SIZE OF THE MACKEREL. 209 



A No. 1 Mackerel, according to the Massachusetts inspection laws, measures thirteen inches from 

 the tip of the snout to the crotch or fork of the caudal fin. The average length from year to year 

 for the whole coast is probably not far from twelve inches in length, and a weight of twelve to six- 

 teen ounces. The following quotations from writers of two centuries ago are interesting, since they 

 show that large Mackerel were known to the early colonists of New England : 



"The mackerel, of which there is choicefull plenty all summer long; in the spring they are 

 ordinarily 18 inches long; afterwards there is none taken but what are smaller." 1 



"The Makarels are the baite for the Basse, & these have been chased into the shallow waters, 

 where so many thousands have shott themselves a shore with the surfe of the Sea that whole 

 hogges-heads have been taken up on the Sands; & for length they excell any of other parts: they 

 have bin measured 18. & 19. inches in length and seaveu breadth : & are taken with a drayee, (as 

 boats use to pass to & froe at Sea on business,) in very greate quantities all along the Coaste. 



"The Fish is good, salted; for store against the winter, as well as fresh, & to be accounted a 

 good commodity." 2 



ENEMIES OF THE MACKEREL. The gannet is one of the most destructive enemies of the 

 Mackerel. These birds are often seen so heavily weighted with these fish that they are unable 

 to rise on the approach of the vessel until they have disgorged from two to four good-sized Mackerel. 

 This is so common an occurrence that there are but few fishermen who have not witnessed it. 



Porpoises and whales may also be included in the list of enemies of the Mackerel. It is by no 

 means an unusual sight on the fishing grounds to see hundreds of the former rushing and leaping 

 among schools of Mackerel, scattering them in every direction. 



The shark known to fishermen as the " mackerel shark " is one of the principal enemies of the 

 Mackerel. I have often seen them chasing Mackerel, and, when jigging was practiced, it was a 

 common occurrence for sharks to drive off a school from alongside of a vessel. 



Dogfish often hover around the outside of large schools of Mackerel, and doubtless feed on 

 them. Great difficulty is sometimes experienced in saving fish that have been inclosed in a purse- 

 seine, owing to the immense numbers of dogfish that gather around and, in their efforts to eat the 

 Mackerel, which they see through the meshes, bite off the twine, making large holes in the seine 

 through which the inclosed fish escape. 



Among the other principal enemies of the Mackerel are the bluefish, mackerel shark, and the 

 cod. The appearance of a school of bluefish in waters crowded with Mackerel is an almost sure 

 signal for their disappearance. 



The young Mackerel are eaten by squids also. Professor Verrill has recorded the following 

 account of the maneuvers of the squid known to zoologists by the name Ommastrephes illecebronus ; 



"Messrs. S. I. Smith and Oscar Harger observed it at Proviucetowu, Massachusetts, among the 

 wharves, in large numbers, July L'S, engaged in capturing and devouring the young Mackerel, 

 which were swimming about in ' schools,' and at that time were about four or five inches long. Fn 

 attacking the Mackerel, they would suddenly dart backward among the lish with t lie velocity of an 

 arrow and suddenly turn obliquely to the right or left and seize a lish, which was almost instantly 

 killed by a hire in the back of the neck with the sharp beaks. The bite was always made in the 

 same place, cutting out a triangular piece of flesh, and was deep enough to penetrate to the spinal 

 cord. The attacks were not always successful, and were sometimes repeated a dozen times before 

 one of these active and wary fishes could be caught. Sometimes after making several unsuccessful 

 attempts one of the squids would suddenly drop to the bottom, and, resting upon the sand, would 



'JOSSELYN, 1G70. 



' New England's Fish, JOIIN SMITH, 1G22. United States Fieh Commission Report, Part I, p. 153. 



