Georges  Bank,  beyond  which  nothing  is  known  of  it  on  the  offshore  fishing 
grounds.  The  sand  flounder  is  much  more  plentiful  west  of  Cape  Cod  than  it  is 
anywhere  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  and  it  is  common  everywhere  on  sand  bottoms  in 
the  Woods  Hole  region. 

The  sand  flounder  is  a  shoal-water  fish,  living  from  close  below  tide  mark  down 
to  30  or  40  fathoms,  at  which  depth  Welsh  saw  it  taken  on  Georges  Bank,  but  17" 
to  20  fathoms  probably  marks  its  lower  limit  in  the  coastal  zone  north  of  Cape  Cod. 
It  is  caught  cliiefly  on  sand  bottom  off  southern  New  England  and  southward,  as 
its  name  implies,  but  its  comparative  abundance  in  Casco  Bay  and  in  Minas  Channel 
shows  that  it  also  frequents  softer  and  muddier  groimd  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  This 
species  is  a  year-round  resident  off  the  southern  New  England  coast,  which  probably 
appUes  to  it  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  also. 

Food. — The  large  mouth  suggests  that  this  species,  like  the  summer  floimder, 
is  largely  a  fish  eater,  and  hake,  herring,  laimce,  and  silversides  have  been  foimd  in 
the  stomachs  of  sand  floimders  caught  at  Woods  Hole.  It  likewise  feeds  as  indis- 
criminately on  small  invertebrates  as  does  the  winter  flounder,  Vinal  Edwards 
having  noted  annelid  worms,  shrimps,  crabs,  squid,  moUusks,  ascidians,  and  even 
seaweed  in  sand-flounder  stomachs,  while  Welsh  remarks  in  his  field  notes  that 
fish  caught  off  Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  were  full  of  schizopod  shrimps  and  of  them  alone. 

Bate  of  growth. — It  seems  that  the  sand  flounder  passes  through  its  larval 
stage  more  rapidly  than  do  most  flatfish,  for  many  fry  with  the  migration  of  the 
eye  completed  have  been  taken  at  Woods  Hole  only  one  to  two  months  after  spawn- 
ing commences  there.  One  kept  in  an  aquarium  there  by  Williams  '^  grew  from 
10  mm.  to  22  mm.  in  length  in  11  days,  and  in  Rhode  Island  waters,  according  to 

.      M  Huntsman,  1922a,  p.  70. 

"'  It  is  common  down  to  this  depth  near  Woods  Hole. 

"  Bulletin,  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard  College,  Vol.  XL,  1902-3,  p.  3. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE 


519 


Tracy  (1910,  p.  166),  the  fry  are  2  to  3  inches  long  in  July  and  4  inches  and  upward 
in  December.  Measurements  made  by  Welsh  off  the  New  Jersey  coast  indicated 
an  average  length  of  about  6  to  9  inches  by  the  end  of  the  second  summer  and  10 
to  12  inches  the  third  summer  when  the  fish  are  mature. 

Migrations. — Owing  to  the  brevity  of  its  pelagic  stage,  already  remarked  (p.  518) , 
its  involuntary  downstream  migrations  are  necessarily  short  and  consequently  the 
chance  of  dispersal  by  this  means  is  slight.     As  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 


FiQ.  269.-Larva,  5.5  millimeters 


■'f^W0'>'7^rf 


Fig.  270.— Larva,  about  8  millimeters 
S.IND  FLOUNDER  (.Lophopsetta  maculata) 

it  wanders  any  more  than  do  the  winter  flounder,  dab,  or  witch,  when  adult,  it  is 
perhaps  the  most  stationary  of  all  Gulf  of  Maine  flounders. 

Effect  of  temperature. — Occuring  over  so  wide  a  range  of  latitude,  and  in  shallow 
water  exposed  to  the  extremes  of  winter  chilling  and  summer  warming,  the  adult 
sand  flounder  necessarily  exists  in  the  widest  range  of  temperature.  In  winter  its 
native  bays  are  close  to  the  freezing  point  in  the  northern  part  of  its  range,  and 
probably  the  entire  stock  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  winters  in  water  colder  than  36°, 
while  these  same  fish  summer  in  temperatures  of  50°  to  70°,  according  to  exact 
102274— 25 1 34 


520  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

locality.  Nevertheless  temperature  is  probably  the  factor  that  governs  the  range 
and  local  abundance  of  the  species,  it  being  only  where  the  surface  temperature 
rises  to  55°  or  higher  in  summer,  as  is  the  case  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  Casco  Bay, 
Minas  Channel,  and  over  the  southern  shallows  of  the  G,ulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  that  it 
is  able  to  maintain  itself  in  any  numbers.  This  is  because  its  eggs  and  perhaps 
its  young  larvae  can  not  develop  in  lower  temperatures.  These  few  centers  of 
reproduction  are  not  sufficiently  productive  to  stock  the  intervening  stretches  of 
shore  line  in  the  case  of  so  stationary  a  fish,  and  for  this  reason  the  distribution  of 
this  flounder  is  somewhat  analagous  to  that  of  the  oyster. 

Breeding  Jiabits. — Ripe  fish  are  taken  at  Woods  Hole  in  May  and  June,  and  as 
Welsh  found  the  sand  flounder  spawning  late  in  June  at  Gloucester  no  doubt  it  is  a 
late  spring  and  summer  spawner  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  The  evidence  of  these 
Gloucester  specimens  proves  that  it  breeds  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  region,  while 
its  local  abundance  suggests  the  same  for  Casco  Bay,  as  does  the  capture  of  its 
larvae  for  Minas  Channel.  It  may  also  breed  to  some  extent  at  the  heads  of  the 
warmer  and  shoaler  bays  between  Casco  Bay  and  Grand  Manan,  but  probably  it 
does  not  do  so  in  any  of  the  estuaries  on  the  New  Brunswick  side  of  the  Bay  of 
Fundy  for  no  larvae  have  ever  been  found  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  a  fairly  repre- 
sentative situation. 

Although  it  is  not  yet  possible  to  lay  down  the  extremes  of  temperature  within 
which  this  flounder  can  spawn,  it  is  certain  that  its  eggs  develop  only  in  rather  warm 
water,  50°  to  60°  having  been  found  favorable  for  hatching  at  Woods  Hole  and 
Gloucester,  with  eVen  70°  not  too  high  for  successful  incubation.  Thus  no  part  of 
the  GuK  of  Maine  is  too  warm  for  it,  but  the  outer  coastal  waters  east  of  Penobscot 
Bay  as  a  whole  and  most  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  are  probably  too  cold  for  successful 
reproduction. 

Being  so  closely  confined  to  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  coast  and  to 
the  shoal  water,  the  spawning  of  the  sand  flounder  necessarily  takes  place  in  water 
of  low  salinity,  with  about  32  to  32.5  per  mille  as  the  maximum  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 
The  eggs  are  spherical,  transparent,  buoyant,  and  1  to  1.08  mm.  in  diameter 
(measurements  taken  at  Gloucester  by  Welsh),  with  a  single  colorless  or  pale  lemon 
oil  globule  of  0.15  to  0.18  mm.,  and  with  the  surface  of  the  egg  showing  faint  irregular 
markings.  Incubation  occupies  about  eight  days  at  51°  to  56°.  Its  duration  has 
not  been  recorded  for  higher  temperatures.  The  larval  stages  have  not  been  de- 
scribed, though  plentiful  at  Woods  Hole,  but  the  sand  flounder,  like  the  winter 
flounder,  completes  its  metamorphosis  while  smaller  than  dab  (p.  500)  or  witch 
(p.  516),  for  not  only  are  the  vertical  fin  rays  complete  and  the  ventrals  formed  in 
specimen  only  83^2  mm.  (fig.  270),  but  the  right  eye  had  already  moved  to  the  back 
line  of  the  head,  and  at  10  mm.  the  migration  of  the  eye  is  completed  and  the  fry 
are  ready  to  take  to  bottom.'' 

Commercial  importance. — Although  this  fish  is  as  good  on  the  table  as  any  other 
flounder  so  far  as  flavor  goes,  it  is  so  small  and  so  thin-bodied  that  it  is  never  likely 
to  be  in  demand. 

"  Williams.    Bulletin,  Museum  ol  Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard  College,  Vol.  XL,  1902-1903,  p.  2. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


521 


176.  Gulf  Stream  flounder  {Ciiharichthys  arctifrons  Goode)"^ 

Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2683. 

Description. — This  little  fish  is  left-handed  (eyes  on  the  left  side  and  guts  at 
the  left)  with  a  moderately  wide  mouth  gaping  back  as  far  as  the  forward  edge  of 
the  eye,  a  nearly  straight  lateral  line,  and  with  both  pectoral  fins  well-developed, 
though  the  one  on  the  eyed  side  is  considerably  larger  than  its  mate  on  the  blind 
side.  The  left  ventral  fin  is  on  the  midline,  the  right  fin  a  short  distance  above  it 
on  the  side,  and  while  these  two  fins  are  alike  in  females,  in  males  the  one  on  the 
blind  side  is  much  the  longer  of  the  pair.  The  body  is  ovate  in  outline  and  very 
thin.  The  long  fins  are  of  moderate  breadth,  with  the  dorsal  fin  (about  83  rays) 
originating  over  the  forward  margin  of  the  eye  and  the  caudal  fin  rounded.  The 
scales  are  so  large  that  there  are  only  about  40  rows  of  them  along  the  lateral  line. 


Fig.  271.— Gulf  Stream  flounder  (CUhanchthya  arctifrons) 

This  species  parallels  the  summer,  four-spotted,  and  sand  flounders  (the  latter 
its  closest  Gulf  of  Maine  ally)  in  its  left-handedncss,  but  it  is  distinguishable  from  all 
of  these  by  the  fact  that  its  lateral  line  is  almost  straight  and  likewise  by  the  great 
disparity  in  size  between  the  two  pectoral  fins  and  by  its  very  large  scales.  Its 
narrow  form  and  the  fact  that  none  of  its  dorsal  fin  rays  are  branched  are  fm'ther 
points  of  distinction  between  it  and  the  sand  flounder,  and  it  is  much  smaller  at 
maturity  than  any  of  the  flatfishes  common  within  the  Gulf. 

Size. — Ripe  females  3J^  to  4  inches  in  length  have  been  recorded,  suggesting 
that  this  is  about  the  maximmn  size. 


"  A  second  species  of  this  genus  ( C.  unicornis)  may  be  expected  on  the  outer  slope  of  Georges  Bank  in  depths  of  100  fathoms 
and  more,  since  it  has  been  talcen  off  Marthas  Vineyard  in  1 15  to  150  fathoms.  It  is  separable  from  C.  arctifrons  by  the  fact  that 
there  is  a  short  spine  on  the  eyed  side  of  the  head  above  the  upper  lip  (the  head  of  arctifrons  is  spineless) .  Further  points  of  dis- 
tinction are  that  unicornis  has  smaller  and  more  numerous  scales  (about  60  rows  along  the  lateral  line),  fewer  fin  rays  (only  about 
74  dorsal  rays),  and  that  its  body  is  "broader"  (actually  higher). 

We  have  towed  the  pelagic  larvte  of  stUl  a  third  small  deep-water  flounder  (Monolene  sessilicatida)  off  the  seaward  slope  of 
Georges  Bank  (Bulletin,  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard  College,  Vol.  LXI,  No.  8,  1917,  p.  277),  and  it  has  been 
trawled  in  depths  of  100  fathoms  and  more  ofl  Marthas  Vineyard  and  thence  westward  and  southward  along  the  continental 
slope.  It  is  left-handed  like  the  summer,  four-spotted,  and  sand  flounders,  with  arched  lateral  line,  but  it  has'  no  pectoral 
fin  on  the  blind  side.    For  a  detailed  description  of  it  see  Goode  and  Bean  (1896,  p.  452). 


522 


BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


Color. — Light  brown. 

General  range. — Outer  part  of  the  continental  shelf  and  upper  part  of  the 
continental  slope  off  eastern  North  America  in  depths  of  56  to  179  fathoms. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — Several  specimens  have  been  trawled  on  the 
slope  off  Nantucket  Shoals  in  53  to  134  fathoms,  and  on  February  22,  1920,°°  the 
Albatross  took  one  in  a  tow  net  over  the  southeastern  part  of  Georges  Bank  from 
about  82  fathoms  (150  meters). 

Habits. — Nothing  is  known  of  the  habits  of  this  little  flatfish  except  that  it  is 
restricted  to  deep  water  and  that  ripe  females  have  been  found  in  September 
Goode  and  Bean  (1896,  p.  442)  give  a  list  of  the  records  of  capture. 

177.  Hogchoker  {AcMrus  fasdatus  Lacepede) 

American  Sole 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2700. 


Fig.  272.— Hogchoker  (Achirus  fasdatus) 

Description. — This  fish  is  the  closest  relative  of  the  famous  European  sole  in 
northeastern  American  waters.  It  is  right-handed  and  small-mouthed  and  can  be 
told  at  a  glance  from  all  other  Gulf  of  Maine  flatfishes  by  the  fact  that  it  has  no 
pectoral  fin  on  either  side.  Its  mouth  gapes  horizontally  (that  is,  along  the  general 
fore-and-aft  line  as  this  fish  lies)  with  the  upper  jaw  projecting  beyond  the  lower, 
whereas  in  all  other  local  flounders  the  gape  is  obhque  and  it  is  the  lower  jaw  that 
projects.  Furthermore  the  rounded  outline  of  the  head  and  the  lack  of  a  definite 
snout  gives  it  an  aspect  very  different  from  that  of  any  other  Gulf  of  Maine  flatfish. 
Equally  diagnostic  among  right-handed  species  is  the  fact  that  the  right  ventral  fin 
is  continuous  with  the  anal,  that  its  long  fins  are  highest  toward  their  rear  ends,  that 

•s  station  20045. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF    MAINE  523 

the  dorsal  originates  at  the  very  tip  of  the  nose  (that  is,  further  forward  than  in  our 
commoner  flounders),  and  that  its  small  eyes  are  set  flat  instead  of  in  prominent 
orbits.  Other  characters  worth  mentioning  are  that  the  gape  of  the  mouth  is  shorter 
and  much  more  crooked  on  the  blind  side  than  on  the  eyed  side  (an  asymmetry  that 
has  been  emphasized  in  most  descriptions  of  this  species) ,  that  it  is  evenly  oval  in 
outline  without  a  definite  caudal  peduncle,  and  that  there  are  about  55  dorsal  rays 
and  38  to  41  anal  rays  but  no  pre-anal  spine.  The  scales  are  very  rough  on  both  sides, 
those  of  the  upper  part  of  the  head  and  chin  on  the  eyed  side  and  on  the  whole  head 
on  the  blind  side  being  larger  than  the  body  scales.     It  is  very  slimy  with  mucus. 

Color. — ^Described  (we  have  no  color  notes  from  life)  as  varying  from  dusky  or 
slaty  oUve  to  dark  brown  on  the  eyed  side,  barred  transversely  with  a  varying  num- 
ber of  indistinct  darker  stripes,  and  with  a  dark  longitudinal  stripe  along  the  lateral 
line.  The  dorsal,  caudal,  and  anal  fins  are  of  the  general  body  tint,  variously  dark 
clouded.  The  blind  side  is  dirty  white,  usually  marked  (in  northern  fish)  with  dark 
round  spots  which  vary  in  size  and  number,  but  northern  specimens,  like  southern 
ones,  occasionally  lack  these  spots. 

Size. — Six  to  seven  inches  is  about  the  maximum  length. 

General  range. — Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts  of  the  United  States,  with  Massachu- 
setts Bay  as  the  northern  limit.  The  hogchoker  is  abundant  south  of  Chesapeake 
Bay  and  moderately  common  as  far  north  as  southern  New  England  but  decidedly 
rare  north  of  Cape  Cod. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  little  flatfish  has  been  reported  from 
Provincetown  (where  Captain  Atwood  spoke  of  it  as  plentiful) ;  from  Boston  Har- 
bor, whence  the  Musemn  of  Comparative  Zoology  possesses  several,  all  caught  long 
ago;  from  the  mouth  of  the  Charles  River  (2  specimens  reported  in  1847) ;  and  from 
Nahant  (one  taken  in  1840) ;  but  it  is  more  than  half  a  century  since  it  has  been 
brought  to  scientific  attention  north  of  Cape  Cod,  and  if  caught  from  time  to  time, 
as  has  probably  been  the  case,  it  has  not  been  recognized.  It  is  not  known  north  or 
east  of  Cape  Ann  nor  on  the  offshore  banks. 

Habits  and  food. — Little  is  known  of  the  habits  of  this  species  except  that  it  is  a 
fish  of  shoal  and  brackish  waters,  most  often  found  in  river  mouths  and  on  the  flats 
in  bays  or  estuaries,  sometimes  running  up  into  fresh  water.  It  breeds  in  spring, 
for  fish  that  were  apparently  ripe  have  been  taken  at  Woods  Hole  in  May,  but  its 
life  history  has  not  been  followed  nor  is  its  diet  known.  Probably  it  is  normally 
carnivorous  like  other  American  flatfishes,  although  fragments  of  seaweed  have 
been  found  in  its  stomach. 

Commercial  importance. — The  hogchoker  is  so  small  that  it  is  of  no  commercial 
value,  although  said  to  be  delicious  eating. 


524 


BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 


THE   ANGLERS.     FAMILY    LOPHIID^ 

This  family  is  the  only  Gulf  of  Maine  representative  of  the  small  but  ana- 
tomically remarkable  tribe  of  pediculate  fishes  in  which  the  base  of  the  pectoral 
fin  takes  the  form  of  an  arm  (pseudobrachium)  formed  by  the  elongation  of  the 
carpal  bones  (actinosts),  which  are  so  short  in  all  other  bony  fishes  that  they  are 
not  noticeable  externally.  Coupled  with  this  peculiar  structure  of  the  pectorals, 
the  gUl  openings  are  reduced  to  small  apertures  in  or  near  the  axils  ("armpits")  of 
these  fins.  The  anglers  are  characterized  among  their  immediate  relatives  by  a 
very  large  and  very  much  flattened  head,  enormous  mouth,  and  the  fact  that  there 
are  but  two  bones  in  each  "arm."     One  species  is  common  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.^° 

178.  Goosefish  {Lophius  piscatorius  Linnaeus) 

Monkfish;    Angler;    Bellowsfish;    Allmodth;    Molligut;    Fishingfrog 
Jordan  and  Evermann,  1896-1900,  p.  2713. 


Fig.  273.— Angler  (LopUui  piscatoriui) 

Description. — The  goosefish  is  so  unlike  any  other  Gulf  of  Maine  fish  that, 
once  seen,  there  is  no  danger  of  mistaking  it.  It  is  so  much  compressed,  dorso- 
ventrally,  and  so  soft  in  texture  that  when  left  stranded  on  the  shore  it  flattens 
down  until  hardly  thicker  than  a  skate.  As  seen  from  above  its  head  is  rounded, 
disklike,  about  as  broad  as  long,  and  enormous  in  comparison  with  its  body,  which 
is  so  narrow  and  tapering  back  of  the  pectorals  as  to  give  the  fish  a  tadpolelike 
appearance.  Its  most  noticeable  character  is  its  enormous  mouth,  which  is  directed 
upward,  with  its  lower  jaw  projecting  so  far  beyond  the  upper  that  most  of  the 
lower  teeth  are  freely  exposed  even  when  the  mouth  is  closed.  Both  jaws  are 
armed  with  long,  slender,  curved  teeth,  all  alike  in  form  but  of  various  sizes  and 
very  sharp.  In  a  large  fish  some  of  them  may  be  as  much  as  an  inch  long.  The 
teeth  in  the  lower  jaw  are  in  1  to  3  rows,  mostly  large,  while  in  the  upper  jaw 
the  few  in  the  middle  (there  is  a  toothless  space  in  the  midhne)  are  largest,  with 
a  smgle  row  of  smaller  ones  flanking  them;  and  there  are  likewise  several  rows 


"  Several  other  pediculate  fishes  have  been  trawled  on  the  continental  slope  oft  New  England,  as  described  by  Goode  and 
Bean  (1896),  none  of  them,  however,  within  the  geographic  limits  to  which  this  report  is  confined. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  525 

of  thornlike  teeth  on  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  while  all  the  teeth  point  inward  toward 
the  guUet.  The  gill  openings  are  behind  the  pectoral  fins  and  lack  the  gill  covers 
to  be  seen  in  most  bony  fishes.  The  eyes  are  situated  on  the  top  of  the  head  and 
are  directed  upward. 

The  pectoral  fins  are  exceedingly  diagnostic,  for  instead  of  rising  directly  from 
the  sides  of  the  body,  as  in  most  bony  fislies,  their  bases  take  the  form  of  thick 
fleshy  arms  as  already  described  (p.  524),  bearing  the  fins  proper  at  their  outer  edges, 
while  the  latter  are  so  thick  skinned  that  their  rays  are  hardly  visible  except  in  the 
scalloping  of  the  margins.  They  are  fanlike  when  spread.  There  are  three  stiff 
slender  spines  (representing  the  anterior  part  of  the  spiny  dorsal  fin)  hardly  thicker 
than  bristles  on  the  top  of  the  head,  the  first  being  close  behind  the  tip  of  the  snout, 
the  second  slightly  in  front  of  the  eyes,  and  the  third  on  the  nape;  and  while  the 
first  and  second  are  movable  from  recumbent  to  erect,  the  third  slopes  backward 
with  its  basal  half  imbedded  in  the  skin."  The  relative  lengths  of  these  spines 
vary,  but  in  most  of  the  fish  we  have  seen  the  first  two  have  been  about  equal  in 
length  or  the  second  slightly  the  longer,  with  the  third  much  the  shortest  of  the 
three.  The  first  bears  an  iri'egular  leaflike  flap  of  skin  at  its  tip,  supposed  to  play 
an  important  role  in  the  daily  life  of  the  goosefish  as  a  lure  for  its  prey  (p.  528), 
while  the  second  and  third  spines  have  small  triangular  membranes  at  their  bases 
and  one  or  both  may  be  fringed  with  short  lobes  of  skin.  There  are  two  weU- 
developed  dorsal  fins,  the  fii"st  (of  three  spines)  situated  over  the  pectorals  and 
the  second  (10  to  11  rays)  on  the  rear  part  of  the  trunk.  The  single  anal  fin  (9  to 
10  rays)  stands  below  the  second  dorsal,  and  the  ventrals  (about  5  thick  rays)  are 
situated  under  the  head  well  in  front  of  the  pectorals.  The  caudal  fin  is  small 
and  broom  shaped.  The  dorsal  fins  have  thin  delicate  membranes  but  the  caudal, 
anal,  and  ventrals  are  thick  and  fleshy.  The  skin  is  scaleless,  very  smooth  and 
slippery  to  the  touch,  and  there  is  a  row  of  fleshy  flaps  of  irregular  shape  running 
around  the  margin  of  the  head  and  the  edge  of  the  lower  jaw,  with  smaller  tags 
fringins:  the  sides  of  the  trunk  as  far  back  as  the  base  of  the  caudal  fin.  Further- 
more,  the  upper  side  of  the  head  bears  several  low  conical  spines  which  vary  in 
prominence  from  fish  to  fish. 

