RULLKTIN OF THE UNITED STA.TES EISH COMMISSION. 217 



The testimony taken by the coiiiiiiittee sliows an ahinnino- decreaso 

 in the better grades of mackerel suitable for salting as food. The aver- 

 age yearly catch in amount for the years from 1809 to 1872, inclusive, 

 was 1GG,184 barrels. The average yearly catch fi;ora 1873, the time 

 purse-nets came into general use, to 1885, inclusive, was 201,201 barrels. 

 It will be seen that the average annual amount caught for the last 

 thirteen years is only about 20 per cent greater than for the sixty-four 

 years froju 1809 to 1872, notwithstanding the improved appliances which 

 should have insured a vast increase in the catch, stimulated as the busi- 

 ness has been by a greatly increased dennmd from a rapidly increasing 

 population and improved methods of distribution. Far more to be 

 deprecated than the deficient catch has been tlie deterioration in quality, 

 as shown by the decrease in percentage of No. Is, 



In 1805 IsTo. 1 mackerel was 59 per cent of the whole catch ; in 18G6 

 it was .04 per cent; in 1807 it was 58 per cent; in 1808 it was 51 per 

 cent; in 1809 it was 31 per cent; in 1870 it was 21 per cent; in 1871 

 it was 40 per cent; in 1872 it was 40 per cent; in 1873 (the year that 

 seines became generally used) it was 45 per cent; in 1874 it was 44 per 

 cent; in 1875 it ran down to 25 per cent; in 1870 it was only 14 per 

 cent; in 1877 it was 17 per cent; in 1878 it was 9 per cent; in 1879 it 

 was per cent; in 1880 it was 8 per cent; in 1881 it was per cent; 

 in 1882 it was 15 per cent; in 1883 it was 14 per cent; in 1884 it was 8 

 per cent; and finally in 1885 it was 7 per cent. 



The fish taken in the time included in the bill, both male and female, 

 are poor, unfit for packing, and not very acceptable for the table. 



The schools appear on our coast off Cape Hatteras in March, and 

 them;e j>roceed northward, and spawn on the coasts of Massachusetts 

 and Maine. On their first appearance the mackerel fleet meets them, 

 and they are harried and harassed from that time until winter. 



Although it is contended by some scientists that all that man can do 

 will have no appreciable effect in depleting the ocean of fish, it is be- 

 lieved by many that the unrelenting pursuit mentioned above has a 

 tendency to deflect them from their course or to prevent many from 

 returning in subsequent years. This latter fact may account for the 

 diminished percentage of No. 1 mackerel. 



The whole mackerel fleet is owned in Massachusetts and Maine, con- 

 sists of nearly 400 sail, employs about 5,000 men, and is now engaged 

 in seining mackerel from March to November. During Aj)ril and May 

 of 1885 the catch was so great that it glutted the avenues of distribu- 

 tion, and many thousand barrels were thrown away. There is some 

 conflict of testimony as to the amount of this waste, but it was prob- 

 ably between 00,000 and 75,000 barrels. 



Your committee have amended the bill to allow fuller latitude to the 

 taking of mackerel by hook and line, and recommend that the amend- 

 ment be concurred in, and that the bill when so amended do pass. 



