206 HISTOEY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



same schools. The movements of the schools are affected by the presence or absence of food and 

 by the state of the tide, the fish taking the hook more readily at slackwater. 



Mr. Devine, speaking about the Shumagin cod, told me on the 19th of July, 1880, that ih&y 

 found the fish both in schools and independent. They were "picking fish" at the time, and there 

 had been "no great flush" of school fish this year. Different schools are found at different 

 seasons and in different places, just as about Kodiak. Mr. Deviue says that males, females, and 

 young are not found associated in his vicinity. The males go together at certain times, and the 

 females are associated. At the spawning-season there are more females than males. The move- 

 ments of the schools are very much affected by sharks, and, to some extent, by dogfish. Dogfish 

 are not abundant, but sharks are especially plentiful. The dogfish is identical with our Atlantic 

 spined dogfish (Squalus acantliias). We did not get a specimen of the shark, but the National 

 Museum has a couple of small ones from Sitka, which are very close to, if not identical with, the 

 "tope" (Galeorliinus galeus). As for the influence of the tides, Mr. Devine says that fishing is 

 best during the spring tides and poorest in slack tides. 



Sometimes the cod have such a superabundance of food that they refuse to take the hook. 

 This is, perhaps, of rare occurrence; generally it seems that the more a cod has in its stomach 

 the more eagerly it bites, especially if the bait be something different from that previously eaten. 

 One would suppose that a 12-pound cod, after eating forty capeliu, would not take herring bait, and 

 yet we had an illustration of that on Portlock Bank. 



My own observations at various points along the Alaskan coast seemed to indicate that young 

 cod from 2 to 4 inches in length prefer to school near the shores, in sheltered coves, where the 

 water is shallow, and often where it receives a large admixture of fresh water. At Iliuliuk I found 

 myriads of such young fish playing about the wharves, eagerly seizing the hooks baited for larger 

 prey. Occasionally a larger cod, of about 16 or 18 inches in length, would be caught in the same 

 vicinity, but almost invariably we found the small fry unmixed with older fish. 



The supply of food forms a very important motive for the presence of cod in particular places 

 at certain times. When we were in Port Chatham, for example, capelin were schooling there 

 abundantly, aad we caught fine cod freely. On Portlock Bank again capelin were plentiful, and 

 nearly every cod examined had its stomach filled with them. At the Shumagins " England hake," 

 or, more properly, pollock (Pollachius ckalcogrammus), were abundant in July, and the cod were there 

 feasting on them. The " yellow-fish " (Pleurogrammus monopterygius) is one of the finest of all baits 

 for cod and will play an important part in the future history of the fishery. This yellow-fish is 

 said by Capt. Andrew Anderson to be very abundant about the middle of August on the off-shore 

 bank, 20 miles east-northeast of Seminoffsky Island, where it is found schooling like the mackerel, 

 and will follow the bait up to the surface of the water. It is to be noted that August and Sep- 

 tember are the best months for cod on this bank. The herring (Clitpca mirabiUs) also has a great 

 deal to do with a prosperous cod fishery. Capt. J. Haley told me that herring are wonderfully 

 plentiful on the Hoochenoo Bank at the fishing-season and that there are enormous quantities of 

 fine herring in Prince Frederick Sound, which serve to attract a great abundance of small cod 

 thither. The vast shoals of herring which are found in various parts of the Gulf of Alaska are 

 generally accompanied by hordes of cod. Elsewhere iu this paper I have recorded the statement 

 of Captain Bowen concerning the magnitude of a herring shoal seen by him ; this will give a good 

 idea of the amount of sustenance awaiting the pleasure of the cod around Kodiak. The same 

 numbers are known to be present in many localities, and wherever found their influence on the 

 prosperity of the fishery must be recognized. 



ABUNDANCE. Before entering into an examination of the influence of modes of fishing and 