Color. — The  many  goosefish  we  have  seen  (and  this  corroborates  the  pub- 
lished accounts)  have  been  chocolate  brown  above,  variously  and  very  finely  mot- 
tled with  pale  and  dark.  The  dorsal  fins,  the  upper  sides  of  the  pectorals,  and  the 
caudal  fin  are  of  a  darker  shade  of  the  same  color  as  the  back,  nearly  black  at  the 
tips,  while  the  whole  lower  surface  of  the  fish  is  dirty  white.  Sometimes,  it  is  said, 
the  upper  side  is  dotted  with  white  spots,  but  we  have  seen  none  so  marked.  Very 
small  ones  are  described  as  mottled  and  speclded  with  green  and  brown. 

Size. — Adults  run  from  3  to  4  feet  long,°*  weighing  up  to  45  pounds,  and  they 
have  been  recorded  as  heavy  as  70  pounds.  One  38  inches  long,  captured  at  Woods 
Hole  on  July  25,  1923,  weighed  32  pounds  alive. 

9^  Sometimes  not  more  than  one-third  is  imbedded. 

"  Rumor  has  it  that  goosefish  grow  to  6  feet,  but  we  And  none  definitely  recorded  (and  have  seen  none)  longer  than  4  feet. 


526  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

General  range. — -The  extreme  range  of  the  goosefish  on  the  coast  of  eastern 
North  America  is  from  the  Newfoundland  Banks  and  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to 
North  Carolina''^  in  shoal  water,  and  as  far  south  as  the  Barbadoes  in  deep  water, 
if  these  southern  specimens  '  actually  belong  to  the  same  species.  It  is  equally 
common  on  the  other  side  of  the  North  Atlantic. 

Occurrence  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. — This  is  a  familiar  fish  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine 
both  along  shore  and  on  the  outer  fishing  banks.  It  has  been  recorded  in  print 
from  the  west  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  (St.  Mary  Bay)  and  from  various  localities 
in  the  Bay  of  Fundy  where,  according  to  Huntsman,  large  ones  are  frequently 
taken  on  line  trawls  or  found  stranded  on  the  beach.  It  is  well  known,  if  not 
abundant,  all  along  the  coast  of  Maine,^  and  we  once  caught  as  many  as  eight  (all 
large)  in  Ipswich  Bay  in  one  haul  of  a  beam  trawl  only  8  feet  across  the  mouth. 
In  Massachusetts  Bay  goosefish  are  most  common  on  the  smooth  bottom  south 
of  Boston,  and  they  are  so  nimierous  in  Cape  Cod  Bay  that  one  can  hardly  walk 
the  beach  for  an  afternoon  without  finding  a  jawbone  bleaching  on  the  sand, 
which  applies  equally  all  along  the  outer  shores  of  Cape  Cod  where  they  often 
strand.  Fishermen  also  speak  of  them  as  common  on  and  about  Stellwagen  Bank, 
while  goosefish  formed  about  1  per  cent  (in  numbers  of  individuals)  of  the  catches 
of  certain  otter  trawlers  in  the  South  Channel  and  on  Georges  Bank  in  1913.  They 
are  also  reported  to  be  equally  plentiful  on  Browns  Bank. 

The  depth  zone  occupied  by  this  fish  in  the  inner  parts  of  the  GuK  of  Maine 
extends  from  just  below  tide  mark  down  to  at  least  50  or  60  fathoms.  We  can  not 
say  whether  they  inhabit  the  very  soft  bottoms  of  the  deeper  basin,  but  there  is 
nothing  in  the  depth  of  the  latter  to  prevent  them,  for  goosefish  have  been  trawled 
down  to  365  fathoms  on  the  continental  slope  off  southern  New  England  and  down 
to  at  least  100  fathoms  off  the  outer  coast  of  Nova  Scotia. 

Food. — The  most  interesting  phase  in  the  life  of  the  goosefish  is  its  insatiable 
appetite.  Its  larv^,  like  most  yoimg  fish,  feed  on  various  small  pelagic  animals, 
copepods,  crustacean  larva,  and  especially  on  Sagittse;  and  since  Sagittae  are  the 
chief  diet  of  young  goosefish  in  the  Adriatic  during  the  life  of  the  latter  near  the 
surface  very  likely  they  serve  the  same  purpose  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

After  the  goosefish  takes  to  the  bottom  it  becomes,  in  the  main,  a  fisheater, 
and  the  following  Gulf  of  Maine  species  have  been  recorded  from  its  stomach: 
Spiny  dogfish,  skates  of  various  kinds,  eels,  launce,  herring,  alewives,  menhaden, 
smelts,  mackerel,  weakfish,  cunners,  tautog,  sea  bass,  butterfish,  puffers,  various 
sculpins,  sea  ravens,  sea  snails,  silver  hake,  tomcod,  cod,  haddock,  hake,  witches, 
plaice,  dab,  winter  fiounders,  and  various  other  species  of  flatfish  unnamed,  as  well 
as  its  own  kind.^  As  one  of  its  vernacular  names  implies,  goosefish  often  capture 
seabirds — cormorants,    herring   gulls,    widgeons,    scoters,    loons,    guillemots,    and 

'»  Smith  (Fishes  of  North  Carolina,  North  Carolina  Geological  and  Economic  Survey,  Vol.  II,  1907)  describes  it  as  being 
very  common  at  Cape  Lookout,  and  we  have  seen  many  stranded  on  the  beach  in  Pamlico  Sound,  a  few  miles  north  of  Cape 
Hatteras,  in  winter. 

'  Ooode  and  Bean,  1896,  p.  486. 

•  Reported  from  Eastport,  from  the  outer  part  of  Penobscot  Bay,  from  sundry  localities  in  Casco  Bay,  and  otE  Saco  Bay, 
while  the  Ommpws  trawled  it  off  Monhegan  Island  and  off  Casco  Bay,  and  I  have  known  goosefish  to  come  ashore  on  Mount 
Desert  Island. 

2  Also  sundry  European  species  not  necessary  to  mention  here. 


FISHES  OP  THE  GULF  OF   MAINE  527 

razor-billed  auks  all  being  on  its  recorded  dietary,  while  I  have  found  grebes  and 
other  diving  fowl,  such  as  scaup  ducks  and  mergansers,  in  goosefish  in  Pamlico 
Sound,  N.  C.  It  is  questionable,  however,  whether  even  the  largest  would  be 
able  to  master  a  live  goose,  as  rumor  has  it,  nor  do  the  local  fishermen  believe  it 
ever  does  so  in  Pamlico  Sound,  though  the  abundance  of  wild  geese  there  in  winter 
would  afford  it  every  opportunity.  Goode  (et  al.,  1884),  however,  tells  of  one 
which  he  actually  saw  struggling  with  a  loon. 

Goosefish  are  also  known  to  devour  invertebrates  such  as  lobsters,  crabs  of 
several  species,  hermit  crabs,  squids,  annelid  worms,  shellfish,  starfish,  sand  dollars, 
and  even  eelgrass — in  short,  nothing  edible  that  strays  within  reach  comes  amiss— 
and  examinations  of  stomachs  have  shown  (as  might  have  been  expected)  that 
the  relative  importance  of  various  articles  in  its  diet  varies  widely  on  different 
grounds,  depending  on  what  is  available.  Near  Woods  Hole,  for  instance,  Field 
(1907,  p.  39)  found  skates,  flounders,  and  squid  its  chief  dependence.  The  32- 
pounder  from  Woods  Hole  mentioned  above  contained  2  menhaden,  1  spiny  dog- 
fish a  foot  long,  and  the  vertebral  columns  of  6  others.  In  Scottish  waters  ^  it 
feeds  chiefly  on  dabs,  haddock,  launce,  and  the  European  whiting;  off  Norway  it 
feeds  on  herring,  with  skates,  gurnards,  and  other  bottom  fish;  on  hake  ^  in  eastern 
Canadian  waters,  including  the  Bay  of  Fimdy;  and  on  haddock,  flatfish,  and 
skates  on  Georges  Bank.  Crabs  are  the  chief  invertebrate  contribution  to  its 
diet. 

The  goosefish  is  as  remarkable  for  its  appetite  as  for  the  variety  of  animals 
that  fall  prey  to  it.  We  read,  for  instance,  of  one  that  had  made  a  meal  of  21 
flounders  and  1  dogfish,  all  of  marketable  size;  of  half  a  paiKul  of  cunners,  tomcod, 
and  sea  bass  in  another;  of  75  herring  in  a  third;  3  flatfish,  1  dogfish,  1  European 
whiting,  3  crabs,  and  14  starfish  in  another;  and  of  one  that  had  taken  7  wild  ducks 
at  one  meal.  In  fact  it  is  nothing  unusual  for  one  to  contain  at  one  time  a  mass 
of  food  haff  as  heavy  as  the  fish  itseK,  and  with  its  enormous  mouth  (one  33^  feet 
long  gapes  about  9  inches  horizontally  and  8  inches  vertically)  and  capacious  beUy 
it  is  able  to  swallow  fish  of  almost  its  own  size.  Fulton,  for  instance,  found  a 
codUng  (a  European  species)  23  inches  long  in  a  goosefish  of  only  26  inches,  while 
Field  took  from  another  a  winter  flounder  almost  as  big  as  its  captor.  Captain 
Atwood  long  ago  described  seeing  one  strugghng  to  swallow  another  as  large  as 
itseK,  and  examples  of  this  sort  could  be  multiphed.  As  a  rule,  however,  goose- 
fish feed  on  small  fish,  not  on  large  ones,  and  even  the  largest  of  them  take  very 
small  fry  on  occasion.  Interesting,  because  exceptional,  is  Linton's '  report  of  one 
full  of  mud  containing  small  shellfish,  crustaceans,  and  worms.  Goosefish,  like 
most  fish  of  prey,  often  swallow  indigestible  objects.  They  have  even  been  credited 
(on  how  good  evidence  we  can  not  say)  with  pouching  lobster-pot  buoys,  and  the 
story  of  one  whose  mouth  made  a  holding  ground  for  the  boat  anchor  of  an  angler 
from  Nahant  has  often  been  related. 

'  Fulton  (Twenty-flrst  Annual  Report,  Fisheries  Board  for  Scotland,  1902  (1903),  Part  III,  p.  195)  describes  the  stomach 
contents  of  541  goosefish  from  various  localities  off  Scotland. 
'  Connolly,  1920,  p.  16. 
•  Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  XIX,  1899  (1901),  p.  487. 


528  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

In  Scottish  waters,  where  the  habits  of  this  species  are  better  known  than  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine,  its  local  abundance  depends  on  the  supply  of  small  fish,  and  in  spite 
of  their  poor  abihty  as  swimmers  goosefish  have  been  found  to  congregate  near  par- 
ticular shoals  of  herring.  W.  F.  Clapp,  who  has  often  watched  the  feeding  habits 
of  goosefish  at  low  tide  in  Diixbury  Bay,  Mass.,  where  they  are  very  plentiful, 
describes  them  to  us  as  lying  perfectly  motionless  among  the  eelgrass  with  the  tag 
or  "bait"  on  the  tip  of  the  first  dorsal  ray  swaying  to  and  fro  over  the  mouth, 
either  with  the  current  or  by  some  voluntary  motion  so  slight  as  to  be  invisible. 
The  only  fish  he  has  seen  them  take  are  tomcod,  and  when  one  of  these  chances 
to  approach  it  usually  swims  close  up  to  the  "bait"  but  never  (in  his  observation) 
actually  touches  it,  for  as  soon  as  the  victim  is  within  a  few  inches  the  goosefish 
simply  opens  its  vast  mouth  and  closes  it  again,  engulfing  its  victim  instantaneously. 
These  observations  are  the  more  welcome  as  no  other  recent  student  seems  to  have 
seen  the  feeding  habits  of  this  species  in  its  natural  siu-roundings,  and  they  show 
that  it  depends  mostly  on  such  fish  or  Crustacea  as  chance  to  stray  close  enough 
to  be  snapped  up  from  ambush  or  seized  by  a  sudden  rush.  However,  the  fact 
that  it  has  been  known  to  seize  and  swallow  hooked  fish  as  the  latter  were 
being  hauled  up,  and  even  to  capture  sea  birds  sitting  on  the  surface,  proves  that 
it  may  make  considerable  excursions  for  a  meal  on  occasion. 

Rate  of  growth. — The  few  data  that  have  so  far  been  gathered  as  to  the  rate 
of  growth  of  this  species  are  somewhat  contradictory.  Thus  the  measurements  of 
Scottish  fish  tabulated  by  Fidton  seem  to  us  to  warrant  his  schedule  of  a  mean 
length  of  about  63^  inches  at  6  months,  123^  inches  at  a  year  and  a  half,  18  to  183^ 
inches  at  two  and  one-half  years,  and  his  assumption  that  in  Scottish  waters  a  goose- 
fish 3  years  old  wiU  be  about  21  inches  long  and  one  4  years  old  about  26  or  27 
inches  in  length.  Bay  of  Fundy  specimens  examined  by  Connolly  (1920)  had  grown 
little  more  than  half  as  fast  (if  the  concentric  rings  in  their  vertebrje  on  which  he 
based  his  estimates  are  indeed  annual),  for  fish  with  4  rings  were  only  about  18 
inches  long,  those  with  9  rings  about  31  inches,  fish  with  10  rings  about  37  inches, 
and  those  having  12  rings  were  about  40  inches  in  length.  No  attempt  has  been 
made  to  trace  the  growth  of  this  fish  living  in  other  parts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  or 
on  Georges  Bank. 

The  smallest  ripe  males  seen  by  Fulton  were  26  to  27  inches  long  and  females 
were  30  inches,  which  would  mean  an  age  of  4  to  5  years,  according  to  the  faster 
growth  schedule  and  7  to  8  years  by  the  slower  one,  while  goosefish  seldom  matiu-e 
in  either  side  of  the  North  Atlantic  when  less  than  about  30  inches  long. 

Breeding  habits. — The  spa^v^ling  season  covers  a  long  period.  Off  the  southern 
coasts  of  New  England  goosefish  eggs  have  been  taken  as  early  as  May  (Woods 
Hole)  and  as  late  as  August  (Newport),  but  breeding  may  not  commence  until 
early  summer  north  of  Cape  Cod,  for  June  24  (Passamaquoddy  Bay')  is  the  earhest 
date  on  which  eggs  have  been  seen  north  of  Cape  Cod  while  August  8  (off  Penobscot 
Bay,  Grampus,  station  10025)  and  9  (Bay  of  Fimdy)  are  the  latest  dates. 

In  Scottish  waters  the  breeding  season  is  about  a  month  earlier  both  in  its 
inception  and  probably  in  its  completion,  judging  from  the  state  of  sexual  maturity 

'  Connolly,  1922,  p.  116. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF    MAINE  529 

of  the  fish*  and  the  presence  of  the  eggs,  while  in  the  Mediterranean,  with  its 
higher  temperature,  the  seasonal  occurrence  of  the  larvae  points  to  early  winter 
spawning,  though  eggs  have  not  actually  been  found  there.' 

The  locahty  of  spawning,  whether  inshore  in  shoal  water  or  offshore  in  deep 
water,  has  been  the  subject  of  some  discussion.  Bowman'"  having  advanced  the 
second  possibility  to  account  for  the  fact  that  most  of  the  egg  veils  so  far  reported 
have  been  far  advanced  in  incubation,  and  to  explain  the  apparent  rarity  of  larva 
in  northern  seas. 

Both  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  egg  clusters  described  by  Conolly  were  newly 
spawned,  which  is  sufficient  proof  that  goosefish  do  breed  in  the  inner  parts  of  the 
Gvdf  of  Maine;  and  they  do  so  commonly,  it  seems,  in  the  Woods  Hole  region  where 
the  egg  skeins  are  famihar  objects  both  floating  and  when  entangled  in  the  local 
fish  traps.  Furthermore  large  adult  fish  are  present  in  abundance  on  their  regular 
grounds  throughout  the  spawning  season,  which  would  hardly  be  the  case  if  they 
moved  offshore  or  into  deep  water  to  breed,  nor  woiild  any  very  extended  journey 
seem  within  the  physical  ability  of  so  stationary  a  fish  and  so  feeble  a  swimmer.  We 
therefore  believe  the  weight  of  evidence  points  to  the  same  shoal  coastal  bottoms, 
which  they  inhabit  at  other  times,  as  their  spawning  grounds. 

The  only  definite  records  for  monkfish  eggs  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  so  far  pub- 
lished are  those  just  mentioned,  nor  is  the  local  list  of  captures  of  its  larvae 
much  larger,  consisting  only  of  three  taken  off  Brazil  Rock  (described  by  ConoUy), 
two  very  small  ones  (5  and  6.5  mm.)  towed  by  the  Grampus  in  Massachusetts  Bay 
on  July  12,  1912,  and  September  29,  1915,  and  of  others  described  from  the  same 
general  region  by  Agassiz  (1882) .  Since  both  the  eggs  and  the  larvse  are  exceedingly 
conspicuous  and  easily  recognized,  while  the  latter  pass  through  a  long  pelagic 
stage,  it  does  not  seem  Ukely  we  would  have  missed  them  constantly  in  our  tow 
nets  were  they  as  plentiful  as  the  corresponding  stages  of  other  common  Gulf  of 
Maine  fishes  that  breed  at  the  same  season.  The  simplest  explanation  for  this 
apparent  rarity  of  the  young  would  be  that  while  a  few  breed  successfully  in  the 
Gulf  of  Maine  the  maintenance  of  the  local  stock  depends  more  on  immigration 
from  elsewhere,  with  the  frequency  of  egg  veils  at  Woods  Hole  pointing  to 
southern  New  England  waters  as  their  source;  but  this  suggestion  is  advanced  only 
as  a  tentative  hypothesis,  to  be  accepted  or  rejected  in  the  fight  of  later  knowledge. 

The  eggs  are  shed  in  remarkable  ribbon-shaped  veils  of  mucus,  often  20  to 
30  feet  long  by  2  or  3  feet  wide,  in  which  they  are  arranged  in  a  single  irregular 
layer,  each  egg  floating  free,  oil  globule  uppermost,  in  a  hexagonal  cavity.  It  is 
probable  that  each  sheet  is  the  product  of  a  single  ovary,  and  Fulton '^  estimated 
the  number  of  eggs  in  two  nearly  ripe  ovaries  at  1,345,848  and  1,312,587,  respectively. 
These  veils  are  light  violet  gray  or  purpfish  brown  in  color,  made  more  or  less  black- 
ish by  the  embryonic  pigment  of  the  eggs  according  to  the  stage  of  development 
attained  by  the  latter.     They  are  so  conspicuous  as  they  float  on  the  surface  that 

"Fulton.    Sixteenth  Annual  Report,  Fishery  Board  for  Scotland,  1897  (1898),  Part  III,  pp.  125-134,  Pis.  II-III. 

•  Stiasny.    Arbeit,  Zoologische  Institute  Vienna,  Vol.  19,  1911,  p.  14. 

i»  Fishery  Board  for  Scotland,  Scientific  Investigations,  1919  (1920),  No.  II,  pp.  1-42,  Pis.  I-VI,  2  charts. 

"  Sixteenth  Annual  Report,  Fishery  Board  tor  Scotland,  1897  (1893),  Part  III,  pp.  125-134,  Pis.  II-III. 


530  BUIiLETIW   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

fishermen  of  southern  New  England  have  long  been  familiar  with  them,  though  it 
was  not  untU  about  1871  that  Alexander  Agassiz  demonstrated  their  true  parentage." 
The  eggs  occasionally  become  isolated,  perhaps  by  some  storm  shredding  the  mucous 
veil  to  pieces,  and  when  this  occurs  they  float  like  any  ordinary  buoyant  fish  eggs. 
We  have  not  actually  foimd  them  in  this  condition  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  though 
Agassiz  and  Whitman  saw  isolated  eggs  at  Newport. 

The  eggs  themselves,  large  nmnbers  of  which  have  now  been  examined,  are 
spherical  or  slightly  oval,  2.13  to  2.5  mm.  in  diameter  and  averaging  about  2.3  mm. 
as  they  lie  in  their  mucus  cells,'^  but  isolated  eggs  as  large  as  3. 11  mm.  and  others 
as  small  as  1.67  mm.  have  been  reported.  The  yolk  is  homogeneous,  straw-colored, 
and  with  either  one  large  oil  globule  of  0.4  to  0.56  mm.  or  several  smaller  ones. 

The  duration  of  incubation  is  not  known.  The  larvae "  are  about  4.5  nam. 
long  at  hatching  and  float  at  first  with  the  yolk  uppermost.  Within  4  days  or 
so  the  first  dorsal  fin  ray  (which  is  to  form  the  second  head  spine  of  the  adult)  appears 
as  a  lobe  at  the  margin  of  the  embryonic  finfold  on  the  nape,  while  at  about  7  days, 
when  the  larva  is  5.5  mm.  long,  the  pectorals  are  formed  and  the  ventral  fins  have 
appeared  as  two  long  conical  processes  below  and  behind  the  pectorals  (fig.  275). 

In  summer  temperatures  the  absorption  of  the  yolk  and  the  formation  of  the 
mouth  are  complete  and  the  larva  rights  itseK  in  the  water  in  about  two  weeks, 
while  either  just  before  or  shortly  after  the.  disappearance  of  the  yolk  (North 
American  and  North  Sea  specimens  differ  in  this)  and  at  a  length  of  8  to  10  mm. 
a  second  dorsal  ray  appears  behind  the  first,  the  ventrals  elongate  and  become 
two-rayed,  and  the  pigment  congregates  in  three  masses  behind  the  vent.  From 
this  point  on  larval  goosefish  described  from  different  seas  have  shown  considerable 
differences  at  different  sizes,  depending  on  the  rapidity  of  development  as  com- 
pared with  the  rate  of  growth  in  waters  of  different  temperatures;  also  in  the 
detailed  structure  of  the  fins  and  in  the  general  outlines  and  proportions  of  head 
to  body,  but  the  successive  stages  have  been  essentially  simdar  in  all.  Thus  North 
Sea  specimens  of  about  10  mm.  show  a  third  dorsal  ray  on  the  nape  behind  the  two 
previously  formed,  while  the  first  traces  of  the  rays  of  the  second  dorsal  fin  and 
of  the  anal  have  appeared  and  the  ventrals  have  lengthened  until  they  reach  back 
past  the  middle  of  the  trunk  and  become  three-rayed,  whereas  New  England 
larvae  have  shown  a  fourth  dorsal  ray  before  the  third  ventral  appears  (fig.  276). 
A  fifth  dorsal  ray  next  appears  behind  those  preexisting,  and  a  sixth  in  front 
of  them,  all  being  connected  with  the  membrane  at  their  bases  but  free  at 
the  tips.  The  pectorals  assume  a  great  breadth  and  fanlike  outline,  the  second 
dorsal,  the  anal,  and  the  caudal  fins  take  definite  form,  the  ventral  rays  become 
filamentous  at  their  tips,  streaming  far  behind  the  tail,  and  a  complete  row  of  teeth 
appears  in  the  lower  jaw,  with  a  few  in  the  upper.     The  goosefish  pictured  in  this 

"  Baird.    American  Naturalist,  Vol.  V,  1871,  pp.  785-786. 

"  Agassiz  and  Whitman  (1885)  give  the  diameter  as  only  1.75  mm.,  but  this  may  have  been  after  preservation  as  Connolly's 
eggs  of  1.7  mm.  were. 

'<  Larval  goosefish  from  New  England  have  been  described  by  Agassiz  (1882,  p.  280)  and  by  Agassiz  and  Whitman  (1885).  Spec- 
imens from  the  North  Sea  have  been  described  by  Bowman  (Fishery  Board  for  Scotland,  Scientific  Investigations,  1919  (1920), 
No.  II,  pp.  1-42,  Pis.  I-VI,  2  charts),  while  a  Nova  Scotianeiample  was  described  by  Coimolly  (1922),  and  others  from  the  Adriatic 
by  Stiasny  (.irbeit,  Zoologische  Institute  Vienna,  vol.  19, 1911,  p.  71). 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE 


531 


stage  by  Agassiz  (fig.  277)  was  30  mm.  long,  and  one  much  like  it  taken  off  Brazil 
Rock  and  described  by  Connolly  was  27  mm.  in  length,  but  according  to  Stiasny 
this  state  is  attained  in' the  Mediterranean  by  larvae  only  13  to  18  nim.  long.  In 
later  stages  described  by  hun  from  the  Adriatic  the  foremost   dorsal  ray  becomes 


Fio.  274.— Egg.    After  .Vgassiz 


Fzo.  276.— Older  larva.    After  Agaissiz 


Fig.  275.— Newly  hatched  larva.    After  .\gassiz 


Fio.  277.— Larva,  30  millimeters.    After  Agassiz 


Fig.  278.— Larva  (Mediterranean),  50  millimeters.    After  Stiasny 
ANGLER  (.Lophius  piscalorius) 

bristlelike  and  the  flap  appears  at  its  tip,  the  last  three  of  the  free  rays  on  the  nape 
join  together  as  the  future  first  dorsal  fin,  lappets  of  skin  appear  around  the  margin  of 
the  lower  jaw  and  along  the  cheeks,  the  head  broadens  and  becomes  depressed,  and 
the  lower  jaw  projects  further,  while  the  young  fish  are  still  pelagic  with  enormous 
pectoral  fins  and  threadlike  ventrals  (fig.  278) . 


532  BULLETIN   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEKIES 

The  largest  free-swimming  larva  seen  by  Stiasny  was  50  mm.  long.  Probably 
the  young  take  to  the  ground  shortly  after  this  stage,  for  Bowman''  describes 
fry  of  65  mm.,  trawled  on  the  bottom,  as  of  adult  form  in  most  respects  except  that 
the  pectorals  were  proportionately  larger.  To  attain  this  state  entails  a  growth 
on  the  part  of  the  head  out  of  proportion  to  the  rest  of  the  body,  enlargement 
of  the  mouth,  shrinkage  of  all  fins  (of  the  ventrals  most  of  all),  alteration  of  the 
second  and  third  free  dorsal  rays  into  spines  (they  are  soft  previously) ,  and  a  general 
flattening  of  the  whole  fish.  Young  of  3  inches  taken  at  HaUfax  and  one  of  43^ 
inches  from  Campobello  (both  pictured  by  Connolly)  were  at  about  this  same 
stage  in  development,  but  none  intermediate  between  these  and  fish  fully  adult  in 
form  and  upwards  of  8  to  10  inches  long  seem  to  have  been  reported  from  the  Gulf. 

Commercial  importance.- — Goosefish  are  taken  chiefly  by  otter  trawls  and 
line  trawls  but  occasionally  on  hand  lines  and  in  traps  and  pound  nets.  Up  to 
the  present  time  no  regular  commercial  use  has  been  made  of  the  goosefish  in  Amer- 
ica, but  in  spite  of  the  hideous  appearance  of  its  head  (which  should,  of  coiu-se, 
be  cut  off  and  thrown  away)  it  is  an  excellent  food  fish,  white-meated,  free  of  bones, 
and  of  pleasant  flavor,  as  Doctor  Connolly  assures  us  from  personal  experience. 
It  is  regularly  marketed  in  northern  Europe.  English  and  Scotch  vessels,  for 
example,  landed  nearly  3,000,000  povmds  from  the  North  Sea  in  1904,  valued  in 
England  at  about  1 J^  cents  per  pound,  as  compared  with  about  2J^  cents  for  cod. 

"  Fishery  Board  for  Scotland,  Scientific  Investigations,  1919  (1920),  No.  II,  pp.  1-42,  Pis.  I-VI,  2  charts. 


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533 


534  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHEEIES 

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1906.  Food  of  dogfishes.     Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Fisheries   for  1905  (1906),  pp. 

24-25.     Washington. 

1907.  Notes  on  important  fisheries.     Report  of    the    Commissioner   of    Fisheries   for    1906 

(1907),  pp.   16-19.     Bureau  of  Fisheries  Document  No.  608.     Washington. 
Bryant,  Henry. 

1842.     [Sunfish  off'  Massachusetts.]     Proceedings,  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  Vol. 
I,  1841-44  (1844),  p.  93.     Boston. 
BuMPtJS,  Hermon  C. 

1899.     The  reappearance  of  the  tilefish.     Bulletin,   United  States  Fish  Commission,   Vol. 
XVIII,  1898  (1899),  pp.  321-333.     Washington. 
Cabot,  Samuel. 

1846.     [Abundance  of  horse  mackerel  {Temnodon  sallaior)  in  Beverly  Harbor.]    Proceedings, 

Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  II,  1845-48,  p.  179.     Boston. 
1849.     [Capture  of  a  nurse  or  sleeper  shark,  Somniosus  brei'ipinna,  at  Nahant.]     Proceedings, 
Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  Ill,  1848-51  (1851),  p.  97.     Boston. 
Canada.     Department  of  Marine  and  Fisheries. 

1896-1914.     Fisheries.     Fishery  Inspectors'  Reports,  in  Annual  Reports  No.  29,  1896  (1897), 
to  No.  47,  1913-14.     Ottawa. 
Canada.     Fisheries  Branch,  Department  of  the  Naval  Service. 

1915-1917.     Fishery  Inspectors'  Reports,  in  Annual  Reports   No.  48,  1914-15,  to  No.  50, 
1916-17.     Ottawa. 
Canada.     Dominion  Bureau  of  Statistics. 

1919-1921.     Fisheries  statistics  for  1917-1920.     Ottawa. 
Canada.     Fisheries  Branch  of  the  Department  of  Marine  and  Fisheries. 

1922.     Fisheries  statistics  for  1921.     Fifty-fifth  Annual  Report,  1921-22.     Ottawa. 
Clark,  A.  Howard. 

1884.     Notes  on  the  fisheries  of  Gloucester,  Mass.     Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commis- 
sion, Vol.  IV,  1884,  pp.  401-410.     Washington. 

1886.  Notes  on  the  New  England  fishery  for  swordfish  during  the  season  of  1884.     Report 

of  the  Commissioner,  U.   S.   Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XII,   1884 
(1886),  pp.  233-239.     Washington. 

1887.  The  fisheries  of  Massachusetts  [in  1880].     In  The  Fisheries  and  Fishery  Industries 

of  the  United  States,  by  George  Brown  Goode  and  associates,  Section  II,  pp.  113- 
280.     Washington. 
lS87a.  Historical  references  to  the  fisheries  of  New  England.     Ibid.     Appendix,  pp.  675-737. 
Washington. 


536  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Clemens,  Wilbert  A. 

1920.  Histories  of  new  food  fishes.     IV.  The  muttonfish.     Bulletin  of  the  Biological  Board 

of  Canada,  No.  4,  1920,  12  pp.     Ottawa. 

1921.  Contribution  to  the  biology  of  the  muttonfish  (Zoarces  anguillaris).     Contributions 

to  Canadian  Biology,  1918-20  (1921),  pp.  69-83,  1  pi.     Ottawa. 
Collins,  Joseph  W. 

1883.  Appearance  of  dogfish  {Squalus  acanthias)  on  the  New  England  coast  in  winter.     Bul- 

letin, United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  II,  1882  (1883),  p.  8.     Washington. 
1883a.  Shad  taken  in  mackerel  gill  nets.     Ibid.,  p.  95.     Washington. 
1883b.  Notes  on  the  movements,  habits,  and  captures  of  mackerel  for  the  season  of  1882. 

Ibid.,  pp.  273-285.     Washington. 
1883c.   Notes  on  the  herring  fishery  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in  the  autumn  of  1882.     Ibid.,  pp. 

287-290.     Washington. 

1884.  Movements  of  mackerel  in  winter.  Ibid.,  Vol.  IV,  1884,  p.  15.  Washington. 
1884a.  Note  on  the  destruction  of  mackerel  by  dogfish.  Ibid.,  p.  248.  Washington. 
1884b.  History  of  the  tilefish.     Report  of  the  Commissioner,  U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and 

Fisheries,  Part  X,  1882  (1884),  pp.  237-294a,  Pis.  I-II.     Washington. 

1885.  Unusual  abundance  of  cod  on  Browns  Bank.     Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commis- 

sion, Vol.  V,  1885,  p.  234.     Washington. 
1892.     Statistical  review  of  the  coast  fisheries  of  the  United  States.     III. — Fisheries  of  the 
New  England  States  [1887  and  1888].     Report  of  the  Commissioner,  U.  S.  Commis- 
sion of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XVI,  1888  (1892),  pp.  286-322.     Washington. 
Collins,  Joseph  W.,  and  Richard  R.^thbdn. 

1887.     The  sea  fishing-grounds  of  the  eastern  coast  of  North  America  from  Greenland  to 
Mexico.     In  The  Fisheries  and  Fishery  Industries  of  the  United  States,  by  George 
Brown  Goode  and  associates.  Section  III,  1887,  pp.  5-78,  11  charts.     Washington. 
Collins,  Joseph  W.,  and  Hugh  M.  Smith. 

1892.  Report  on  the  fisheries  of  the  New  England  States.     Bulletin,  United  States  Fish 

Commission,  Vol.  X,  1890  (1892),  pp.  73-176.     Washington. 
Connolly,  C.  J. 

1920.     Histories  of  new  food  fishes.     III.     The  angler.     Bulletin  of  the  Biological  Board  of 
Canada,  No.  3,  1920,  17  pp.     Ottawa. 

1922.  On  the  development  of  the  angler  {Lophius  piscatorius  L).     Contributions  to  Canadian 

Biology,  1921  (1922),  No.  VII,  pp.  113-124.     Ottawa. 
Cox,  Philip. 

1893.  Observations  on  the  distribution  and  habits  of  some  New  Brunswick  fishes.     Bulletin, 

Natural  History  Society  of  New  Brunswick,  No.  XI,  pp.  33-42.     St.  John,  N.  B. 

1895.  History  and  present  state  of  the  ichthyology  of  New  Brunswick.     Ibid.,  No.  XIII, 

pp.  27-61.     St.  John,  N.  B. 
1895a.  Catalogue  of  the  marine  and  fresh-water  fishes  of  New  Brunswick.     Ibid.,  No.  XIII, 
pp.  62-75.     St.  John,  N.  B. 

1896.  Report  on  zoology.     Ibid.,  No.  XIV,  Appendix,  p.  55.     St.  Johns,  N.  B. 

1920.     Histories  of  new  food  fishes.     II.  The  lumpfish.     Bulletin  of  the  Biological  Board  of 
Canada,  No.  2,  March,  1920,  28  pp.     Ottawa. 
Cox,  Philip,  and  Marian  Anderson. 

1922.     A  study  of  the  lumpfish  (Cyclopterus  lumpus  L).     Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology, 
New  Series,  Vol.  1,  No.  1,  1922,  pp.  1-20.     University  of  Toronto  Press. 
Craigie,  E.  Horne. 

1916.     The  life  history  of  the  hake  {Urophycis  chuss  GiU)    as   determined  from  its   scales. 
Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology,  1914-15  (1916).     Supplement  to  the  5th  Annual 
Report,  Department  of  Naval  Service,  Fisheries  Branch  [Canada],  pp.  87-94. 
Crittenden,  A.  R. 

1884.     Catching  alewives  with  hooks  baited  with  eels.     Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Com- 
mission, Vol.  IV,  1884,  pp.  255-256.     Washington. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF    OF   MAINE  537 

Dean,  Bashford. 

1900.  The  egg  of  the  hagfish,  Mijxine  glutinosa.  Memoirs,  New  York  Academy  of  Sciences, 
Vol.  II,  Part  II,  1900,  Article  II,  pp.  33-46,  PI.  II.     New  York. 

DE    BrOCA,    p. 

1876.     The  halibut  fishery  of  the  United  States.     Report  of  the  CommLssioner,  U.  S.  Com- 
mission of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  III,  1873-74  and  1874-75  (1876),  pp.   169-171. 
Washington. 
Department  of  Marine  and  Fisheries  [of  Canada],  Fisheries  Branch. 

1897-1914.     [Statistics   of    the   fisheries   of    New   Brunswick   and    Nova   Scotia.]     Annual 
Reports  Nos.  29  to  47,  1896  (1897)  to  1913-14  (1914).     Ottawa. 
Department  of  the  Naval  Service  [of  Canada],  Fisheries  Branch. 

1915-1918.     [Statistics   of   the    fisheries   of    New    Brunswick   and    Nova   Scotia.]     Annual 
Reports  Nos.  48  to  51,  1914-15  (1915)  to  1916-17  (1918).     Ottawa. 
Dominion  [of  Canada]  Bureau  of  Statistics. 

1919-1920.     [Statistics   of  the   fisheries   of   New   Brunswick   and   Nova   Scotia.]     Fisheries 
statistics,  1917  (1919)  to  1919  (1920).     Ottawa. 
Dominion  [of  Canada]  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Fisheries  Division. 

1921-1922.     [Statistics   of  the   fisheries  of   New   Brunswick   and    Nova   Scotia.]     Fisheries 
statistics,  1920  (1921)  to  1921  (1922).     Ottawa. 
Dresslar,  Fletcher  B.,  and  Bert  Fesler. 

1889.     A  review  of  the  mackerels  (Scombrinae)  of  America  and  Europe.     Bulletin,  United 
States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  VII,  1887  (1889),  pp.  429-446,  Pis.  I-XI.     Wash- 
ington. 
Duff,  Dorotht. 

1916.     Investigation  of  the  haddock  fishery,  with  special  reference  to  the  growth  and  maturity 
of  the  haddock  (if eZanojrammus  xglifinus).     Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology, 
1914-15  (1916).     Supplement  to  the   5th  Annual  Report,   Department  of   Naval 
Service,  Fisheries  Branch  [Canada],  pp.  95-102. 
Earll,  R.  Edward. 

1880.     A  report  on  the  history  and  present  condition  of  the  shore  cod  fisheries  of  Cape  Ann, 
Mass.,  together  with  notes  on  the  natural  history  and  artificial  propagation  of  the 
species.     Report  of  the  Commissioner,  U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries, 
Part  VI,  1878  (1880),  pp.  685-740.     Washington. 
1887.     The  coast  of  Maine  and  its  fisheries  [in  1880].     In  The  Fisheries  and  Fishery  Industries 
of  the  United  States,  by  George  Brown  Goode  and  associates.  Section  II,  Part  I, 
pp.  5-102.     Washington. 
1887a.  The  herring  fishery  and  the  sardine  industry.     In  The  Fisheries  and  Fisliery  Industries 
of  the  United  States,  by  George  Brown  Goode  and  associates.  Section  V,  Vol.  I, 
Part  VI,  pp.  417-524.     Washington. 
Eaton,  Cyrus. 

1851.     Annals  of  the  town  of  Warren,  in  Knox  County,  Maine,  with  the  early  history  of 
St.  George's,  Broad  Bay,  and  the  neighboring  settlements  on  the  Waldo  Patent. 
Second  edition,  1877,  679  pp.     Hallowell,  Me. 
Eigenmann,  Carl  H. 

1902.     The  egg  and  development  of  the  conger  eel.     Bulletin,   United  States  Fish  Com- 
mission, Vol.  XXI,  1901  (1902),  pp.  37-44,  figs.  1-15.     Washington. 
Eigenmann,  Carl  H.,  and  Clarence  Hamilton  Kennedy. 

1902.     The  Leptocephalus  of  the  American  eel  and  other  American  Leptocephah.     Ibid., 
pp.  81-92,  14  figs.     Washington. 
Evermann,  Barton  Warren. 

1905.  Report  of  the  division  of  statistics  and  methods  of  the  fisheries.  Report  of  the 
Commissioner,  U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XXIX,  1903  (1905). 
(The  salmon  fishery  of  Penobscot  River  and  Bay,  pp.  110-114.)     Washington. 


538  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BTJBEAU   OF   FISHERIES 

EvEBMANN,  Barton  Warren — Continued. 

1905a.  Report  on  inquiry  respecting  food  fishes  and  the  fishing  grounds.     Report  of  the 
Bureau    of    Fisheries,    1904    (1905).     (Investigations    in    Maine,    pp.    102-106.) 
Washington. 
Field,  Irving  A. 

1907.     Unutilized  fishes  and  their  relation  to  the  fishing  industries.     Special  Paper  No.  6, 
Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Fisheries  for  1906   (1907).     Bureau  of  Fisheries 
Document  No.  622,  50  pp.     Washington. 
Foster,  N.  W.,  and  Charles  G.  Atkins. 

1869.     Second  report  of  the  Commissioners  of  Fisheries  of  the  State  of  Maine,  for  1868 
(1869),  39  pp.     Augusta. 
Garman,  Sa.muel  W. 

1874-75.     On  the  skates  (Rajse)  of  the  eastern  coast  of  the  United  States.     Proceedings, 
Boston   Society   of    Natural    History,    Vol.   XVII,   1874-75   (1875),  pp.   170-181. 
Boston. 
1886.     Notes  and  descriptions  taken  from  selachians  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum.     Pro- 
ceedings, U.  S.  National  Museum,  Vol.  VIII,  1885  (1886),  pp.  39-44.     Washington. 
1892.     The  Discoboli,  Cyclopteridae,  Liparopsidae,  and  Liparidas.     Memoirs  of  the  Museum 
of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard  College,  Vol.  XIV,  No.  2,  1892,  96  pp.,  13  plates 
Cambridge. 
1913.     The  Plagiostomata  (sharks,  skates,  and  rays).     Memoirs  of  the  Museum  of  Com- 
parative Zoology  at  Harvard  College,  Vol.  XXXVI,  1913,  515  pp.  and  atlas  of 
77  plates.     Cambridge. 
Gilbert,  Charles  H. 

1913.     Descriptions  of  two  new  fishes  of  the  genus  Triglops  from  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North 
America.     Proceedings,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  vol.  44,  1913,  pp.  465-468,  pi.  64. 
Washington. 
Gill,  Theodore. 

1864.  Catalogue  of  the  North  American  scisenoid  fishes.     Proceedings,  Academy  of  Natural 

Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  1863  (1864),  pp.  28-32.     Philadelphia. 
1864a.  Synopsis  of  the  North  American  gadoid  fishes.     Ibid.,  pp.  229-242.     Philadelphia. 
1864b.  Note  on  some  recent  additions  to  the  ichthyological  fauna  of  Massachusetts.     Ibid., 

pp.  332-333.     Philadelphia. 
1864c.  Note  on  the  family  of  stichseoids.     Ibid.,  1864,  pp.  208-211.     Philadelphia. 
1864d.  Synopsis  of  the  pleuronectoids  of  the  eastern  coast  of  North  America.     Ibid.,  pp.  214- 

224.     Philadelphia. 

1865.  Synopsis  of  the  fishes  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  LawTcnce  and  Bay  of  Fundy.     The  Canadian 

Naturalist  and  Geologist,  New  Series,  Vol.  II,  pp.  244-266.     Montreal. 

1872.  [Note  on  Coitus  grccnlandicus  Fabr.]     Proceedings,  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of 

Philadelphia,  1872,  pp.  213-214.     Philadelphia. 

1873.  On   a  new   American   species   of   Pleuronectoid    {Glypiocephalus   acadianus).     Ibid., 

1873,  pp.  360-362.     Philadelphia. 
1873a.  Catalogue  of  the  fishes  of  the  east  coast  of  North  America.     Report  of  the  Com- 
missioner, U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,   Part  I,  1871-72  (1873),  pp. 

779-822.     Washington. 
1905.     The   sculpin  and  its  habits.     Smithsonian   Miscellaneous   Collections,   Vol.   XLVII 

(Quarterly  Issue,  Vol.  II),  1905,  pp.  348-359,  figs.  45-55.     Washington. 
1905a.  The  life  history  of  the  angler.     Zbirf.,  pp.  500-516,  figs.  94-103,  Pis.  LXXIII-LXXV. 

Washington. 
1905b.  State  ichthyology  of  Massachusetts.    Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  1904  (1905), 

pp.  163-188.     Washington. 
1911.     Notes  on  the  structure  and   habits  of  the  wolflSshes.     Proceedings,  U.  S.  National 

Museum,  vol.  39,  1911,  pp.  157-187,  pis.  17-28.     Washington. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  539 

GiRARD,  [C.  F.] 

1850.     On  the  genus  Cottus  Auct.    Proceedings,  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  Ill, 
1848-51  (1851),  pp.  183-190.     Boston. 
GooDE,  George  Brown. 

1875.     Albino  fishes.     The  American  Naturalist,  Vol.  IX,  1875,  p.  517.    Salem. 

1879.  The  occurrence  of  Hippocampus  anliquorum,  or  an  allied  form,  on  Saint  George's 
Banks.  Proceedings,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  Vol.  I,  1878  (1879),  pp.  45-46. 
Washington. 

1879a.  The  natural  and  economical  history  of  the  American  menhaden.  Report  of  the  Com- 
missioner, U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  V,  1877  (1879),  pp.  1-529, 
Pis.  I-XXXI.     Washington. 

1882.  The  carangoid  fishes  of  the  United  States — pompanoes,  crevall^s,  amber-fish,  etc. 

Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  I,  1881  (1882),  pp.  30-43.     Wash- 
ington. 

1883.  Materials  for  a  history  of  the  swordfish.     Report  of  the  Commissioner,  U.  S.  Com- 

mission of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  VIII,  1880  (1883),  pp.  289-394,  Pis.  I-XXIV. 
Washington. 
1885.     A  brief  biography  of  the  halibut.     The  American  Naturalist,  Vol.  XIX,  1885,  pp. 
953-969.     Philadelphia. 

1887.  The  swordfish  fishery.    In  The  Fisheries  and  Fishery  Industries  of  the  United  States, 

by  George  Brown  Goode  and  associates.  Section  V,  Vol.  I,  Part  IV,  pp.  315-326. 
Washington. 

1888.  American  fishes.    A  popular  treatise  upon  the  game  and  food  fishes  of  North  America, 

with  especial  reference  to  habits  and  methods  of  capture,    xv,  496  pp.,  iUus.    New 

York. 
Goode,  George  Brown,  and  Tarleton  H.  Bean. 

1877.     Descriptions  of  two  new  species  of  fishes   (Macrurus  bairdii  and  Lycodes  verrillii) 

recently  discovered  by  the  U.  S.  Fish  Commission,  with  notes  on  the  occurrence  of 

several  unusual  forms.     American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts,  Third  series,  Vol. 

XIV,  Dec,  1877,  pp.  470-478.     New  Haven. 
1879.     A  list  of  the  fishes  of  Essex  County,  including  those  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  according 

to  the  latest  results  of  the  work  of  the  U.  S.  Fish  Commission.     Bulletin,  Essex 

Institute,  Vol.  XI,  pp.  1-38.     Salem. 
1879a.  The  Craig  flounder  of  Europe,   Glyptocephalus  cynoglossus,  on  the  coast  of  North 

America.     Proceedings,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  Vol.  I,  1878  (1879),  pp.  19-23. 

Washington. 
1879b.  The  oceanic  bonito  on  the  coast  of  the  United  States.    Ibid.,  pp.  24-26.    Washington. 
1879c.   Descriptions  of  two  gadoid  fishes,  Phycis  chesteri  and  Haloporphyrus  viola,  from  the 

deep-sea  fauna  of  the  northwestern  Atlantic.    Ibid.,  pp.  256-260.     Washington. 
1879d.  The  identity  of  Rhinonemus  caudacuta  (Storer)  GiU  with  Gadus  cimbrius  Linn.    Ibid., 

pp.  348-349.     Washington. 
1879e.   Note  on  Platessa  ferruginea,  D.  H.  Storer,  and  Platessa  rostrata,  H.  R.  Storer.    Ibid., 

pp.  361-362.     Washington. 
1879f.    On  the  identity  of  Brosmius  americanus.  Gill,  with  Brosmius  brosme  (MuUer)  White. 

Ibid.,  pp.  362-363.     Washington. 
1879g.  Discoveries  of  the  United  States  Fish  Commission:    Notices  of  fifty  species  of  east- 
coast  fishes,  many  of  which  are  new  to  the  fauna.     American  Journal  of  Science 

and  Arts,  Third  series,  Vol.  XVII,  1879,  pp.  39-48.     New  Haven. 
1883.     Reports  on  the  results  of  dredging  under  the  supervision  of  Alexander  Agassiz,  on  the 

east  coast  of  the  United  States,  during  the  summer  of  1880,  by  the  U.  S.  Coast 

Survey  steamer  "  Blake,"  Commander  J.  R.  Bartlett,  U.  S.  N.,  commanding.    XIX. 

Report  on  the  fishes.    Bulletin  of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard 

CoUege,  Vol.  X,  1882-83  (1883),  pp.  183-226.     Cambridge. 


540  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

GooDE,  George  Brown,  and  Tarleton  H.  Bean — Continued. 

1886.  Description  of  Leptophidium  cervinum  and  L.  mannoraium,  new  fishes  from  deep 

water  off  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts.  Proceedings,  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
Vol.  VIII,  1SS5  (1886),  pp.  422-424.  Washington. 
1896.  Oceanic  ichthyology.  A  treatise  on  the  deep-sea  and  pelagic  fishes  of  the  world,  based 
chiefly  upon  the  collections  made  by  the  steamers  "Blake,"  "Albatross,"  and 
"Fish  Hawk"  in  the  northwestern  Atlantic,  with  an  atlas  containing  417  figures. 
Memoirs  of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Harvard  College,  Vol.  XXII, 
1896,  XXXV,  553  pp.  Cambridge.  Also  as  Smithsonian  Contributions  to  Knowledge, 
Vol.  XXX,  1895  (1896),  and  as  Special  Bulletin  No.  2,  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
1895  [issued  June,  1896].  Washington. 
GooDE,  George  Brown,  and  A.  Howard  Clark. 

1887.  The  menhaden  fisher.v.    In  The  Fisheries  and  Fishery  Industries  of  the  United  States, 

by  George  Brown  Goode  and  associates.  Section  V,  Vol.  I,  Part  V,  pp.  327-415. 
Washington. 
Goode,  George  Brown,  and  Joseph  W.  Collins. 

1882.  The  winter  haddock  fishery  of  New  England.     Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Com- 

mission, Vol.  I,  1881  (1882),  pp.  226-235.     Washington. 
1887.     The  fresh-halibut  fishery.     In  The  Fisheries  and  Fishery  Industries  of  the  United 

States,  by  George  Brown  Goode  and  associates,  Section  V,  Vol.  I,  Part  I,  pp.  3-89- 

Washington. 
1887a.  The  George's  Bank  cod  fishery.    Ibid.,  Part  II,  pp.  187-198.     Washington. 
1887b.  Haddock  fishery  of  New  England.    Ihid.,  pp.  234-241.     Washington. 
1887c.   The  hake  fishery.     Ibid.,  pp.  241-243.     Washington. 

1887d.  The  mackerel  fishery  of  the  United  States.    Ihid.,  Part  III,  pp.  247-313.    Washington. 
GooDE,  George  Brown,  Joseph  W.  Collins,  R.  E.  Earll,  and  A.  Howard  Clark. 

1884.     Materials  for  a  history  of  the  mackerel  fisher^'.     Report  of  the  Commissioner,  U.  S. 

Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  IX,  1881  (1884),  pp.  91-531,  1  fold,  chart. 

Washington. 
GooDE,  George  Brown,  and  others. 

1884.     The  food  fishes  of  the  United  States.     In  The  Fisheries  and  Fishery  Industries  of  the 

United  States,  by  George  Brown  Goode  and  associates.  Section  I  (text),  Part  III, 

pp.  163-682,  and  Section  I  (plates),  pis.  35-252.     Washington. 
Grant,  Isaac  H. 

1883.  Movements  of  menhaden — catch  of  herring.     Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission, 

Vol.  Ill,  1883,  p.  470.     Washington. 
GtJNTHER,  Albert. 

1862.     Catalogue  of  the  fishes  in  the  British  Museum.     Volume  Fourth,  xxi,  534  pp.,  1862. 
London. 
Halkett,  Andrew. 

1913.     Check  list  of  the  fishes  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  and  Newfoundland.     138  pp.,  pis. 
I-XIV,  1913.     Ottawa. 
Hall,  Anslet. 

1898.     The  herring  industry  of  the  Passamaquoddy  region,  Maine.     Report  of  the  Commis- 
sioner, U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XXII,  1896  (1898),  pp.  443- 
487.     Washington. 
Hanna,  S.  W. 

1883.     Description  of  an  eel-like  creature  taken  in  a  net  at  New  Harbor,  Maine,  in  1880. 
Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  Ill,  1883,  pp.  407-410,  1  fig.     Wash- 
ington. 
Haskell,  E.  H. 

1883.  Second  annual  appearance  of  young  cod  hatched  by  the  United  States  Fish  Commis- 
sion in  Gloucester  Harbor  in  the  winter  of  1879-80.  Bulletin,  United  States  Fish 
Commission,  Vol.  II,  1882  (1883),  p.  112.     Washington. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  541 

Holmes,  Ezekiel. 

1862.  Report  on  the  fishes  of  Maine,  including  some  of  the  elementary  principles  of  ichthy- 
ology. Second  Annual  Report  upon  the  Natural  History  and  Geology  of  the  State 
of  Maine,  Part  I,  1862,  pp.  11-119! 

Huntsman,  A.  G. 

1918.  Histories  of  new  food  fishes.     I.  The  Canadian  plaice.     Bulletin  of  the  Biological 

Board  of  Canada  No.  1,  March,  1918,  32  pp.     Toronto. 
1918a.  The  effect  of  the  tide  on  the  distribution  of  the  fishes  of  the  Canadian  Atlantic  coast. 

Transactions,  Royal  Society  of  Canada,  Series  III,  Vol.  XII,  Section  IV,  1918, 

pp.  61-67.     Ottawa. 
1918b.  The  growth  of  the  scales  in  fishes.     Transactions,  Royal  Canadian  Institute,  Vol.  12, 

pp.  61-101.     Toronto. 
1918c.   Our  eastern  flat-fishes.     Canadian  Fisherman,  June,  1918,  Vol.  V,  No.  6,  pp.  788-790. 

Montreal. 

1919.  Growth  of  the  young  herring  (so-called  sardines)  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy.     Canadian 

Fisheries  Expedition,  1914-15  (1919),  Department  of  the  Naval  Service  [Canada], 
pp.  165-171.     Ottawa. 
1922.     Is  winter  mackerel  fishery  possible?     Canadian   Fisherman,    May,    1922,   Vol.   IX, 

No.  5,  pp.  88-89.     Montreal. 
1922a.  The  fishes  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy.     Contributions  to  Canadian   Biology,  1921  (1922), 
No.  Ill,  pp.  49-72.     Ottawa. 
Jackson,  C.  T. 

1852.     [Capture  of  a  basking  shark  off  St.  John,  New  Brunswick.]     Proceedings,  Boston 

Society  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  IV,  1851-54  (1854),  pp.  202-205.     Boston. 
1852a.  [Capture  of  a  thresher  shark  in  Boston  Harbor.]     Ibid.,  pp.  205-206.     Boston. 
Jackson,  J.  B.  S. 

1847.     Bluefish  at  Nahant,  Mass.     Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  1845-48  (1848),  p.  248.     Boston. 
Jones,  J.  Matthew. 

1879.     List  of  the  fishes  of  Nova  Scotia.     Proceedings  and  Transactions  of  the  Nova  Scotian 
Institute  of  Natural  Science,  Vol.  V,  Part  I,  1879,  pp.  87-97.     Halifax. 
Jordan,  David  Starr. 

1891.  A  review  of  the  labroid  fishes  of  America  and  Europe.     Report  of  the  Commissioner, 

U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XV,  1887  (1891),  pp.  599-699,  Pis. 
I-XI.     Washington. 
Jordan,  David  Starr,  and  Bradley  Moore  Davis. 

1892.  A  preliminary  review  of  the  apodal  fishes  or  eels  inhabiting  the  waters  of  America  and 

Europe.     Report  of  the  Commissioner,  U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries, 
Part  XVI,  1888  (1892),  pp.  581-677,  Pis.  LXXIII-LXXX.     Washington. 

Jordan,  David  Starr,  and  Charles  L.  Edwards. 

1887.  A  review  of  the  American  species  of  Tetraodontidffi.  Proceedings,  U.  S.  National 
Museum,  Vol.  IX,  1886  (1887),  pp.  230-247.     Washington. 

Jordan,  David  Starr,  and  Carl  H.  Eigenmann. 

1889.  A  review  of  the  Sciaenidje  of  America  and  Europe.     Report  of  the  Commissioner, 

U.  S.   Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,   Part  XIV,   1886   (1889),  pp.  343-451, 
Pis.  I-IV.     Washington. 

1890.  A  review  of  the  genera   and  species  of   Serranidse  found  in  the  waters  of  America 

and  Europe.     Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  VIII,  1888  (1890), 

pp.  329-441,  Pis.  LX-LXIX.     Washington. 
Jordan,  David  Starr,  and  Barton  Warren  Evermann. 

1896.     A  check-list  of  the  fishes  and  fish-like  vertebrates  of  north  and  middle  America. 

Report  of  the  Commissioner,  U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XXI, 

1895  (1896),  pp.  207-584.     Washington. 
1896-1900.     The  fishes  of  North  and  Middle  America.     Bulletin,  U.  S.  National  Museum, 

No.  47,  Parts  I-IV,  3313  pp.,  392  pis.     Washington. 


542  BULLETIN    OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Jordan,  David  Starr,  and  Charles  H.  Gilbert. 

1S82.  Synopsis  of  the  fishes  of  North  America.  Bulletin,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  No.  16, 
1882,  Ivii,  1018  pp.     Washington. 

1884.     A  review  of  the  American  Caranginae.     Proceedings,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  Vol. 
VI,  1883  (1884),  pp.  188-207.     Washington. 
Jordan,  David  Starr,  and  David  Kop  Goss. 

1889.     A  review  of  the  flounders  and  soles  (Pleuronectidse)  of  America  and  Europe.     Report 
of  the  Commissioner,  U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XIV,  1886 
(1889),  pp.  225-342,  Pis.  I-IX.     Washington. 
Jordan,  David  Starr,  and  Elizabeth  G.  Hughes. 

1887.     A  review  of  the  species  of  the  genus  Prionotus.     Proceedings,  U.  S.  National  Museum, 
Vol.  IX,  1886  (1887),  pp.  327-338.     Washington. 
JossELYN,  John. 

1672.  New  England  rarities  discovered  in  birds,  beasts,  fishes,  serpents,  and  plants  of  that 
country.  Printed  for  G.  Widdowes  at  the  Green  Dragon  in  St.  Paul's  Church- 
yard, 1672,  London.  [Fishes,  p.  23.]  Second  edition,  1675,  London.  Reprint  of 
first  edition,  edited  by  Edward  Tuckerman,  in  "The  Transactions  of  the  American 
Antiquarian  Society",  Vol.  IV.  pp.  105-238.  Another  reprint  by  Edward  Tucker- 
man, 1865,  134  pp.,  Boston.     [Fishes,  pp.  53-61.] 

1674.  An  account  of  two  voyages  to  New  England.  Printed  for  GOes  Widdowes  at  the 
Green  Dragon  in  St.  Paul's  Churchyard,  1674,  London.  [Fishes,  pp.  103-115.] 
Second  edition,  1675,  London.  Reprint  of  second  edition  in  Massachusetts  His- 
torical Society  CoUections,  Series  3,  Vol.  3,  1833,  pp.  211-396.  [Fishes,  pp.  271- 
277.]  Another  reprint  by  William  Veazie,  1865,  vii,  211  pp.,  Boston.  [Fishes, 
pp.  83-89.] 
Kendall,  William  Converse. 

1896.  Description  of  a  new  stickleback,  Gasierosieus  gladiuncidus,  from  the  coast  of  Maine. 
Proceedings,  U.  S.  National  Museum,  Vol.  XVIII,  1895  (1896),  pp.  623-624. 
Washington. 

1898.  Notes  on  the  food  of  four  species  of  the  cod  family.  Report  of  the  Commissioner, 
U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XXII,  1896  (1898),  pp.  177-186. 
Washington. 

1902.  Notes  on  the  silversides  of  the  genus  Menidia  of  the  east  coast  of  the  United  States, 
with  descriptions  of  two  new  subspecies.  Report  of  the  Commissioner,  U.  S. 
Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XXVII,  1901  (1902),  pp.  241-267.  Wash- 
ington. 

1908.  Fauna  of  New  England.  8.  List  of  the  Pisces.  Occasional  Papers,  Boston  Society 
of  Natural  History,  Vol.  VII,  No.  8,  April,  1908,  152  pp.     Boston. 

1910.  Effects  of  the  menhaden  and  mackerel  fisheries  upon  the  fish  supply.  In  Proceed- 
ings of  the  Fourth  International  Fishery  Congress:  Organization  and  Sessional 
Business,  Papers  and  Discussions.  Bulletin,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol. 
XXVIII,  1908  (1910),  Part  1,  pp.  279-293.     Washington. 

1912.  Notes  on  a  new  species  of  flatfish  from  off  the  coast  of  New  England.  Bulletin, 
Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol.  XXX,  1910  (1912),  pp.  391-394,  PI.  LVII.     Washington. 

1914.  An  annotated  catalogue  of  the  fishes  of  Maine.  Proceedings,  Portland  Society  of 
Natural  History,  Vol.  Ill,  1914,  Part  1,  pp.  1-198.     Portland. 

1917.  The  capelin  {Mallotus  villosus),  with  notes  on  its  occurrence  on  the  coast  of  Maine. 
Copeia,  No.  42,  Apr.  24,  1917,  pp.  28-30.     New  York. 

1919.     Second  authentic  record  of  capehn  {Mallotus  villosus)  on  the  Maine  coast.     Copeia, 
No.  73,  Sept.  25,  1919,  pp.  70-71.     New  York. 
KiNGSLEY,  J.  S.,  and  H.  W.  Conn. 

1883.  Some  observations  on  the  embryology  of  the  teleosts.  Memoirs,  Boston  Society  of 
Natural  History,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  VI,  .A.pril,  1883,  pp.  183-212,  pi.  xiv-xvi.     Boston. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  543 

Kneeland,  S.,  Jr. 

1847.     Dissection  of  Scymnus  brevipinna  (Lesueur).     Boston  Journal  of  Natural  History, 
Vol.  V,  1845-7,  No.  IV,  pp.  479-485.     Boston. 
Knight,  Thomas  F. 

1867.     Shore  and  deep-sea  fisheries  of  Nova  Scotia,     vi,  113  pp.,  1867.     Halifax. 
KuNTZ,  Albert,  and  Lewis  Radcliffe. 

1918.     Notes  on  the  embryology  and  larval  development  of  twelve  teleostean  fishes.     Bul- 
letin, U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol.  XXXV,  1915-16  (1918),  pp.  87-134.     Wash- 
ington. 
Laiqhton,  Cedric. 

1882.     The  capture  of  shad  at  Isles  of  Shoals,  New  Hampshire.     Bulletin,  United  States 
Fish  Commission,  Vol.  I,  1881  (1882),  p.  421.     Washington. 
Lanman,  Charles. 

1874.     The  Salmonidse  of  eastern  Maine,  New  Brunswick,  and  Nova  Scotia.     Report  of  the 
Commissioner,  U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  II,  1872-73  (1874), 
pp.  219-225.     Washington. 
1874a.  The  shad  and  gaspereau  or  alewife  of  New  Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia.     Ibid.,  pp. 
461-462.     Washington. 
Lee,  L.  a. 

1880.     Occurrence  of  the  web-fingered  sea-robin  on  the  coast  of   Maine.     The  American 

NaturaHst,  Vol.  XIV,  1880,  p.  896.     Philadelphia. 
1885.     The  fishes  of  Casco  Bay.     Portland  Advertiser,  March  3,  1885,  and  Brunswick  fele- 
graph,  Friday,  March  13,  1885. 
Le  Sueur,  C.  A. 

1817.  A  short  description  of  five  (supposed)  new  species  of  the  genus  Muraena,  discovered 

by  Mr.  Le  Sueur,  in  the  year  1816.     Journal,  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of 
Philadelphia,  Vol.  I,  Part  I,   1817,  pp.  81-83.     Philadelphia. 
1817a.   Descriptions  of  four  new  species,  and  two  varieties,  of  the  genus  Hydrargira.     Ibid., 
pp.  126-134.     Philadelphia. 

1818.  Descriptions  of  several  new  species  of  North  American  fishes.     Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  Part  II, 

1818,  pp.  222-235.     Philadelphia. 
1821.     Observations  on  several  genera  and  species  of  fish,  belonging  to  the  natural  family  of 

the  Esoces.     Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  Part  I,  1821,  pp.  124-138,  2  pis.     Philadelphia. 
Lyman,  Theodore. 

1859.     [Account  of  the  habits  of  some  animals  recently  observed  by  him  at  West  Yarmouth, 

Mass.]     Proceedings,  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  VII,  1859-61  (1861), 

pp.  75-79.     Boston. 
Ltman,  Theodore,  and  Alf.  A.  Reed. 

1866.     [Concerning  the  obstructions  to  the  passage  of  fish  in  the  Connecticut  and  Merrimac 

Rivers.]     Report  of  the  Commissioners.     Senate  [Massachusetts]  Document  No. 

8,  Dec,  1865  (1866),  pp.  3-41.     Boston. 
Maddocks,  Luther. 

1878.     The  menhaden  fishery  of  Maine,  with  statistical  and  historical  details,  its  relations  to 

agriculture,  and  as  a  direct  source  of  human  food.     Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the 

Association  of  the  Menhaden  Oil  and  Guano  Manufacturers  of  Maine,  for  1878, 

pp.  1-48,  illus.     Portland. 
Martin,  S.  J. 

1882.     First  appearance  of  fish  at  Gloucester,   1881.     Bulletin,   United  States  Fish  Com- 
mission, Vol.  I,  1881  (1882),  p.  66.     Washington. 
1882a.  Notes  on  New  England  fisheries.     Ibid.,  p.  133.     Washington. 
1882b.  Notes  on  New  England  food-fishes.     Ibid.,  p.  202.     Washington. 
1882c.   Pollock-fishing  in  Boston  Bay.     Ibid.,  p.  342.     Washington. 
1882d.  Notes  on  the  fisheries  of  Gloucester,  Massachusetts.     Ibid.,  pp.  425-427.    Washington. 

102274— 25t 35 


544  BULLETIN    OP   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Martin,  S.  J. — Continued. 

1883.  Movements  and  catch  of  mackerel.     Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  1882  (1883),  pp.  8&-90.     Wash- 

ington. 
1883a.  Notes  on  the  fisheries  of  Gloucester,  Massachusetts.     Ibid.,  pp.  91-93.     Washington. 
1883b.  Notes  on  the  fisheries  of  Gloucester,  Massachusetts.     Ibid.,  Vol.  Ill,  1883,  pp.  162- 

178;  297-300.     Washington. 

1884.  Notes  on  the  fisheries  of  Gloucester,  Mass.     Ibid.,  Vol.  IV,  1884,  pp.  89-96;  249-255; 

444-448.     Washington.  ♦ 

1885.  Notes  on  the  fisheries  of  Gloucester,  Mass.     Ibid.,  Vol.  V,  1885,  pp.  57-62;  203-208. 

Washington. 
Massachusetts  Commissioners  of  Inland  Fiseries. 

1877-86.     [Annual  statistics  of  the  pound  and  shore  seine  fisheries  of  Massachusetts.]    Annual 
Reports  Nos.  11  to  20,  for  1877  to  1885.     Boston. 
Massachusetts  Commissioners  of  Inland  Fisheries  and  Game. 

1887-1902.     [Annual  statistics  of  the  pound  and  shore  seine  fisheries  of  Massachusetts.] 
Annual  Reports  for  1886  to  1901.     Boston. 
Massachusetts  Commissioners  of  Fisheries  and  Game. 

1903-20.     [Annual  statistics  of  the  pound  and  shore  seine  fisheries  of  Massachusetts.]    Annual 
Reports,  1902  to  1906  and  1917  to  1919.     Boston. 
Massachusetts  Division  op  Fisheries  and  Game. 

1921-22.     [Annual  statistics  of  the  pound  and  shore  seine  fisheries  of  Massachusetts.]    Annual 
Reports  for  1920  and  1921.     Boston. 
Mayor,  James  W. 

1918.  On  the  age  and  growth  of  the  pollock  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  Contributions  to  Canadian 
Biology,  1917-18  (1918),  Supplement  to  the  Seventh  Annual  Report,  Department 
of  the  Naval  Service,  Fisheries  Branch  [Canada],  No.  VI,  pp.  111-125.  Ottawa. 
1921.  The  utilization  of  dogfish  and  selachian  fishes  of  eastern  Canada.  Contributions  to 
Canadian  Biology,  1918-20  (1921),  Department  of  the  Naval  Service  [Canada], 
No.  XIII,  pp.  125-133.     Ottawa. 

MiTCHILL,  S.  L. 

1815.     The  fisheries  of  New  York,  described  and  arranged.     Transactions,   Literary  and 
Philosophical  Society  of  New  York,  1815,  Vol.  I,  pp.  355-492,  Pis.  I-VI.     New 
York. 
Moore,  Henry  Frank. 

1898.  Observations  on  the  herring  and  herring  fisheries  of  the  northeast  coast,  with  special 

reference  to  the  vicinity  of  Passamaquoddy  Baj'.     Report  of  the  Commissioner, 
U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XXII,  1896  (1898),  pp.  387-442. 
Washington. 
Moore,  J.  Percy. 

1899.  Report  on  mackerel  investigations  in    1897.     Report  of  the   Commissioner,   U.   S. 

Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XXIV,  1898  (1899) ,  pp.  1-22.     Washington. 

MoBTON,  Thomas. 

1637.  New  English  Canaan;  or  New  Canaan,  containing  an  abstract  of  New  England.  Com- 
posed in  three  bookes.  The  first  setting  forth  the  originall  of  the  natives,  their 
manners  and  customs.  Together  with  their  tractable  nature  and  love  towards  the 
English.  II.  The  natural  indowments  of  the  countrie,  and  what  staple  commodities 
it  yeeldeth.  III.  What  people  are  planted  there,  their  prosperity,  what  remarkable 
accidents  have  happened  since  the  first  planting  of  it;  together  with  their  tenents 
and  practise  of  their  church.  Printed  by  C.  Green,  1632,  125  pp.  1st  edition. 
Printed  at  Amsterdam  by  Jacob  Frederick  Stam,  1637,  188  pp.  Prince  Society 
edition,  1883,  348  pp.,  Boston. 

Teck,  William  D. 

1804.  Description  of  four  remarkable  fishes,  taken  near  the  Piscataqua  in  New  Hampshire. 
Memoirs,  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  Vol.  II,  Part  II,  pp.  46-57. 
pi.  2.     Boston. 


FISHES  OF   THE   GULP   OF   MAINE  545 

Perlet,  M.  H. 

1850.  [Statements  in  relation  to  the  fisheries  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy.]     Proceedings,  Boston 

Society  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  Ill,  1848-51  (1851),  p.  374.     Boston. 

1851.  Report  upon  the  fisheries  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy.     v,  176  pp.,  1851,  Fredericton.     [Pp. 

118-159  reprinted  in  1852  as  "Descriptive  catalogue  (in  part)  of  the  fishes  of  New 
Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia.] 

1852.  Descriptive  catalogue  (in  part)  of  the  fishes  of   New  Brunswiclc  and  Nova  Scotia. 

Second  edition,  50  pp.,  Fredericton.     [Pp.  118-159  of  "Report  upon  the  fisheries 

of  the  Bay  of  Fundy."] 
Prince,  Edward  E. 

1907.     The  eggs  and  early  life-history  of  the  herring,  gaspereau,  shad,  and  other  clupeoids. 

Further  contributions  to  Canadian  Biology,  being  studies  from  the  Marine  Biologi- 
cal Stations  of  Canada,  1902-1905  (1907).     [Supplement]  39th  Annual  Report  of 

the  Department  of  Marine  and  Fisheries,  Fisheries  Branch  [Canada],  pp.  95-110, 

Pis.  VIII-X.     Ottawa. 
1913.     The  pearlsides.     A  luminous  fish  new  to  Canada.     Rod  and  Gun  in  Canada,  Vol.  14, 

No.  11,  pp.  1143-1145,  1  illus.     Woodstocli,    Ont. 
1917.     On  serially  striped  haddock  in  New  Brunswick.     Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology, 

1915-16  (1917).     Supplement,  6th  Annual  Report,  Department  of  Naval  Service, 

Fisheries  Branch  [Canada],  pp.  86-90,  pi.  IX.     Ottawa. 
Prince,  E.  E.,  and  A.  H.  MacKay. 

1901.     The  paired  fins  of  the  mackerel  shark.     Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology,  1901. 

Supplement,  32nd  Annual  Report  of  the  Department  of  Marine  and  Fisheries, 

Fisheries  Branch  [Canada],  pp.  55-58,  Pis.  V-VII.     Ottawa. 
Putnam,  F.  W. 

1856.     [Fishes  of  Essex  County,  Mass.]     Proceedings,  Essex  Institute,  Vol.  I,  1848-56  (1856), 

p.  144.     Salem. 
1856a.  [Fishes  of  Essex  County,  Mass.,  continued.]     Ibid.,  p.  148.     Salem. 
1856b.  [Fishes  of  Essex  County,  Mass.,  third  communication.]     Ibid.,  p.  201.     Salem. 
1864.     [Note  on  the  cod  of  Massachu.setts  waters.]     Proceedings,  Boston  Society  of  Natural 

History,  Vol.  IX,  1862—1863  (1865),  p.  319.     Boston. 
1866.     [Occurrence  of  Leplocephalus  gracilis  at  Nahant,  Mass.,  in  July,  1858.]     Ibid.,  Vol.  X, 

1864-66    (1866),   p.    373.     Boston. 
1866a.  [Description  of   Gasterosteus   wheatlandi,  from    Nahant,  Mass.]     Proceedings,  Essex 

Institute,  Vol.  V,  1866-7  (1866-8),  p.  4.     Salem. 
1870.     [Addition  of  two  species  of  fishes  to  the  fauna  of  Essex  County,  Mass.]     Bulletin, 

Essex  Institute,  Vol.  II,  No.  7,  July,  1870,  p.  HI.     Salem. 
1870a.  [On  a  species  of  Hemiramphus  from  Danvers,  Mass.]     Ibid.,  Nos.  11,  12  Nov.  and 

Dec,   1870,  p.   171.     Salem. 
1870b.  On  the  young  of  Orthagoriscus  mola.     Tlie  American  Naturalist,  Vol.  IV,  1870  (1871), 

pp.  629-633.     Also  in  Proceedings,  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 

Science,  nineteenth  meeting,  held  at  Troy,  N.  Y.,  August,  1870  (1871),  pp.  255-260. 

Cambridge. 
1874.     [Notes  on  several  rare  fishes  from  Essex  County,  Mass.]     Bulletin,  Essex  Institute, 

Vol.  6,  No.  1,  Jan.,  1874,  pp.  11-13.     Salem. 
1874a.  [Chauliodus  sloani  on  George's  Bank.]     Ibid.,  No.  7,  July,  1874,  p.  111.     Salem. 
1874b.  [Liparis  lineatus  and  L.  Montaguii  in  Salem  Harbor,  Mass.]     Proceedings,  Boston 

Society  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  XVI,  1873-4  (1874),  p.  114.     Boston. 
1874c.   Notes  on  the  genus  Myzine.     Ibid.,  pp.  127-135.     Boston. 
1874d.  Notes  on  Liparis,  Cyclopterus  and  tlieir  allies.     Proceedings,  American  Association 

for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  twenty-second  meeting,  held  at  Portland,  Me., 

August,  1873  (1874),  pp.  335-340.     Salem. 


546  BULLETIN    OP   THE   BUREAU   OP   PISHERIES 

Radclifpe,  Lewis. 

1916.     An  extension  of  the  recorded  range  of  three  species  of  fishes  in  New  England  waters. 

Copeia,  No.  26,  January  24,  1916,  pp.  2-3.     New  York. 
1921.     Fisheries  of  the  New  England  States  in  1919.     In  Fisherj'  Industries  of  the  United 
States.     Report  of  the  Division  of  Statistics  and  Methods  of  the  Fisheries  for  1920. 
Appendix  V,   Report  of  the  U.  S.   Commissioner  of  Fisheries,   1921    (1922),  pp. 
120-189.     Washington. 
Rathbun,  R.,  and  W.  Wakeham. 

1897.  Preservation  of  the  fisheries  in  the  waters  contiguous  to  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

Document  No.  315,  U.  S.  House  of  Representatives,  54th  Congress,  2d  session, 
pp.  1-178.     Washington. 
Sharp,  Benjamin. 

1901.  The  food  of  the  cod.     Proceedings,  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia, 

Vol.  LIII,  1901  (1901-2),  p.  2.     Philadelphia. 
Shabp,  Benjamin,  and  Henry  W.  Fowler. 

1904.     The  fishes  of  Nantucket.     Proceedings,  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia. 

Vol.  LVI,  1904  (1904-5),  pp.  504-512.     Philadelphia. 
Sherwood,  George  H.,  and  Vinal  N.  Edwards. 

1902.  Notes  on  the  migration,  spawning,  abundance,  etc.,  of  certain  fishes  in  1900.     Bulletin, 

United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  XXI,  1901  (1902),  pp.  27-31.     Washington. 
Smith,  Everett. 

1883.     A  mammoth  cod.     Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  Ill,  1883,  p.  443. 

Washington. 
1889.  Results  of  planting  shad  in  the  Kennebec  River.     lUd.,  Vol.  VII,  1887  (1889),  p.  16. 
Washington. 
Smith,  Hugh  M. 

1893.     [Eastward  movement  of  menhaden.]     Report  of  the  Commissioner,  U.  S.  Commission 
of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XVII,  1889-91  (1893),  pp.  202-203.     Washington. 

1895.  Notes  on  the  capture  of  Atlantic  salmon  at  sea  and  in  the  coast  waters  of  the  eastern 

States.     Bulletin,    United   States    Fish    Commission,  Vol.  XIV,   1894   (1895),  pp. 
95-99.  Washington. 

1896.  Notes  on  an  investigation  of  the  menhaden  fishery  in  1894,  with  special  reference  to 

the  food-fishes  taken.     Ihid.,  Vol.  XV,  1895  (1896),  pp.  285-302.     Washington. 

1898.  The  fishes  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Woods  Hole.     Ihid.,  Vol.  XVII,  1897  (1898),  pp. 

85-111.     Washington. 
1898a.  The  salmon  fishery  of  Penobscot  Bay  and  River  in  1895  and  1896.     Ibid.,  pp.  113-124, 

PI.  5,  1  map.     Washington. 
1902.     Notes  on  the  tagging  of  four  thousand  adult  cod  at  Woods  Hole,   Massachusetts. 

Report  of  the  Commissioner,  U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XXVII, 

1901  (1902),  pp.  193-208.     Washington. 
Smith,  Hugh  M.,  and  William  C.  Kendall. 

1898.     Notes  on  the  extension  of  the  recorded  range  of  certain  fishes  of  the  United  States 

coasts.     Report  of  the  Commissioner,  U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part 

XXII,  1896  (1898),  pp.  169-176.     Washington. 
Smith,  Jerome  V.  C. 

1833.     A  catalogue  of  the  marine  fishes  taken  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  Massachusetts.     In 

Report  on  the  Geology,  Mineralogy,  Botany,  and  Zoology  of  Massachusetts,  by 

Edward  Hitchcock,  1833,  Part  IV,  pp.  553-554.     Amherst. 
1833a.  Natural  history  of  the  fishes  of  Massachusetts,  embracing  a  practical  essay  on  anghng. 

vii,  400  pp.,  1833.     Boston. 
1835.     A  catalogue  of  the  marine  and  fresh-water  fishes  of  Massachusetts.     In  Report  on 

the   Geology,    Mineralogy,   Botany,   and   Zoology   of   Massachusetts,   by   Edward 

Hitchcock.     2d  edition,  1835,  Part  IV,  pp.  535-538.     Amherst. 


FISHES   OF   THE   GULF   OF   MAINE  547 

Smith,  Captaine  John. 

1616.     The  generall  historie  of  Virginia,  New  England,  and  tlie  Summer  Isles,  together  with 
the  true  travels,  adventures,  and  observations  and  a  sea  grammar.     2  vols.     London. 
Reprinted  from  the  London  edition  of  1629  by  the  Franklin  Press,  Richmond,  Va., 
in  1819. 
Spinney,  Benjamin  H. 

1883.     Return  to  Gloucester  of  young  codfish  hatched  by  United  States  Fish  Commission  in 
1879.     Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  Ill,   1883,  p.  362.     Wash- 
ington. 
Stevenson,  Charles  H. 

1899.  The  shad  fisheries  of  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States.     Report  of  the  Commis- 
sioner, U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XXIV,  1898  (1899),  pp.  101- 
269.     Washington. 
Stoker,  David  Humphreys. 

1836.  An  examination  of  the  "Catalogue  of  the  marine  and  fresh  water  fishes  of  Massachu- 

setts," by  J.  V.  C.  Smith,  M.  D.,  contained  in  Professor  Hitchcock's  "Report  on 
the  Geology,  Mineralogy,  etc.,  of  Massachusetts."  Boston  Journal  of  Natural 
History,  Part  I,  No.  I,  pp.  347-356.     Boston. 

1837.  Description  of  a  new  species  of  the  genus  Hydrargyra;  with  some  additions  to  the 

Catalogue  of  the  fishes  of  Massachusetts  in  Hitchcock's  Report.  Ibid.,  pp.  416- 
418.     Boston. 

1839.  Remarks  on  the  "Natural  History  of  the  Fishes  of  Massachusetts,  embracing  a  Prac- 

tical Essay  on  Angling;  by  Jerome  V.  C.  Smith,  M.  D."  The  American  Journal  of 
Science  and  Arts,  Vol.  XXXVI,  July,  1839,  pp.  337-349.     New  Haven. 

1839a.  A  report  on  the  fishes  of  Massachusetts.  Boston  Journal  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  II, 
pp.  289-558,  Pis.  VI-VIII.     Boston. 

1839b.  Reports  on  the  ichthyology  and  herpetology  of  Massachusetts.  Reports  on  the  fishes, 
reptiles,  and  birds  of  Massachusetts.  Published  by  the  Commissioners  on  the  Zoo- 
logical and  Botanical  Survey  of  the  State,  1839.  Boston.  [Fishes,  pp.  1-202, 
Pis.  I-III.] 

1840.  Supplement  to  the  ichthyological  report.     Boston  Journal  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  Ill, 

1840-41,  pp.  267-273.     Boston. 

1841.  Additional  descriptions  of,  and  observations  on,  the  fishes  of  Massachusetts.     Pro- 

ceedings, Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  I,  1841-44  (1844),  pp.  53-54. 
Boston. 

1842.  Additional  descriptions  of,  and  observations  on,  the  fishes  of  Massachusetts.    Boston 

Journal  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  175-190.     Boston. 
1842a.  [Note  on  a  torpedo  taken  on  Cape  Cod.]     Proceedings,  Boston  Society  of  Natural 
History,  Vol.  I,  p.  94.     Boston. 

1843.  [Description  of  a  new  species  of  flatfish.]    Ibid.,  pp.  130-131.     Boston. 
1843a.  [Notes  on  Sphyrsena  borealis  and  Caranx  chrysos.]    Ibid.,  pp.  148-149.    Boston. 
1843b.  Notice  of  the  discovery  of  an  electrical  fish  on  our  coast.     The  American  Journal  of 

Science  and  Arts,  Vol.  XLIV,  April,  1843,  p.  213,  New  Haven;  also  The  Annals 
and  Magazine  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  XI,  1843,  p.  326.     London. 
1843c.   Description  of  a  new  species  of  the  torpedo.     The  American  Journal  of  Science  and 
Arts,  Vol.  XLV,  October,  1843,  pp.  165-170,  pi.  III.     New  Haven. 

1844.  [Notes  on  flat  fishes,  and  on  the  sunfish,  Orlhagoriscus  7nola.]     Proceedings,  Boston 

Society  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  I,  pp.  194-195.    Boston. 

1845.  [Occurrence  of   Prionotus  tribulus   Mitch,   in    Massachusetts   Bay.]     Ibid.,   Vol.   II, 

1845-48  (1848),  p.  51.    Boston. 
1845a.  [Remarks  on  a  living  torpedo  taken  at  Provincetown.]    Ibid.,  p.  71.     Boston. 
1845b.  [Alutera  schoepfii,  as  " Balistes  aurantiacus  Mitch."  at  Salem,  Mass.,  and  Portland, 

Maine.]    Ibid.,  pp.  71-72.     Boston. 
1845  c.     [Description  of  a  new  species  of  Leptocophalus.]    Ibid  pp.  7Q-77.     Boston. 


648  BULLETIN    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   FISHERIES 

Stoker,  David  Humphreys — Continued. 

1845d.  [Description  of  a  new  species  of  Prionotus  from  Massachusetts  Bay.]     Ibid.,  pp. 

77-78.    Boston. 
1845e.   [Note  on  a  Trichiurus  from  Massachusetts  Bay.]    Ibid.,  pp.  85-86.     Boston. 

1846.  [Occurrence  of  Palinurus  perciformis  in  Boston  Harbor.]    Ibid.,  p.  180.     Boston. 
1846a.  A  synopsis  of  the  fishes  of  North  America.     Memoirs,  American  Academy  of  Arts 

and  Sciences,  New  Series,  Vol.  II,  pp.  253-650.     (Reissued,  repaged  from  1  to  298, 
by  Metcalf  &  Co.,  Cambridge,  in  1846.)     Cambridge  and  Boston. 

1847.  [Descriptions  of  new  species  of  Alosa  and  Platessa.]     Proceedings,  Boston  Society  of 

Natural  History,  Vol.  II,  pp.  242-243.    Boston. 

1848.  [Descriptions  of  Motella  caitdacuta.]    Ibid.,  Vol.  Ill,  1848-51  (1851),  p.  5.    Boston. 
1848a.  [On  a  shark  taken  at  Provincetown.]    Ibid.,  pp.  11-12.    Boston. 

1848b.  [Notes  on  the  Greenland  shark,  Somniosus  brevipinna  Le  Sueur.]     Ibid.,  pp.  15-16. 

Boston. 
1848c.   [Occurrence  of  the  hammerhead  shark  at  Provincetown  and  at  Chatham,   Mass.] 

Ibid.,  pp.  70-71.    Boston. 
1848d.  [Description  of  Carcharias  atwoodi.]    Ibid.,  pp.  71-72.     Boston. 
1853-1867.     A  history  of  the  fishes  of  Massachusetts.     Memoirs,  American  Academy  of  Arts 

and  Sciences,   New  Series,   Vol.   V,  pp.  49-92,   122-168,  257-296,  pis.  1-8,  9-16, 

17-23.     Vol.  VI,  pp.  309-372,  pis.  24-29.     Vol.   VIII,  pp.   389-434,  pis.   30-35. 

Vol.  IX,  pp.  217-263,  pis.  36-39.     Cambridge  and  Boston. 
1854.     [Description  of  Sebastes  fasciatus,  from  Provincetown.]     Proceedings,  Boston  Society 

of  Natural  History,  Vol.  V,  1854-56  (1856),  p.  31.     Boston. 
1858.     [Description  of  Zeus  oceHaius.]    /6id.,  Vol.  VI,  1856-59  (1859),  pp.  385-386.    Boston. 
1867.     A  history  of  the  fishes  of  Massachusetts.    287  pp.,  39  pis.     Cambridge  and  Boston. 
Storer,  Horatio  Robinson. 

1850.     Observations  on  the  fishes  of  Nova  Scotia  and  Labrador,  with  descriptions  of  new 

species.     Boston  Journal  of  Natural  History,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  247-270.     Boston. 
Sullivan,  James. 

1795.     The  history  of  the  District  of  Maine.    421  pp.,  1795.    Boston. 
Sumner,  Francis  B.,  Raymond  C.  Osburn,  and  Leon  J.  Cole. 

1913.     A  biological  survey  of  the  waters  of  Woods  Hole  and  vicinity.     Part  II,  Section 

III. — A  catalogue  of  the  marine  fauna.     Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  Vol. 

XXXI,  Part  II,  1911  (1913),  pp.  549-794.     [Fishes,  pp.  734-774.]     Washington. 
Swain,  Joseph. 

1883.  A  review  of  the  species  of   Stolephorus  found  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United 

States.    BuUetin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  II,  1882  (1883),  pp.  55-57. 
Washington. 
Tarr,  R.  S. 

1884.  Return  to  Gloucester  Harbor  of  the  young  codfish  hatched  by  the  U.  S.  Fish  Com- 

mission.    Bulletin,  United  States  Fish  Commission,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  57-58.     Washing- 
ton. 
TiBBETTS,    N.    V. 

1887.     Scarcity  of  cod  and  haddock  on  the  coast  of  Maine.     BuUetin,  United  States  Fish 
Commission,  Vol.  VI,  1886  (1887),  pp.  75-76.    Washington. 
TOWNSEND,    C.    H. 

1901.     Statistics  of  the  fisheries  of  the  New  England  States  [for  1898].     Report  of  the  Com- 
missioner, U.  S.  Commission  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  Part  XXVI,  1900  (1901),  pp. 
311-386.     Washington. 
Tracy,  Henry  C. 

1910.  Annotated  list  of  fishes  known  to  inhabit  the  waters  of  Rhode  Island.  Fortieth 
Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioners  of  Inland  Fisheries,  State  of  Rhode  Island, 
1910,  pp.  35-176.     Providence. 


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[Excerpts  reprinted  from  accounts  by  the  early  voyagers  and  settlers.]     Report  of 
the  Commissioner,  Part  I,  1871-72  (1873),  pp.  149-172.     Washington. 

1882.  List  of  collections  made  by  the  fishing  vessels  of  Gloucester  and  other  New  England 

sea-ports  for  the  United  States  Fish  Commission,  from  1877-1880.     Report  of  the 
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the  Commissioner  for  1892  and  1895  to  1903.     Washington. 

1898.     A  manual  of  fish  culture.     Report  of  the  Commissioner,  Part  XXIII,  1897  (1898), 
Appendix,  340  pp.,  pis.  1-62,  and  I-XVIII.     Washington. 
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the  Commissioner  for  1904,  1909  to  1919,  and  1921.     Washington. 

1907.     Statistics  of  the  fisheries  of  the  New  England  States  for  1905.     Report  of  the  Com- 
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1871.  On  the  food  and  habits  of  some  of  our  marine  fishes.     The  American  Naturalist,  Vol. 

V,  1871,  pp.  397-400.     Salem. 

1872.  Marine  fauna  of  Eastport,  Me.     Bulletin,  Essex  Institute,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  1,  January, 

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1874.  Explorations  of  Casco  Bay  by  the  U.  S.  Fish  Commission  in   1873.     Proceedings, 

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1878.     Survey  of  Hancock  County.     Annual  Report  of  the  Agricultural  Societies  of  Maine 
for  1877-1878;  with  accompanying  papers  (1878),  pp.  189-273.     (Fishes,  pp.  220- 
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Welsh,  W.  W. 

1915.     Note  on  the  habits  of  the  young  of  the  squirrel  hake  and  sea  snail.     Copeia,  No.  18, 
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1924.     Contributions  to  life  histories  of  Scisenidse  of  the  eastern  United  States  coast.     Bul- 
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Wilcox,  W.  A. — Continued. 

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WiLLARD,    B.    J. 

1895.     Captain  Ben's  book.     A  record  of  tlie  things  which  happened  to  Capt.  Benjamin  J. 
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himself.     204  pp.,  illus.,  1895.     Lakeside  Press,  Portland,  Me. 
WiLLEY,  Arthur. 

1921.  Arctic  Copepoda  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay.  Proceedings,  American  Academy  of  Arts 
and  Sciences,  Vol.  LVI,  May,  1920,  to  May,  1921,  pp.  185-196.  Boston.  [Food 
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1923.     Notes  on  the  distribution  of  free-living  Copepoda  in  Canadian  waters.     Contributions 
to  Canadian  Biology,  being  studies  from  the  biological  stations  of  Canada,  New 
Series,  Vol.  I,  No.  16,  pp.  305-334.     Toronto.     [Food  of  shad,  pp.  313-320.] 
WiLLEY,  A.,  and  A.  G.  Huntsman. 

1921.     Faunal  notes  from  the  Atlantic  Biological  Station,  1920.    .Canadian  Field  Naturalist, 
Vol.  XXXV,  1921,  No.  1,  pp.  1-7.     Gardensville,  Quebec. 
Williamson,  William  D. 

1832.  The  history  of  the  State  of  Maine;  from  its  first  discovery,  A.  D.  1602,  to  the  separa- 
tion, A.  D.  1820,  inclusive.  Vols.  I-II,  1832.  Hallowell,  Me.  [Fishes  in  Vol.  I, 
pp.  150-164.] 

WODEHOUSE,    R.     P. 

1916.     Report  on  the  life  history  of  the  cod  as  determined  from  the  scales  and  other  data. 
Contributions  to  Canadian  Biology,   1914^15   (1916),  supplement  to  5th  Annual 
Report,  Department  of  Naval  Service,  Fisheries  Branch,  pp.  103-113.     Ottawa. 
Wood,   William. 

1634.  New  Englands  Prospect.  A  true,  lively,  and  experimental!  description  of  that  part 
of  America,  commonly  called  New  England:  discovering  the  state  of  that  countrie, 
both  as  it  stands  to  our  new-come  English  planters;  and  to  the  old  native  inhabitants. 
Laj'ing  downe  that  which  may  both  enrich  the  knowledge  of  the  mind-travelling 
Reader,  or  benefit  the  future  Voyager.  Printed  at  London  by  Tho.  Cotes,  for  John 
Bellamie,  1634,  83  pp.  Reprinted  for  E.  M.  Boynton,  1898,  x,  103  pp.  Boston. 
Wood,  William. 

1846.     [Describes  a  shark  taken  off   Portland.]     Proceedings,    Boston  Society  of    Natural 
History,  Vol.  II,  1845-48  (1848),  p.  174.     Boston. 
Wyman,  Jeffries. 

1867.  Observations  on  the  development  of  Raia  balis.  Memoirs  American  Academy  of 
Arts  and  Sciences,  New  Series,  Vol.  IX,  Part  I,  pp.  31-44,  1  pi.  Cambridge  and 
Boston. 


ADDENDA 

Mackerel  shark  (Isvrits  pvndatus  Storer),  p.  36,  and  Porbeagle  {Isurus  nasus 

Bonaterre),  p.  36 

The  Halcyon  recently  caught,  on  Platts  Bank,  a  mackerel  shark  indistinguish- 
able from  Isurus  punctatus  except  that  its  teeth  were  denticulate  like  those  of  the 
European  /.  nasus  instead  of  smooth,  as  Garman  (1913)  describes  and  figures  them 
for  /.  punctatus.  In  the  face  of  this  capture,  it  is  no  longer  possible  to  maintain  a 
North  American  smooth-toothed  species  as  contrasted  with  a  north  European 
with  denticulate  teeth  (p.  36).  Either  the  two  intergrade,  in  which  case  the  com- 
mon mackerel  shark  of  our  waters  must  be  known  as  I.  nasus,  or,  if  they  are  actually 
distinct,  both  of  them  occur  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  W.  C.  Schroeder  is  now  engaged 
on  a  revision  of  the  mackerel  sharks  of  this  genus,  but  for  the  time  being  the  ques- 
tion must  be  left  open. 

Spiny  dogfish  (Squalus  acanthias  Linnaeus),  p.  44 

Jensen  ("The  Selachians  of  Greenland,"  in  Mindeskrift  for  Jepetus  Steen- 
strup,  1914,  p.  7)  lists  several  definite  records  of  this  species  from  west  Greenland, 
where,  however,  it  appears  only  as  a  stray  from  the  south.  We  find  no  record  of 
it  on  the  American  coast  north  of  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle. 

Black  dogfish  {Centroscyllium  fabricii  Reinhardt),  p.  52 

Jensen  ("The  Selachians  of  Greenland,"  in  Mindeskrift  for  Jepetus  Steen- 
strup,  1914,  p.  4)  lists  several  specimens  from  Davis  Straits  and  from  west  Green- 
land, where  it  seems  rather  common.  He  also  reports  cephalopods,  crustaceans, 
and  Medusae  from  their  stomachs,  and  remarks  that  the  shark  is  viviparous,  having 
been  taken  gravid  in  February  with  embryos  124  millimeters  long. 

Greenland  shark  {Somniosus  microcephalus  Bloch  and  Sclineider),  p.  53 

Jensen  ("The  Selachians  of  Greenland,"  in  Mindeskrift  for  Jepetus  Steen- 
strup,  1914,  p.  8)  gives  an  interesting  accoimt  of  the  habits  of  this  shark  in  west 
Greenland  waters,  and  of  the  local  shark  fishery. 

Shad  (Alosa  sapidissima  Wilson),  p.  113 

Dr.  A.  H.  Leim's  report  on  his  studies  on  the  shad  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  carried 
out  under  the  auspices  of  the  Biological  Board  of  Canada  (Contributions  to  Cana- 
dian Biology,  new  series,  1924,  vol.  2,  part  1,  pp.  163-184)  contains  much  important 
information  on  the  life  history  of  the  species.     Received  too  late  for  discussion  in 

551 


552  ADDENDA 

our  account  of  the  shad  (p.  113),  we  give  here  a  brief  summary  of  his  more  important 
conclusions,  based  partly  on  observational  and  partly  on  experimental  data. 

Spawning  in  the  Shubenacadie  Kiver  takes  place  chiefly  in  temperatures  higher 
than  12°  C.  (53.6°  F.),  and  is  temporarily  interrupted  if  the  temperature  falls  lower. 
At  11  to  15°  C.  hatching  takes  place  in  8  to  12  days,  with  the  yolk  sac  absorbed  in 
4  to  7  days.  Normal  development  of  the  eggs  did  not  take  place  in  water  colder 
than  7°. 

Leim's  most  interesting  discovery  is  that  larval  development  is  more  successful 
in  slightly  saline  water  than  in  fresh,  with  about  7.5  per  mille  as  the  optimum 
salinity.  Notes  are  also  given  on  the  rate  of  growth  of  the  larvae,  and  on  their  food, 
as  well  as  of  the  food  of  the  maturing  shad  in  the  Bay  of  Fimdy,  which  consisted 
chiefly  of  copepods  and  mysid  slu-imps. 

Scale  studies  indicated  a  length  of  10  to  14  centimeters  at  the  end  of  the  first 
growing  season,  and  of  20  to  25  centimeters  at  the  end  of  the  second,  with  the  fish 
maturing  from  four  years  of  age  on. 

Leim  believes  that  the  shad  of  the  rivers  tributary  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy  remain 
for  the  most  part  within  the  latter  whUe  in  salt  water. 

Genus  Myctophum,  p.  149 

Goode  and  Bean's  (1896,  p.  511)  report  of  the  capture  of  Myctophum  affine 
Liltken  (as  M.  opalinum)  over  the  southeast  slope  of  Browns  Bank  (lat.  42°  20' 
N.,  long.  65°  07'  W.)  at  104  fathoms  brings  this  genus  within  the  geographic  limits 
of  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

Myctophum  resembles  its  near  relative,  the  lanternfish  (p.  149),  in  its  general 
appearance,  having  one  short,  soft-rayed  dorsal  fin,  an  adipose  fin  behind  the  latter, 
a  forked  tail  fin,  the  anal  fin  mostly  or  wholly  behind  the  dorsal,  large  eyes,  a  wide, 
very  oblique  mouth  gaping  back  at  least  as  far  as  the  hinder  margin  of  the  eye,  and 
numerous  phosphorescent  organs  on  the  sides.  The  longer  snout  and  smaller 
mouth  of  Myctophum,  with  the  fact  that  the  luminous  organs  on  the  snout  are  in 
the  form  of  small  dots  instead  of  a  large  patch  covering  the  entire  tip  of  the  snout, 
distinguish  Myctophum  from  J5thoprora  (p.  149). 

Many  species  of  Myctophum  have  been  described,  all  of  small  size,  most  of 
them  (perhaps  all)  dark  colored  and  all  living  pelagic  in  the  mid-depths  of  the 
oceanic  basins,  where  they  are  among  the  commonest  of  fishes,  chiefly  below  150 
fathoms. 

The  arrangement  of  the  phosphorescent  organs  or  spots  affords  the  most  useful 
distinction  within  the  genus,  under  which  Brauer  (Die  Tiefsee-Fische.  Wissen- 
schaftliche  Ergebnisse  der  Deutschen  Tiefsee-Expedition,  1898-99  (1906),  Band 
XV,  Teil  I,  p.  150)  lists  20  odd  from  the  North  Atlantic  north  of  10°  N.  lat.,  any 
one  of  which  might  stray  within  the  150-meter  contom-  abreast  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 
However,  only  one  has  actually  been  taken  within  the  limits  of  the  gulf  (noted 
above),  though  others  have  been  taken  further  out  over  the  continental  slope,  and 
since  none  of  them  has  any  real  place  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  fauna  it  seems  needless 
to  burden  this  report  with  descriptions  of  them.  Should  one  be  picked  up,  we  refer 
its  captor  to  Brauer  (loc.  cit.),  or  suggest  that  the  specimens  be  submitted  to  the 
United  States  Bm-eau  of  Fisheries  for  identification. 


ADDENDA  553 

Sand  launce  (Ammodytes  americanus  DeKay),  p.  183 

During  December,  January,  and  February  of  1924-1925  the  Fish  Hawk  towed 
numbers  of  larval  launce  (identified  by  Mrs.  C.  J.  Fish  and  R.  A.  GofEn  of  the 
Bureau  of  Fisheries)  near  Provincetown  and  in  Cape  Cod  Bay,  evidence  both  that 
this  general  region  (when  adults  are  abimdant)  is  the  site  of  considerable  reproduc- 
tion and  that  spawning  commences  as  early  as  November  in  this  part  of  the  Gulf 
of  Maine. 

SwoRDFiSH  {XipJiias  gladius  Linnaeus),  p.  221 

A  swordfish  caught  in  the  summer  of  1921  by  Capt.  Irving  King  and  landed  at 
the  Boston  Fish  Pier  weighed  915  pounds  dressed — hence  upwards  of  1,000  pounds 
alive  (Fishing  Gazette  for  September,  1921,  p.  13).  This  is  the  heaviest  swordfish 
definitely  recorded  from  the  Gulf  of  Maine.  The  specimen  was  not  measured,  but 
the  sword  being  more  than  5  feet,  the  total  length  of  the  fish  must  have  approxi- 
mated 15  feet. 

PiLOTFiSH  {Naucrates  ductor  Linn^us),  p.  229 

We  saw  a  pLlotfish  about  a  foot  long,  freshly  taken  from  a  mackerel  net,  in 
Provincetown  Harbor,  August,  1924,  this  being  the  third  definite  record  for  this 
species  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine. 

Tautog  {Tautoga  onitis  Linnaeus),  p.  286 

In  August,  1924,  we  saw  a  number  of  small  tautog  seined  on  the  sand  beaches 
around  Provincetown  Harbor,  proving  that  they  frequent  sand  bottom  to  some 
extent  north  as  well  as  south  of  Cape  Cod. 

Bluemodth  (Helicolenus  dadylopterus,  De  la  Roche) 

This  scorpaenid,  common  in  deep  water  in  the  Mediterranean,  off  Portugal, 
and  off  Norway,  has  been  reported  by  Goode  and  Bean  (1896,  p.  523)  at  four  sta- 
tions along  the  continental  edge  abreast  the  Gulf  of  Maine  and  off  southern  New 
England,  between  longitudes  69°  42'  and  71°  02'  W.,  in  depths  of  156  to  202  fathoms. 

It  is  very  closely  allied  to  Helicolenus  maderensis  (p.  313),  which  it  so  closely 
resembles  in  general  appearance,  arrangement  and  forms  of  the  fins,  and  in  color, 
that  the  description  given  above  (p.  313)  would  apply  equally  to  the  bluemouth. 
The  cheek  spines  of  the  latter  and  the  spines  on  the  top  of  the  head,  however,  are 
described  as  much  less  prominent.  Furthermore,  according  to  available  accounts 
and  illustrations  (we  have  not  seen  either  species),  the  black-bellied  rosefish 
{Helicolenus  maderensis)  has  two  conspicuous  spines  upon  the  upper  part  of  the 
opercular  flap,  which  are  either  very  small  or  lacking  in  the  bluemouth  {H.  dacty- 
lopterus) . 

In  Goode  and  Bean's  illustration  (1896,  fig.  244)  and  Jordan  and  Evermann's 
account  (1896-1900,  p.  1837)  of  the  bluemouth,  the  tip  of  the  pectoral  fin  reaches 
as  far  back  as  the  origin  of  the  anal,  but  as  it  falls  considerably  short  of  it  in  Scandi- 
navian specimens    (Smitt,    Scandinavian    fishes,   p.    154,  fig.   43),  Smitt    doubts 


554  ADDENDA 

whether  the  American  form  is  actually  identical  with  the  European,  a  question 
on  which  we  hare  nothing  to  contribute. 

Rock  eel  {Pholis  gannellus  Linnsus),  p.  359 

The  following  observations,  communicated  by  W.  C.  Schroeder,  prove  that 
the  rock  eel  descends  deeper  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine  than  we  had  supposed  (p.  361) : 
Twelve  miles  southeast  of  Round  Shoal  buoy,  Nantucket  Shoals;  several  specimens 
found  in  the  stomachs  of  cod  in  15  fathoms;  also  one,  eaten  ahve,  from  the  mouth 
of  a  pollock  caught  at  34  fathoms  on  Platts  Bank,  July  28,  1924. 

American  pollock  {PollacJiius  virens  Linmeus) ,  p.  396 

The  following  measurements  by  W.  C.  Schroeder  show  that  under  favorable 
conditions  pollock  may  be  considerably  heavier  at  corresponding  lengths  than  those 
listed  on  page  397 : 

Fish  caught  on  Rose  and  Crown  Shoals  off  Nantucket,  August  16,  1923. 

Length,  inches  Weight,  pounds 

29H 11^ 

351: 21 

4114 35J^ 

Capture  by  the  FisTi  Eatvk  of  considerable  numbers  of  larval  pollock  in  the 
tow  net  during  December  and  January,  1924-25,  off  the  western  and  southern 
sides  of  Stellwagen  Bank  proves  that  this  important  spawning  ground  is  a  favor- 
able nursery  for  the  young  fish  (p.  405) . 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Page 

acadianus,  Olyptocephalus 513 

acanthias,  Squalus 44,389,551 

Achirus  fasciatus 522 

Acipenser  brevirostrum 76 

sturio 74 

Acipenseridae _ -       74 

aculeatus,  Qasterosteus 168,171 

acus,  Tylosurus 162 

adspersus,  Tautogolabrus 281 

seglifinus,  Melanogrammus 432 

seneus,  Myoxocephalus 318 

sestivalis,  Pomolohus 110 

Aethoprora  eflulgens 149,552 

affine,  Myctophum ._      552 

afflnis,  Chimaera 1 73 

Agonidae.. 332 

albacore -.. 212 

albacore,  great 212 

albidus,  Tetrapterus 227 

Alepisauridse .-      154 

Alepisaurus  ferox 154 

alewife '. 90,106,107,110,112,113 

alleterata,  Gymnosarda 211,212 

alligatorflsh 11,333 

alligatorfish  family 332 

allmouth --- 524 

Alopias  vulpes 32 

Alosa  sapidissima _--  113,  551 

altus,  Pseudopriacanthus 261 

Alutera  schoepfl 294,296 

americana,  Morone 257 

American  dab 498 

American  eel - 78 

American  plaice^- 473,482 

American  pollock 396,654 

American  sole 522 

American  turbot 481 

americanus,  Ammodytes _..  183,187,553 

Hemitripterus 330 

Pseudopleuronectes 501 

Ammodytes 77 

americanus 183,187,553 

dubius - 187 

lanceolalus 186 

tobianus 183,184,186,187 

Ammodytidfe 183 

Amphioxus. 15 

Anarhichadidae - 370 

Anarhichas  lupus _ 370 

minor 375 

Anchovia  mitcbilti 124 

Anchovy 14, 124,149 

Anchovy  family 124 

angler 524 

angler  family -      624 


Page 
Anguilla  chrysypa. _. 78 

rostrata 78 

vulgaris 78 

anguillaris,  Zoarces__ 378 

AnguillidaB 77,78 

anguineus,  Chlamydoselaehus 24 

Antimora  viola 444 

Apeltes  quadracus _      171 

Archosargus  probatocephalus 268 

Arctic  eelpout-. 376,  383 

Arctic  launce 187 

Arctic  sculpin _ 314 

arcticus,  Galeocerdo- 27 

arctifrons,  Citharichthys ___ 472,521 

argentata,  Motella _.- 454 

argentatus,  Qaidropsarus 462 

Argentina  silus-- 147 

argentine _. 140, 147 

Argentinidre __,      140 

Artediellus  atlanticus 314 

uncinatus 315 

Aspidopboroides  monopterygius 333 

Atherinidae __ 178 

Atlantic  salmon... 126,130,140 

atlanticus,  Artediellus 314 

Lycodes 383 

atlanticus,  Neoliparis _ 340 

Tarpon 91 

atwoodi,  Carcharodon 40 

bairdii,  Macrourus 456,467,468,470 

Balistes  carolinensis 293 

vetula 294 

BalistidCB 293 

balloonfish... 298 

barbatum,  Ecbiostoma 225 

barn-door  skate 58,66 

barrelflsh 14,243 

basking  shark 23,36,39,41 

bass,  biack  sea 259 

channel 279 

sea 15,251,259 

striped 251,261 

bastard  cusk 368 

batis.  Raja 67 

Batrachoididaet 356 

beanii,  Limanda 497 

Triglops 317 

bellowsflsh 298,524 

Belonidae 161, 163 

bergall 281 

berglax,  Macrourus 467,470 

beryllina  cerea,  Menidia 181 

biaculeatus,  Qasterosteus 171 

big-eye 15,261 

big  skate 60 

555 


556 


GENERAL    INDEX 


Page 

bilincarus,  Merluccius 386 

billflsh 161,163,164,227 

billflsh  family _ 161 

bispinosus,  Gasterosteus.. 171 

blackback 501 

black-bellied  flounder 502 

black-bellied  roseflsh... 304,313,653 

blackbelly 110 

black  dogfish 23.52,551 

black  drum.- 279 

blackflsh 259,286 

black  flounder _ 501 

black  hake... 446 

black  pilot 243 

black  sculpin 320 

black  sea  bass 259 

BlenniidEE 359 

blenny  family _  15,359 

blenny,  serpent 363 

snake... 77,359,363 

bloody  stickleback _      171 

blower... 298 

blueback 90, 107, 110 

blue  dog 29,34 

blueflsh 14,209,237,242,274,390 

bluefish,  Boston.. 396 

blueflsh  family 237 

blue  hake 385,444 

blue  perch 281 

blue  shark 23,28,29,36 

blue  shark,  great 28 

bluntnose 235 

bonasus,  Rhinoptera _ 72 

bone  shark 41 

bonito... 188,211,215,278 

common _._      211 

oceanic 211 

striped _      211 

bonnet  skate 58 

bony  flshes 74 

borealis,  Lsmargus 55 

Boston  blueflsh 396 

Boston  hake 446 

brachyptera,  Remora 350 

bramble  shark 23,55 

bramble  shark  family 55 

branch  herring 107 

bream,  red 304 

brevipinna,  Somniosus _. 55 

brevirostrum,  Acipenser 76 

Brevoortia  tyrannus 118 

brier  skate ._ 58,64,66 

brill _ 516 

brit 92 

brook  trout '. 138 

brosme,  Brosmius 462 

Brosmius  brosme 462 

brown  shark 23 

brucus,  Echinorhiniis ._ 23,53,55 

bullseye 209 

burrflsh 297,300 

butterfish _ 230, 245, 266, 359, 454 

'butterfish  family 14,245 

callarias,  Oadus _ 409 

Canadian  plaice 482 


Page 

canicula,  Scyllium 26 

canis,  Mustelus 25 

capelin 140, 147, 148. 179 

Carangidse 228,  237 

Caranx  crysos 234 

hippos _ 233 

carapinus,  Coryphaenoides 467 

carcharias,  Carcharodon 39 

Carcharias  littoralis _ 34 

taurus 34 

Carchariidae 34 

Carcharinidfie 25,27 

Carcharinus  milberti.. .._ 23 

obscuriis 29 

Carcharodon  atwoodi 40 

carcharias 39 

carminatus,  Ccelorhynchus 467,471 

carolinensis,  Balistes 293 

carolinus,  Prionotus 345 

catalufa  family 261 

cataphractus,  Oasterasteus 169 

catflsh 370,375 

spotted _ .- 375 

Centracion  zygaena 31 

Centrolophidse 243 

Centropristes  striatus 259 

Centroscyllium  fabricii _ 52,651 

ritteri 52 

Centroseymnus  ccelolepis 23,51 

centrura,  Dasyatis 70 

Cephalacanthus  volitans _. 344 

cephalus,  Mugil _      182 

cerea,  Menidia 181 

cero 219 

cervinum,  Lepophidium 384 

Cestraciontidae. 30 

Cestracion  zygaena _ 31 

Cetorhinus  maximus 41 

chamaeleonticeps,  Lopholatilus 352 

channel  bass 279 

Chauliodus  sloanei 153 

chesteri,  Urophycis _.      456 

Chilomycterus  schcepfi 300 

chimasra 13.73 

Chimaera  affinis 73 

family 73 

monstrosa.- 74 

plumbea _ 74 

Chimaeridae 73 

chimaeroids 73 

Chinook  salmon. 128 

Chlamydoselachidse 24 

Chlamydoselachus  anguineus. 24 

Chloroscombrus  chrysurus 233,235 

chogset 281 

Christmas  flounder 508 

chrysops,  Stenotomus 263 

chrysurus,  Chloroscombrus.. 233,235 

chrysypa,  AnguiUa 78 

chub 156 

chub  mackerel 188,209 

chuss,  Urophycis.. 447 

ciliatus,  Monacanthus... 294,296 

cimbrius,  Enchelyopus. _ 458 

Citharichthys  arctifrons- 472,521 

unicornis 521 


GENERAL    INDEX 


557 


Page 

clam  cracker 70 

Clupea  harengus 92 

pallasii ._.       93 

pilchardus 122 

Clupeidfie 90 

coalfish __      396 

cobbler 166 

cod 385,409,432-434,439,441,465 

cod  famUy 13, 15,385,409 

cod,  green __.      396 

rock ___ 409 

coelolepis,  Centroscymnus _ 23,51 

Ccelorhynchus  carminatiis... 467,471 

colias,  Pneumatophorus 209 

Scomber _ 209 

common  bonito 211,215 

eel 78,84 

grenadier 467,468,470 

mullet 182 

mummicbog .'. 156 

porbeagle 37 

sea  robin 345 

silversidc 178 

skate 68,67 

wolffish... 370 

conger 78,86,88 

conger  eel 86,378 

conger,  Leptocephalus 86 

Congo  eel.. 368,378 

Coregonus  quadrilateralis 126 

cornetfish 173 

cornubica,  Lamna 36 

Coryphaenoides  carapinus 467 

rupestris 467 

Cottidae.. 314 

Cottunculus  microps 32Q 

cow-nosed  ray 58,72 

Craig  fluke 511 

crampfish.. 68 

crevalle 229,233,234,237 

croaker  family 251,269 

cromis,  Pogonias 279 

Cryptacanthodes 77 

maculatus 368 

Cryptacanthodidse.. 368 

crysos,  Carani.. 234 

cunner 280,281,286 

cunner  family... 15,  280 

cusk 15,385,448,454,461,462 

cusk,  bastard.. 368 

cusk  eel 13,384 

cusk-eel  family.. 384 

cutlasflsh.. 12,220 

cutlasflsh  family 220 

Cyanea 417,438 

Cyclopterldse 334 

Cyclopterus  lumpus 334 

Cyclothone 14, 149, 153 

Cyclothone  signata 153 

cynoglossus,  Qlyptocephalus 611 

Cynoscion  nebulosus. 276 

notus 276 

regalis 270,276 

Cyprinodon 155 

Cyprinodon  variegatus. 159 


Page 

Dab _ 473,496 

American 498 

deep-water.. 497 

European ^  497,499 

long  rough 482 

mud 495,601 

rough 482 

rusty 495 

sand 482,495,616 

dabbler,  mud. 166 

dactylopterus,  Helicolenus S63 

daddy  sculpin... 320 

Dasyatis  centrura 70 

hastata 70 

marinus.. 70 

DasybatidsB 66,70 

Dasybatus  hastatus.. 68,70 

marinus _ 58,70 

Decapterus  macarellus _ 232 

punctatus 232 

deep-sea  sculpin 16,314,329 

deep-water  dab 497 

dekayi,  Isurus 38 

dentatus,  Paralichthys 491 

diaphanes,  Raja. 60 

dignabilis,  Pseudopleuronectes.. 501,507 

Diodontidae 297 

dog,  blue 29,34 

dogfish 44 

black.... 23,52,651 

European 26 

piked 44 

smooth... 23-25 

spiny... 23,44,62,389.418,661 

dogfish  shark 34 

dollarflsh 235,245 

draco,  Trachinus 48 

drum. 269,279 

black 279 

red.. 279 

dubius,  Ammodytes 187 

ductor,  Naucrates 229,663 

dusky  shark 23,27,29 

Echeneidldse 349 

Echencis  naucrateoides 349,350 

naucrates 349 

Echinorhinidffi -       66 

Echinorhinus  brucus 23,63,66 

spinostis -       66 

Echiostoma  barbatum 225 

eel-. .-•- 78 

.\merican - - -       78 

common — 78,84 

conger 86, 378 

Congo 368,378 

cusk :.. 13,384 

European 78 

European  sand 186 

family 13,77 

fresh-water -       78 

lamper -      378 

lamprey 16 

long-nosed 78,84 

rock 13,77,359,864 


558 


GENERAL    INDEX 


Page 

eel,  sand 77, 183 

sand,  European 186 

sea - 86 

sUver.... 78,220 

slime 78,83 

snipe. 78,88 

snub-nosed. 83 

wolf.- 376,382 

eelback 508 

eelpout 77,87,376,378 

Arctic 376,383 

European.. 379,381 

family . 13,376 

eels 77 

eels,  true... 78 

eel  shark 23,24 

eel-shark  family 24 

eel-sucker _ _       18 

effulgens,  Aethoprora 149,552 

eglanteria.  Raja 64 

Elasmobranchii.. 21 

electric  skate 68 

elongatus,  Pseudocalanus. 103 

Elopida) 90 

Elops  saurus 90 

Enchelyopus  cimbrius _ 458 

English  herring 92 

English  turbot 516 

Engraulididee 124 

eperlanus,  Osmerus 144, 146 

erinacea.  Raja - 58,61 

escolar 13,220 

escolar  family 220 

esmarki,  Lycodes 383 

Etrumeus  teres 91 

Euleptorhamphus  velox 163 

Eumicrotremus  spinosus 339 

European  dab 497,499 

dogfish 26 

eel.. 78 

eelpout 379,381 

hake 386,446 

launce 183 

pilchard 122 

pipefish 176 

pollack 396,415 

porbeagle 36 

sand  eel 186 

sea  snail 341 

smelt. 144, 146 

sole 522 

turbot... 516 

whiting 415 

eyed  skate 60 

fabricii,  Centroscyllium 62,561 

fall  herring •. 105 

fasciatus,  Achirus 522 

ferox,  .\lepisaurus 154 

ferruginea,  Limanda 495 

filefish 294,295,296 

family 14,294 

orange 294,296 

fishes,  bony 74 

true J.. 21 

flshingfrog 524 

Fistularia  tabacaria 173 


Page 

Fistulariidse 173 

flatfish 501 

flatfish  family 472 

floridEe,  Siphostoma 176 

flounder 482,491,501 

black 601 

black-beUied 502 

Christmas 508 

family 449,472 

four-spotted 472,494 

Georges  Bank. 473,507 

Gulf  Stream 521 

Massachusetts 501 

pole... 511 

rough 501 

rusty. 495 

sand 472,491,516 

smooth 473,508 

smooth-back 508 

southern. 493 

spotted 516 

summer 472,491,494 

watery 516 

winter 473,499,507 

witch 440,443,473,489,511 

fluke 491,495,511 

Craig 611 

flying  robin 344 

fontinahs,  Salvelinus 138 

foolfish 296,508 

four-bearded  rockling 385,454,458,462 

four-spined  stickleback 166, 171 

four-spotted  flounder 472,494 

foi  shark. 32 

fresh-water  eel 78 

fresh-water  herring. 107 

frigidus,  Lycodes 383 

frilled  shark 24 

frostflsh 406 

fulvus,  Fhysiculus 457 

Fundulus.. 156 

heteroclitus ' 166, 159 

majalis 156, 158 

fuscum,  Siphostoma 176 

Gadidse 385 

Gadus  callarias 409 

macrocephalus. 411 

merlangus 416 

pollachius 396,415 

Gaidropsarus  argentatus 462 

Galeocerdo  arcticus.. 27 

tigrinus. 27 

Qaleorhinidae 25 

Galeorbinus  Igevis 25 

Galeus  glaucus 28 

garfish 161 

gar,  salt-water 161 

silver 12,161,164 

gaspereau 107 

Gasterosteidse 166 

Gasterosteus  aculeatus 168, 171 

biaculeatus 171 

bispinosus 171 

cataphractus 169 

gladiunculus m 

wheat landi. 171 


GENERAL    INDEX 


559 


Page 

Qempylidse _ _ 220 

Georges  Bank  flounder 473,607 

ghoster 168 

ghostflsh 368 

glacialis,  Liopsetta 609 

gladius,  Xiphias ._ 221,553 

gladiunculus,  Gasterosteus. _ 171 

glauca,  Prionace - 28 

glaucus,  Galeus 28 

globefish 298 

glut  herring 110 

glutinosa,  Myxine 16 

Glyptocephalus  acadianus 613 

cynoglossus 511 

goodei,  Hymenocephalus _ 467 

gooseflsh 11, 524 

gorbuscha,  Oncorhynchus 126 

gracilis,  Menidia 181 

grayback. 107 

grayfish -. 25,44 

gray  sculpin 325 

gray  trout-- 270 

great  albacore 212 

great  blue  shark _       28 

great  sea  lamprey 18 

green  cod 396 

green-eye--- 345 

Greenland  halibut - 473,481 

Greenland  sculpin 320,322 

Greenland  shark-- 23,44,61,63,55,551 

Greenland  turbot 481 

green  smelt --- 179 

grenadier 456 

common.-- 467,468,470 

family -.  13,467 

long-nosed 467,471 

smooth-spined _  407,470 

grenadiers 73,385 

grilse 130 

groenlandious,  Myoxocephalus 320,322 

ground  shark - 34,63 

grubby 314,318 

Gulf  Stream  flounder 621 

gunnel 369 

gunneUus,  Pholis 359,554 

gurnard  family- 344 

gurry  shark - - 53 

Gymnocanthus  tiicuspis,- 328 

Gymnosarda 188,211 

aUeterata--- --- 211,212 

pelamis 211 

hacklehead - -- 325 

haddock 385,424,428,429,430,432,465 

Jerusalem -     242 

Norway 304 

hagflsh-- : - 11, 16 

hagflsh  family - 15 

hags - 77 

hairtail -.- 220 

hake - 446,447,465,467 

black -- - 446 

blue 386,444 

Boston - -..      446 

European --- 386,446 

102274— 25 1 36 


Page 

hake,  long-flnned 385,456,468 

mud- 448 

New  England 386 

silver 104,385,386,452 

spotted 385,455 

squirrel 386,447,449,451,462,454 

true— -„ 446 

white - 385,446,447,448,449,450,455 

hakeling -- 385,457 

halfbeak -  12, 163 

halfbeak  family -- 161, 163 

hahbut--- 473,481 

halibut,  Greenland  -.  473,481 

hammerhead  shark 23,31 

hammerhead-shark  family 30 

handsawflsh.- - 154 

harbor  pollock - _  399,402 

hardhead 209 

hardtail 229,233,234 

harengus,  Clupea 92 

harvestfish 246,250 

hastata,  Dasyatis 70 

hastatus,  Dasybatus--- 58,70 

headflsh  family 301 

hedgehog  skate 58 

Helicolenus  dactyloptorus 663 

madcrensis 313,553 

IlemiramphidsB -- 163 

Hemitripterus  americanus 330 

herring - 41,92,107,124,433 

branch 107 

English 92 

fall - 106 

family - 90 

fresh-water - 107 

glut - no 

Labrador 92 

round 90,91 

sea - 90,92,106,107,113 

shad 105 

smelt 147 

summer -- no 

true — 90 

heteroclitus,  Fundulus 156,159 

hickory  shad 90, 106, 107 

HippocampidfC- -- , _      177 

Hippocampus  hudsonius - 177 

Hippoglossoides  limandoides 483 

platessoides - 482 

hippoglossoides,  Reinhardtius _      481 

Hippoglossus  hippoglossus 473 

hippos,  Caranx - 233 

hispidus,  Monacanthus 294,295 

hogchoker 472,522 

hogfish 296 

Holocephali - - 73 

hook-eared  sculpin 314 

hornpout 168 

horseflsh -- 235 

horsehead- 236 

horse  mackerel 212,216 

houndflsh- -.      162 

hound,  smooth 26 

squid 251 

hudsonius,  Hippocampus 177 


560 


GENEEAl,    INDEX 


Page 

humpback  salmon 126, 130, 140 

Hymenocephalus  goodei 467 

Hyporhamphus  roberti 163 

icefish 143 

imperator,  Tetrapterus __      227 

Istiophoridae 227 

Istiophorus _      228 

nigricans 228 

Isuridse 35 

Isurus  dekayi _ _       38 

nasus 36,37,561 

punctatus 22,23,36,39,551 

tigris 23,38,39 

japonicus,  Pneumatophorus 209 

jellyfish,  red 417,438 

Jerusalem  haddock __ 242 

John  Dory 13,245,291 

John  Dory  family 291 

jumping  muUet _. -. 182 

kelt ._ 130 

killer  whale -- - 22 

killiflsh 156,158 

killiflsh  family 155 

kingfish 219,269,277,279 

king  mackerel 188,219 

King-o'-Norway 330 

king  whiting 277 

kyak 107,110 

Labrador  herring 92 

Labridse--- - _._      280 

ladyflsh.. 90 

LEemargus  borealis 55 

rostratus 55 

liEvis,  Oaleorhinus -.. 25 

Raja 66 

Lamna  cornubica.-. __ 36 

laraper 18 

lamper  eel. ,__ ___ 378 

lampetrseformis,  Lumpenus _ 363 

lamprey 11, 18,77 

great  sea.-- 18 

sea _. ._        18 

spotted 18 

lamprey  eel. _ _       IS 

lamprey  family 16 

lampreys __ 21 

Lampridae ._,      242 

Lampris  luna _ 242 

lanceolata,  Mola ._     303 

lanceolatus,  Ammodytes __ 186 

lancetflsh _._ 13, 126,  IM 

lancetfish  family _ __      164 

langbarn _ 365 

lant 183 

lanternfish _ 149 

lanternfish  family 13, 14, 149 

launce 14,183 

Arctic. 187 

European 183 

sand 183,553 


Page 

leather  jacket 294 

lemon  sole 607 

Lepophidium 450 

cervinum... 384 

Leptocephalidae _ 77 

Leptocephalus  conger 86 

Leptoclinus  maculatus.. 365 

lepturus,  Trichiurus 220 

lethostigmus,  Paralichthys... 493 

Limanda  beanii 497 

ferruginea... 495 

limanda 497 

limanda,  Limanda.. 497 

limandoides,  Hippoglossoides 483 

lineatus,  Roecus 251 

Ung.. 378,446 

Liopsetta  glacialis 509 

putnami 608 

Liparididee... 340 

Liparis  liparis 342 

liparis,  Liparis 342 

little  mackerel  shark 34 

little  sculpin 318 

little  skate. 68 

little  tunny 212 

littoralis,  Carcharias 34 

logfish 243 

long-finned  hake. 385,456,468 

longhorn   sculpin 314,325 

long-nosed  eel... 78,84 

long-nosed  grenadier 467,471 

long  rough  dab 482 

lookdown 14,229,236 

Lophiidse 524 

Lophius  piscatorius 524 

LopholatUus  chamaeleonticeps 352 

Lophopsetta  maculata 516 

Lotella  maiillaris 458 

lump 334 

Lumpenus 77 

Lumpenus  lampetrseformis 363 

lumpflsh 334 

family 11,334 

spiny 334,339 

lump  sucker.. 33< 

lumpus,  CyclopteruS-. 334 

luna,  Lampris 242 

lupus,  Anarhichas 370 

Lycenchelys  verrillii 382 

Lycodes  atlanticus 383 

esmarki 383 

Irigidus 383 

paxillus 383 

reticulatus 383 

macarellus,  Decapterus 232 

mackerel 124,164,188,211,216,278,433 

chub. 188,209 

family. 13,187 

horse--.. 212,215 

king 188,219 

Spanish 188,209,211,217 

yellow 234 

mackerel  scad 13,229,232 

mackerel  shark. 22,23,34,35,36,551 


GENERAL    INDEX 


561 


Page 

mackerel  shark  famUy... 35 

little - 34 

sharp-nosed 23,38,44 

macrocephalus,  Gadus _ 411 

Macrorhamphosus  scolopax 173 

Macrouridas... _ __,      467 

Maerourus  bairdil 456,467,468,470 

berglax- 467,470 

maculata,  Lophopsetta 516 

maculatus,  Cryptacanthodes... 368 

Leptoclinus 365 

Scomberomorus 217 

Spheroides 298 

maderensis,  Helicolenus 313,553 

magellanicus,  Pecten 342,344,444 

mailed  sculpin 314,316 

majalis,  Fundulus 156,158,159 

Malacanthidfie 352 

Mallotus  villosus 140, 142 

man-eater  shark-- 39 

marina,  VolpecuJa 32 

marinus,  Dasyatis 70 

Dasybatus 58,70 

Petromyzon IS 

Sebastes _.      304 

Tylosurus-- 161 

marinus  var.  dorsatus,  Petromyzon 19 

mariposa  family 242 

marlin-spike 468 

Marsipobranchii 15 

Massachusetts  flounder 501 

Maurolicus  pennanti 151 

maxiUaris,  Lotella 458 

maiimus,  Cetorhinus 41 

mediocris,  Pomolobus..- 105 

Melanogrammus  £eglifinus __      432 

menhaden .- -.. 41,90,118,266 

Menidia 125,144 

beryllina  cerea - 181 

gracilis - -.      181 

notata .- 179 

Menticirrhus  saxatilis .- - 277 

merlangus,  Gadus.- 415 

MerlucciidEB- 385 

Merluccius  bilinearus 386 

merluccius 386 

merluccius,  Merluccius 386 

microcephalus,  Somniosus 53,551 

Microgadus  tomcod 406 

microps,  Cottunculus 329 

milberti,  Garcharinus-- 23 

minkfish 277 

minnow,  salt-water --.      156 

minnow,  sheepshead - 169 

minor,  Anarhichas 375 

mitchilli,  Anchovia- - - 124 

Mola  lanceolata 303 

mola- - -.      301 

mola,  Mola 301 

MolidiE 301 

moUigut 524 

Monacanthidee _ 294 

Monacanthus - -..      296 

ciliatus- 294,296 

hispidus 294,295 

Monkfish 524 


Page 

Monoleue  sessilicauda _ 473,521 

monopterygius,  Aspidophoroides 333 

monstrosa,  Chimaera 74 

montagui.  Neoliparis 341,342 

moonfl-h _..  14,229,235,236,242 

mordax,  Osmerus 143 

Morone  americana 257 

Motella  argentata -..      454 

mud  dab- 495,501 

mud  dabbler -- 156 

mudfish _-- 1S6 

mud  hake- --- - 446 

Mugil  cephalus 182 

Mugilidae - 182 

mullet- -.- 140,182 

common..- --- - 182 

family -.. 182 

jumping --- 182 

sea - 277 

striped 182 

mummichog --- 158 

common -.- 156 

family 15,155 

striped 15s 

mummy- 158 

Mustelus  canis 25 

muttonflsh 378 

Myctophidse --- --- 149 

Myctophum --- --  149,552 

affine 552 

opalinum - 552 

Myliobatidae 66,70 

Myxine  glutiuosa 16 

Myxinidse 15 

Myoiocephalus  aeneus 318 

groenlandicus 320,322 

octodecimspinosus 325 

scorpius 320,322 

Narcacion  nobilianus--- - - 68 

Narcaciontidae --- 56,68 

nasus,  Isurus 36,37  551 

naucrateoides,  Echeneis 349,350 

Naucrates  ductor 229,553 

naucrates,  Echeneis-- - - 349 

nebulosus,  Cynoscion 276 

needlefish- - - 12, 161, 164 

needlefish  family _      164 

NemichthyidEe 77,78 

Nemichthys  scolopaceus.- -- - -..       88 

Neoliparis  atlanticus 340 

montagui 341,342 

New  England  hake 386 

Newfoundland  turbot 481 

New  York  plaice- 516 

nigricans,  Istiophorus-- 228 

nine-spined  stickleback 166 

nipper - 281 

nobilianus,  Narcacion 68 

North  Sea  rockling-- 454 

Norway  haddock _      304 

notata,  Menidia 179 

notus,  Cynoscion --.      276 

numbfish _ ,       68 

nurse  shark 53 

nurse  shark  family 53 


562 


GENEBAL    INDEX 


Page 

oblongus,  Paralichthys _ 494 

obscurus,  Carcharinus _ _.       29 

occidentalis,  Tetranarce. 68 

oceanic  bonito... _ 211 

ocean  whitefish 375 

ocellata,  Raja ._. ___ ___ __.       60 

ocellatus,  Scioenops 279 

Zenopsis __ 291 

octodecimspinosus,  Myoxocephalus. 325 

oilflsh _. 220 

old  maid 68 

Ommastrephes _ 104,225 

ommatistius,  Triglops 316 

Oncorhynchus  gorbuscha _. 126 

tsehawytscha 128 

onion-eye 470 

onitis,  Tautoga... 286,553 

opah 14,242 

opalinum.  Myctophum _ 552 

Ophidiidse ___ 384 

Opsanus  tau 357 

orange  flleflsh 294,296 

Osmerus  eperlanus 144, 148 

mordax 143 

oysterflsb __ 300 

Palinurichthys  perciformis 243 

pallasii,  Clupea _       93 

pappyfish 250 

Paralichthys  dentatus 491 

lethostigmus _ 493 

oblongus 494 

parasiticus,  Simenchelys 83 

parr _._ 130 

paru,  Peprilus 250 

paxillus,  Lycodes _..      383 

pearlfish 151 

pearlsides 13, 126, 149, 151 

Pecten  magellanicus 342,344,449 

pelamis,  Gymnosarda.. 211 

pennanti,  Maurolicus 151 

Peprilus  paru 250 

perch 281 

blue 281 

red- 304 

sea... 257,281 

white 251,257,261 

perciformis,  Palinurichthys 243 

Petromyzonidse 15 

Petromyzon  marinus 18 

marinus  var.  dorsatus 19 

Pholis 77 

Pholis  gunnellus 359,554 

Physiculus  fulvus _.. 457 

pilred  dogfish 41 

pike,  sea 161 

pilchard,  European 122 

pilchnrdus,  Clupea 122 

pilot,  black 243 

pilotflsh 14,229,230,233,553 

pilot  shark 229, 230 

pilot  sucker ._ 349 

pinflsh.. 168 

pingelli,  Triglops. , 316 

pinnatus,  Synapbobranchus 84 


Page 

pipeQsh 12, 173, 175 

European 176 

family 174 

piscatorius,  Lophius... 624 

Pisces 21 

plaice 465,482,491,508 

American 473,482 

Canadian 482 

New  York 816 

plaiceflsh 491 

plaintai! 220 

platessoides,  Hippoglossoides _      482 

Pleuronectidfie 472 

plumbea,  Chimaera 74 

Pneumatophorus  colias 209 

japonicus... 209 

Poecilidse... 155 

Pogonias  cromis 279 

pogy 118 

pole  flounder 611 

pollachius,  Oadus 396,415 

Pollachius  virens 396,664 

pollack 396 

European 396,415 

pollock 385,396,416,432,435,451,465 

American 396,554 

harbor 399,402 

Pomatomidse 237 

Pomatomus  saltatrix 237 

Pomolobus 93 

Pomolobus  aestivalis _      110 

mediocris 105 

pseudobarengus 107 

pompano  family 13,14,228,232,237 

pompanos,  true 229 

porbeagle 36,551 

common 36 

European 36 

porcupine  flsh 300 

porcupine-fish  family 16,297 

porgy 263,266 

porgy  famUy 251,262 

•Poronotus  triacanthus 246 

Portuguese  shark 23,51 

pretiosus,  Ruvettus 220 

Priacanthidse 261 

prickly  skate 58,62,64 

Prionace  glauca- 28 

Prionotus  carolinus 345 

strigatus 348 

probatocephalus,  Archosargus 268 

Pseudocalanus  elongatus. 103 

pseudobarengus,  Pomolobus 107 

Pseudopleuronectes  americanus 501 

dignabilis. 501,607 

Pseudopriacantbus  altus 261 

puffer 297,298 

puffer  family 15,297 

pumpkinseed 245 

punctatus,  Decapterus 232 

Isurus 22,23,36,39,661 

Pungitius  pungitius 166 

pungitius,  Pungitius 166 

putnami,  Liopsetta 508 


GENERAL    INDEX 


563 


Page 

quadracus,  Apeltes 171 

quadrilateralis,  Coregonus 126 

quadriloba,  Rhinoptera 72 

rabbitfish 300 

radiata,  Raja 62,63 

radiated  shanny 359,300 

Raja  batis -.. 67 

diapbanes 60 

eglanteria 64 

erinacea 68,61 

Isevis 66 

ocellata 60 

radiata _ 62,63 

scabrata 62 

senta 58,65 

stabuliforis 06 

Rajidse 56,58 

rat-tail 468,470 

raschii,  Tbysanoessa 401 

raven 314,330 

raven,  sea 330 

ray,  cow-nosed 58,72 

sting 58,70 

rays 11,21,56 

sting 66,70 

red  bream 304 

red  drum 279 

redflsh 304 

red  jellyfish 417,438 

red  perch 304 

red  sculpin 330 

red-winged  sea  robin 346,348 

regalis,  Cynoscion 270,276 

Scomberomorus.- 219 

regius,  TJrophycis.. 448,455 

Reinhardtius  hippoglossoides 481 

remora 349,351 

remora  family.. 11,349 

Remora  brachyptera 350 

remora 351 

remora,  Remora 351 

requiem  sharlj.« 30 

requiem-sharli  family 27 

reticulatus,  Lycodes 383 

Rhinodon 41 

Rhinoptera  bonasus 72 

quadriloba 72 

ribbandflsh 220 

ritteri,  Centroscyllium 62 

roberti,  Hyporhamphus 163 

robin.. 345 

flying 344 

sea 345 

Roccus  lineatus 251 

rock.. 251 

rock  cod 409 

rock  eel 13,77,359,554 

rockfish _      251 

rockflsh  family... 15,251,304 

rockling. 464,458,467 

four-bearded 385,454,458,462 

North  Sea 454 

three-bearded 385,462 

rocklings 12 

roseflsh... 261,304,449 

black-bellied 304,313,553 


Page 

rostrata,  .\ngui21a 78 

rostratus,  Lsemargus 65 

rough  dab 482 

rough  flounder soi 

round  herring 90,91 

round  robin _      232 

ruddorfish 229,230,233,243 

rudderfish  family 243 

runner 234 

rupestris,  Coryphaenoides 467 

rusty  dab. 495 

rusty  flounder. 495 

Ruvettus  pretiosus 220 

saUflsh 12,221,222.227,228 

sailflsh  family 227 

saithe 396 

salar,  Salmo 130 

Salmosalar 130 

salmon 126,130 

Atlantic 126,130,140 

Chinook 128 

family ^ 13,126 

humpback.. 126,130,140 

sea 130 

Salmonidae 126 

saltatrii,  Pomatomus 237 

Salter 138 

salt-water  gar.. 161 

salt-water  minnow 156 

salt-water  smelt 143 

Salvelinus 130 

fontinalis.. 138 

sand  dab 482,495,516 

sand  eel 77,183 

European _      186 

sand  flounder 472,491,516 

sand  launce 183,653 

sand-launce  family... 183 

sand  shark 23,34 

sand-shark  family 34 

sand  smelt 179 

sapidissima,  Alosa 113,651 

Sarda 188,215 

Sarda  sarda 215 

sarda,  Sarda.. 215 

sardine 92 

saurus,  Elops 90 

Scomberesox 164 

saury 164 

sawbelly 107 

saxatilis,  Menticirrhus _      277 

scabbardflsh 220 

scabrata.  Raja... 62 

scad.. 233 

mackerel 13, 229, 232 

schcepQ,  Alutera.. 294,296 

ChilomycteruSi 300 

Scisenidse 269 

Scicenops  ocellatus 279 

scolopaceus,  Nemichthys 88 

scolopax,  Macrorhamphosus. 173 

Scomber  colias 209 

scombrus _      188 

Scomberesocidie 164 

Scomberesox 16I 

saurus 164 


564 


GENERAL    INDEX 


Page 

Scomberomonis  maculatus 217 

regalis _ 219 

Scombridae _ 187 

scombrus,  Scomber 188 

Scorpffinidae... --. 304 

scorpius,  Myoiocephalus-- .-  320,322 

seourfish 220 

sculpin,  Arctic 314 

black 320 

daddy _ 320 

deep-sea 15,314,329 

family 13,15,314 

gray .._ - 325 

Greenland 320,322 

hook-eared 314 

little 318 

longhorn --  314,325 

mailed 314,316 

red _ _ ; 330 

sea 330 

shorthorn 314,320,322 

staghom -  314,328 

soup. - 245,263 

Scyllium  canicula 26 

Scymnorhinidse--- 53 

sea  bass 15,251,259 

black 259 

famUy 14,15,237,251 

sea  bream  family 15,262 

sea  eel... 86 

sea  herring 90,92,105,107,113 

sea-horse 12,177 

sea-horse  family 177 

sea  lamprey 18 

sea  lamprey,  great... .-       18 

sea  mullet 277 

sea  perch 257,281 

sea  pike 161 

seapoacher 333 

sea  raven 11,314,330 

sea  robin 345 

common 345 

family 13,344 

red-winged 345,348 

sea  salmon 130 

sea  sculpin.. 330 

sea  serpent... 24 

sea  snail 340,342 

European 341 

family... 11,340 

striped .--.  340,342 

Seatrout 126,130,138,140,270 

Sebastes  marinus 304 

Selene  vomer 236 

senta,  Raja 58,65 

Seriola  zonata 230 

serpent  blenny 363 

serpent,  sea 24 

Serranidffi 251 

sessilicauda,  Monolene 473,521 

setapinnis,  Vomer 235 

shad 90,107,113,551 

■     hickory 90,105,107 

shad  herring. 105 

shanny 359,365 

radiated 359,363,366 


Page 

shark,  basking 23,36,39,41 

blue 23,28,29,38 

bone 41 

bramble 23,55 

brown _       23 

dogfish 34 

dusky 23,27,29 

eel 23,24 

fox 32 

frilled 24 

great  blue. 28 

Greenland 23,44,51,63,65,551 

ground -. 31,53 

gurry 53 

hammerhead... 31 

little  mackerel 34 

mackerel.. 22,23,35,36,551 

mackerel,  sharp-nosed '. 23,38 

man-eater... _       39 

nurse _       53 

Portuguese. 23,61 

sand 23,34 

sharp-nosed  mackerel 23,38 

sleeper 53 

snake 24 

thresher 23,32 

tiger 23,27,28,29 

whale __. 41 

white 23,36,39 

shark  pilot 229,230 

sharks 11,21,22 

mackerel 32,33,44 

nurse 53 

requiem 27 

thresher 32 

shark  sucker 349 

sharp-nosed  mackerel  shark 23, 38 

sheepshead 245,263,268 

sheepshead  minnow... 159 

shiner.... 179,235,246 

shorthorn  sculpin 314,320,322 

short-nosed  sturgeon 76 

shovelnose '. 29,34 

signata,  Cyclothone 153 

silus,  Argentina 147 

silvered 78,220 

silver  gar 12, 161, 164 

sUverhake 104,385,386,452 

silver-hake  family.. 13,385 

silverside. 125,144,179,182 

common. 178 

family.. 13,178 

waxen 178,181 

Simenchelyidse 77 

Simenchelys  parasiticus. _ 83 

Siphostoma  floridae 176 

fuscum 175 

skate,  barn-door 58,66 

big 60 

bonnet 58 

brier 58,64,66 

common 58,67 

electric... _ .-       68 

eyed 60 

family - --       58 

hedgehog 58 


GENEEAL    INDEX 


565 


Page 

skate,  little. 58 

prickly 58,62,64 

smooth - - 58,65 

spotted 68, 60 

summer 58 

winter 60 

skates— 11,56,58 

skipjack.. 163,215,245 

skipper 164, 166 

sleeper  shark 53 

slime  eel 78,83 

sloanei,  Chauliodus 153 

smelt. 126, 140, 143, 147, 148 

European. 144, 146 

family 13,126,140 

green.. -      179 

herring — 147 

salt-water .*. 143 

sand 179 

young 179 

smolt... 130 

smooth-back  flounder 508 

smooth  dog 25 

smooth  dogfish 23,24,25 

smooth-dogfish  family 25 

smooth  flounder.. 473,508 

smooth  hound 25 

smooth  skate 58,65 

smooth-spined  grenadier.. 467,470 

snake  blenny 77,350,383 

snake  shark. 24 

snapper 237 

snipe  eel 12,78,88 

snipeflsh 173 

snub-nosed  eel 83 

sole 482,501,511 

American 522 

European 622 

family.. 472 

lemon , 507 

Soleidse 472 

Somniosus  brevipinna 55 

microcephalus 53,551 

southern  flounder.. 493 

Spanish  mackerel 188,209,211,217 

Sparidae.. 262 

spearflsh 12,221,222,227,228 

Sperling 92,179 

Spheroides  maculatus 298 

Sphyrna  zygaena 31 

spinosus,  Echinorhinus 65 

Eumicrotremus.. 339 

spiny  dogfish 23,44,62,389,418,551 

spiny-dogfish  family 44 

spmy  lumpfish.-.. 334,339 

spotted  catfish 375 

spotted  flounder - 516 

spotted  halto 386,455 

spotted  lamprey 18 

spotted  skate -  58,60 

spotted  turbot 516 

spotted  wolfflsh.. 370,375 

Squalidae 44 

Squalus  acantbias 44,389,551 

squeteague 270 

squid  hound 251 


Page 

squirrel  hake 386,447,449,451,452,454 

stabuliforis,  Raja. 66 

staghorn  sculpin 314,328 

starfish. 250 

Stenotomus  chrysops 263 

stickleback 168, 174 

bloody 171 

family 14, 166 

four-spined 166, 171 

nine-spincd 166, 167 

three-spined.. 166, 168 

two-spined 166, 108, 171 

stingaree 70 

sting  ray... 58,70 

sting-ray  family 56,70 

Stomiatidffi 151 

stradine 91 

striatus,  Centropristes 259 

strigatus,  Prionotus 348 

striped  bass 251,261 

striped  bonito 211,212 

striped  mullet 182 

striped  mummichog 158 

striped  sea  snail 340,342 

StromateidsB 245 

sturgeon 11,74 

family 74 

short-nosed. 76 

sturio,  Acipenser 74 

subbifurcata,  Ulvaria.. 366 

sucker,  eel... --        16 

lump 334 

pilot 349 

shark 349 

swordfish 349,350 

white-tailed 349 

summer  flounder 472,491,494 

summer  herring 110 

summer  skate... 58 

sunfish.... 11,296,301 

swellfish 298 

swell  toad 298 

swingletail 32 

switchtail.. 25 

swiveltail 32 

swordfish.. 12,33,221,553 

swordfish  family 221 

swordfish  sucker 349,350 

SynaphobranchidEB 77 

Synaphobranchus  pinnatus. 84 

Syngnathidse 174 

tabacaria,  Fistularia 173 

tarpon. 90,91 

Tarpon  atlanticus... 91 

tarpon  family 90 

tau,  Opsanus... 367 

taurus,  Carcharias... 34 

tautog 261,280,286,553 

Tautoga  onitis 286,653 

Tautogolabrus  adspersus 281 

Teleostomi 74 

tenuis,  Urophycis 446 

teres,  Etrumeus 91 

terrfienovae,  Triglops _ 317 

Tetranarce  occidentalis 68 


566 


GENERAL    INDEX 


Page 

Tetraodontidse -•- 2U7 

Tetrapteras. 228 

albidus- -' 227 

imperator 227 

thornback.. ._ 168 

thornflsh 168 

thraser... 32 

three-bearded  rockling 385,462 

three-spined  stickleback 166, 168 

thresher 23,32,35 

thresher  shark 23,32 

thresher-shark  family _ 32 

Thunnus  thynnus 212 

thjmnus,  Thunnus 212 

Thysanoessa  raschii 401 

tiger  shark. 23,27,28,29 

tigrinus,  Galeocerdo.- _. 27 

tigris,  Isurus 23,38,39 

tilefish - 11,13,352,356 

tUefish  family 352 

toadflsh 11,325,330,357 

toadfish  family 356 

toad,  swell 298 

tobacco  boi 58 

tobianus,  Ammodytes _. 183,184,186,187 

tomcod 385,406 

tomcod,  Microgadus 406 

torpedo 21,56,68 

torpedo  family 68 

Trachinotus 229 

Trachinus  draco 48 

triacanthus,  Poronotus__ 245 

Trichiuridae 220 

Trichiurus  lepturus 220 

tricuspis,  Gymnocanthus 328 

triggerfish 13,293,294 

triggerfish  family _      293 

Triglida; 344 

Triglops  beanii 317 

ommatistius 316 

pingelli 316 

terrasnovse 317 

trout- -. 138,270 

brook 138 

gray 270 

sea 126,130,138,140,270 

true  eels _ 78 

true  fishes 21 

true  hake 446 

true  herrings 90 

true  pompanos 229 

trumpetflsh 12,173,174 

trumpetfish  family , 173 

tschawytscha,  Oncorhynchus 128 

tuna 188,211,212 

tunny 212 

turmy,  little 212 

turbot 296,481,482,491 

American 481 

English 516 

European 516 

Greenland 481 

-   Newfoundland 4S1 

spotted 516 


Page 

two-spined  stickleback 166,168,171 

Tylosurus  acus 162 

marinus 161 

tyrannus,  Brevoortia 118 

Ulvaria  subbifurcata 366 

uncinatus,  Artediellus 315 

unicornfish,, 296 

unicornis,  Citharichthys 521 

Urophycis 386,446,458 

chesteri 456 

chuss 447 

regius 448,455 

tenuis 446 

variegatus,  Cyprinodon 159 

velox,  Euleptorhamphus _._ 163 

verillii,  Lycenchelys 382 

vetula,  Balistes 294 

villosus,  Mallotus ; 140, 142 

viola,  Antimora _      444 

viperfish.... 13, 126, 153 

virens,  PoUachias 396,554 

vivipanis,  Zoarces... 379,381 

volitans,  Cephalacanthus 344 

vomer,  Selene.. 236 

Vomer  setapinnis —      235 

vulgaris,  Anguilla 78 

Vulpecula  marina _ 32 

VulpeculidB 32 

vulpes,  Alopias 32 

watery  flounder 516 

waiensilverside.. 178,181 

weakflsh 269.270,279 

weakflsh  family 14,237,269 

weever 43 

whale,  killer 22 

whalebone 41 

whales 33 

whale  shark. 41 

wharffish 281 

wheatlandi,  Gasterosteus 171 

whippertail 25 

whitebait 124,179 

white-eye 432 

whiteflsh 126,370,375 

ocean 375 

white  hake 385,446,447,448,449,450,455 

white  perch... 251,257,261 

white  shark 23,36,39 

white-tailed  sucker 349 

whiting 277,386 

European... 415 

king 277 

windowpane 516 

winter  flounder 473,499,507 

winter  skate. 602 

witch  flounder 440,443,473,489,511 

wolf  eel 376,382 

wolffish 370 

common 370 

famUy 12,370 

spotted 370,375 


GENERAL    INDEX 


567 


Page 

wrymouth 13, 15,77,368 

wrjTiiouth  family 368 

Xiphias  gladius 221,653 

Xiphiidar 221 

yellow  mackerel 234 

yellowtaU 233,235,495 

young  smelt 179 

yowler - 378 


Page 

Zoarees 77 

anguillaris 378 

Tiviparus - 379,381 

Zoarcidse 376 

Z6idffi._ 291 

Zenopsis  ocellatus 291 

zonata,  Seriola_._ 230 

zygEena,  Cestracion 31 

Sphyrna 31 


102274— 25t 37 


^ 


W.  H.  0.  ^: